Want new tires, but these darn Michelins will NOT die!

[ChewChewTrain]

My lighter Honda VX rims came with a set of 175 x 13 Michelins. I want to downsize a lighter, less windage 155 size. Three years later I STILL have these tires.

Have noticed, as the rubber gets old and stiff, the tires are noisy.

Are Michelins the longest wearing tires?

[JockoT]

Be aware that when you fit new tyres your mpg figure may fall. I just had two new tyres fitted to the front of my Jazz and, according to figures from my ScanGauge, my fuel efficiency has deteriorated by about 5 -10%.

[Draigflag]

My last two cars, both French, have had Michelins, they are pretty much standard fitment on most French cars. I've been very impressed, in my previous car they were long lasting and saved fuel V's the tyres I chose after. On my current car, they offer exceptional high speed cornering capabilities, and insane levels of grip, the downside to having a fast car is the tyre wear though. They are almost illegal at 12,500 miles, so I'll have to factor the £400 for x2 into my annual running costs.

I would shop around though, maybe check some UK or European tyre websites out as we have ratings for noise level, wet braking and fuel efficiency, makes them easy to compare and you can pick a compromise you're happy with.

[luv2spd]

You should go to the Tire Rack website where you can compare tires to each other. They have a lot of data, so you can compare noise, wear, dry grip, etc on most of the tires that they sell. I always bought tires from them even though I'm not in the US. Michelins tend to be the best all around tires, but they are also the most expensive.

[ChewChewTrain]

Originally Posted by JockoT

Be aware that when you fit new tyres your mpg figure may fall. I just had two new tyres fitted to the front of my Jazz and, according to figures from my ScanGauge, my fuel efficiency has deteriorated by about 5 -10%.

JockT, were both sets the same size?

According to MPG research, new tires have lower MPG, due to the deeper and more flexible tread. As a tire ages, the stiffness provides better MPG. Also, as the tire wears, the shallower tread depth provides better MPG due to less flex. Remarkably, the MPG research found that new truck tires don't begin providing better MPG until they're been driving 65,000 miles.

[JockoT]

Originally Posted by ChewChewTrain

JockT, were both sets the same size?

Yes they were. 175/65 R14. They were actually fitted by my local Honda main dealer.

[LDB]

How many miles in 3 years? Maybe you've gotten a good run out of them by now. At some point you'll have to decide if you've reached the tipping point where you abandon the old and go with what you want. Good luck.

[R.I.D.E.]

When I replaced the original Bridgestones on my Civic VX, which were 15 years old and 35k miles from new, the MPG plummeted with the replacement Michelins. The car had been totalled and sat in an insurance training facility for almost all of the time that passed.

I replaced the Bridgestones for the same reason I replaced the timing belt. The age of those components was a critical factor and the damage that would occur in case of a catastrophic failure. Tires made in 1993 and it was 2009.

Best mileage with the Bridgestones was a road trip at 64 MPG, from Williamsburg to Chantilly and back, going 62-65 MPH most of the way, with gas pushing $4 a gallon here. After the tire swap it dropped by almost 10 MPG average.

My father-in-law had a Maxima that had Michelins I had installed as replacements. With 90% of the tread left the tires were badly dry rotted, requiring replacement with no recourse from Michelin.

First time I recommended Michelins was 1966, when my aunt needed tires for her Cadillac at just 6000 miles (crap OE bias plies). The Michelin Xs lasted 70k miles and 13 years, before they also dry rotted.

Now I use Bridgestones, after the no recourse decision with the wifes dad, my loyalty to the brand died. Pop still has them on both of their cars, but they sit in a garage, as do my cars.

[Draigflag]

The maximum difference in fuel economy between the best tyre (A rated) and worse (G rating) is around 7.5%, so the 10 MPG difference you saw when you switched tyres was to do with other factors other than just the tyres themselves.

https://www.blackcircles.com/general...ing/tyre-label

[JockoT]

The difference I have found is between 5 & 10%. not mpg. Seemingly the heavier tread pattern requires more energy to move it about, and the increased weight of rubber all has an effect.
The tyres I removed, I have discovered, were F, and I replaced them with F, so the economy rating has not effected it.