Michelin Crossclimate+

[MrAliG]

HI,

I have a Model X 75D with 20inch wheels.

My OE Michelins were getting down towards 2mm after only 14,000 miles and so I thought it was time to change.

After much research I went for Michelin Crossclimate+ tyres. I had been quite disappointed in how poor the grip was on the original tyres in the odd flurry of snow we had had in the past couple of years and felt that you were getting some extra safety on the odd occasion when it does snow with few negatives.

Of course, this winter it has barely got below 0 never mind snowed but so far they are doing well.

The thing I thought I might note, as people often talk about it, is that they are noticeably quieter than the OE Michelin tyres despite not having the foam interior.

It is most noticeable around town and I would say that they remain pretty quiet up to just over 70, they are still noisy on roughly surfaced motorway sections. I have not taken any measurements and it may be that it is to do with the pitch of the sound rather than the level, but the car feels somewhat more refined in town. My car is very good for wind noise compared to some others I have been in so reducing tyre noise is a nice unexpected benefit.

 

[Andy_T_73]

I had them on my previous car, a Volvo V90. I found opposite to you, they were noisier than the OE tyres which were Michelin Primacy 3. It wasn't so much the noise level but a different tone, especially in the wet. I guess some cars suit some one model of tyre better than some others. They wore well through summer although they don't handle as well in the warm months compared to a summer tyre but a good compromise that you wouldn't really notice if you drive sensibly.

Thought about getting them on my Model 3 but will see how this winter goes and how many miles I get out the original tyres on the car.

 

[SirRob]

Jack of all trades, master of none. I've driven a few 'all season' tyres and just found them to be a disappointment in 4/4 seasons, rather than summer tyres which are only disappointing in 1/4 seasons.

 

[spon88]

We have 18" CrossClimate+ on a M3P for winter use primarily. Quiet enough and seem to perform well even when pushing on. No problems at all so far. Pretty sure the OEM 20s would be better in good conditions but I also reckon the CC+ will be perfectly fine for the vast majority of occasions

 

[MrAliG]

@Andy_T_73 This why why I was apprehensive. I did find someone on the Tesla Facebook group who said they had them and they worked well, but you are right, I think each tyre can work quite differently with each car and you cannot know until you try them on a specific model.

@SirRob Have you read reviews/tests of the Crossclimate+? I have had summer, winter and all season tyres on previous cars. They describe them more as summer tyres with improved winter characteristics, although they still appear in all season reviews, they are quite different from the traditional all season tyre which is often labeled mud and snow. If you look at most tests you give up maybe a single digit percentage of a summer tyres performance for a considerable improvement in winter performance. All season tyres usually give up much more dry/summer performance for less benefit in the cold. This seems like a very good compromise for the UK where there often isn't enough justification for winter tyres. There are now a few similar tyres available such as the Vredestein Quatrac 5 and Continental AllSeasonContact although I think these are the only ones that you can get in the right size for an X.

Of course it hasn't been close to snowing this year in Edinburgh, but last year I had the quite unpleasant experience of skidding through our driveway gates on less than 5mm of snow, of course I was a lot more circumspect after that.

2019 Auto Bild SUV All Season Tyre Test - Tyre Reviews

 

[sclo]

I spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do regarding tyres as I needed a new set and we were driving to the Alps. I ended up going for the new Vredestein Quadrac pro. It had some good reviews, especially in the wet, but I was concerned that one said it was not very efficient; having driving almost 2000 miles down and back to the Alps I can't say I noticed any difference and it was quieter than the Pilot Sports. It was also excellent in the snow. 19" Model S 70D

 

[SirRob]

@Andy_T_73 This why why I was apprehensive. I did find someone on the Tesla Facebook group who said they had them and they worked well, but you are right, I think each tyre can work quite differently with each car and you cannot know until you try them on a specific model.

@SirRob Have you read reviews/tests of the Crossclimate+? I have had summer, winter and all season tyres on previous cars. They describe them more as summer tyres with improved winter characteristics, although they still appear in all season reviews, they are quite different from the traditional all season tyre which is often labeled mud and snow. If you look at most tests you give up maybe a single digit percentage of a summer tyres performance for a considerable improvement in winter performance. All season tyres usually give up much more dry/summer performance for less benefit in the cold. This seems like a very good compromise for the UK where there often isn't enough justification for winter tyres. There are now a few similar tyres available such as the Vredestein Quatrac 5 and Continental AllSeasonContact although I think these are the only ones that you can get in the right size for an X.

Of course it hasn't been close to snowing this year in Edinburgh, but last year I had the quite unpleasant experience of skidding through our driveway gates on less than 5mm of snow, of course I was a lot more circumspect after that.

2019 Auto Bild SUV All Season Tyre Test - Tyre Reviews

Thanks for the link. I haven't knowingly used that particular tyre but I have used a good half-dozen of that type of tyre, as they were always fitted to the company cars of a place I worked and I changed cars every 6 months or so. I'm open to the concept that things might have got better or they've made some kind of breakthrough but I'm still sceptical.

When you look at the working range of a 'winter' tyre (as opposed to a 'snow' tyre) they're technically worth fitting when the temperature drops below about 7 degrees celsius. I don't have a particular need to leave the house (freelance IT Architect) so when it gets dicey, I mostly just stay home. But if I did have a need, I'd be more inclined to get a set of dedicated winter tyres, I think.

 

[jefoth]

I have Nokian WR A4 winters, and they are excellent. Very quiet, very efficient, and to be honest hardly much change in handling over the stock summer tyre. Also a lot cheaper. Hidden gem methinks.

 

[Adopado]

I used to think that when people spoke about 7c as being a cross over point for winter tyres that meant that all tyres pretty much performed similarly until that temperature with the winter tyre advantage then progressively kicking in. The truth is that even at that "starting point" temperature the difference in stopping distances on damp/wet roads is huge. Go colder and throw in a bit of ice/snow then obviously the difference moves from being massively beneficial to being night and day. A quick youtube search shows up some well conducted independent tests that show this. So long as you can guarantee a smooth clean dry surface you will not see a benefit from winter tyres but around here at least I can't remember when the roads were last in that condition!

 

[SirRob]

I used to think that when people spoke about 7c as being a cross over point for winter tyres that meant that all tyres pretty much performed similarly until that temperature with the winter tyre advantage then progressively kicking in. The truth is that even at that "starting point" temperature the difference in stopping distances on damp/wet roads is huge. Go colder and throw in a bit of ice/snow then obviously the difference moves from being massively beneficial to being night and day. A quick youtube search shows up some well conducted independent tests that show this. So long as you can guarantee a smooth clean dry surface you will not see a benefit from winter tyres but around here at least I can't remember when the roads were last in that condition!

Yeah - but you've got to be careful with how far you go with that. The difference between 2mm and 4mm of tread, for example, can be quite significant, too.

 

[MrAliG]

A couple years ago I went out in my 911 which has P-Zeros on it on a clear day in winter, the temperature was maybe 3 or 4C.

The wheels were struggling for grip on tiny throttle openings, it felt like I was driving on Fred Flinstone's wheels. Clearly these are a hot summer tyre!

All the tests suggest that the new type of "all season" tyres are a little worse than summers on wet or dry roads but considerably better on snow and ice. What I have not seen anywhere is a test where they looked at different temperatures. As pointed out winter tyres have compound that stays soft at lower temperatures so should perform better when it is cold. What I don't know for example is does a Crossclimate perform 5% worse for stopping in the wet at 20C, but better at 6C which might be a typical winter temperature.

Basically Michelin invented this kind of tyre in 2015, prior to this all season tyres did not begin as summer tyres. The compromises these tyres make seem to me to make a lot of sense with UK weather patterns where it really doesn't snow much but sometimes it does like in winters 12/13 and 13/14 (at least where I live)