Michelin CrossClimate+

[UnknownSoldier]

For those who don't know, this is an all-season tire that was introduced in Europe several years ago. It has since made it to North America and is on sale at places like Tire Rack and Costco.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=CrossClimate+

What's notable about this tire is that it is a new category of all-seasons called "all-weather" because they carry the "3 peak mountain snowflake" (3PMSF) icon that indicates actual decent traction in light to moderate snow. They are not winter tires and you want real winter tires if you live somewhere that snows a lot in the winter but for light to moderate snow they are fine to drive on year-round, in theory.

So that's the theory. Does anyone have these tires on their 3 and can speak to how good or bad they are? I want to get off these OEM Primacy MXM4 which were quite frankly frightening in the snow earlier this year but I don't want to change to something which isn't noticeably and significantly better for snow traction. Thanks!

 

[Jeffrios]

I've heard from other users of the tire that they liked it. Everyone I asked was commenting on day-to-day usage and not specifically on snow usage.

I would always have a set of snows if you are planning on driving in a winter climate.

For the high price of these, I'm not sure if I will buy them when my time comes. I want to know the impact of range on these.

 

[Teedub21]

For those who don't know, this is an all-season tire that was introduced in Europe several years ago. It has since made it to North America and is on sale at places like Tire Rack and Costco.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=CrossClimate+

That link doesn't work.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

That link doesn't work.

I just clicked it and it works just fine for me.

 

[Manitoba Keith]

Didn't work for me but this did

 

[dsgerbc]

There are at least five threads on these, just search.
They should be decent in the snow, but you'll lose efficiency, and they can sound weird at certain speeds (allegedly while close to new only).

 

[KenC]

For those who don't know, this is an all-season tire that was introduced in Europe several years ago. It has since made it to North America and is on sale at places like Tire Rack and Costco.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=CrossClimate+

What's notable about this tire is that it is a new category of all-seasons called "all-weather" because they carry the "3 peak mountain snowflake" (3PMSF) icon that indicates actual decent traction in light to moderate snow. They are not winter tires and you want real winter tires if you live somewhere that snows a lot in the winter but for light to moderate snow they are fine to drive on year-round, in theory.

So that's the theory. Does anyone have these tires on their 3 and can speak to how good or bad they are? I want to get off these OEM Primacy MXM4 which were quite frankly frightening in the snow earlier this year but I don't want to change to something which isn't noticeably and significantly better for snow traction. Thanks!

I drove the OEM Michelins my first Winter, so I'd have a baseline to compare against. I felt the OEM Michelins were typical for all-season wheels. Totally adequate, but nothing to compare against real snow tires.

My original plan was to get the CrossClimate+, but I didn't really like the tread pattern, because it reminded me of a set of noisy Yokohamas I got a long time ago. Anyhow, I got a different 3PMSF tire, the Vredestein Quatrac5. It worked just fine in snow, much better than the OEMs. Now, having driven on Blizzaks and X-Ice3, I can say I didn't think they were quite as good as those winter-only snow tires, but they were very good.

Unfortunately, it's still quite cold here, very few days have hit 50F so far. It even was supposed to snow today, so I can't say with complete confidence how it performs in warm weather. But as far as comfort and sound are concerned, the tires seem no worse than the OEM Michelins, and in fact, are probably a little better on comfort, and no different on sound.

Lastly, some people are concerned about efficiency, and while I haven't been able to compare in warm weather, I've been pleasantly surprised, since I can't see any difference in my efficiency numbers so far.

How the Vredesteins compare to the CrossClimate+, no idea.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I drove the OEM Michelins my first Winter, so I'd have a baseline to compare against. I felt the OEM Michelins were typical for all-season wheels. Totally adequate, but nothing to compare against real snow tires.

My original plan was to get the CrossClimate+, but I didn't really like the tread pattern, because it reminded me of a set of noisy Yokohamas I got a long time ago. Anyhow, I got a different 3PMSF tire, the Vredestein Quatrac5. It worked just fine in snow, much better than the OEMs. Now, having driven on Blizzaks and X-Ice3, I can say I didn't think they were quite as good as those winter-only snow tires, but they were very good.

Unfortunately, it's still quite cold here, very few days have hit 50F so far. It even was supposed to snow today, so I can't say with complete confidence how it performs in warm weather. But as far as comfort and sound are concerned, the tires seem no worse than the OEM Michelins, and in fact, are probably a little better on comfort, and no different on sound.

Lastly, some people are concerned about efficiency, and while I haven't been able to compare in warm weather, I've been pleasantly surprised, since I can't see any difference in my efficiency numbers so far.

How the Vredesteins compare to the CrossClimate+, no idea.

The Tire Rack review actually compares the Quatrac5 and the CrossClimate+, in addition to the Goodyear and as a base reference a set of Pirellis without 3PMSF.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=231

I'm considering the Michelins because Costco sells Michelins and they regularly do sales such as the current one where a set of the CrossClimate+ which fit our 3's is about $850 out the door including installation. That's a pretty good deal for these tires from what I can see.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I went to Costco today and put my order in. I hope these tires are good. Can't wait to get rid of the MXM4's, just awful tires except when it is completely bone dry and it's not bone dry very often in the PNW.

 

[Nvbob]

We put the CrossClimates+'s on our ☰ a couple of months ago (Costco) and have been pretty satisfied with them. With this virus thing we haven't driven too much except for around town.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I got mine put on today at Costco. I'm looking forward to the drive to work tomorrow, haha. Hopefully the freeway will be pretty empty (as it has been these days due to the lockdown) and I'll be able to stretch their legs a bit.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I've only driven about 100 miles on these tires now, so these are really early impressions. It was sunny today, so these are only dry conditions.

The big discussion I often see is road noise because the OEM stock MXM4's have this dumb strip of foam which is supposed to quieten the ride and most other tires do not. I can say after initially driving on the CC+ that I don't notice any difference in volume of road noise between the MXM4's and the CC+. I think the CC+ sound "different" than the MXM4's because they have a different "note" when driven at any speed for lack of a better term. The MXM4's had this kind of muffled roar, the CC+ have a sort of hum. But one is not quieter or louder than the other to my ears.

What I noticed immediately is the difference in steering and handling. The CC+ are much, much more precise in handling. The MXM4's were always a bit vague and unresponsive, you would point the car where you think it should go and maybe you'll go there and maybe you'll go a couple feet to the right or left or where you wanted. The CC+ have a superior accuracy in steering response, I point the car where I want it to go and that is where it goes. Dry traction is worlds better, taking curves at speed on the MXM4's was always an exercise in wondering if I'll break traction and will the car start to drift and oh God driving on these tires feels like a suicide run sometimes. I can't wait to run these tires in the wet and snow and compare that to the MXM4's.

I want to comment on efficiency but I've only done a single round trip to work and back and I haven't been able to look at this in any detail yet. If I notice anything significantly different I will mention it after more time spent driving around.

The ride is definitely firmer on the CC+. I can feel road bumps more readily on the CC+ and in general the feeling on my butt is bumpier. The reviews are accurate there, these tires ride and feel firm. The 3 is already a car with a suspension tuned for a sporty feeling and these tires only magnify that feeling compared to the MXM4's. They are not tires for people who don't like feeling the road, I would suggest tires that feel softer like the Pirellis if you are not into the sporty feel. Note that I always kept the MXM4's at around 44 psi and the CC+ are currently around 41 psi and even with the inflation difference the CC+ feel noticeably firmer.

I find it hilarious that Costco quoted me a price of $1100 to replace MXM4's with another identical OEM stock set but only $850 to get me this set of CC+ when the CC+ are so clearly superior. That stupid strip of foam is apparently worth $300 and reduced performance in all road conditions. Michelin is ripping Tesla off here big time.

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I don't know if anyone is actually reading or following this thread but I'm estimating with very early data that the CC+ have about a ~10% efficiency loss from the MXM4's. I need to drive more before I can do decent math on this though.

 

[Zoomit]

I don't know if anyone is actually reading or following this thread but I'm estimating with very early data that the CC+ have about a ~10% efficiency loss from the MXM4's. I need to drive more before I can do decent math on this though.

I am! The efficiency loss is a concern of mine. 10% is a lot more than I was expecting. I had guessed it’d be a 3-5% loss over the MXM4s. Please do share your findings after you collect more data.

 

[jenomic]

I had these put on recently. Granted i've only put a couple hundred miles on them, i've noticed so far a ~5% efficiency hit. There is a different type of noise from the tires as others have mentioned but nothing too bothersome.

 

[FredMt]

Perhaps i coud help to the thinking, here is my own experience return.
I live in the southwest of France near Toulouse so relatively smooth temperatures, the week end, I go regularly to the mountains, and in "winter" rather than mounting winter tires, for years I put 4 seasons CrossClimate.

The advantage is that you can put them in October, and you can leave them until May, until the temperatures exceed 20 degrees, or more. In all cases they wear very little, nothing to do with the snow tire.
In terms of performance, the CrossClimate is better than the winter tire as soon as temperatures rise above 10 degrees, it is generally as good as the summer tire. The difference in performance with the winter tire
increases with higher temperatures. However, for the summer where it is very hot, the performances of the 4 seasons are not as good as a summer tire, so I go back to summer tire.
What about winter? Well the 4 seasons is perfect for the wet, icy road, with very low temperatures, it is almost equivalent to a winter tire, on the other hand, it is on snow that the difference is made, and even if you have excellent motricity , the 4 season tire reaches its limits faster in fresh snow, in evacuation, and in particular in turns, than the winter tire, logical. You just have to drive a bit slower and it is perfect, no comparaison with summer tires.

 

[birdsquared]

Another thread about them - with my observations...
Model 3 Tire Questions

 

[UnknownSoldier]

I don't think I've mentioned I have the AWD 3 + 18" wheels + Aero caps on + Acceleration Boost.

I know some people were interested in long-term efficiency data, so I've put a few thousand miles on the new tires now and here's what I can give you so far, knowing that obviously I haven't driven them in the winter and checked their winter efficiency yet. However it has rained quite a bit off and on so this data at least includes dry and wet days, with temperatures averaging from the 50's to the 70's F.

Total power usage (almost the entire life of the car, the first 24,000 or so miles on the MXM4's):

Power usage for the 3,000 or so miles I've been driving on the CC+:

So, based on very simple math:
(285 - 288) / 285 = 1.05%

Now I want to be super clear about this, this is not a truly fair comparison because I haven't driven on the CC+ in the winter yet. So the CC+ numbers are biased in the favor of the CC+, which have only been driven on a few months in the spring and summer. We already know you lose a good 20-30% efficiency in the winter on an electric car given average winter conditions. So the difference is likely to be larger, but I wouldn't imagine it could be any worse than 2-3% seeing as how I'm only seeing an average 1% difference thus far.

So, the verdict is, the CC+ are ever so slightly less efficient than the MXM4's but really I don't care very much and probably neither should you. Hope this information was useful for you guys!

 

[Wnuk]

Great information. Thanks for the update. Mine go on Wednesday and will track similar results.

 

[MTSN]

Mine were great on the PCH and in this