Michelin tire with 'Traction B' is rated higher than Michelin tires with Traction A??

[Viper GTS]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_(unit)

You’re running nearly 3.5 bar which is absolutely insane for most cars.

There are exceptions, but most cars performance will suffer greatly at that pressure. Disparity in grip on the street is a serious problem, if the cars in front of you can stop significantly faster than you you need to extremely cautious.

I learned my lesson really fast within just a few days of my Viper purchase when I dropped anchor on a yellow light and a truck locked up all four and slid past me into the intersection.

The lesson was clear for both of us: if you drive cars with much wider or narrower performance envelopes than most of traffic you have to be hyper vigilant.

Why would you intentionally handicap yourself?

Viper GTS

 

[ondma]

The traction rating is based on a specific industry standard laboratory test and does not include testing wet traction.

It has a worse traction rating because it's a 3 peak mountain snowflake rated tire, which means the tread design and rubber compound are designed with lower temperatures and snow traction in mind.

The Primacy Tour A/S is a straight all season tire with no such specialization for snow and cold weather. While it may work decently for light snow and freezing temps, it has a different rubber compound and tread design that favors higher temps and dry traction. Essentially it fares better in the traction lab test due to this.


Your old tires must have been extremely worn and/or aged.

I too was surprised by the "B" traction rating, especially since the very similar Cross Climate+ had an A traction rating. All the real world tests I have read, however, don't note any problems with the CC2 wet traction. Here is a good link from Tire Rack explaining the method of measuring the ratings: link .

Tire Rack and Consumer Reports tested it and both gave it good ratings in all areas.

 

[pauldun170]

from the paper:
wtf is 1.5 and 2.4 bars of tire pressure?!

also, my ~50psi tire pressure is in fall.
so in winter, it will be lower because of lower temps. (could also explain my lower mpg in winter.)

so i am essentially lowering my tire pressure in winter, thus increasing braking effectiveness in winter based on the paper

You are ignoring the manufacturer of your vehicle.
You are ignoring people who are telling you to follow the manufacturer recommendation.
You started this thread over tire ratings, eating you essentially null and voided when you improperly inflated the tire as per manufacturer recommendation.

Since you are assuming you know better than engineers and people very familiar with automotive issues, maybe just lock the thread and stop wasting people's time?

The answer to the original question has been answered. The issue with how you inflate the tires is resolved by reading the owners manual for you car.

 

[Pohemi]

If you find traction ratings for automotive tires confusing, take a look at the speed ratings for performance tires. I'm pretty sure 'Z' or 'ZR' were the highest (speed capable/safety) rating. 'H' was one of the higher ratings, and what I had installed on my Celica GTS. Most of the ratings do go in order, but there are a few like the 'H' that seemingly were randomly assigned.

 

[sdifox]

old tires i did sidewall max of 44psi.
crossclimate2's sidewall max is like 55psi but i put it at 44psi. maybe i'll do 55psi and see ?

Err inflate to sidewall is a bad idea.