[Dazzler]

Ok, since the 10th of December I've done around 13,500 kilometres on the "new" Michelins. Even though I've now traded her I expect to put over 20,000 kms on them by the time my new car arrives.

Now as reported earlier in this section they are more responsive and give a better steering feel to the SR than the Original tyres did. I also thought they were slightly quieter although I think its just a different sound more of a rumble than the previous tyres roar.

Anyway, there are some negatives which I feel i should share to give a balanced view.

I recently drove on some coarse gravel roads and both myself and the wife (as passenger) didn't like how they felt. We thought I had a puncture. They bumped and skidded around (didn't feel nice at all even at 50 or 60 kph) I must say the old Hankooks were good on gravel. Although I avoid gravel as much as I can sometimes you have no choice and the Hankooks coped better and felt better at higher speed on gravel!

My wife who has much better hearing than me also reckons the Michelins are noisy! On our latest road trip to Hobart (last weekend) I thought they got quite noisy a couple of times?? I don't know if I'm just imagining it after what the wife said or that maybe they are getting louder as they wear.

My mate Dorian and I both also think they have a slight but noticeable negative effect on fuel economy.  I haven't been able to quantify it but on our last road trip to Hobart with lots of roadworks at 60 and 80 kms I struggled to get under 7.0 L/100 kms whereas on previous similar trips I got down to low 6's. This difference has happened on multiple occasions.

So while myself and many others rate them well for performance on bitumen, there is apparently no such thing as a free lunch. 

[aanastasiou4]

Ok, since the 10th of December I've done around 13,500 kilometres on the "new" Michelins. Even though I've now traded her I expect to put over 20,000 kms on them by the time my new car arrives.

Now as reported earlier in this section they are more responsive and give a better steering feel to the SR than the Original tyres did. I also thought they were slightly quieter although I think its just a different sound more of a rumble than the previous tyres roar.

Anyway, there are some negatives which I feel i should share to give a balanced view.

I recently drove on some coarse gravel roads and both myself and the wife (as passenger) didn't like how they felt. We thought I had a puncture. They bumped and skidded around (didn't feel nice at all even at 50 or 60 kph) I must say the old Hankooks were good on gravel. Although I avoid gravel as much as I can sometimes you have no choice and the Hankooks coped better and felt better at higher speed on gravel!

My wife who has much better hearing than me also reckons the Michelins are noisy! On our latest road trip to Hobart (last weekend) I thought they got quite noisy a couple of times?? I don't know if I'm just imagining it after what the wife said or that maybe they are getting louder as they wear.

My mate Dorian and I both also think they have a slight but noticeable negative effect on fuel economy.  I haven't been able to quantify it but on our last road trip to Hobart with lots of roadworks at 60 and 80 kms I struggled to get under 7.0 L/100 kms whereas on previous similar trips I got down to low 6's. This difference has happened on multiple occasions.

So while myself and many others rate them well for performance on bitumen, there is apparently no such thing as a free lunch. 

I also fitted the pilot sport 4 on mine about a month ago! Very good tyres I shall say! They actually are quieter and feel softer compared to my previous ones, although I feel the same thing as you when I drive on gravel roads. I asked my tyre centre about this and as I expected they told me that the pilot sport 4 are designed to be more of a paved road tyres...

[Dazzler]

@aanastasiou4 Thanks for that. In balance there are more pluses than minuses I think.. 

[aanastasiou4]

@aanastasiou4 Thanks for that. In balance there are more pluses than minuses I think.. 

I absolutely agree!

[JohnSRP]

Hi Dazzler,

Appreciate the feedback.  I am still running the original Hankooks on my SRP and find harsh axle tramp on hard take offs. Do you find the PS4s help reduce this?

[Dazzler]

Hi Dazzler,

Appreciate the feedback.  I am still running the original Hankooks on my SRP and find harsh axle tramp on hard take offs. Do you find the PS4s help reduce this?

Hi John,

I only drive my DCT in normal mode and find her pretty leisurely taking off from a standstill (so haven't really noticed the axle tramp to be honest) She sure gets up and going once on the move though. Even when I've tested Sport a couple of times (recently) I really haven't noticed an issue, so maybe they do help. They sure are grippy!

Did you see my initial review of them John?

Replaced Tyres on my PD SR with Michelin Pilot Sport 4

@aanastasiou4  how about you?
 

[CraigB]

I am still running the original Hankooks on my SRP and find harsh axle tramp on hard take offs. Do you find the PS4s help reduce this?

Pretty common with front wheel drive vehicles, it’s got nothing to do with the tyres but more with how the suspension handles the body lift when you dump it...something that front wheel drive vehicles aren’t designed to do.

[AlanHo]

One of the first things I did with my Niro was to exchange the Michelin Energy Saver tyres for Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance - mainly to reduce road noise.

There is not a huge difference between them on UK roads - except that the Goodyears feel safer in the wet and are certainly slightly less noisy. Initially, I though that the Fuel economy was slightly worse - but after 18 months shod with Goodyears this has proved to be wrong - overall economy remains the same.

[Dazzler]

One of the first things I did with my Niro was to exchange the Michelin Energy Saver tyres for Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance - mainly to reduce road noise.

There is not a huge difference between them on UK roads - except that the Goodyears feel safer in the wet and are certainly slightly less noisy. Initially, I though that the Fuel economy was slightly worse - but after 18 months shod with Goodyears this has proved to be wrong - overall economy remains the same.

That's very interesting Alan because the Camry hybrid has been coming with Michelin Primacy ST 3 tyres which my mate has on his wife's Honda accord and he recons they have poor grip in the wet. They have been superseded by Primacy 4's which rate much better, so i'm hoping by the time mine is delivered it will have those or something else on. Dorian isn't the only one to say this about the Primacy ST 3. 

Also, although I have a feeling the Michelin's are thirstier than the OEMs after 13.000 kilometres my overall average and my current average for the last 5,000 odd kilometres (via the trip PC) hasn't gone up (Still 7.2 LPH)

The updated SR (now N-line) which comes standard with the Michelins actually has a lower state fuel average than the SR 7.1 V 7.4 I think! 

[22over7]

Initially, I though that the Fuel economy was slightly worse - but after 18 months shod with Goodyears this has proved to be wrong - overall economy remains the same.

That's a common side effect with changing tyres. Partly worn tyres usually get better fuel economy than brand new ones, with the same model & size tyre.
I don't have a good understanding of the dynamics of tread flex, but the experts seem to agree that's the reason.

[Surferdude]

That last bit depends on who you ask.
And a whole host of other things.
If the tread wear is a bit uneven,  fuel consumption will probably get worse as the car isn't rolling as freely as it should.
If the alignment hasn't been checked for a while and you try to save money by not resetting it with the new tyres, consumption will suffer.

But you are correct in assuming that a new tyres will have more tread flex (with improved handling),  thus increasing rolling resistance slightly.  Hence slightly worse fuel economy.

Having said all that, on the average car, in reasonable mechanical condition,  you'd need some pretty sophisticated measuring systems to record a fuel consumption difference.

[Dazzler]

@Surferdude Could tyres get noisier after only 13,500 kilometres? They are looking used already...

[Surferdude]

@Surferdude Could tyres get noisier after only 13,500 kilometres? They are looking used already...

Yes.
Are they wearing evenly?
Any feathering?

[Dazzler]

@Surferdude Could tyres get noisier after only 13,500 kilometres? They are looking used already...

Yes.
Are they wearing evenly?
Any feathering?

I'll check in the morning about feathering. I think they are wearing evenly. I had them rotated, balanced and the alignment checked after around 8.000 kms for free by the original tyre centre. 

[Kovacs]

My previous car came with Michelin Primacy HP which I upgraded to Michelin Sport 4's (non S). I compared the wear after the same amount of kilometres and the Sport's had higher wear, however their wet and dry grip was vastly better, not to mention their improved steering feel. I suspect the higher wear was probably a result of me regularly pushing the car round corners at higher speeds than I did previously because I had the extra grip to do so. The Sport's may have been a tad noiser but the tyre profile was also slimmer, certainly wasn't a night and day difference but this was only on sealed roads.

I'd love to put some Sport's on my Elite when the Hankook's need replacing, you can never have too much tyre as far as I'm concerned!

[Dazzler]

Thanks for that Kovacs, can't have too much feedback either ... 

[Jingle]

I've just put SP4's on my SR and Primacy 4's on my elite last week.  Will see how they go.  I had the original Hankook's on the SR and Goodyear Sports on the elite previously.

[Dazzler]

I've just put SP4's on my SR and Primacy 4's on my elite last week.  Will see how they go.  I had the original Hankook's on the SR and Goodyear Sports on the elite previously.

Cheers, be interested to hear what you think of both. I have a Hybrid Camry coming which have been using Primacy 3 st (WHich get poor wet weather reviews) they have apparently  been superseded by Primacy 4's so I'm hoping when it arrives my Hybrid has the 4's or something else other than the 3 ST...

[asdetail]

my n line has, of course, pilot sport 4 tyres and while i probably don't push the car hard enough to explore their handling  potential, i have noticed one thing about these tyres, they are noisy, worse on coarse chip bitumen to the point where it is almost unbearable and even on smooth tarmac some noise is always present.

I also have a 2016 LZ focus sport which is my other half's daily drive and has michelin primacy LC all round ( no pun intended ) and while not completely quiet, it sure exhibits a lot less road noise than the i30 travelling the same roads, of course i am not sure how much of this can be attributed to the vehicle differences but it does have me wondering how much less road noise would come from a different set of tyres on the i30.

I still of the opinion that the n line is a better car to drive that the focus, (wife will disagree) for a lot of reasons that i won't go into here but sometimes the tyre noise really bugs me!.   

[Dazzler]

The OEM Hankooks on my SR were even noisier than the Michelins. I find the Michelins rumble, the Hankooks used to roar.

I think the LC are are softer quieter, tyre. They use them on cars like the Toyota Camry. 

[asdetail]

The OEM Hankooks on my SR were even noisier than the Michelins. I find the Michelins rumble, the Hankooks used to roar.

I think the LC are are softer quieter, tyre. They use them on cars like the Toyota Camry. 

And, apparently, ford on the LZ series focus sport.

Its about the only thing i really don't like about the hyundai, but i guess you can't have perfection in a 30k vehicle can you??.

Probably will consider changing them for something else further down the track, just have to wait for the money tree out back to bear some more fruit  

[Dazzler]

Some tyres might be a bit quieter (Continentals perhaps) but probably not a huge difference. 

[asdetail]

Perhaps turning the radio volume up might be a simpler and much cheaper solution? ( wifes suggestion ).

[Dazzler]

Perhaps turning the radio volume up might be a simpler and much cheaper solution? ( wifes suggestion ).

I've heard dumber ideas...

[shanesimmo]

Hi Dazzler, overall did you prefer the Michelin PS4s to the OE Hankook Ventus Prime 2? Cheers

[Dazzler]

Hi Dazzler, overall did you prefer the Michelin PS4s to the OE Hankook Ventus Prime 2? Cheers

Interesting question mate. 

While there was no doubt they sharpened up handling of the SR which was already pretty good after doing about 20K on them before trading her, they did start to get a bit noisy (the wife reckoned worse than the OEMs) and they hated gravel.

Unless you are looking for on the limit handling on a regular basis I think Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE003 might be a better compromise between the OEMs and the Pilot Sports. From memory they were more than $50 each cheaper than the Michelins when I checked and still rate quite well.

I didn't hate the OEMs, just thought they were a bit noisy, but don't think any tire will make the i30 whisper quiet.

[shanesimmo]

THanks for the feedback. Had RE003s on a 2008 Golf GTI i had antd they were an impressive tyre.  Likewise don't hate the OEM Hankooks but thought there may be a quieter tyre out there with similar performance attributes. 

[Venca77]

Hi team -
I appreciate all the advice provided.
I've just changed from Supercats on the front and OEMs on the rear, to all four corners having Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003. The RE003's are currently on a "buy 3 get the 4th free" deal.
I had traveled approx 15000km on the Supercats. IMO The Supercats are not a good wet weather tyre, as I'd easily lose traction in the wet. In dry conditions it was okay, and it did the job but I will not be going back to them.

The RE003's came out of the tyre shop with 40 to 42 psi - I'm not sure if that's too high. Also, I know its early days, but so far my traction control light hasn't come on  .

If there is anything adverse about the RE003's in the coming months I'll come back and post an update.

Cheers.

[josh1990]

I'm not a fan of the RE003. It's certainly not the tyre I'd hoped with all the hype. While I left the tyre industry a few years back, during the 8 years I spent in there I got do do a few Bridgestone drive days. One of my favourites was the MR2 drive day at Perth airport when they released the RE001. When the affordable RE003 came out I jumped on it for the wife's corolla (XR6 runs RE050A). Bit of a laugh really, NA 1.8L chirping 2nd in the dry, limiter bouncing in the wet. Previously had cheapo Firestone on it that never exhibited that behaviour and needed some handbrake intervention to have some fun. Whilst I'm probably harder on tyres than the average user - I don't rate the RE003 at all. I haven't decided what tyre I will run on the i30 yet, perhaps the S001 or S007 if I can get 17" rims at a decent price. If I stick with the 16's I'll likely land with a Michelin or Pirelli offering. Of course, all of the above is my opinion only

[josh1990]

Hi team -
I appreciate all the advice provided.
I've just changed from Supercats on the front and OEMs on the rear, to all four corners having Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003. The RE003's are currently on a "buy 3 get the 4th free" deal.
I had traveled approx 15000km on the Supercats. IMO The Supercats are not a good wet weather tyre, as I'd easily lose traction in the wet. In dry conditions it was okay, and it did the job but I will not be going back to them.

The RE003's came out of the tyre shop with 40 to 42 psi - I'm not sure if that's too high. Also, I know its early days, but so far my traction control light hasn't come on  .

If there is anything adverse about the RE003's in the coming months I'll come back and post an update.

Cheers.

36-38psi cold if 205/55R16, 38-40psi cold if 225/45r17. Manufacturer specs are for comfort, not for tyre life.