Michelin Crossclimate - No More Winter Tyres?

[Rogue2]

I would get these for my car but they don't list my tyre size (195/50/16)

[TheRookie]

Had these for roughly a week now; drove 300 miles so here are my first impressions.

The tyres are hard. If you used to "regular" all seasons tyres (and no, I am not talking about tyres that are marked as all-seasons by marketing department - I am talking about the real stuff, with snowflake and M+S), then you'll be in for quite a shock. Where tyres I had before (Hankook Optimo 4S) would absorb some small road irregularities, these won't. On a plus side you can fly over the speed bumps with zero chance to hit rims :)

Fuel consumption improved by roughly 3 mpg. It could be due to change of weather compared to last week (the hotter it is the better mpg I get).

Driveability - oh, yes! The mushyness of the Optimo is gone (remember, these considered to be one of the best!) and steering is sharp and very precise, Cornering is fantastic - the grip is great.

Driving on uneven surfaces - tried it on abandoned runway yesterday, which got some potholes, etc. Not good. The tyres are too hard so when I tried to brake, it'll simply skid all over the place, triggering ESP alerts.

It'll be interesting to see how it behaves in snow but I am afraid I'll have to wait quite awhile for it. :)

Rogue2

I've got the same problem with my Yaris. The only all season tyre in this size on the market is Kleber Quadraxer (Michelin's brand). but reviews are less than stellar.

[TheRookie]

Regarding 2 all seasons in front - I had this on my Focus CC this winter (couldn't afford replacing all 4 tyres).

What it does for you is that the car will be able to start uphill in snow. It will let you drive on untreated B-roads but you really need to be careful as car becomes even more boot-happy than before (and for CC it is a big problem anyway). However, you won't get stuck in snow, which is good.

In short, if you don't try to act like a finnish rallye driver, you'll probably be OK, but I'd rather fit all 4 all season tyres (if money is no object, that's it :))

[Randoms]

Thanks for the review & the info on running 2 winter tyres.

Cost I'm afraid is always an issue, I always try to buy the best tyres I can afford for obvious reasons.

I've never owned a set of winter tyres due to the additional cost/changing over of tyres & storage space issues (think lots of people have similar issues).

My thinking was if I can't afford a set of 4 surely having 2 on the driven wheels will least help me get some traction/off the mark etc when conditions are bad.

By doing this I must be in a better position than in the past (no winter tyres)? Or am I being nieve?

[TomsFocus]

I'm really surprised the crossclimates are so hard and unforgiving considering their purpose, have you maybe overinflated them a bit?

[jeebowhite]

I am not surprised at all. Winter tyres are a harder compound.

[TomsFocus]

They shouldn't be!

They're supposed to stay softer at lower temperatures (below 7c). You want a tyre soft enough to 'mould' to the road, as well as having deep/wide channels to evacuate the water for winter use. Hard compounds are alright for dry use and they don't wear as quick, don't tend to have masses of grip though and will squeal or spin up if you're a bit enthusiastic, budget tyres tend to be pretty hard, and Eco tyres.

[TheRookie]

From what I've read on the Internet, winter tyres got softer compound and that's why it is not recommended for use in summertime - the thread wear is excessive.

As to this specific tyre, the "normal" tyres for my car were marked as 88 load, but this one is 91 XL, which means it can carry bigger loads and got stiffer sides, This explains its hardness.

I wouldn't call it unforgiving - on good surfaces (i.e. not run down runways) the grip is phenomenal, so it should be great on a race track day. On uneven surfaces caution shall be taken, however,

Noise-wise, it is slightly noisier than Optimo 4S (because of hardness?) and quieter than Michelin Energy Saver but it is early days so I can''t jump to a conclusion on this.

[Phil 87]

I've looked at a couple of reviews of these and they look impressive. As for the hardness, I think one of the reviews said that these are basically summer tyres with a special tread pattern that makes them work really well in the snow. So if the compound is similar to summer tyres than I guess it's harder than other all season tyres.

I'd like to know if these are compromised in summer / winter though, and I think I read that although they are good at getting you up a hill and braking in snow, they might not be that good in cornering. Also I'm guessing they won't have as good grip in the dry as regular summer tyres?

Edit: here's the review I read before: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Michelin-CrossClimate-launched-is-this-a-game-changer.htm

Based on that it looks like the only compromise is that handling on ice and snow isn't as good as a winter tyre (but braking and accelerating are). Seems almost too good to be true haha. If I was ready to replace all 4 tyres I'd be very tempted by these, but I don't think they are available in the right size for my car.

[TomsFocus]

The hardness will be mostly down to the XL load rating, they use reinforced sidewalls like run-flats so can't deform to rough roads so well. Is there any reason you chose XL Rod? Can't imagine you're carrying heavy loads in a CC?

Phil, on the Michelin website they appear to say that these aren't compromised like conventional 'all season' tyres and are excellent in the wet and dry, I'm sceptical myself but will reserve judgement until I get to try some out.

[Randoms]

I've been pricing up these tyres and noticed that they all seem to be XL in the load rating.

Or at least the currently available tyre sizes are, I've read that they are soon to release more sizes in the coming months.

[jamesm182]

Have you guys seen the Cross Climate 'experience' Michelin have put together? Looks like they really went to town on this!

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/forum/123-michelin-cross-climate/

[StevenST13]

Would like to give these a try on my Fiesta ST2 but it doesn't seem like they do them in the 205/40R17 W 84 as yet. Hopefully they will near winter when I'll be due some new rubber.

[TheRookie]

Took the car this week to Lakes District for a spin, mostly on A591 and some what appears to be C-roads (as opposed to A and B roads).

700 miles later... I think the tyres are now settled in. The grip is great; I was able to weave around potholes, stone walls, sheep and locals at quite a speed and the car was as sure-footed as I hoped it to be. It didn't quite matter whether the road was dry or wet.

Granted, I have never managed to exceed 60mph (anyone who drove on certain parts of A591 knows why) but I think these tyres are much better in summer than Hankook Optimo 4S.

Tom,

Is there any reason you chose XL Rod? Can't imagine you're carrying heavy loads in a CC?

Believe it or not but CC is quite a heavy car (1660kg unladen weight vs 1400 for comparable hatchback) so the factory fitted tyre is 91XL.

[Randoms]

Thanks for the update, keeping my eye on reviews of these tyres.