although i've had good luck in most instances with Michelin on several
different vehicles (including Xs and XZXs), the set i put on our 300D
several years back tracked and followed road irregularities so badly
that the tire shop swapped them out for a set of comparable-level
Pirellis. (sorry, i don't have the model number/name of those Michelins
handy right now, but they were a rebranded model specifically labeled
for one of the major tire chain stores.) much to my surprise, those
Pirellis have lasted almost 60K miles so far.
WRT to rolling resistance; there was a sidebar in the AAA magazine
recently that mentioned one of the subscription consumer organizations
(Consumer Reports, IIRC) was the only group actually doing standardized
rolling resistance testing.
in my experience to date, tires that had lower rolling resistance
typically also had poorer traction and/or ride performance. if that's
changed for the better (and only fair testing would show that) and
assuming that those tires are not suffering in any other area of
performance, one has to ask oneself how much one is likely to save in
fuel by using those tires to determine if any additional cost it worth it.
personally, i'm most interested in a tires grip and reliability,
with ride and availability of support following close behind. wear and
rolling resistance fall far behind in the list of primary considerations.
cheers!
e
Dillon, Meade M CIV SPAWARSYSCEN-ATLANTIC, 53310 wrote:
A few years ago when I was tire shopping, the lacking bit of information
was tire rolling resistance. I think that there can be as much as a 10%
fuel economy hit with some tires, but good luck trying to figure out
which ones. Michelin is one of the few companies that does provide some
info, and they seem to have relatively low rolling resistance, but
personally I think they are an over-priced tire for the rest of the
performance numbers. I've bought Continental tires for both my wagon
and Wife's Infiniti and I'm quite happy with them. I've also had
Bridgestone Turanza tires on Wife's car and they were not so great. I
calculate a 10% loss in fuel economy vs. the Michelins I replaces, they
were a bit noisy, but great wear and grip.
Max
-----Original Message-----
From: mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com
[mailto:mercedes-boun...@okiebenz.com] On Behalf Of Mitch Haley
Sent: Monday, October 19, 2009 2:35 PM
To: Mercedes Discussion List
Subject: Re: [MBZ] SD Tires -- Michelin X ???
I used to like the Michelin X and XZX about 25 years ago. Don't know
much about the tires that would wear that name today, other than they
don't seem to be available at the Tire Rack. It looks like all the
Michelin have a $70/4 rebate now. Harmony and Hydroedge seem to be well
liked all season tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=AS
The new X look nothing like the X from the 80s and 90s. (one would hope
there would be some advances in tread design since then)
http://www.michelinman.com/tires/passenger-car-minivan/x-radial-dt/
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