Hi!
Does anyone have feed back on Michelin tires, in particular the X-ice and the LTX M/S?
Thanks,

The x-ice is still new to the market.....but i ran 4x4 alpins last winter and loved them....quiet on dry roads and tons of grips in the snow.

I also have the Alpins and love them, sorry can't help with the X-ice model.

Hey 'Frew Lad!

I'm in the same boat looking for some good winter tires. As others have said, the X-ice are new. I have looked at them and the tread pattern, siping and rubber compound appear similar to a lot of other good winter tires but only time will tell. They are not cheap either.

I ran the LTX M/S a few years ago on a Ford F-250 (don't ask!). Good for their intended purpose, and very quiet and long wearing, but a compromise as they are an all-season tire. If you have need for a real winter tire I would suggest looking elsewhere.

[quote:837df5860d=" "]Hey 'Frew Lad!

I'm in the same boat looking for some good winter tires. As others have said, the X-ice are new. I have looked at them and the tread pattern, siping and rubber compound appear similar to a lot of other good winter tires but only time will tell. They are not cheap either.

I ran the LTX M/S a few years ago on a Ford F-250 (don't ask!). Good for their intended purpose, and very quiet and long wearing, but a compromise as they are an all-season tire. If you have need for a real winter tire I would suggest looking elsewhere.[/quote:837df5860d]

I had a suggestion to use the LTX M/S for this winter. The idea is that with full tread they will be good enough for eastern Ontario winter road conditions. I woudl then swap back the stock tires for the spring/summer/fall of '06. The M/S would be swapped back for winter 06-07 and remain that summer. Then winter 07/08 would be a new set of tires and the LTX M/S would be the new summer tires.

I'm still thinking it over. I'm a little turned off by how bad the stock tires were last winter, and they had less than 15,000 km on them.

I lived in Ottawa for a few years, I would recommend a proper winter tire rather than an all season because of all the freezing and thawing. In those kind of conditions it is not just the grip for driving that is important, it is the grip for stopping. IMHO tires make a lot more of a difference than AWD in icy conditions.

There are lots of good winter tires - Blizzak (good grip -soft compound however which mean they wear out quickly on bare pavement), Goodyear Ice Radial (slightly less grip but longer wearing), various Michelins, Pirellis, etc.


[edit]
Where in Eastern Ontario are you? Renfrew by your name :D Frisby Tire in Ottawa always gave me good advice and service.

[quote:2bd76e71a5=" "]I lived in Ottawa for a few years, I would recommend a proper winter tire rather than an all season because of all the freezing and thawing. In those kind of conditions it is not just the grip for driving that is important, it is the grip for stopping. IMHO tires make a lot more of a difference than AWD in icy conditions.

There are lots of good winter tires - Blizzak (good grip -soft compound however which mean they wear out quickly on bare pavement), Goodyear Ice Radial (slightly less grip but longer wearing), various Michelins, Pirellis, etc.


[edit]
Where in Eastern Ontario are you? Renfrew by your name :D Frisby Tire in Ottawa always gave me good advice and service.[/quote:2bd76e71a5]

Wise words. The issue for me is that I put on a lot of KM between Renfrew area and Toronto and do almost no driving in Toronto or Renfew. Therefore I burn the rubber off of snow tires quite quickly. However north of highway 7 any day can be a frozen nightmare and the highway 41 is never fun in winter.

I'll look up Frisby Tire and get their opinion on a cheaper snow tire than the Michelin.

Thanks,

Hey 'Frew Lad

Any luck with winter tires? After my last post I discovered that the Goodyear Ice Radial or Ultra Grips are not made in sizes for the E. :cry: I ended up buying an unbranded set made by Goodrich called Winter Ride. Not fancy like the new directional winters (and therefore a bit noisy) but a good, hard, studdable tread with lot of sipes that the locals swear by. They were half the price of Michelin Xs - time will tell how well they grip on snow and ice as well as how well they wear on bare pavement.

Hi!

Nothing to report yet. I haven't planned a trip home to the Valley yet. My vehicle has been pretty much parked for the last three weeks, averaging 50KM a week.
I think the rush will be about two weeks before Christmas when the winter trip season between Toronto and Ottawa begins. Still undecided, but I have my list of places to call at that time. I'm thinking of going with cheaper winter tires and putting the savings into quality replacements for the stock tires when spring comes around.
If the weather is right, I could even get home on the stock tires, get the change done near my parents and store my tires in the garage of a family member. Knock on wood.

quote=" "]Hey 'Frew Lad

Any luck with winter tires? After my last post I discovered that the Goodyear Ice Radial or Ultra Grips are not made in sizes for the E. :cry: I ended up buying an unbranded set made by Goodrich called Winter Master. Not fancy like the new directional winters (and therefore a bit noisy) but a good, hard, studdable tread with lot of sipes that the locals swear by. They were half the price of Michelin Xs - time will tell how well they grip on snow and ice as well as how well they wear on bare pavement.[/quote]

Hey 'Frew Lad

Any luck with winter tires? After my last post I discovered that the Goodyear Ice Radial or Ultra Grips are not made in sizes for the E. :cry: I ended up buying an unbranded set made by Goodrich called Winter Ride. Not fancy like the new directional winters (and therefore a bit noisy) but a good, hard, studdable tread with lot of sipes that the locals swear by. They were half the price of Michelin Xs - time will tell how well they grip on snow and ice as well as how well they wear on bare pavement.

PVR, I was home on the weekend. I ended up getting low end snow tires to keep price down (trying to hang in while a company starts up doesn't pay so well). I got the cooper weather masters M&S tires. The E feels like it wobbles at speeds greather than 70-80 kph. Under 50 kph the tires bit the snow and very little tire spin.
These really feel like older snow tires; big soft, wobbly rubber.
It is teaching me to be ever so gentle with the wheel to avoid the feeling of the vehicle lurching ahead of the tires and then jerking back when the tires catch up (at highway speed).
Will be interesting to see how they wear. Can't be much worse than the stock tires (at 32,000 KM I figure there is only one more summer season left in them).

"older snow tires; big soft, wobbly rubber"

Not everything new is necessarily better (especially given the cost)!

Sounds like you have got yourself some good tires - a lot of people use those Coopers here (mostly on 4X4s).

ok, I am bit south to be posting here...being in Seattle...but I am going to be driving up to Vernon/Silver Star BC in a couple of weeks and wanted to see if there were hints of what to expect for winter driving in Canada.

I recently bought a set of Nokian WR-SUV's for my "ski weekends" tire, in a 225/70-16 size which fits nicely on the rims and in the tire wells and I just confirmed it still leaves plenty of space for Z-chains(cables) which I will hopefully never need.

The Nokian WR's are "severe weather rated" and actually have some good reviews by a few well respected canuck's. (can I make canadian jokes since my sister married one...:-) ?

Special compound is supposed to be grippier on ice, along with good factory siping. So far on dry, slightly wet, downpours, and frosty roads, they have been darn impressive. A 700 mile round trip through BC in a few weeks should be the REAL test.

Hey Honu, you can buy me a drink when you get here -that's all it takes to make you an honourary Canadian

eh?

:)

My bro-in-law, good canadian that he is, already has an order in to have the fridge stocked well at their Silver Star house with the local most excellent micro-brew.

priorities...eh?

I really wanted Nokian wr's but the size was not in production yet. I went with choice no. 2, Toyo open country GO 2's. They are super, but with the walnut particles in them I have to avoid hungry squirells and chippies. I have had all of the worst conditions to try them in and to make them break or loosen and they pass.
jjp

I really wanted Nokian wr's but the size was not in production yet. I went with choice no. 2, Toyo open country GO 2's. They are super, but with the walnut particles in them I have to avoid hungry squirells and chippies. I have had all of the worst conditions to try them in and to make them break or loosen and they pass.
jjp

Those are "Les Schwab" tires aren't they? I have always liked the service reputation of Les Schwab tire centers, but can never seem to find ANY reviews, positive or otherwise of the their store brand tires. You seem to like that tire? What size did you get it in? I think you are the first person to even mention Toyo's as an option for the Element. You need to post some pics under "Performance...tire fitments etc"