Rate this tire: Mich X-radial
- Thread starter daves87rs
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I have had 2 sets on my Camry and 2 sets on my gf's Camry and I love 'em! They ones on my car right now have a little over 80k and still have some tread left, albeit not much. I would say the handling is good for what it is, but it's not a sport tire. If it were, the tread compound would be softer and would wear quicker.
I've owned two sets of these tires (three if you include its sister tire, the Michelin WeatherWise II, from Sears).
First set was on my old '97 Cadillac SLS, P225/60R16 97S. Previous tires were a set of Michelin Pilot XGT H4. The X Radials had about 80% of the performance of the Pilots, with a much better ride, and a much better tread life. I really felt that those tires out-handled their speed rating (which I've since learned isn't always that descriptive of a tire's performance anyway). When Consumer Reports tested this tire back in 2005, it got high marks for handling as well, so that seems to be a trend.
I was so impressed with them on that car that we mounted them on our '07 Town & Country with just 9,000 miles on the van (215/65R16 98T). The OE Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires just plain sucked in the wet. They gave a very nice ride, but just didn't cut it on wet pavement. The Michelins stick much better on wet pavement. Though I haven't had any trouble with them in snow (even on 6" of fresh snow on an unplowed street), I have heard that their snow traction isn't what it could be. My van (and the Cadillac) has traction control, so you just set the throttle and let the van work it out, so driving withOUT traction control may be different.
I now have Yokohama Avid TRZs on my Corolla, with about 10,000 miles on them and I can't wait to mount a set of the Michelin X Radials to it. I really liked the Avids when they were new, but in the cold, the rubber compound seems rock hard, and they really stiffen up.
First set was on my old '97 Cadillac SLS, P225/60R16 97S. Previous tires were a set of Michelin Pilot XGT H4. The X Radials had about 80% of the performance of the Pilots, with a much better ride, and a much better tread life. I really felt that those tires out-handled their speed rating (which I've since learned isn't always that descriptive of a tire's performance anyway). When Consumer Reports tested this tire back in 2005, it got high marks for handling as well, so that seems to be a trend.
I was so impressed with them on that car that we mounted them on our '07 Town & Country with just 9,000 miles on the van (215/65R16 98T). The OE Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires just plain sucked in the wet. They gave a very nice ride, but just didn't cut it on wet pavement. The Michelins stick much better on wet pavement. Though I haven't had any trouble with them in snow (even on 6" of fresh snow on an unplowed street), I have heard that their snow traction isn't what it could be. My van (and the Cadillac) has traction control, so you just set the throttle and let the van work it out, so driving withOUT traction control may be different.
I now have Yokohama Avid TRZs on my Corolla, with about 10,000 miles on them and I can't wait to mount a set of the Michelin X Radials to it. I really liked the Avids when they were new, but in the cold, the rubber compound seems rock hard, and they really stiffen up.
Love the tire on our minivan. After 20K miles, the tire still has a huge amount of tread. After 25K miles on the first set of tires (Michelin LX4), the tire needed to be replaced. Siennas are notorious for eating tires, but the X-radials are holding up fine.
Traction and comfort is excellent. Noise is reasonable. Recently got stuck in the snowstorm on the W. Virginia turnpike and it performed well in the snow.....better than I expected. Other cars needed help to move in the snow, but my van just kept chugging.
Traction and comfort is excellent. Noise is reasonable. Recently got stuck in the snowstorm on the W. Virginia turnpike and it performed well in the snow.....better than I expected. Other cars needed help to move in the snow, but my van just kept chugging.
I agree that noise isn't as good as it probably could be. Vehicle noise (that shouldn't be there) bothers me quite a bit, and these tires still don't cross my threashold for what I'd consider noisy, but they're not the quietest tires I've had either. The OE Bridgestones on the van were very quiet, especially on smooth pavement. The X Radials are pretty quiet, but do have a touch more pavement noise. I guess that goes with the very good handling. For noise, I'd give them a 7/10.
I'll buy them again for sure, but if I could tell Michelin to change any one attribute about them, I'd ask for more quiet.
I'll buy them again for sure, but if I could tell Michelin to change any one attribute about them, I'd ask for more quiet.
The guys on a minivan forum that I help moderate really insist that these tires aren't great in snow. Does anyone else have that experience? I've had no problems with ours, even on 6" of fresh snow. Maybe "southern" snow is different from "northern" snow?
I have four sets of these tires on the ground now, Mama's and the kid's vehicles, purchased from Costco. I have yet to wear these tires out, they will weather check at about four years old because we don't put that many miles on them fast enoough to take the tread down to the wear bars. I highly recommend them.
From what I've heard... the X-radial's tradeoff of less snow/ice traction was attributed to the same hard compound that gives you the better treadwear. Most everyone I've talked to prefer a softer tire in the winter for the extra grip.
Glad to see that a few of you have had success with this tire in the snowy conditions. To get to Jason's question... Yes, I think there could be a difference between snow up north versus the south. From what I learned, when the temperature gets colder, the lighter and fluffier it is as there is less water density. The interesting thing is that I thought the drier, fluffier snow would stick to the tires better. I mention this because I thought you always wanted snow on snow traction.
Glad to see that a few of you have had success with this tire in the snowy conditions. To get to Jason's question... Yes, I think there could be a difference between snow up north versus the south. From what I learned, when the temperature gets colder, the lighter and fluffier it is as there is less water density. The interesting thing is that I thought the drier, fluffier snow would stick to the tires better. I mention this because I thought you always wanted snow on snow traction.
Originally Posted By: Jason Adcock
The guys on a minivan forum that I help moderate really insist that these tires aren't great in snow. Does anyone else have that experience? I've had no problems with ours, even on 6" of fresh snow. Maybe "southern" snow is different from "northern" snow?
I can only report my experience, which is not scientific so take it for what it's worth. These tires are definitely better in snow than the previous LX4's that were on the van. I also have dedicated winter tires on my Passat (Yoko W.Drives, 215-55-16) and the van with X-radials is better in the snow than the Passat with winter tires. Now I know that is not a fair comparison since the van is much heavier. Nevertheless, if X-radials "aren't great in snow" than my Passat with winter tires must really suck.
The guys on a minivan forum that I help moderate really insist that these tires aren't great in snow. Does anyone else have that experience? I've had no problems with ours, even on 6" of fresh snow. Maybe "southern" snow is different from "northern" snow?
I can only report my experience, which is not scientific so take it for what it's worth. These tires are definitely better in snow than the previous LX4's that were on the van. I also have dedicated winter tires on my Passat (Yoko W.Drives, 215-55-16) and the van with X-radials is better in the snow than the Passat with winter tires. Now I know that is not a fair comparison since the van is much heavier. Nevertheless, if X-radials "aren't great in snow" than my Passat with winter tires must really suck.
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