Winter Tires

[Mullen, Shaun]

Michael: 

You will find wildly varying opinions on tires generally and Michelins and
snow tires specifically, on this list.  A good number of very knowledgeable
folks despise the Michelin MXV series.  I myself love 'em.

My first set of Michelins were the original X series.  I shod a 1973 VW
Kombi with them.  I have put more or less 600,000 miles (this is no
bullsh*t) on Michelins since, more recently several iterations of MXV4s on a
1992 100CSQW, a 1998 A4QM Avant and most recently a 2000 A4QS Avant.  These
tires wear unbelievably well with proper attention to inflation and
alignment.  I myself have gotten 60,000-plus miles on a set and probably
could have run them longer had winter weather not been just around the
corner and I wanted all of the tread I could get.  MXVs are the quietest of
all of the so-called sport tires that I have put on my cars and loved one's
cars.  I have found both Pirelli P-Series and Dunlop SP-series tires to be
much noisier.  I have substantial winter driving experience in the
Pennsylvania Poconos (faux mountains not to be confused with the Rockies or
Sierras, but they do get bigtime weather) with the MXV4s.  My rounds take me
to downtown Philadelphia, North Jersey, rural Southeastern Pennsylvania and
the Triangle region of North Carolina in addition to the Poconos, so I have
not been able to rationalize the expense, lousy wear and noise of snow
tires, not to mention the probable need for a second set of rims.

You will have to decide if you do enough winter driving -- and enough winter
driving on roads that aren't plowed and sanded/salted/cindered -- to make it
worth your while to get snow tires.  If your answer is that you don't do
enough of that driving, then the Michelin MXVs may be for you.  You have to
then decide if your driving style warrants snow tires.  That is, if the boy
racer runs hot in your blood and you just love streaking down snow-covered
mountain roads at high speeds, then you probably need performance snows --
and plenty of health insurance.  If you are merely a brisk driver like
myself who savors the pleasure of the quattro in winter driving, then the
Michelin MXVs may be for you.

Good luck.

Shaun Mullen
All Over the Place, USA

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Michael Friesen [SMTP:michael.friesen at home.com]
> Sent:	Friday, December 15, 2000 10:27 AM
> To:	quattro
> Subject:	Winter Tires
> 
> Hey all,
> 
> I have a set of Michelin MXV4+ on my 1994 90S, and am wondering if anyone
> has winter driving experience with these tires.  I'm wondering if I should
> go and get a set of winter tires and keep these ones for summer.  If
> that's
> the case, can anyone recommend good, reasonably priced snow tires?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mike Friesen
> 1994 Audi 90S