Best tires for your Regal

[bollox74]

I don't really get it how you got them to wear at 15k, mine lasted until 30k and they would go for another 5k, but they started to fall apart. But please update on Michelin Primacy Tour.

pinch flat on a high curb, tires were still looking great until then. I was just waiting for the inevitable sidewall pinch or debris to flat the OEMs. It's currently getting the Michelin Primacy Tour's mounted and I pick up later today. Dealer is also going to check the alignment spec as it's right below 20K miles.

 

[abizzle]

Dealer is also going to check the alignment spec as it's right below 20K miles.

Wise move. Once a tire begins wearing abnormally it will continue.

 

[ready2fly]

I don’t even need to know how they will perform on the car to give you the correct answer. The top 3 are: Michelin, Michelin, and Michelin... in that order. I installed tires for 3 years at a Sam’s club. In that entire 3 years I never received a single defective Michelin tire.

I don’t care if you have a Prius or Dodge Crew Cab Diesel, Michelin is the quietest tire. If you want to know if they’re worth the premium price, the answer is yes.

I would agree, but if you read my earlier posts I tried Michelin Premier A/S and they were absolutely horrible. Mushy, slowed acceleration and killed fuel economy. I actually liked Michelin tires, they were sets of OEM Primacy all-season on 2 new Hondas and two new Acuras in the past. I have a set of new Yokohama Avid Ascend LX on our other car and they are excellent, just a little low on fuel economy. They do last a very long time and handling is as good as Michelin. I would say Yokohama and Bridgestone (too overpriced) are two best Japanese tire brands.
Now I would buy another set of Michelin tires if they perform as good (or better) as OEM Continentals. I will be getting a new set in about 4 months.

 

[Abbott Martin]

I would agree, but if you read my earlier posts I tried Michelin Premier A/S and they were absolutely horrible. Mushy, slowed acceleration and killed fuel economy. I actually liked Michelin tires, they were sets of OEM Primacy all-season on 2 new Hondas and two new Acuras in the past. I have a set of new Yokohama Avid Ascend LX on our other car and they are excellent, just a little low on fuel economy. They do last a very long time and handling is as good as Michelin. I would say Yokohama and Bridgestone (too overpriced) are two best Japanese tire brands.
Now I would buy another set of Michelin tires if they perform as good (or better) as OEM Continentals. I will be getting a new set in about 4 months.

The Pilot Sport A/S is an excellent tire. Why are people buying the Supremacy?

 

[ready2fly]

The Pilot Sport A/S is an excellent tire. Why are people buying the Supremacy?

You mean Primacy? They used to come stock on many Honda and Acura cars and SUVs. Primacy is a bit more touring/comfort oriented, but still excellent handling.

 

[RegalMN]

Anyone have much experience with Michelin Cross Climate? Looking at those for my Cruze but would also consider it for the Regal in a year or 2. Cruze currently has Bridgestone Ecopia and they are absolutely awful in the snow. Since my daughter drives the Cruze I want something mainly that will improve snow traction (without switching to winter tires - don't want to do that).

 

[FavaBean]

Anyone have much experience with Michelin Cross Climate? Looking at those for my Cruze but would also consider it for the Regal in a year or 2.

See post #130 below. Let me know if you have more specific questions. (I have not driven in the snow yet.)

I recently swapped out the OEM Continental ProContact TX (with special Conti-Separate Foam) for a set of Michelin CrossClimate 2's.

I was a bit worried about the odd tread pattern creating a more noisy and bumpy ride but I'm pleasantly surprised the ride is just as smooth and quiet as OEM was when new. We had hard rain a few days ago, so I intentionally drove some roads which have the 2 tire channels compressed into the pavement. The TourX was as sure-footed as a donkey through the standing water. And at slightly excessive highway speeds in the rain, it was a beast. I can't wait to try these 3PMSF tires out in the snow.

Steering feel is a bit lighter than OEM but not in a bad way. There's also a great on-center feel at highway speeds. The softish ride also quieted occasional (undiagnosable) suspension rattle while still providing excellent dry road grip and cornering.

I'm super happy with these tires with only ONE EXCEPTION. I saw reviews showing a drop in gas mileage and can confirm that it seems that my TourX saw about a 10% hit on efficiency with the CrossClimate 2's. Yikes!!

Apparently Michelin saw this drawback and also offers a "CrossClimate +" for the European markets (where gas prices are higher). It is available in the US. It has a similar tread design as the CrossClimate 2 but has a lesser treadwear warranty and a lower rolling resistance to allow for better gas mileage. Unfortunately. I believe it also comes with a lower load capacity.

So while I do love these tires, I want to throw out a word of caution: If gas mileage is a high priority for you, the CrossClimate 2's may not be the right tire for you. The drop in efficiency has delivered quite a gut punch.

 

[ItsDeke]

Anyone have much experience with Michelin Cross Climate? Looking at those for my Cruze but would also consider it for the Regal in a year or 2. Cruze currently has Bridgestone Ecopia and they are absolutely awful in the snow. Since my daughter drives the Cruze I want something mainly that will improve snow traction (without switching to winter tires - don't want to do that).

By all accounts the Cross Climate 2 is a great tire and will probably be your best all-weather bet if price doesn’t matter. If you want to save a little, the Firestone WeatherGrip is a great snow-rated all-weather option as well. With both you do have to deal with them having directional tread patterns (which makes rotating them more difficult than non-directional), but their snow performance is great for year round options.

A lot of people seem to like the Vredestein Quatrac Pro, but I don’t have any experience with it. General also just launched the Altimax 365. I don’t know much about it, but the Altimax RT43 (which was not rated as a snow tire) was still good in snow, so I imagine the 365 is going to be solid.

 

[saab93driver]

Just had Michelin Pilot Sport AS 4s installed today. OEM tires were wearing fine at 38K miles, no foam problems but one got a nail in it and I’ve been looking for a reason to change them out and contribute to the economy. They had maybe 6-7K worth of tread left. Too early to tell about handling but ride quality and road noise (cons I read in a couple of reviews) are acceptable for me, so far. I couldn’t make a real good argument for getting the Cross Climate 2s since I live in Florida.

 

[ready2fly]

Just had Michelin Pilot Sport AS 4s installed today. OEM tires were wearing fine at 38K miles, no foam problems but one got a nail in it and I’ve been looking for a reason to change them out and contribute to the economy. They had maybe 6-7K worth of tread left. Too early to tell about handling but ride quality and road noise (cons I read in a couple of reviews) are acceptable for me, so far. I couldn’t make a real good argument for getting the Cross Climate 2s since I live in Florida.

Please comment on MPG after a few days. How is the acceleration and braking? Rolling resistance about the same?

 

[saab93driver]

New tires will almost always decrease mpg until they wear in but I’ll see how it goes.

 

[LLninja]

New tires will almost always decrease mpg until they wear in but I’ll see how it goes.

Exactly. Old tires will always have less rolling resistance than new. Conversely your chances of hydroplaning goes way down with new. I’d much rather always having new tires than baldies.

 

[ready2fly]

New tires will almost always decrease mpg until they wear in but I’ll see how it goes.

True, but our stock ProContact TX are very fuel efficient right away. I literally had my MPGs back right away when I had them installed.

 

[saab93driver]

True, but our stock ProContact TX are very fuel efficient right away. I literally had my MPGs back right away when I had them installed.

MPG is not really the major criteria for me but I’ll monitor it. I didn’t hate the OEM tires but I didn’t like them enough to put another set on.

 

[bloomer]

MPG is not really the major criteria for me but I’ll monitor it. I didn’t hate the OEM tires but I didn’t like them enough to put another set on.

Have lived with pilot sport4s for 7k miles. Have had very big rains the last week. Hydroplaning was not a problem even hitting pools. Oems were hydroplaning in high humidity. Mpg hasn’t changed much, best 50 mi avg has been 36.3. They are surprisingly good in snow.

 

[PrincipalDan]

After nearly 10,000 miles I've been pretty happy with the Hercules Raptis R-T5 UHP tires I bought.

 

[ready2fly]

View attachment 32821

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After nearly 10,000 miles I've been pretty happy with the Hercules Raptis R-T5 UHP tires I bought.

How is the handling? Acceleration? Braking? Cornering? Fuel economy? Wear?

 

[PrincipalDan]

How is the handling? Acceleration? Braking? Cornering? Fuel economy? Wear?

Fuel economy has been pretty similar to the stock tires. I did a run a few weekends ago dropping off a friend going from Gallup, NM to Bloomfield, NM back to Gallup - lots of 2 lane roads involved cutting across desolate swatches of the Navajo Nation and still came out in the mid 30s MPG.

All performance metrics are improved with the only downside being that since its a XL tire the load rating is higher than our Regals require. That has made the ride a little harsher. Wear? I'm rotating every 5000 miles like my tire dealer recommends and those rotations were included in the purchase price.

Handling is where it shines with at the limit being very predictable. Gradual slide when g-forces overwhelm grip. I always felt that the Contis would suddenly break away, like corner corner corner... INTO THE WEEDS!

 

[saab93driver]

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After nearly 10,000 miles I've been pretty happy with the Hercules Raptis R-T5 UHP tires I bought.

I'm surprised they are made in Korea, I thought Cooper made these tires in Ohio.

 

[Red_X]

Guess it's my tun to ask this. Got 55K out of the factory Continentals and the dealer has some suggestions, which I'm sizing up against what I'm seeing on Tire Rack. Driving: lively, 70% interstate on loud pavement, wet/snow/ice - northeast winters. Dealer says it can order and price-match.

Cheap: Kelly Edge HP, $154 per. Not a brand Tire Rack sells. 460 AA UTQG rating. Replaced Goodyear Eagle LS-2 ($143), which Tire Rack customers do NOT review well and dealer only had 2 of when they wrote up the suggestions. Don't know how many LS-2 models there are but the Tire Rack ones come in a lot more expensive than the dealer's.

Better: Hankook Dynapro HP2, $186. Got my doubts about Hankook making perfectly round tires. Had a Tucson with 2 sets of Kinergies so wildly out-of-round they couldn't even be road-forced to remove the vibration. Incompetence of the service department over this made me trade in.

Dealer's best: Goodyear Assurance Maxlife, $206. Tire Rack seems to like it but gives an edge to the Continental TrueContact Tour they tested it against, which they found a little quieter and softer.

After entering year, make and model, Tire Rack itself recommends Firestone Destination LE3s and Bridgestone Duelers, which look more like truck/SUV tires. On a wagon. (And the picture for the TourX was a Sportback.)

I've heard quite a bit about the Michelin CrossClimate 2 but would like to keep it under $200 a tire before gift cards...and that's where the Vredestein Quatrac Pro comes in. $175 per and severe-rated but only a 400 treadwear rating, which makes me wonder how long they'll last vs. a 600+ rating. People seem to be impressed. May ask a local tire shop about the Nokians they carry - I hear they're supposed to be beasts for winter.

So which way should I be going given all I've said?