replace my cruddy Kelly Edge tires with Michelin Cross-Climates? (vehicle, traction, minivan)
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My used minivan came with these new Kelly Edge A/S tires that looked good, not worn at all, but I've been disappointed in their performance on wet pavement and on ice. They sometimes spin even on dry blacktop when accelerating quickly from a stop to merge into heavy traffic. I rarely had this problem before with my Yokohamas, though of course that was an AWD Forester.
The Michelin Crossclimate+ is top rated on Consumer Reports and I'm thinking of going ahead and getting it, even though the Kelly tires have plenty of tread left. It feels like a safety thing.
Anyone recommend a good all-weather other than the Michelin? Or maybe there's some other issue such as poor alignment that might be causing this spinning thing?
UPDATE: I can't find these Crossclimates anywhere. If they're so great, why wouldn't they be carried by NTB, Costco, etc.? I guess I'll have to go with another Michelin. Consumer Reports has done it again -- gave glowing reviews to a product that's not widely available.
Last edited by blisterpeanuts; 10-31-2019 at 09:46 PM..
Part of the problem is you’re driving a FWD vehicle so hammering it will break the tires loose especially on turns or wet pavement or ice. also check the tires for over and under inflation
Maybe you might want to look into dedicated winter tires. Cosco is a Michelin dealer. They can order them for you. The problem with getting tires that are not in stock is if something happens to one tire where it’s repairable you’re on the spare till the tire is ordered.
Kelly's are cheap tires, they're just something the dealer threw on it so it would pass inspection. If you're planning to keep the vehicle a while, go ahead and put a set of quality tires on it.
I live at the MA/NH border and have a commute that's 38 miles each way - so we get real snow, and I need to drive a long ways. I have happily run 3 sets of Nokian all-weather tires. I recently bought a new Forester and the stock Falken tires were not satisfactory in snow this past February, so I am looking to get new tires myself. I'd love to buy those Michelin Cross-climates, but they're not available in the 225-55-18 size.
All I can say is that if you live in a snowy area, good all-weather tires really work - many people don't understand what they are and think they are the same as all-seasons, they are *not*... and they are less money and less hassle than running two sets of tires. I'd get the Cross-Climates!
I live at the MA/NH border and have a commute that's 38 miles each way - so we get real snow, and I need to drive a long ways. I have happily run 3 sets of Nokian all-weather tires. I recently bought a new Forester and the stock Falken tires were not satisfactory in snow this past February, so I am looking to get new tires myself. I'd love to buy those Michelin Cross-climates, but they're not available in the 225-55-18 size.
All I can say is that if you live in a snowy area, good all-weather tires really work - many people don't understand what they are and think they are the same as all-seasons, they are *not*... and they are less money and less hassle than running two sets of tires. I'd get the Cross-Climates!
All-season tires are generally OK in snow till they are about half worn - when they get to about 5/32 worth of tread, there is a pretty sharp drop off in snow grip.
Even a dedicated snow tire needs fairly deep tread to really work. Michelin makes a strong effort to make a snow tire that works on snow till the bitter end of tread life, and while they are good, you can't get around the physics of needing deep tread to grip snow (at all).
OP, I usually buy my tires from Tire Rack. They have a dedicated installer network, take a look at that, they can ship the tires direct to the shop, if you wish.
As for me - I have a buddy who has tire machines in his own home garage, my own preference is to go to him, we balance to +/- 4 grams (28 grams per ounce) and I enjoy very smooth driving. This requires spinning up the tire on the balancer 2 to 4 times before it's that close. Failing that, I have a guy in a nearby town who does M&B for a reasonable price and he does spin the tire up multiple times, which is required to get a really good balance. Chain tire stores won't generally spend the time to do any more than one spin, whatever the machine says, put that weight on, and go to the next tire.
I seriously do not get all this hype with Michelins. Had them before, they hydroplaned.
Have them now, white wall, so not some cheapo ones, they have no traction and hydroplane.
To me, Michelin is like i-Phone. Hype not worth it.
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