Tires: Snow tires - Michelin Alpin PA3 or Blizzak WS60?

Based on my insurance nightmare posts, you can tell I've had a lot to think about this winter without use of my Benz (at least, not in working order until recently, when I had the steering rack replaced). Even though I used to be one of those people who thought winter tires were silly now that we can all buy all-season radials, I've done a 180 and now believe in snow tires.

In my vehicle in particular, only 35% of the torque is going to the steering wheels. Sixty-five percent goes to the rear, and in my 2002 E320, this is a full time system - not like the new BMW XDrive or Infiniti's system which are both performance and safety-based.

As a result, and as I mentioned in a prior post, I have never been happy with the way my Conti all-seasons turned in snow. They also - in part - caused the accident as I was going slow, but still hydroplaned sideways into another car while trying to maneuver a curve in the road (while it was icy). Snow tires could have helped solve this problem - and will in the future, as I've decided to buy a set for next winter.

A couple of things one should know before purchasing:

• If you have 17" rims or larger, it's probably better to go with a 16" rim for your new snow tires. Try to get H-rated if you can, vs. T-rated, unless you live in Canada or a remote area where little plowing is done. Most of the time, in areas like Massachusetts, the roads are plowed so well that 90% of your driving time on the snow tires will be done in somewhat dry conditions, and the treads on these tires do not last long.
• It's much easier to go with another set of rims AND tires at the same time, even if you only have steel wheels or rims smaller than 17". You're increasing your up front cost by $400 or more, but the convenience you get out of not having to swap tires on the same rims each season is worth it. You can even do it yourself, then simply take the car with its seasonal tires for a balancing & alignment without having to lug tires around. Plus, reducing the number of times your rubber has to be taken off one rim and put on again later is a good thing.
• Though I'm just about to recommend Michelins, don't take that as a slight on other brands. There are a dizzying array of tire brands out there, so if you're intent on researching each and every kind, go to tirerack.com and have a ball.

First things first: I posted on my favorite Mercedes forum about this and sought out recommendations from other trusted forum members. Make sure that you belong to a good online forum where bloviating and drama are kept to a minimum. A healthy community of vehicle owners who swap tricks and solve problems together will be a car owner's most valuable resource.

Many Benz owners seem to gravitate toward Michelin, Blizzak, or Dunlop snow brands. By posting in the forum, and looking on tirerack.com, I found out the following:

• I have 17" rims and it would be good - and cheaper at least in terms of the tires - to go down to 16" and narrower for my snow tires. Narrower helps give the tire better traction with less weight dispersed on a wider piece of rubber.
• Michelin X-Ice's were highly favored, but are being replaced by the Michelin Alpin PA3 brand. This is important because if you ever blow one out, it will be more difficult to find the same tire if it's been discontinued for a while. Even if the X-Ice is a slightly better tire, it's not worth the potential of having to replace two vs. one if something happens to one.
• Blizzak WS60 seemed to give slightly better traction in ice & snow, but were a bit choppy on dry pavement. As I mentioned above, most of my driving even in winter months will be on dryer roads as plowing and salting are done constantly during storms, and high budgets for clean-up work abound. So while the Blizzaks were tempting because I wanted to get the best snow tire based on my accident experience, I don't think I'd be missing out on too much by getting a highly rated Michelin that still got the job done while giving me better highway performance than the Blizzak.

So the decision is to seek out Michelin Alpin PA3 for snow tires next winter, along with a set of used OEM 16" rims or new, cheaper 16" rims. Always check your owner's manual for required offsets, etc. when downgrading wheel size to a non-stock size. For me, I have optional 17" factory rims on my car, so I can go down to a 215/55/16 size with no issue.

Another great thing about purchasing snow tires is that you can have more fun with your three-season tires. I may end up going with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus, which are essentially summer tires that can handle a dusting of snow very well. This may help provide the driver with better performance in the summer months, as you can buy a stiffer tire that still sticks to the road very well.

Tires: Michelin Primacy MXV4

Overall rating: Thumbs up.

UPDATE APRIL 2ND, 2011: This post seems to be popular based on the internet traffic it draws - in relation to my other posts, not in terms of # of hits.  But I wanted to update those that may surf on into this post from an internet search engine:  The Michelin Primacy MXV4, after over three years and about 30K miles, are still riding very well, still holding their pressure well, and knock on wood, not one of them has had to be replaced yet.  There's little doubt I'll buy another set when the time comes, which is likely later this year or early next based on current tread wear.  On to the original post!

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When it was time for my wife's 2000 Lexus ES300 to get new tires last year, we wanted to be somewhat picky while on a budget. We had heard great things about Michelin, and I also knew Pirelli was good. I knew Continental pretty well as they came stock on my Mercedes E-class, so this was going to be a difficult decision.

The tires we settled on were Michelin Primacy MXV4. A few notes about what brought us to our decision:

• I've never been fully satisfied with how my Contintental ContiProContact tires have handled turns in the snow, and that's big for a New Englander. When you're driving a performance vehicle in weather - safely, of course - you want a tire that will allow you to retain some of those performance characteristics in the snow. The Contis were sure-footed in any kind of rain and even in bad snow when moving straight ahead, but, well...take a look at my Insurance Nightmare post; a contributing factor was definitely the hydroplaning of the Contis on ice. Would a Michelin have handled better? It would have been a wider tire on the E-class than on the Lexus, so I'll never know for that particular incident.
• I didn't know enough about Pirelli to make the decision to go with them. And even though I know the brand to be a good brand, I had a bad experience with old, cracked Pirellis on the tires that came with my 2002 E-class. Not a fair way to assess a brand, but I figured, I'll have plenty of time to try them out in the future.
• Once again - I had heard great things about Michelin, and particularly this tire. My preferred alignment shop highly recommended the Primacy based on what I told the owner about my wife's driving style.

So how have they held up over time? They only have about 6-7K miles on them, but so far, so good. Understanding that the tire has a bigger sidewall because the Lexus has 15" wheels, and also understanding it's a fairly narrow tire compared to that of some other brands in the same class, the wet traction is better than the Contis on my AWD Benz. The ride is a bit stiff, but I'm used to a stiffer ride in my wife's Lexus because it's a smaller, front-wheel drive car vs. a rear-wheel biased AWD vehicle in my E-class. They may be relatively noisy, but since they're mated to a Lexus, with all that sound dampening, it's not extremely noisy and the ride overall is still comfortable.

They have held their "round" and their pressure very well and I expect to get them rotated in the near future, so we'll see how the tread wear has held up over the course of those 6-7K miles. Knowing my wife drives very conservatively I don't expect any issues.

You now know what I like about the tire - so are there are any cons?

Sure: for a ride like a Lexus ES300, these may be a bit too stiff and may allow a bit too much in the way of bumps into the cabin. I don't' have a very good basis for comparison because we've only owned the car a year, and the previous tires were pretty much cooked when we bought the car. Still, I prefer a stiffer ride and I'm willing to make the sacrifice of a little more noise and a little more stiffness for a tire that lasts a while and handles well in rain and snow. For those that prioritize comfort over anything else, these are not the tire for you, and you may be better off going with a Conti (Pirellis, in my experience, tend to be more performance-oriented and stiff, but I'm no expert).

One more note: from the reviews on the Tire Rack website, it seems previous "Energy MXV4" owners liked the wet traction in that tire better. This makes me wonder why Michelin would ever discontinue that tire since I believe the wet traction is stellar on this replacement of the Energy. This may say more about my distrust for Continental after my accident than anything.