V8_Fan

Just mounted a set of new Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3 snow tires this morning on OEM 18" wheels. As this is my first set of snow tires, I'm not sure what to expect in terms of ride quality. My current summer tires are Bridgestone Turanza EL42 touring tires w/ 22K miles (standard dealer tires) on OEM 18" wheels, maybe 1/16 remaining. My current road tires are smooth & quiet but are lacking in rain and unthinkable in snow. The rubber on the snow tires is definitely softer, tread is much thicker, sidewalls are softer, so bumps/seams in the road are more dampened. However, when driving on the interstate around 70+mph, I definitely feel more vibration. The ride isn't glass smooth like the summer tires. I'm not sure if it's a balancing issue or that the tires (performance snow tires) are just more sensitive to bumps. When driving on the local highway at 60mph, I don't feel the vibration. I suppose one test would be to find a section of interstate that's very smooth and see if I feel anything. FYI, the tires were purchased from and mounted by my local Lexus dealer. Has anyone experienced this, or can anyone with more snow tire experience confirm/deny that it's the feel of the tires or balancing?

Dailow

I actually just bought these tires and mounted them the other week on a set of aftermarket 17" OEM rims.

They're a bit louder than my 18" Continental ExtremeDWS tires, but that's pretty impressive for a winter tire. I don't know if the size makes a difference but I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary from the tires - they actually have more grip than the all seasons, likely due to being a softer tire.

I feel more confident pushing these tires, compared to my all seasons, even in the rain. It hasn't snowed yet in Vancouver though, so I'm not sure what to expect for winter performance. Dry/wet performance isn't anything different for me though - they're just a bit louder and that's all. Have taken them up to 80-85 mph and haven't noticed a change, but maybe I'm just oblivious to vibration too.

V8_Fan

PS: forgot to add that I'm running 36psi nitrogen in the snow tires whereas my summer tires are 36psi air.

Jabberwock

Regular air is 78% nitrogen so there is gonna be no difference at all in terms of ride feel between air filled tires and nitrogen fill.

V8_Fan

The N2 is to reduce pressure variations due to temperature/altitude. Last winter, I lived in the city (5400 ft) and ran my street tires, but ended up having tire pressure problems (setting the sensor off) due to temperature extremes (50+ degree temp swings are not uncommon during the winter/spring, higher if the sun is shining on the tires). This year, I'm living in the mountains at 7K ft. The temperature is upwards of 12 degrees colder. We'll see if the N2 makes any difference, as most of the pressure change in air-filled tires is from moisture in the air.

At any rate, the vibration is definitely more noticeable once you exceed 60mph. At 75, it's not a violent shake, but you can feel a pulsation in the entire vehicle. With my street tires, the ride is glass-smooth. I'm sure it's a balancing issue (dealer uses a Hunter GSP7000 road force balancer, but that doesn't mean the guy doing the balancing got it close to the optimal weight, as snow tires are known to be more finicky when it comes to balancing).

V8_Fan

For the record, the dealer rebalanced the tires and all is well. The reason was because I had the tires mounted w/o the vehicle for them to test drive. They had to install weights to the inner side of the wheel as well as the stick-on ones inside the wheel. They use a Hunter GSP7000 road force balancer. The tires are a tad noisier than my Bridegstone OEM Turanza EL42's (pretty quiet) and ride a tiny bit rougher (not totally glass smooth like the touring tires...you feel a little of the road, but it's not bad for snow/winter tires).