Michelin X Radial Tires

I just posted this in a similar thread:

 

howdy all,

I purchased those Michelin X Radial Tires at the Costco in Sunnyvale about 2 weeks ago (there is a $70 discount on Michelin tires till Feb 1st) and I got all 4 tires for $413 (balance/mount but Costco does not do alignments). After getting the alignment done at my mechanic's place, along with adjusting the tire pressure (39F, 37R), I can tell you this:

Pro:

The handling and stability is much smoother, and I don't have to freak out when it does rain in the NorCal area cos of those crappy Goodyear Integrity's. Plus, I have confidence in these tires when I hit 75mph, though I recommend the strut tower brace and front susp sway bars by Tom's to get rid of that floaty feel.

Con:

Since I hit the 101 freeway at 70mph (75mph on the 280), I use to average between 45-47mpg. Now with these Michelin X Radial, I get an average of 43mpg. That does suck, but let me tell you, safety and knowing how far I can push my Prius on the wet road outweighs any hit to my mpg.


Overall, I'm pretty much happy with these tires.

- D

 

Did the same thing at Costco in Foster City. I think you will find your mileage will return to normal once the tires are a bit worn in - maybe 3-4,000 miles. If not, check your tire pressure as Costco will only set pressure at the manufacturer's suggested pressure.

 

I replaced the Goodyear Intregrity OEMs on my 2006 Prius with Michelin X Radials from Costco. Immediately experienced a 5 to 6 mile drop in mpg. After 4,500 miles, the mileage improved slightly (1 to 2 mpg) when I increased the psi from the recommended 35 /33 to 35 all around.

 

What's wrong with 42/40? I run 50/48 now.
Michelins will get better over time, mine have.
My best tank was 4.0L/100km on old tyres, after 20,000km on these XM1+ Michelins I am currently running 4.1L/100km down from 4.5L/100km when I had them fitted.

 

Consumer Reports gives the Michelin X Radial an excellent rolling resistance score. But I wonder how it will compare to the new Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 tires that are just becoming available in the US. According to the press release, “the Ecopia tire line targets fuel efficient vehicles, including hybrids and electric vehicles and will be used in original equipment and replacement applications. The new Ecopia EP100 is the first aftermarket product in the Ecopia tire line for the North American market, and is a summer replacement tire for popular fuel efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles including the Mini Cooper, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Nissan Versa, Toyota Corolla and a selection of other conventional vehicles.†According to an email I received from Rod Manibo (Bridgestone Retail Operations), “this tire has 30% lower rolling resistance than conventional tire which translates to 4.2% better fuel efficiency. “

 

My '05 Prius needs new tires so I've checked into the Bridgestone Ecopia EP100, but from what I've read on their website, these are "summer" tires with no mileage warranty. I live in the wet Pacific NW, so I'm now checking into low RR all weather tires. The Michelin X Radials may be the answer. Its frustrating not being able to readily find the RRC for tires!

 

Make sure to check out Nokian WRg2 tires. They are great all-weather tires (wet, dry snow, ice traction and highway stability) that will get better MPG (about 4%) than the original Goodyear Integrity tires.

JeffD

 

Thank goodness I've stumbled upon this thread. I am just thinking of a good brand of tires to replace my old set, and I think I'll give Michelin X Radial Tires a try.

__________________
cheap subaru parts

 

I guess I'm in the minority here...but I bought the X Radials at Sam's Club in January and 5k miles later I am ready to go back to OEM. With the X Radial the steering has been much more sensitive to where I can't take my eyes off the road for a second or I may find the car out of its lane. It is ok at lower speeds but from 60 to 75 mph not fun at all. LOML was driving once on the Interstate, and I thought I was going to get car sick from the handling. I have tried different air pressures and no help. I never had the problems with the GY's that others have complained about, but having had X Radials on two other cars with no problems thought it would be a good change. Also the mpg has went down from 48-50 to 42-43 mpg and not returned with 5K on the X's. I even checked the 12v battery to make sure it was holding a charge and not making the engine run more, causing the mpg to go down. I also thought about ordering the rear stabilizer bar for the touring model to see if it would help. I'd try the Nokian WRg2 but no one in this area handles them. So tomorrow I'll go back to Sam's again and see if they'll do something to make me happy.

 

FL Buckeye, you might want to have the alignment double checked before you go and replace the tires. It sounds to me like you don't have the smidge of toe-in on the front tires as is recommended.

 

I had thought about that but discounted it because there was no problem when I drove the Prius in for the new tires and then the bad handling 3 days later on a trip. Also, all of the original tires had very even wear. I was only replacing them because with 45K I wanted to avoid any problems due to the rubber getting hard and the grooves not as deep. Do you think the toe-in would affect the Michelin's more than the OEM with the handling?

 

Yeah, different tires will respond differently to alignment settings.

New tires especially will feel especially squirmy without a bit of toe-in because you have so much new rubber on them.

They will get better after about 5k miles on them, but it's also an indication that your alignment is likely off a bit.

 

I just bought and had installed a set of MVX4's 195/60/15s at Costco yesterday and its amazing at how much of a difference there is! It was like I was suddenly driving a completely different car. Less than 500 miles on my OEM tires too! Haw!

Edit: How much of a difference on the spedo am I to expect with this tire size?

 

Your speedo will be appx 1 mph fast at 60 mph, meaning indicating 60, actually doing 59. A lot closer to be accurate than probably 98% of the cars on the road.

 

Nice, and very livable. Thanks!

 

We put Michelin X radials on our Prius last spring and noticed a drop in MPG for about 2000 miles. It was only about 2 MPG. Then it seem to improve back to where we had been(55-56) in mixed driving. The ride and handling were greatly improved, especially when on wet roads.

 

I put X Radials on my 2007 Prius about 20k miles ago and like them so much, I put a set on my teen's Honda CRV. For me, they've performed as well as any tire brand/model I've tried on dry, wet, icy, and snowy surfaces.

When new, mileage dropped 2-4mpg, but came back a few thousand miles later. I'm actually getting better mileage overall now.

 

I did replace the tires on my 2006 prius with bfgoodrich traction t/a,and i`m losing total of 50 to 60 highway miles per tank,be careful.

 

I wish to offer another tire for your consideration and that is the Green Diamond Tire. This is a 'remolded' tire which recycles premium Michelin and Goodyear tire casings. The Green Diamond Tire (or GDT) is an icelandic invention that embedds silicon carbide granules in the thread (think: industrial diamonds) and is a 'green' an automotive product as you can find. For every Prius-sized GDT, we save about 4 gallons of petroleum per tire. The tread compound is rated at 45,000 miles and the GDT is the finest winter traction on which your Prius can roll... in all climates. As owner of GDT-North America, my company car is a '09 Prius and yes... in the spirit of full disclosure, I do have a financial interest. Kind regards. Rich Gostenik