Got the Continentals True contact Tour. Tires are great, car feels much better now - kind of like after when you change a worn suspension bushing Road feedback is better and there is no noise. However when changing the tire shop called me and told me the chrome has oxidized on the inside of the wheel. They had to grind it down and cover it with some sealant so the tire would hold air. It's been about two weeks and all is good, but they said it's more or less a luck game. Heads up to the chrome wheel owners Is there a cheap way of getting 17" non-chrome wheels? I don't care which style or color, just no chrome and in decent condition

 

This side of the pond all tyres get a noise rating between 68 and 72.
The quietest tyres are 68dB and have 1/10 of the road noise of a 71dB tyre.
Check out https://www.blackcircles.com for examples if you want to find quieter tyres.
Be aware that some models will not be available in the USA, and vice-versa.
I have Avon ZZ5s on mine (70dB) but the Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric3 gets good reviews and are quieter.

 

 

My buddy said he has a friend who takes the tire retailers up on the 30-day try and buy. Imagine if someone here did that. My buddy said the shop said, "Really, dude?" He waited until day 30 and said the Pilot Super Sports were too noisy on his BMW.

 

I have chrome 17's that were peeling pretty badly, but still holding air. I decided to just rechrome them since they look so good. I discovered I had a brand new chrome spare, so I only had to rechrome 3 of them at $185 each.

 

how are Falken 510?

i need 20 inch tires and michelins are PRICEY

 

 

I pretty much have narrow it down to Michelin Premier. I have a long trip coming up in the summer and will change it right before the trip, or if I see any deal between now and then. I am just trying to get the last few miles from the current Michelin.

I like to try Michelin CrossClimate+ which seems to be good match for what I need and where I live, but this model is only available thru tirerack. Noone else sells this locally for some reason (I asked Michelin).
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...rossClimate%2B

 

I was talking to my buddy who has Premiers as does my wife. Let's assume Michelin does know what they're doing (they should) and they are not making things up.

What we perceive as pieces falling off the tire, seem to be part of their EverGrip technology. They seem to call them, "emerging rain grooves."

"Get there no matter the weather thanks to our EverGrip Technology. Expanding and emerging rain grooves help you maintain traction as your tires wear, while extreme amounts of silica and sunflower oil help provide extra wet and cold-weather grip."

Even the dealer is not used to them because they kept recommending new tires everytime my wife's car was in for service, and the tires had high 20's for mileage. They do look shot by the 30's by the old standards where one goes by tread depth, because they are around 4/32 by 30k (not that many simply wore tires down to the bars, but maybe all these years we should have). Yet they only started at 8.5 which is why it's misleading.

 

I've seen the same on my wife's Honda Pilot which I put Michelins on. There are little rubber pieces that seem to come off the tire. That in and of itself doesn't bother me so much but what looks like the lack of good tread ware does. She has around 20k miles on them and by the looks of it like the will be on even with the tread indicators in no time. These were a set of $1,000 tires that are supposed to last 60k miles and I just don't see how that's going to be possible. By the looks of it, I don't think it will even make it to 40k. I maintain the air pressure on a pretty regular basis and rotate the tires every oil change which is around every 7k miles. As much as I've always looked at Michelin as being a top brand tire, I think this is my last set. I've always justified paying the extra money for a quality tire but I think my experience with this set is going to make me not want to spend that money.

On the other hand, I put the Pirelli P7 on my LS430 this last time. They have about 15k miles and look pretty much brand new and the price was really hard to beat without going to the extremely cheap brand of tires. Next time I'm going to be leaning to buy Pirelli on both my LS or Pilot.

 

I'm trying to rationalize that I didn't make the wrong decision getting the Premiers lol Would I get another? Not sure. The physical appearance says toss them at 30k. But we know we can't and we know Michelin would not say they are covered because they say they're still good. My buddy said good riddance as he needs safe tires for his commute and he doesn't want to simply take Michelin's word. He got some more economical Coopers, with deep treads, and he feels better. They were adventurer H/T and not only did they start at more than 11/32, they actually started at 12.5/32. He "felt" good seeing the deep treads, as opposed to being told your Premiers have 4/32 left they should do another 25-30k.

 

As of now, at tirerack.com:
Michelin Crossclimate W rated $205
Michelin Premier H rated $184
Premier V rated $191
Pirelli P7 V rated $149

For me, it is not just about price or how it looked after being driven so many miles.

Yes, Premier started with less depth thread, which does not inspire confidence. imho this AAA report is pretty convincing. Looking at this report, for worn tires 60-0mph stopping distance is a huge difference (Premier at 247 ft, Pirelli 306 ft). 50+ ft is a big deal in my book. Closest to Premier is Kumho Ecsta at 285ft.

https://www.aaa.com/AAA/common/AAR/f...udy-Report.pdf

We average more of less 10K/year. If we can get 40K (four years) out of Premier or any tires I end up buying, I am very happy. Lets assume $1000/4 tires (including install, balancing), that is $250/year = $20.83/month or $5 per tire per month. Of course anything extra from that 40K miles is awesome, but I am not sweating it. Peace of mind knowing I put the best rubber in my wife's car is priceless to me.

Having said that, I have bought different Michelin tires for different cars. I am always happy with them, and always get more miles than what expected, so I am willing to give Premier a shot here. I may get the CrossClimate if I can replace my spare wheel - the chrome is flaking badly, so I can have 5 of the same tires (whole different conversation... anyone know where I can buy single 17inch six spoke chrome wheel? I been watching eBay and CL with no luck so far. I may need to just re-chrome my one wheel.)

 

Go to Costco and get the Michelin model of tire that fits your budget..... Won't go wrong....

 

It’s strange to me the mental gymnastics most seem to go through regarding the Michelins.. if they wear fast, they wear fast. Just because they have the Michelin name on the sidewall doesn’t automatically make them the best tire made in the history of the automobile.

My Pirelli P7s have 20,000 miles on them and still look brand new. They are still smooth as glass on the highway and passengers sometimes ask me what tires I have mounted because they ride so smooth. And they’re cheaper than the Michelins. Wear better, are cheaper, and ride (probably) just as well or better... what’s not to love.

edit: and I have Michelin MXV4s on my LS400 and they are outstanding, so I’m not married to any brand. But I’m in love with my Pirellis and constantly surprised many don’t even look twice at them

 

Okay so between P7 and MXV4, assuming they have same price, knowing what you know now, which one would you buy if you are in the market, and why? Honest question here, I am trying to see how the P7 compare MXV4 because my LS currently have MXV4 which has been great.