We live in New England and are about to change over to winter tires. I've narrowed it down to Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow or Nokian WR. Any comments or suggestion on these or any other tires. I have a '05 T6. Thanks for the help! Eddie

 

Hi, and welcome.

What type of tires do you have presently? Do you really need to go to a winter tire? I ask because if you have a tire that's M+S rated you may be just fine. Our XC90 has the Michelin HXMXM4 in that same size, and is a mud and snow tire (i.e. all season radial.).

Here in Detroit we had an unusually high snowfall last winter at 88 inches total, and the tires with about 50K miles at that point worked just fine. There was never oneproblem with getting stuck or having enough traction all last winter even with M+S tires with 50K miles. I finally bought new tires in June at 64K miles only because I got a great deal.

My onlycomment on the Nokian is from doing some research earlier this year. The tire dealers I spoke with steered me away from them as being very expensive and not lasting very long at all. I don't know anything about the Pirellis.

If you read back on this XC90 board you'll find a number of tire posts with other member experiences and preferences that you might also find useful.


Good luck!

 

Thanks for the reply! I have not had the luck that you have had with the Michelin Pilots. I bought the car with 18K on the tires are about shot at 24K. I was first thinking of the Goodyear Response Edge as an "all season" tire, then thought better of it to go to a winter tire. Yes, the Nokians are expensive but I have read good things about them, but have read the same, if not better, of the Perellis. Interesting that you had no problems in your area with an all season tire which makes me think of going back to the Goodyears. I appreciate the comments! Eddie

 

Have you looked at the Kumho Road Venture APT KL51? I have a set on my 07 XC90 with 18� wheels and they did very well in the snow/ice while I spent some time northern Wisconsin. My XC90 eat the Michelin Pilots within 23K too. I almost bought the same Perellis you’re looking at; however, I started reading the reviews on Tirerack.com for the 235/60/18 Kumho KL51’s and went with them. 10K miles later and I still think it’s the best tire choice I’ve made ever. Showing little tire wear with a quiet smooth ride wrapped around great all weather performance. I would buy the tire again even it cost more the then Perelli or Michelin tires. I also put Kumho tires on my 06 Jetta last month and love them too. VW dealer highly recommended them; I think Kumho tire prices will go up once the name becomes better known. This is just my opinion. Why not save a few hundred and get a better tire.

 

Thanks for therecommendation for the Kumho. This is the first that I have heard of them and will check them out on TireRack! Thanks!

 

I am very curious to get to the bottom of why some have better luck (me and a few others here) with the Michelins than othersseen to have, and maybe I have part of the answer.

I just went to the Michelin tire site and saw that the Pilot is a seriesunto itself, and there are twelve (12) different models under the Michelin Pilot name, including names like Alpin, Exalto, Primacy,Sport, PS2 and so on.

Amongst those is the MXM4, with the link below. When I read all the lettering on the tires onour XC90it says Michelin Pilot, HX MXM4 and there is a funny little logo also on the side wall.


http://www.michelinman.com/tires/lux...ng/pilot-mxm4/


Assuming ya'll are driving other models of the Pilot you might be getting lesser tire life, but honest to Pete I got 64,500 out of the factory set and the only reason I replaced them in June was because I got a great deal on an identical set. There are 10K miles on the new set and they still look brand new.

If you don't have the MXM4 's currentlymy recommendation is to at least check them out, and price shop as well. I got mine at Discount Tire.

I'd also be curious if anyone that gets lesser life out of their Michelins wouldnt mindtaking a closer look at thelabeling on their Michelins (all the lettering) and post back here which ones they are only getting 22-25K miles out of.

One other thing: I tend to keep the air pressure on the high side at 40 psi all around. It makes for a bit harsher ride, but helps the mileage I think, and also minimizes the edge wear maybe? We're also getting darn near 22 mpg these days with that V-8!

Thanks!

 

I like Michelin tires; however, the rubber is soft. Soft tires do offer a quiet and smooth ride with good traction. However, soft rubber wears fast. Hard rubber is not as quiet and traction suffers. I have found a balance with the Kumhos, they have been lasting longer and they are still quiet with good traction. Sure I think the Michelins out perform the Kumhos a little with traction and quietness, but not to the tune of an extra $250 or more for a set that lasts half as long. I am just talking from my own experience. I have used Michelins on three cars (VW Jetta, Pontiac Montana, and XC90) and could not get over 35K on any of them; and yes, I rotated, balance and check air pressure regularly. Sorry to say I don’t have any Michelins around to check the letters on the side.

 

I got 65k out of the standard 235 60R18" Michelin Pilots on my 2004 XC90 T6. All kinds of driving. I replaced them with Toyo Open Country HTs. Couldn't be happier.

 

I checked my Michelin based on your desire to get to the bottom of this dilemma. I have the MXM4 exactly as the link posted. I have 15K and they are about 80% worn out. I am told by some local tire shops they have seen many XC90s with same result on this tire. They state they just are not a good match for the XC90. Secondly, I find them to be very poor winter tires. I would not recommend them. I am replacing them with Kumho KL51. Best my research finds within my budget.

JK

 

Thanks for the information, jk. The feedback is really mind-boggling. The previous poster has the same excellent results that I have, yet you and others do not.

If I had unlimited funds I would be inclined to have an independantanalysis done to see what differences there may be from one set of MXM4's to another or from one XC90 to another which would result in such drastic differences in tire life.

One thing that just occurred to me, our XC90 is AWD... wondering if this might have any kind of bearing on the tire life? At first blush however, I would think that AWD would wear out the tires sooner rather than later. An interesting puzzle, for sure....

Good luck with your new Kumho's!

 

If I run into some unlimited funds I will fund the research project. It is puzzling. I have also heard some reports of high mileage and on XC90 AWD. I have AWD. they are worn very evenly across all four. Just far too much for 15K. I should note however, I bought the vehicle from a local Volvo dealer. While it's possible they put them on and there are more than 15K (the vehicle has only 15K) on the tires, I doubt it. They ensured they are factory tires. And that was the brand noted on the paperwork.

I hope my Kumho choice pans out. $730 is lot of money for 4 tires. Thanks your good info. It's really helpful to share info...

JK

 

LOL on funding a research project for me...

maybe I should start a foundation!


In the FWIW dep't, $730 is aboutwhat I paid for the replacement set of MXM4's at Discount Tire. I recall they were $135 each on a sale price, and I also bought all the warranties and so on. The store told me they bought a lot of those tires from Ford, who had bought them and then wanted to move their inventory due to a slowdown in production. Whether that part was true or not I don't know, but for me it was like Santa Claus in June when I got that price.

 

On my 2003 T6, Pierlli Scorpions; wore out at 10K.
Replaced with Michelin MXM4, wore out in 15K.
Traded in for a 2006 XC90 V8, with Michelins. Gone again at around 18K.
Now have 2007 XC90 V8, came with Michelin HXMX4, ready to be replaced at 16K.
Mine have all been AWD XC90's. Michelin and XC90 does not appear to be a good match. I don't how someone managed to get over 60K miles on a set. Poor tire as far long lasting is concerned. Handles and tracks well and is also quiet just wish they would last for at least 25 or 30K before replacing.
This time around I'm going to try Goodyear Eagle Response Edge. They're a 103H rated, 440, A/A, just like the Michelins. Maybe they will last longer. Tires for the XC90 are expensive, these are 162 each, which is about what most all of them run.

 

The best winter tires ever are the "Nokian Hakkapeliitta R" They are the best in snow or ice and they last for ever. It is worth your money

 

A follow up - replaced the original Michelins on my 2004 T6 AWD with Toyo Open Countries. Now have 35k on the Toyos and I have about half tread remaining.

I am gentle on my cars and swap out for winter tires in the winter. Maybe this is why I am getting so many miles out of them?