I will be travelling extensively in northern Indiana (Warsaw, IN) for work, and since they are in the "snow belt" for that area, I've decided to get a set of snow tires. I've got to be able to get to Warsaw from Cincinnati every week until mid-April and the Eagle HPs on the car now are worthless.

I went ahead and ordered a set of Michelin X-Ice from a local retailer that I trust and they should be in on Tuesday (sorry, Tire Rack, you guys were all sold out). I am a big fan of Michelins in general (excellent experiences with the MX4 Rainforce, the Harmony, and of course the MXV4).

I am hoping to get opinions on this tire, and I will report back my experiences. I had to call five local retailers for these tires, everybody is out of stock already this year. Geez, it's only the beginning of December...

This particular retailer (Tire Discounters) includes a "free" alignment with the purchase of four tires and I am wondering if these folks will be able to get my alignment correct (I usually deal with a performance shop that does EXCELLENT Mercedes alignments). Am I hoping for too much with these guys?
I know you get what you pay for (best case), but should I bail on them and go to my normal guy and pay up?

Chris

Chris

I'm sure they can do an OK job on a Taurus.
If it were me, I might mention that my benz requires a spreader bar. If the alignment tech asked what a spreader bar was, I'd run away.
The other factor to consider is how long has it been since you paid for an expert alignment? If somebody you trust did it less than 10k ago, I wouldn't mess with it, even for free.

__________________
'79 300SD W116
'86 190E 2.3-16V W201
'92 300D 2.5 W124
'99 E320 4MATIC S210

If your car requires alignment you'll know it. It's not a mystery.

__________________
Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

I just, and I mean *just* got home from a 40-mile trip, mostly freeway, in my '82 300td with fresh X-Ice tires. It's a little after midnight and the snowplows were few and far between. The road surface was 90% hardpack snow with a few patches of bare pavement peeking out.

I was literally passing everything on the road. I even went by a sheriff's deputy at about 50 mph (he was in a line of traffic doing maybe 35). Whoosh! You can't get away with that on dry pavement!

Straight tracking is excellent -- very stable. I'd change lanes and throw up a roostertail -- I never felt that queasy "hydroplane" sensation--except perhaps once.

The one point where I had to work a little was in a slushy intersection where I wanted to turn left. I've got a set of Nokian Hakkapelliita Q tires on another car and know from experience that the Hakks would have handled the mush a little better.

My final half mile is a steep hill on a dead-end road that was, for all practical purposes, unplowed. Snow had drifted over about 6 inches deep; the Michelins bit right in.

It wasn't a serious blizzard by any means, but a good early-season test that gives me a lot of confidence in these tires.

BTW, I've read complaints about the soft sidewall on the X-Ice. My opinion is that they can't match a good H-rated performance all-season like the BF Goodrich Traction T/A, but I was surprised they're only Q rated -- they feel firmer than that. Certainly they inspire more confidence than the Blizzak WS-50...maybe they're a little softer than the Hakka Q but not much, considering the 70 profile.

I still don't have my tires yet!!! It's been a week and they haven't arrived at the tire store - supposedly the truck from Michelin will show up there today.

I have to spend next week up in Northern Indiana and will definitely need those tires!!

Chris

now, why was it better to deal with your local place ?????

I could have had them there in a day

__________________

Please, call me to place orders or for more info
use my name for on-line orders

Luke,

I _would_ have ordered them from you except your website listed them as "OUT OF STOCK FOR THE SEASON", which somehow gave me the idea that they REALLY REALLY were not available any more this year.

My local dealer has 3 in stock in my size and they tell me that they are getting one more from the Michelin warehouse in Illinois. This is such a pain.


Chris

I fitted winter tyres to my car a couple of weeks ago. They needed a few hundred miles before the grip got up to where it should be. Goodyear GW3s

However, the fact that I had winter tyres on my car didn't cut much ice with the police car that pulled me over today. They wittered on about the risk of black ice, ...it was only just freezing! If anyone was in danger it was them.

They showed me a film clip on their telly...it was a car very similar to mine going at incredible speed. I'll have to ask for a copy when I send in my fine.

I wouldn't drive on Michelins, what a short memory people have. Do you remember the US Grand Prix?

I have three words for you for what you should have put on:

Goodyear Assurance TripleTred

They're simply awesome!

See: Annoucing the world's best All Season!

Enough Said..

__________________
-Matt

EPA Section 609 Certified MVAC Technician
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Oil Burner Kartel Member #10

Ahh the smell of Diesel Fuel, it's like coffee in the morning!

My Car:

1982 300SD Turbo Diesel (231,500 miles!) RIP

1984 300SD Turbo Diesel Custom (235,500 mi on driveline.) - On Road!!

www.icsrepair.com