jaims

With some trepidation over poor reviews about tread life, I’ve ordered a set of these...spurred on by necessity and the rare sighting of a Michelin sale (short lived as it is). Several here have posted having purchased these tires without the low tread wear issue, which was an overriding factor in this purchase decision.

I’m curious about how one might go about gauging ride noise and handling, ie, techniques I can perform on my old shoes before I slip into the new ones. I thought of doing a phone recording of cabin noise using the same stretch of highway, direction and time of day and comparing the two. A sound gauge would be preferable, though unrealistic (unless cheap ones can be had). But gauging how they differ in handling, though often apparent by feel in many cases, is something I seek on a somewhat less subjective basis. My thinking is that one way is the feel of the car while on a curved on or offramp....i.e., gauging at what speed one feels the car losing that firm feeling (or inconcisely, the feeling the car starts to feel ‘tippy.”).

I’m not a tire guy or gearhead...and tire change intervals are so far apart that I’ve not logged in my brain the differences in ride quality between the old and new set. I’ll probably stay away from stopping distant testing (yikes), but wonder what would be techniques I could employ before the old ones go that hopefully will have me rejoicing over my selection.

FWIW: Discount Tire...$218 per ($784 total which = 10% discount ending this Monday)...$100 install/disposal.... $62 tax = ~ $940 out the door.

ronsal

That sounds like a good price out-the-door.
Check the Michelin web site. I know that they had been sending me stuff w/$150 rebate offers. May have expired at 7/1.
Make sure when they mount the tires that they do a high speed balance. My experience with both a Q and SQ is that they are sensitive to minor air pressure changes and nuances of imbalance. Probably has to do with wonderful suspension.
Audi rec for normal load is 29/29 (p337 manual). On my Q, I seemed to have a little better feel when I played with different pressures, but stayed close to those recs (I did have the 18" wheels). I was amazed that I could feel the difference with only a 2 lb pressure difference. Again, figured it was because of really well engineered suspension.
Good luck - great tires

uberwgn

Solid choice, Jaims. That was our second set of tires on our '15 Q5. We seem to be able to do about 40,000 miles on a set of tires.

The promo runs thru July 6.

rohan737

You will love those Michelin LTX premier tires, I still doubt those low mileage claims. I run my 255/45R20 at 31/31, couple of pounds extra won't hurt.

jaims

All good stuff to make the best driving experience with these new tires. I will ask for the high speed/spin balance; and agree pressure can be a critical factor.

Those low mileage complaints are, however, very real. Because it is, and remains, a mystery to me how so many are having wear issues, I spent a fair amount of time researching this. Concerned me a little that so many with this issue stated thet were religious about rotation, tire pressure and drive under normal road conditions and style of driving. Yet, I didn't find any low wear posters who drove the Q5. Consequently, the lack of complaints on this forum about tread wear for that tire makes me think this wear issue is vehicle related. I guess I'll find out. .

spindlewood

Your thread just got me thinking about tread depth and mileage. Since I maintain my own car and do my own seasonal tire swap, I don't have anyone telling me what my tread depth is. Doing a search, I see that the penny test, which has been used for the last 50 years, is no longer considered the gold (copper) standard. Now it's the quarter test.

I'm curious what your current tires were listed at when you were told you needed new ones. Mine (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+) are just now reaching the top of Washington's head which around 4/32" at 15k miles (and I've babied them). But it's not so straight forward getting a definitive measurement. Since the tread grooves are not perpendicular, the coin can't be flush against the tread and therefore the observation angle impacts the measurement. It's also hard getting a good measurement across all 4 treads with the tires on. I bit the bullet and ordered a tire depth gauge so there's no question what the depth is.

For as long as I've blindly trusted my cars to a dealer (pre-Audi), I've understood 2/32" to be the definitive end of tire life - probably changing out around 3/32". Now I read that Tire Rack did a study which showed that stopping distance doubled between new to 2/32" and 4/32" was half way in-between. This is good information. But warranty is still based on getting to an unsafe 2/32" before theoretically being able to file a tread wear claim (prorated on retail cost). Has anyone gone through the process of a warranty claim via Tire Rack?

I'd like to get more than 18k out of my Pilot Sport A/S 3+. They have a 45k warranty but is the warranty worthless?

Sandroad

Couple things based on previous posts on this thread......

Decible meters are very inexpensive and can provide an objective measurement of interior noise comparisons on the same road at the same speed in the same weather. I have this one and it seems to work fine. While it may not be perfectly absolutely accurate, it does provide an accurate comparison because it provides a stable reading.



Second, I do consider tire tread warranties to be worthless because I would never let my tires wear to the point they are considered "officially" worn out. I live in Michigan and driving on tires with that low a tread depth is asking for disaster much of the year.

To the OP: you won't regret those tires and that's a good out the door price.

jaims

Am I correct in assuming that a new tire will sound louder than that same tire after a wear in period? I seem to remember somewhere that new tires - and I suppose due to more tire surface making contact with the road surface - will produce more sound than after some tire wear has occurred.

@spindlewood: your lament about wanting more than 18k out of your tires is one I have come across more than I would hope in reviews..more in regards to the LTX, however, than the Sport; but still... I too plan this go round to baby this set, including getting a tire depth gauge and in an abundance of caution, checking balance at rotation intervals. And good question about whether the warranty is worthless. Many negative reviews about Michelins pertained not only to poor tread wear, but getting jerked on the warranty. Me thinks a significant factor regarding honoring of warranty claims comes down to not only who you bought from insofar as a nationwide chain goes, but the customer service policy of the chain store’ manager.

@sandroad...dang.,,wish I had a few more days before the new ones go on to buy and use that db meter with my old tires. That is reasonably priced.

After a few days of riding on the Premier LTXs, I’ll post a review of sorts ...ie how they compare to the OEM Conti tires. No complaints about those but then no real basis for comparison, except the new ones that go on tomorrow. Not necessarily expecting ear to ear grinning on the drive home...but wouldn’t mind starting off my week that way.

baz-mtl

@jaims Thanks for starting this thread mate, I too am considering replacing my stock Continentals with the Premier LTXs. Will be watching this thread and your feedback very closely!

While I don't have a fancy decibel-o-meter, I did use one of those free apps that measures and helps record ambient noise to measure the average noise inside the cabin over a 5 KM stretch of relatively deserted highway, driving at a constant 110 kmph. Hopefully, i'll get a chance to compare the noise and decibel levels after switching to the LTX.

jaims

Your posting about a db meter available as a phone app scratches me right where I itch. Thanks.