Ranges are expressed using a number and the higher the number, the stronger the tire. Michelin announced the recall on Thursday of more than half a million tires for falling short of snow tire traction standards outlined by federal regulation. The image of Michelin Man Mascot stays on top of customers’ minds about the best tire brand for automobiles. This French multinational tire manufacturing company dates back to 1889. Over time, it has asserted its leading position in providing excellent grade rubber tires.
I would imagine the current lack of + version would indicate it’s a low volume size and the moulds have yet to be updated. The CrossClimate is ranked 18th of 52 All Season Premium Touring tires. The CrossClimate 2 is ranked 12th of 52 All Season Premium Touring tires.
The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is a performance, all weather tire manufactured for passenger vehicles and SUVs. The tire offers excellent year-round traction, also ensuring its severe winter traction. Michelin are going through a process of simplifying their product range so they only have the highest michelin defender tires load rating of the tires. This is fine for insurance, and looking at the tire tests, fine for comfort too. Ideally you would change all four tires, but during the summer and autumn months it is fine to change two, only during freezing, snow and ice driving would the difference become apparent.
3-D Self-Locking Sipes
The design of these tires creates additional biting edges for foul-weather traction. Emerging grooves in the shoulders help retain confident winter traction as the tire wears. High Directional Tread Patterns
Solid transverse ribs help improve handling stability and dry traction. Comfort and Performance
Refined comfort on the daily drive and confident performance in the dry and wet plus premium light snow traction. High levels of silica are used in the tyre’s compound, as with a winter tyre – this compound structure ensures a low rolling resistance and consistant performance in winter conditions. The CrossClimate’s innovative tread design is made with two layers – one on the outer tread and another underneath the surface.
It’s no coincidence, then, that many journos are considering it as a summer/all-season tire. With the new tire, the French tire giant focused largely on delivering better snow and ice traction while also improving rolling resistance, comfort, and dry and wet traction. Michelin’s Defender line consists of well-rounded touring and highway tires. They have excellent michelin cross climate performance on dry and wet surfaces while providing a comfortable and quiet ride. Although the center section of the tire has gaps that sometimes create noise with the wind, the noise level is still low compared to other touring and grand touring tires. As we all know, all-season tires like the Defender line don’t perform well in extreme weather conditions.
If you are changing your tire dimensions from stock you will want to have your speedometer & odometer recalibrated after installing your tires. Changing your wheel or tire size can affect the accuracy of your gauges as well as how your transmission shifts. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to give us a call. This is the only all-season tire that works equally well on dry, wet, and snow-covered tarmac while also providing a generally smooth ride and a solid treadlife.