Tire time, are Michelin's the best there is?

[lokiju]

I went to both Sams Club and Costco and right now Costco is doing the $60 off a set of 4 Michelin's and Sams is starting their $60 off a set of 4 this Friday.

I need to get some new tires for my wifes car no later than this coming weekend since we'll be heading out of state after that and her tires are pretty bad.

I'm wondering though if getting the Michelin's are worth it. The always cost more than anything else it seems and I'm wondering if there's something else out there that cost less but is just as good for the full life of the tire as well.

One thing I know about the Michelin's is that they sip their tires all the way to the bottom of the tread and a lot of other brands tend to only do a half sip so once you're through the fist 30,000 miles of those 60,000 rated tires, the tires without the full sip tend to become much more noisy and don't handle as well.

Basically I'm wondering if there are any other tires out there that are as good or better than Michelin's but cost less.

:beer:

 

[mugs]

FYI - I don't believe the $60 off at Costco applies to ALL Michelins, but it does also apply to some BF Goodrich tires. I think I got $45 off my Traction T/As.

Check Tirerack.com for user reviews.

 

[ViviTheMage]

The Garage

you should know better Mr. Lifer.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Which specific tire? Like the other two big tire brands (Bridgestone/Firestone and Goodyear), Michelin makes some very good tires and some pretty crappy tires.

Also, "sip"? Are you talking about siping (in which case it's "sipe")? Siping is a process done only to snow tires. It improves traction on glare ice. On dry roads it increases heat buildup, increases noise, and reduces overall tire life. Siping does not improve dry traction (in fact, it causes a significant reduction in dry traction), and offers no real improvement in normal rain traction. Michelin sipes their snow tires, they do not sipe their normal all-season tires. No-one does.

Whoever told you that siping reduces noise was full of shit.

ZV

 

[MBrown]

The primacy mxv4 is an excellent tire. They have a 60k mile tread warranty.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Which specific tire? Like the other two big tire brands (Bridgestone/Firestone and Goodyear), Michelin makes some very good tires and some pretty crappy tires.

Also, "sip"? Are you talking about siping (in which case it's "sipe")? Siping is a process done only to snow tires. It improves traction on glare ice. On dry roads it increases heat buildup, increases noise, and reduces overall tire life. Siping does not improve dry traction (in fact, it causes a significant reduction in dry traction), and offers no real improvement in normal rain traction. Michelin sipes their snow tires, they do not sipe their normal all-season tires. No-one does.

Whoever told you that siping reduces noise was full of shit.

ZV

Oh, yeah. Sipe.

They're um... Lets see...


195/60R15

For a 2002 HYUNDAI Elantra.

The Michelin Primacy MXV4 have a form of siping from the factory.

 

[fstime]

They are great tires but there tend to be other tires priced less with similar performance.

Check out tirerack's user ratings on tires in your category.

 

[Arkaign]

Seriously, for that car a great deal is the Falken Ziex. Should be ~$55-$65 per tire, great lifespan, good traction, good wet performance, nice middle-of-the-road deal.

 

[geokilla]

Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S are pretty good tires too.

We owned the Pilot HX MXM4 and they have good grip. However, they're not that good in wet conditions.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Ah, you're looking at bog standard all-seasons. They're all junk.

In all seriousness though, the type of driver looking at this kind of tire is never going to tell any difference at all between any major brand tire. More sipes mean more tread squirm, which, as mentioned, increases heat, reduces dry grip, increases noise, and makes the tires wear faster, but is handy on snow and ice. If you're not likely to encounter snow and ice, they're basically useless, a marketing gimmick.

The Michelin Primacy MXV4 is indeed rated highly, though, to be honest, I would be looking at the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S, the or the Bridgestone G019 Grid. Preferably even the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position since you shouldn't have to worry about snow in an Atlanta suburb and any of those three alternatives will give you a much more sporting feel (though with more noise and a slightly harsher ride).

ZV

 

[Elstupido]

Recently purchased a set of primacy mxv4 from Costco with their $60 off deal. The tires seem to be very nice on wet and dry pavement. I bought them because I live in the mountains of Co. and will let you know in another month how they perform in the snow and ice.

Actually Saturday morning going to work in one hell of a rainstorm, I was going around 70mph on the interstate, and all of a fucking sudden i plowed into about 6 inches of hail slush. slammed on the brakes and to my amazement, my BMW, slowed down immediately with no loss of control, tires, or antilock brakes, or both, saved me. Several cars in the other lane were in the ditch, or upside down. Had that been my pickup, I would have been swapping ends. Of course with my pickup, the first sign of sliding and my foot would have been of the brakes, before losing control.

 

[mwmorph]

michelin and bf goodrich are excellent tires but what's better is costcos service. Free rotations, mounting, road hazard warranty and nitrogen are just small things that got me to go there to get my tires changed. They're not deal makers of breakers but they are nice. I try to get every decent sized purchase at costco if I can because of the service and gurantee, gps units, tires, computers, TVs, etc.

 

[Savij]

Originally posted by: Elstupido
Recently purchased a set of primacy mxv4 from Costco with their $60 off deal. The tires seem to be very nice on wet and dry pavement. I bought them because I live in the mountains of Co. and will let you know in another month how they perform in the snow and ice.

Actually Saturday morning going to work in one hell of a rainstorm, I was going around 70mph on the interstate, and all of a fucking sudden i plowed into about 6 inches of hail slush. slammed on the brakes and to my amazement, my BMW, slowed down immediately with no loss of control, tires, or antilock brakes, or both, saved me. Several cars in the other lane were in the ditch, or upside down. Had that been my pickup, I would have been swapping ends. Of course with my pickup, the first sign of sliding and my foot would have been of the brakes, before losing control.

Maybe I'm missing something. Why would you slam on the brakes in that situation? Did a car suddenly lose control and slide into your lane or something?

 

[JulesMaximus]

The best there is? I wouldn't say that. It depends on the tire and the application. You cannot say that one tire is better for all applications than another. Tires are a trade off between longevity, comfort, and performance.

I put Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on my Maxima after the crappy OEM Bridgestone tires wore out and have been very happy with them. I wouldn't say that all Bridgestone tires are crap though, just the one Nissan equipped my car with.

 

[Pardus]

Buy tires based on what i call the rule of 3:
1. rating at tirerack.com or some other site
2. base your purchase where you live, if you get a lot of snow/ice, you may want to get A/B or A/A rated.
3. Life expectancy, 40k, 60k, or 80k. Higher one generally cost more.

To assist consumers purchasing new vehicles or replacement tires, NHTSA rates the quality of tires with letter or number grades in three categories: temperature, traction and treadwear.

Temperature (heat resistance) is graded "A" (highest); "B," or "C" (lowest). A "C" grade represents the minimum performance standard required by federal regulation. Currently, 27 percent of tires are rated "A," 59 percent are rated "B" and 14 percent are rated "C." A tire's ability to resist heat is an important safety factor.

Traction also is rated with letter grades. A tire that carries a higher grade should allow a car to stop on a wet road in a shorter distance than a tire with a lower grade. Traction is graded "AA" (highest), "A," "B" or "C" (lowest). Currently, 3 percent of tires are rated "AA;" 75 percent are "A;" and 22 percent are "B." There is only one line of tires rated "C."

In grading for treadwear, a control tire is assigned a grade of 100. A tire with a grade of 200 can be expected to last twice as long as the control tire, while a tire with a grade of 80 is normally less durable. Currently, the highest reported treadwear rating is 700; 98 percent of tires rank 600 or below; 92 percent rank 500 or below; 72 percent rank 400 or below; 40 percent rank 300 or below; and 15 percent rank 200 or below.

LINK

 

[Elstupido]

Savij, I didn't really slam on the brakes per se, but applied very firm pressure. The cars in front of me were slamming on their brakes, and sliding all over the place. 70mph is not a good thing when suddenly without warning, hitting a bunch of hail slush