Premium tyres
- Thread starter Toenheel
- Start date
CC2s probably the best all season tyre. Continental due a similar all season. Personal choice - I run Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 265 40 20 in the summer. They are outstanding in levels of grip, handling and have excellent wet weather braking characteristics. In the winter months I run Bridgestone Blizzak winter tyres in the same size which are brilliant in snow - much better than all season tyres in the same conditions - especially when temperatures drop below 7c. However unless you drive to the Alps then full winters not really worth the extra cost for a bit of snow in the UK. Tyre choice is always an interesting topic. I just go with what works for me. Good Luck
Tyre Reviews has dropped a new video on YouTube - Cross Climate 3 and (an entirely new variant) Cross Climate 3 Sport are out now.
Improved pretty much across the board but especially wet weather and longevity where the CC2 was dropping points to the competitors.
Sports are for 18” upwards.
Improved pretty much across the board but especially wet weather and longevity where the CC2 was dropping points to the competitors.
Sports are for 18” upwards.
Yep hot off the press , might mean a set of the CC’2 will drop in price . I have run these tyres for a few years now. My current set is less than 12months old . Might get the agilis version next .New Michelin CrossClimate 3 | Product Details & Release Date
I do not think that anybody has posted a link for reviews
This is great news. It already rumoured for a while that Michelin was working on a CC3. The outgoing CC2 was great but also getting old and outclassed more and more by the newer AS competition from Conti, Pirelli and Bridgestone (except in snow).
Something I always struggle with is that AS tyre tests that include a premium summer tyre for reference (like Tyre Reviews & German ADAC do), clearly show that even the best AS tyres are still quite far off from matching a summer tyre regarding steering, handling, wet & dry grip, wet & dry braking, noise etc. in all circumstances except freezing winter conditions and snow. The convenience of an AS tyre with (likely) better grip on wet grass and gravel, still comes with quite a performance penalty compared to a premium summer tyre. For my use and climate (Netherlands) it means that a summer tire is considerably better during approx. 90% of my driving throughout the year.
But this new CC3 Sport looks tempting! Although I doubt it will be available in 255/45-18 with load index 103 as that'll likely be the regular CC3.
Something I always struggle with is that AS tyre tests that include a premium summer tyre for reference (like Tyre Reviews & German ADAC do), clearly show that even the best AS tyres are still quite far off from matching a summer tyre regarding steering, handling, wet & dry grip, wet & dry braking, noise etc. in all circumstances except freezing winter conditions and snow. The convenience of an AS tyre with (likely) better grip on wet grass and gravel, still comes with quite a performance penalty compared to a premium summer tyre. For my use and climate (Netherlands) it means that a summer tire is considerably better during approx. 90% of my driving throughout the year.
But this new CC3 Sport looks tempting! Although I doubt it will be available in 255/45-18 with load index 103 as that'll likely be the regular CC3.
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^^^ I'd question the relevance of such tests compared to real road usage.
Due to my past job I got to drive at speeds on public roads that mere mortals can only dream about, and did so in a variety of cars. T5s and Rs, S60Rs, Range Rovers, X5s, Subarus, Mondeos, Foci, XC90s, Zafira turbos, even a Fiesta ST we trialled for rhe Home Office.
There's simply no day of the week that I'd choose my tyres to have their best "Oh sh*t!" levels of edge-of-the-envelope performance in the dry and warm, which is where most any tyre will perform acceptably and progressively anyway.
Nope, id rather have my underpant saving grip for when the roads are cold, wet and slimy, where even the best summer tyres do suffer.
When these tests have been conducted over decades, in a variety of cars, at double legal speeds or higher, on cars that haven't had their pressures checked for months (naughty, but that's how most folk treat their tyres), on real roads with poor drainage, leaves, inconsistent surfaces, diesel spills, tar joints, poor repairs, and all the rest of then I'll choose to believe them over my own first hand experience.
Until that day...
Due to my past job I got to drive at speeds on public roads that mere mortals can only dream about, and did so in a variety of cars. T5s and Rs, S60Rs, Range Rovers, X5s, Subarus, Mondeos, Foci, XC90s, Zafira turbos, even a Fiesta ST we trialled for rhe Home Office.
There's simply no day of the week that I'd choose my tyres to have their best "Oh sh*t!" levels of edge-of-the-envelope performance in the dry and warm, which is where most any tyre will perform acceptably and progressively anyway.
Nope, id rather have my underpant saving grip for when the roads are cold, wet and slimy, where even the best summer tyres do suffer.
When these tests have been conducted over decades, in a variety of cars, at double legal speeds or higher, on cars that haven't had their pressures checked for months (naughty, but that's how most folk treat their tyres), on real roads with poor drainage, leaves, inconsistent surfaces, diesel spills, tar joints, poor repairs, and all the rest of then I'll choose to believe them over my own first hand experience.
Until that day...
Me too I think.I'm still voting for a decent summer tyre
I dipped my toe in the water and fittedAS to the car mainly on wanting to make sure if we ever see snow again I can still use it.
We haven’t had snow where I live in two years but the wet and dry handling of the AS is a step down from the Michelin summer tyres I had on the car.
In the UK I think you could use an AS as a winter tyre but the stopping distances in the wet, being less than a decent summer tyre (and with the UK being wet most the year) I still see the summer tyre as a winner on the van. I don’t ‘need’ to use it in snow. And I’ve managed on wet grass where others have failed just by thinking rather than revving.
Apart from the independent tyre benchmark testing, which can provide a measured performance and safety result, the tyre manufacturers run extensive testing in every imaginable condition before a tyre gets to market. The manufacturers run destructive testing with a variety of tyre pressures and temperatures. So in end what shows up in a tyre review is usually true to form.
Except for extremely high-speed use on real public highways, on real conditions which they cannot legally do.
We all know how car manufacturers,for example, test the bejesus out of their cars in a multitude of conditions. That doesnt stop them developing serious faults and problems when they hit the market and real people start using them in a live environment (cough - wet belts.)
And so it is with tyres.
I think the manufacturers do a lot of real world testing on public roads under 'normal' conditions. Except for the aspects that are illegal to do on public roads, which kinda makes sense. I also think that the big top manufacturers do a lot more testing and development than the (much) smaller B, let alone C brands. Simply because of budget, facilities etc.
I believe the tyre manufacturers test facilities go way beyond any conditions that an everyday real world motorist are likely to encounter. They have test them to max rated speed and beyond. There is a facility in Germany where they can continuously test at speeds of 250+ mph.
Yet the driving public and our roads still manage to muller and wreck tyres in a manner these tests cannot...
Closed environment testing only takes you so far, be it tyres, cars, medicines, spaceflight, whatever. The most rigorous testing comes when a commidity is in widespread use with its intended audience - there is simply no means of replicating the scale and scope of such live usage.
Thats at Papenberg, I've been there. And there's not a single pothole, speed bump, rumble strip, crack, or change or surface on the entire loop, and they don't drive the tyres under test for years without checking the pressures, etc, etc.
I’ve also been there . It is pothole free. On the high speed section they do run cars for tyre testing for a considerable time but you are correct that’s not real world conditions. I suggest all tyre manufacturers should use the pot hole ridden UK roads for testing and after that the tyres would stand up to anything 
I have the same experience. Two years ago I fitted CC2s on a BMW 3 series that was on Michelin Primacy 4s till then. Steering, handling, (corner) stability, dry and wet braking, all suffered clearly. Except during really cold and snowy conditions (seeing less and less of both here) where the CC2 was indeed better. But not by a margin big enough to justify the downsides during the rest of the year.
My van is currently on Bridgestone Turanza 6s that work really well. Also on camping grounds surprisingly. Excellent grip and a nice feel of what's going on during cornering and braking, both dry and wet. No issues so far (30 K+ KMs). Main downsides are that they are a little crashy/loud on transverse ridges and they feel a little numb/reluctant around the centre position of the steering wheel. Not sure if that's a Transporter trait in general or not.
My next tyres will likely be Conti Premium Contact 7s but this new CC3 Sport sure is an interesting tyre imo.
