Michelin Crossclimate Plus- dry handling?
Discussion
Possibly, depends what you’re comparing them to. They just feel like ordinary summer tyres to me, not UHP tyres like PS4s or F1As or RE050As, just the bread and butter stuff. They feel a bit soft in response compared to UHP tyres, but nothing like as much as full winters do.
I do have a suspicion that they aren’t doing my mpg much good, though, they’re a C rated tyre in my size for fuel consumption.
I do have a suspicion that they aren’t doing my mpg much good, though, they’re a C rated tyre in my size for fuel consumption.
The tyre size is 175/60r14 79H so the summer alternatives are regular touring tyres. If not Michelins I was probably going to go for Kumho KH27 or Toyo CF2- neither of which are top rated tyres, but ones which I think will suit the car.
I want to retain the playful light-footed nature of this little car so I don’t want to fit anything which is going to make it feel numb, unresponsive or over-tyred.
I don’t actually need the all season capability as a little FWD car on 175s tends to do as much as I would need it to here in the South East, but I’m just tempted to have the Michelins because they are Michelins.
I want to retain the playful light-footed nature of this little car so I don’t want to fit anything which is going to make it feel numb, unresponsive or over-tyred.
I don’t actually need the all season capability as a little FWD car on 175s tends to do as much as I would need it to here in the South East, but I’m just tempted to have the Michelins because they are Michelins.
Edited by HustleRussell on Tuesday 27th July 01:20
I use nothing but these tyres on my BMW535d. Absolutely awesome tyres that give me 22,000 miles of hard use every year. Yes in the summer in the dry the grip limits are a little lower than a summer tyre so you do get a hissing white noise sound when pushing on. Its still plenty grippy enough though and they are really progressive in breakaway and easy to predict. Then for six months of the year they are awesome all winter. I cruised up a steep hill in Bristol in snow in my RWD BMW whilst behind me a guy in a Freelander2 slowly slid backwards rotating gently into a lampost with all four wheels spraying snow everywhere.
If they're cheap I wouldn't hesitate to stick them on your Peugeot.
If they're cheap I wouldn't hesitate to stick them on your Peugeot.
We run them on an Octavia VRS and they cope pretty well. I'd say compared to the Eagle F1s we had before, the biggest fall of is in hot wet grip levels but then that was arguably the Goodyears' biggest strength.
Basically in the summer they feel like a good (but not exceptional) summer tyre and in the winter they feel like an average winter tyre. Which is an impressive feat when you think about it. The only time they fall markedly behind season-specific tyres is in snow but they're obviously still massively better than any summer tyre.
In terms of sharpness (rather than grip) they're average. Obviously they can't compete with a dedicated sports or track tyre (they feel laughably dim-witted compared to the AD07s on my Elise) but they're no worse than the Eagle F1.
Basically in the summer they feel like a good (but not exceptional) summer tyre and in the winter they feel like an average winter tyre. Which is an impressive feat when you think about it. The only time they fall markedly behind season-specific tyres is in snow but they're obviously still massively better than any summer tyre.
In terms of sharpness (rather than grip) they're average. Obviously they can't compete with a dedicated sports or track tyre (they feel laughably dim-witted compared to the AD07s on my Elise) but they're no worse than the Eagle F1.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 27th July 08:44
g3org3y said:
Proper summer tyres? Yes probably ime.
Had the CC+ on my E36 328i. Turn in definitely more vague and lacked sharpness.
My wife commented they lacked steering precision on her Honda Jazz! To be fair, I think it was more due to reducing the wheel from 16" to 15" so increasing the sidewall from 55 to 65.Had the CC+ on my E36 328i. Turn in definitely more vague and lacked sharpness.
I suppose it depends what the OP means by fun - to some people fum would mean exceeding the grip limits and sliding the car all over the place.
Can't really fault them for dry weather grip either. Granted probably not up there with an R888 on the Ring in the height of summer but certainly no noticeable difference from the previous Uniroyal Rainsports. Not that impressed with their lateral grip in snow / slush however, they wash out much quicker than the other car on Vredestein Quatracs. Had a few moments where the Cross Climates let go much faster than I'd have liked. Wouldn't buy again to be honest, not at the premium they charge.
Vredestein Quatrac of some flavour? I researched all tyres for my wife’s Fabia 195/55x15”. We got the Quatrac 5s because we frankly wanted a summer tyre that would cope with occasional winter snow. I cannot really tell them from the Continental summer tyres before. I think that is down to the fact that they are an asymmetric tyre tread, unlike Cross Climates.
I have General Grabber XT's on the Range Rover, Michelin CC's on the BMW and PS4's on the GT86. I've tried many brands and types of tyres over the years including running a separate set of winter tyres/wheels on the BMW. The PS4 is widely regarded as an excellent performance tyre - and it is. However, I do not begrudge the reduced dry/hot grip of the CrossClimates because I have to be driving really stupidly hard to exceed the dry grip levels on the BMW, You do have to use your ears with the CC's as they do signal they are approaching the limit by a distinct hissing sound. They do have a bit of squirm to the sidewall which you can feel on direction changes and hard acceleration but I am totally fine with that because those sidewalls also give excellent ride compliancy and soak up the broken tarmac and potholes that consist what we call roads in this country.
Everything is a compromise but I find the breadth of Michelin CC to be impressive, the longevity better than most and this the price fully justified. I tend to buy around this time of year when there are often deals - don't wait until November! Never skimp on tyres. I did once and its the only time in 29 years that I have crashed a car and I was lucky to live.
Everything is a compromise but I find the breadth of Michelin CC to be impressive, the longevity better than most and this the price fully justified. I tend to buy around this time of year when there are often deals - don't wait until November! Never skimp on tyres. I did once and its the only time in 29 years that I have crashed a car and I was lucky to live.
g3org3y said:
Had the CC+ on my E36 328i. Turn in definitely more vague and lacked sharpness.
Sheepshanks said:
My wife commented they lacked steering precision on her Honda Jazz! To be fair, I think it was more due to reducing the wheel from 16" to 15" so increasing the sidewall from 55 to 65.
I suppose it depends what the OP means by fun - to some people fum would mean exceeding the grip limits and sliding the car all over the place.
This is the kind of thing I’m worried about. It absolutely does matter to me. I bought the car purely for fun and nostalgia. I suppose it depends what the OP means by fun - to some people fum would mean exceeding the grip limits and sliding the car all over the place.
scoey1001 said:
ATS euromaster doing £50 off 4 Michelin tyres fitted plus a free dashcam worth £99 (Road angel halo) which can probably be sold for an easy £50. Also 10% back with Lloyds rewards or 4/5% with various cashback sites. Makes for a great price.
Yep that’s the deal I saw. They come out at £200 for 4 fitted. Hard to ignore from a value perspective. I went from Pilot Sport 4 to Cross Climate +. As an all round tyre for a barge they’re a good choice especially if you regularly drive in winter conditions, but if you really enjoy driving I’d fit a summer tyre like PS4 or Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. I’ve been chased down by Transit vans on the Cross Climates (I don’t hang about either, they just don’t grip the same and feel quite numb)
I recently got myself a Merc SL, this was a bit of a daft idea as Mrs DS has an SLK. Because of this we had to get another car for general use, towing our little trailer down the tip, bicycles etc so we went looking for a C1 or similar.
Anyway we got home with an Alfa 159 Sportwagon. Cracking looking thing, beautiful interior. Had some new but budget (Maxxis) tyres on (that I'll be sticking on FB marketplace this weekend), and I thought it handled really great last weekend in Scotland.
However the wheels were in bad need of a refurb, they were a bit of a peeling mess (and consequently going down). So I got it back yesterday from having them powder coated and a set of Cross Climate 2s fitted (235/45/18). Wow - the difference in handling is amazing, and the ride quality is so nice and smooth. It's so much nicer than my 2018 E class estate I had previously, makes it feel like a plank in comparison.
I must confess that I've wanted to try these out for years and lately they seem to have brought out a load of new size variants. I would say for the UK they're the perfect tyre, (in the north at least) it's wet, cold, crappy roads and that's where you need the grip. Put it this way - I don't ever recall running out of grip on a dry road, but I would much rather the extra grip in the wet. Snow handling - looking at some of the online tests and videos it appears that they actually outperform some midrange winter tyres - that's surely better than we will ever need in the UK, no?
And they look cool. Incidentally - how do they achieve the snow grip? There are no tiny sipes in the normal fashion, just the big block vee pattern. Tyre technology is a very clever thing.
Anyway we got home with an Alfa 159 Sportwagon. Cracking looking thing, beautiful interior. Had some new but budget (Maxxis) tyres on (that I'll be sticking on FB marketplace this weekend), and I thought it handled really great last weekend in Scotland.
However the wheels were in bad need of a refurb, they were a bit of a peeling mess (and consequently going down). So I got it back yesterday from having them powder coated and a set of Cross Climate 2s fitted (235/45/18). Wow - the difference in handling is amazing, and the ride quality is so nice and smooth. It's so much nicer than my 2018 E class estate I had previously, makes it feel like a plank in comparison.
I must confess that I've wanted to try these out for years and lately they seem to have brought out a load of new size variants. I would say for the UK they're the perfect tyre, (in the north at least) it's wet, cold, crappy roads and that's where you need the grip. Put it this way - I don't ever recall running out of grip on a dry road, but I would much rather the extra grip in the wet. Snow handling - looking at some of the online tests and videos it appears that they actually outperform some midrange winter tyres - that's surely better than we will ever need in the UK, no?
And they look cool. Incidentally - how do they achieve the snow grip? There are no tiny sipes in the normal fashion, just the big block vee pattern. Tyre technology is a very clever thing.
CC2's are a new tyre this year.
I just put a set on my Dads Golf, although as it's purely a runabout....couldn't really say how it handles. As it's just a normal car, it goes to the shops etc etc
But it does feel nicer than the Davanti crap he had on it. And they do look good.
But would agree, when it's usually cold and wet, they seem a very sensible choice.
I just put a set on my Dads Golf, although as it's purely a runabout....couldn't really say how it handles. As it's just a normal car, it goes to the shops etc etc
But it does feel nicer than the Davanti crap he had on it. And they do look good.
But would agree, when it's usually cold and wet, they seem a very sensible choice.
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