Michelin Primacy 3 ST Tyres launched in India

[skyliner34]

Finally upgraded my Honda City tires from GoogYear GT3 (stock) to Michelin P3ST (195/60 R15).
IMHO GoodYear GT3 are the worst possible OEM tires in recent times, they were unbearably noisy and would easily give up grip under medium-hard driving, only plus on them would be their hard compound, no punctures or no issues with side walls what so ever in their 30k lifetime, I've driven with them on good roads bad roads and no roads.

Initial impression on P3ST -
They are super silent till 100-110 kph, beyond that they are slightly audible (can be also due to crappy sound insulation in City), grip levels have increased marginally (only city driving, yet to push them on highways/corners) and steering has become light in-spite of up-size (low resistance?).
Cost = 6150/Tire.

Will post a detailed review as and when I complete few km's with them.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

JK Vectra are good tires and they are made in technical collaboration with Continental AG, Germany; same company which makes CPC2 tires. The best part of JK Vectra, is being rigid which suits the Indian terrain. Making trip to country side roads is much safer with JK than Michelin & Yokohama wherein you always fear for sidewall bulges & tear.

If you wish to upgrade move over to 195 60 R15, Continental CPC2. As it also gives you a 6 mm increase in GC. 205 55 R15 is now a very rare tire size and available with Yokohama S-Drives which are famous for side wall bulges & tear.

I would rather put my money on 195 60 R15 CPC2 or JK Vectra.

I am not sure if your statements are true. Please go through this thread which has posts of a lot of issues

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...g-quality.html (JK tyres, simply crappy manufacturing quality!)

I have currently done around 27k kms on my car and I have noticed that the rubber on the side walls of the tires seem to be sort of peeling off. I am not sure if this is normal.

[pmbabu]

Originally Posted by skyliner34

Finally upgraded my Honda City tires from GoogYear GT3 (stock) to Michelin P3ST (195/60 R15).
Cost = 6150/Tire.

Great, where did you get them from?

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Epic

I am not sure if your statements are true. Please go through this thread which has posts of a lot of issues

Well my Vento TDi came with JK Vectra and its been 13,750 Kms and they are holding up good. No tyre peel or other issues. May be since I have done only close to 14K kms thats why I have had good experience. But none the less, I have pushed them till Vento top speed many a times and car mostly does excess of 120 when on highways. Tire noise is higher but if you drive on tar roads its hardly disturbing. Turn up music to vol 6 and Vento's insulation keeps everything at bay.

I only grudge I have with Michelin & Yoko's is soft sidewalls. Where cars with Michelin & Yoko think twice before driving, I don't have to worry about. Only fitting substitute to JK Vectras would be Continental CPC2 given they have tough side walls.

Our Indian roads don't deserve tyres like Michelin Primary LC, PS3T, Yokohama C-Drives & S-Drives.

The day anyone of those Vectra goes for a toss I would staright away go in for CPC2.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Well my Vento TDi came with JK Vectra and its been 13,750 Kms and they are holding up good. No tyre peel or other issues. May be since I have done only close to 14K kms thats why I have had good experience. But none the less, I have pushed them till Vento top speed many a times and car mostly does excess of 120 when on highways. Tire noise is higher but if you drive on tar roads its hardly disturbing. Turn up music to vol 6 and Vento's insulation keeps everything at bay.

I only grudge I have with Michelin & Yoko's is soft sidewalls. Where cars with Michelin & Yoko think twice before driving, I don't have to worry about. Only fitting substitute to JK Vectras would be Continental CPC2 given they have tough side walls.

Our Indian roads don't deserve tyres like Michelin Primary LC, PS3T, Yokohama C-Drives & S-Drives.

The day anyone of those Vectra goes for a toss I would staright away go in for CPC2.

Well I was just checking the Continental Tyres website and I am glad to see that they have the Continental ContiPremium Contact 2 model in the 185/60/R15 size which is stock for the Polo Highline. However, I was checking out the available sizes and there are 04 models of CPC2 in the same size :

185/60/R15 84T TL
185/60/R15 84T TL AO
185/60/R15 84H TL
185/60/R15 88H TL XL

TL = Tubeless , AO = For Audi Models , XL = Extra Load (Reinforced) , H = 210 kmph , T = 190 kmph

So how does one choose the right tyre out of these?

[khoj]

Michelin & Yokohama are supposed to be babied but on the contrary myself and fellow bhpian Parimal have found these to be very reliable tires. Parimal has LCs on his Punto and has covered 50000+ kms in 3 years time and I have AVS db550 on my Cedia having covered 26000+ kilometres exclusively on the highways since 2010.

In both of our cases our work takes us in to areas strewn with broken surface & pot hole infested poor roads, bad roads and at times no more than dirt tracks. Both of us have not had a tire related issue thus far. Have we been lucky? maybe.

My city drive a Swift Zxi rides on JK Vectras. I have no complaints with these either. Have done a few highway runs totalling around 6-8000 kms but the remainder of its 22000+ kilometres have been pure bumper to bumper traffic on well paved roads. On the flip side yet another fellow member (DBHPian ss_traveller) had the Vectras on his Swift come apart with only IIRC 20000 kilometres on the odometer. This again with city driving and a very considerate driver who looks after his rides better than the majority of us.

Similarly Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear all are good products and the forum is replete with experiences both good and bad. I believe therefore that all of our views on tires are subjective, based as they are on our own individual experiences.

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

I only grudge I have with Michelin & Yoko's is soft sidewalls. Where cars with Michelin & Yoko think twice before driving, I don't have to worry about. Only fitting substitute to JK Vectras would be Continental CPC2 given they have tough side walls.

Our Indian roads don't deserve tyres like Michelin Primary LC, PS3T, Yokohama C-Drives & S-Drives.

[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by Epic

So how does one choose the right tyre out of these?

It depends on what's actually available in India. Likewise CPC2 is available in 205 55 R15 size internationally but here in India its not. You would basically find a single choice out of those 4 listed in India.

I did prefer one with reinforced, extra load and higher speed.

Why don't you try 195 60 R15 size compared to stock 185 60 R15. Going in with 195 size GC would increase by 6 mm and there would be a odo error of 2% which is 100 Km recorded as 98 km. Which wont make much difference.

Originally Posted by khoj

Similarly Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear all are good products and the forum is replete with experiences both good and bad. I believe therefore that all of our views on tires are subjective, based as they are on our own individual experiences.

Agree with all your points. I had Michelin XM1+ on my Tata Indica and they served in excess of 50,000 Kms without any trouble. I abused them to their limits and no issue whatsoever. I would recommend anyone who wishes to go for Michelin to give XM2 series a try.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Epic

185/60/R15 84T TL
185/60/R15 84T TL AO
185/60/R15 84H TL
185/60/R15 88H TL XL

TL = Tubeless , AO = For Audi Models , XL = Extra Load (Reinforced) , H = 210 kmph , T = 190 kmph

So how does one choose the right tyre out of these?

With tyres always go for the best as they are the only contact patch to the ground.

My choice eyes closed would be 185/60/R15 88H TL XL

Btw, I have used CPC2's for 47,000kms and I love those tyres

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

VW Jetta stock tyre is 205 / 55R16.


1. 215 / 55R16 - Road contact will improve and GC will also be slightly better..
2. 205 / 60R16 - FE will remain same. GC will improve and ODO error which is right now on the higher side, will reduce.

The best upgrade is 225/50R16. This is a per the thumb rule of tire upgrades to keep ride quality same by maintaing a similar sidewall height inspite of lower profile. However, the grip levels will be much better!

I have the same size the stock size in my Superb and going to upgrade to 225/50R16 when my current tyres wear out. Being a FWD there is always wheel spin when you even slightly floor the car from standstill. The extra rubber will help put the power to the ground better.

Overall there will be a marginal drop in FE however this will be very negligible to pinch.

[skyliner34]

Originally Posted by pmbabu

Great, where did you get them from?

My bad, forgot to mention about Madhu's Enterprises (Langford Road) in my initial post
Experience with our very own bhpian Nikhil and Madhu's shop is nothing short of excellent. Spoke to Nikhil a day before and the entire process was completed within an hour the next day. You can always talk to Nikhil for any help in this regard.

[paras211]

Time to change tires on my jetta, 206/55/16
The stock nct5 are noisy, I want quiet tires, majorly to be used on highways and high speeds 120-160 kph. What tires should I buy? How are the new apollo verdenstein?
thanks

[Screwdriva]

These tyres do not appear to have the rolling resistance benefits that made the Primacy LC and MXV8 tyres special for India's roads.

That's a shocking omission for a country obsessed with fuel economy!!!

[khoj]

This tire does not fall in the range of offerings catering to the average obsessed consumer.

This one is meant for those who are looking for sharp precise handling and high grip levels on all sorts of road surfaces and climatic conditions at sustained high speeds. The customer for this product usually does not have fuel consumption as the buying criteria.

Originally Posted by Screwdriva

That's a shocking omission for a country obsessed with fuel economy!!!

[Screwdriva]

I know S class owners who compare and complain about mileage

If there tires are replacements, even in part, for the Primacy LC, then omitting fuel efficient "ENERGY" based tires is a grave oversight for Michelin

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Screwdriva

I know S class owners who compare and complain about mileage

If there tires are replacements, even in part, for the Primacy LC, then omitting fuel efficient "ENERGY" based tires is a grave oversight for Michelin

Low rolling resistance tyres have limitations in terms of absolute grip. The Primacy LCs have had some customers who have complained of loss of grip esp in wet conditions. The 3ST is aimed at aimed large and upper mid sized segments where grip and performance take precedence over a few extra hundred meters per litre.

Michelin websites still display the Primacy LC. Don't know if its discontinued or still available. Maybe the mileage obsessed individual still has the choice of going for it.

I've used the Primacy LC for an extended period of time and was very happy with it too. No complaints whatsoever. I recently switched to wider Pilot Sport 3 tyres. The difference in fuel efficiency is very very marginal, but the difference in grip and performance is significant.