Luckily for us, this unprecedented wet weather has been a great time to test the Michelin CrossClimate 2’s wet-weather capability. The one-word summary is these tires are fantastic in heavy rain. Torque News is now seven months into a long-term test of the new Michelin CrossClimate 2 advanced all-season tire. It seems everyone michelin truck tires is either switching to them to avoid having to swap winter tires in the fall or are considering doing so. This is our fourth report and will focus on how these tires perform in heavy wind-swept rain and in flooding conditions. As for dry, safety is usually not an issue as the braking distance is much longer than wet.
However this is the default daily usage and the tires have to perform at a very consistent level. In dry braking we saw huge improvements as Cross Climate 2 was stopping 5.9 feet (1.8m) earlier than Cross Climate +. Kudos as Michelin managed to balance the target conflict of wet & dry braking very well.
V-shaped blocks and self-blocking 3D Sipes are incorporated into the tyre’s tread pattern, further optimising the level of traction that is provided in both winter and summer conditions. MICHELIN® CrossClimate® 2 tire is the leader for snow braking and traction (1)(4) and leader in wet and snow performance at the legal wear limit. It is suitable for all weather conditions, all year round, including if you drive in occasional winter conditions. But if you drive often on snow covered and icy roads at winter temperatures, MICHELIN® winter tires could be a solution to consider. It offers longer tread life than most touring tires and excellent traction on dry and wet surfaces.
Split fitments – If your vehicle has tires of different sizes on the front versus the rear axles, your tires cannot be rotated as recommended. Therefore, the mileage warranty on each rear tire will cover half the number of miles as the standard mileage warranty for that particular tire line. ZP (Zero Pressure) tires – The maximum mileage warranty for ZP tires is 30,000 miles. Michelin CrossClimate 2 Test Report – Heavy Fall Rain
New Englanders can’t remember a year with more rain events than 2021.
We built our website with over 15 years of experience and extensive research in the automotive and technology sectors. My dedication to delivering high-quality content is unwavering, and I strive to continuously hone my skills to stay ahead of industry trends and provide readers with informative, michelin defender tires engaging, and valuable insights. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, Michelin’s all-season tire also provides exceptional acceleration traction. Michelin is back with another tire that aims to unsettle the industry with its innovative design and a promise for true all-season traction.
However with the sustainability topic being more prevalent, rolling resistance has been widely used as a competitive marketing tool as it could be easily seen in the label values. Overall, though, this is one of the best all-season tires for driving in wintry conditions, with good acceleration/braking traction and surefooted handling. The lateral grip in rainy conditions is also among the highest of any all-season tire, adding to the overall impressive wet performance.
Before purchasing tires, make sure to use our Tire Finder to select the right fit for your vehicle. Type the Year & Option of your vehicle to make sure the tires fit on your vehicle. For more in depth information about UTQG, please check out this article here. We even have a free download on the latest UTQG values from the leading tire manufacturers. While we saw almost no gain in wet handling, things were different for dry handling as Cross Climate 2 managed to be 1.74 seconds per lap faster than Cross Climate +. Knowing the improvements in wet relative to the dry, Michelin surprises us once again by improving on dry with a respectable margin.
For starters, the acceleration and braking traction is a step above what every other all-season tire offers. You’ll have no issues accelerating out of a corner, even if you own a more powerful vehicle, and the braking distances will be the shortest of any all-season tire out there. Before we jump to the wet and snow traction/grip, let’s discuss the CrossClimate 2’s steering feel because it’s rather impressive. The Michelin CrossClimate 2 is unlike any other all-season/all-weather tire on the market, with a design that’s more reminiscent of a performance summer tire.
Hence, it should perform excellently in rain and snow, even when the tread is worn down to 2/32-inch of tread depth. A tire’s maximum inflation pressure (PSI) is the highest “cold” inflation pressure that the tire is designed to contain. When measuring a tire’s max PSI, it is important the tire is “cold,” because warmer temperatures can cause the tire pressure to temporarily increase resulting with inaccurate readings. This measurement should only be used when called for on the vehicle’s tire placard or in the vehicle’s owners manual.
Cross Climate 2 stayed with the same rolling resistance label of “C” as Cross Climate+. However when the tires were put to the test, the new Cross Climate 2 achieved a lower fuel consumption of 5.55 michelin cross climate liter/100km in comparison to the 5.66 liter/100km of Cross Climate+. This makes Cross Climate 2 a much more sustainable as it emits less carbon footprint over its lifetime compared to Cross Climate+.