S60 Wheels/Tyres: rubbish tyres

[jamena]

Hi last year i put a pair of michlin cross climate on the front. I found they were a bit noisy but i gave them a chance, however today was the first time i drove in snow not like the advert they were rubish at gripping they were just as bad as the michlin tyres i took of and the old ones were quiter. I shall change them a soon as possible.
James

[civilservant]

I'm in mid-Kent that has seen approximately 6 inches of snow so far, and I have Michelin CCs on all 4 wheels on the V60.

I was quite impressed with the level of grip and their performance in the snow, especially as I went down a steep hill that hadn't been treated.

Perhaps your mistake is that you only have the CCs on the front? I accept that the CCs are not as good as full winter tyres, but they are still quite good as long as you drive to the conditions.

[NigelDay]

Well actually the Michelin CC is a SUMMER tyre with winter capabilities (or some such lingo). It bears the 'important' snowflake symbol for alpine use.
However, if you look at the tests, whilst it has OVERALL excellent all-season performance, the weak performance is in snow, where it is clearly inferior to the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 or the Nokian Weatherproof.
Have a read here:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accesso...r-tyres-tested
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accesso...ts-by-category

I run Nokians simply because they are a little cheaper than Goodyears, but more importantly we get regular snow where I live, so this is the key factor in my choice. So far after three seasons, I have yet to have a problem unless (1) the snow is too deep, or (2) the snow is too wet and slushy.

[blueblock]

I have CCs all round on my Seat and they are brilliant. You still have to drive carefully, obviously, but it feels like a different car on snow. It steams up hills past 4WDs on summer tyres!

[Packard999]

These tyres are 'jack of all trades master of none', I use tyres specifically for winter, and others for the summer

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by Packard999

These tyres are 'jack of all trades master of none', I use tyres specifically for winter, and others for the summer

For absolute performance in each of summer and winter, yes, but for real world performance under most conditions, I would disagree. My Nokian Weatherproofs get me up the hills of Upper Teesdale in snow with no difficulty (unless it is wet slush). The best of the all-season treads give winters a good run for their money of you dig into the detail on www.tyrereviews.co.uk
The point I made was that the Michelin CC is not a top performer in snow.

[andrewpain]

Originally Posted by NigelDay

For absolute performance in each of summer and winter, yes, but for real world performance under most conditions, I would disagree. My Nokian Weatherproofs get me up the hills of Upper Teesdale in snow with no difficulty (unless it is wet slush). The best of the all-season treads give winters a good run for their money of you dig into the detail on www.tyrereviews.co.uk
The point I made was that the Michelin CC is not a top performer in snow.

it may not be a top performer in snow, but as has been said elsewhere - it's not a snow tyre. It's all-seasons. It'll be better in snow that some summer tyres, but will be out-performed by more didicated winter tyres. Which may not do so well in summer....
depends what you're looking for in the winter. I've got them (CCs) on my wife's 9-5, and in summer they're good, in winter they're not bad.
In heavy snow I'd stay home or if I HAVE to drive use the Volvo. Which is FWD only, but I do have a set of wheels with Nokian winters on, which I'll change back at some point in spring for the normal Conti's.
You pays your money and takes your choice...why I didn't buy a 4WD XC60.

[oragex]

Originally Posted by NigelDay

Well actually the Michelin CC is a SUMMER tyre with winter capabilities (or some such lingo). However, if you look at the tests, whilst it has OVERALL excellent all-season performance, the weak performance is in snow, where it is clearly inferior to the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 or the Nokian Weatherproof.

Agree. The Nokian were the first to offer an All Weather (as opposed to All Season) tire. Their WRG2 was a tire that would last less miles but was offering a winter traction close to that of the least expensive winter designated tires. Still miles ahead of the so called 'traction or braking power' of an All Season tire on snow or ice.

Since Nokian, several tire makers have tried to offer products on the new All Weather market, with more or less success.

Just remember, even an All Weather tire will never have the performance of a designated Winter tire. Sure, there are cheap and terrible winter tires but nobody is talking about these. When people say winter tire they usually talk about the quality ones, and that's when they talk about amazing grip and braking power on snow, slush, hills or even on icy roads (worth mentioning there are no winter tires actually really good on ice, unless they are studded).