Good tyres

[jpliddy]

hi all
just asking your opinion on tyres for my 940 diesel ive alway had michelin
ENERGY , a friend recommended the michelin CROSS CLIMATE all comments most welcome
regards jim

[griston64]

I've got Bridgestone summer on mine Jim. Can't go wrong with Michelin though. Used them for many years and always found them to be excellent.

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by jpliddy

hi all
just asking your opinion on tyres for my 940 diesel ive alway had michelin
ENERGY , a friend recommended the michelin CROSS CLIMATE all comments most welcome
regards jim

I have cross climates on my XC90.

They are extremly quiet, very smooth and good performers in the dry. They are also very good in the wet although a little less confident in standing water than the Pilot 4s I had on before them.

I have always run 2 sets of wheels and since getting the cross climates only run 1. They really are very very good in the winter especially with the snow. Not as good as true winter tyres but very close!

Mine have been on 25,000 miles and I have just rotated the front to the back with probably 3mm on them. The front still have more tread. That is hands down the longest life I have ever had from tyres. My 90 is the 200BHP version so plenty of power and weight and they have been superb. At the time I bought them they were considered the best thing since sliced bread and may still be.

[RonFleet]

I used Michelin Cross Climates on my previous two cars and loved them - good grip, quiet, good ride.. When I need to replace my current tyres, it will be Cross Climates that go on.

[Laird Scooby]

I'd go for the Bridgestones Jim or Falken on your 940, i don't have a very high opinion (in fact very low opinion) of Michelin in any sort of tyres and the Cross-Climates are designed for modern cars that generally speaking, are more cross-over cars than anything else these days.

Last car i had that had Michelins on when i got it was my Jeep Cherokee and thankfully they were only on the back. I found some more tyres and wheels (better condition wheels) in a breakers and fitted those instead - vast improvement in grip but even they were Jinyu Chinese Ditchfinders!

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I'd go for the Bridgestones Jim or Falken on your 940, i don't have a very high opinion (in fact very low opinion) of Michelin in any sort of tyres and the Cross-Climates are designed for modern cars that generally speaking, are more cross-over cars than anything else these days.

Last car i had that had Michelins on when i got it was my Jeep Cherokee and thankfully they were only on the back. I found some more tyres and wheels (better condition wheels) in a breakers and fitted those instead - vast improvement in grip but even they were Jinyu Chinese Ditchfinders!

That’s an interesting post! I must say I have never had any issues with Michelin tyres. Why do you not like the brand?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by XC90Mk1

That’s an interesting post! I must say I have never had any issues with Michelin tyres. Why do you not like the brand?

I don't think there's enough room on the forum for me to put all the reasons but i'll make it a lot briefer than that.

In simple terms, the best part of 50 years of bad experiences of Michelin tyres from being a 6 year old who had fallen off his bike because the Michelin tyres failed to grip when they should have done to serious loss of grip in a multitude of vehicles including some so new they were on trade plates because they hadn't yet been registered.

I also remember as a kid my dad had Mk1 Cavaliers (new every year), firstly fitted with Michelin XZX from the factory then after the first 2-3 years they changed to Pirelli Cinturato P3 - much quieter, smoother and a lot more grip!

Also every car i've had that has had Michelins on when i've got it has had grip problems, changing (even to part-worn) other brands has rectified it.

The only good thing i can say about Michelins is they tend to last longer than other brands but therein lies the proof that they don't grip as you can't have a grippy tyre that doesn't wear quickly - it's always a compromise.

They may have improved in recent times but given my experiences, i wouldn't want to spend my money on them only to find they hadn't or still weren't as good as what i've had with other brands.

As such i couldn't in all honesty recommend them to amyone on that basis either.

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I don't think there's enough room on the forum for me to put all the reasons but i'll make it a lot briefer than that.

In simple terms, the best part of 50 years of bad experiences of Michelin tyres from being a 6 year old who had fallen off his bike because the Michelin tyres failed to grip when they should have done to serious loss of grip in a multidue of vehicles including some so new they were on trade plates because they hadn't yet been registered.

I also remember as a kid my dad had Mk1 Cavaliers (new every year), firstly fitted with Michelin XZX from the factory then after the first 2-3 years they changed to Pirelli Cinturato P3 - much quieter, smoother and a lot more grip!

Also every car i've had that has had Michelins on when i've got it has had grip problems, changing (even to part-worn) other brands has rectified it.

The only good thing i can say about Michelins is they tend to last longer than other brands but therein lies the proof that they don't grip as you can't have a grippy tyre that doesn't wear quickly - it's always a compromise.

They may have improved in recent times but given my experiences, i wouldn't want to spend my money on them only to find they hadn't or still weren't as good as what i've had with other brands.

As such i couldn't in all honesty recommend them to amyone on that basis either.

That’s really interesting isn’t it! They are very hard very slow wearing, perhaps I find them good as the xc is so heavy and so wide etc.

That said, if it were not for the specific benifits that cross climates have I would choose Goodyear. The efficient grip last well and are really high performance. The Eagle F1s are very very cool etc.

[360beast]

Bridgestones are the only tyres that go on my cars

[tofufi]

I've got Kumhos on my 740 diesel.

I've had mine for 30k miles so far, and hope to get another 20k from them yet - there is still loads of tread left.

Good grip, leading to predictable understeer if you push hard for it. Feels absolutely planted in all but the most torrential rain too.

Just looked, and they are now around £70 each. Given that Pirelli, Bridgestone, Michelin and Pirelli are all available cheaper I'd probably give one of them a go in future