[LaRoca]

"Michelin tyres are a soft compound tyre. They cannot outlast a hard compound tyre. Apollo and MRF (most variants) are harder compounds and will easily outlast the Michelin by a huge margin."

Totally disagree with you here. Indian Tires NEVER last that long. While working for KBR in Dubai, I sourced MRFs for our Tanker Trailer Fleet operating in Iraq, not once but twice. None of them lasted long like our Michelins or Bridgestone's do. Thereafter I never bothered with any Indian brand. If Indian Tires are so good why aren't they popular in the Middle East?

Point is we must learn to accept where we are. We do not have the same level of R&D like other top international brands do. It doesn't matter if the compound is soft or hard, MRFs perform poorly in the roads of the Middle East.

[sunikkat]

I absolutely love Michelin tyres and it’s performance, mainly PS4. For me Continental comes close to Michelin in terms of performance. My current ride is on Continental SC5, due to non availability of Michelin, and totally happy with the tyres. But still I might go for PS4 during next change.

Having said that I respect Continental more as a company than Michelin and Pirelli. They have invested in India and their tyres are now made in India. Also ensures there is enough stock readily available. The comparable tyres (similar price abroad) of Continental in India is selling at lesser price than Michelin and Pirelli. This has also helped them to penetrate more in to Indian markets. Now that’s a better approach than blaming the government policies and creating tyre shortage.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

Having said that I respect Continental more as a company than Michelin and Pirelli. They have invested in India and their tyres are now made in India. Also ensures there is enough stock readily available. The comparable tyres (similar price abroad) of Continental in India is selling at lesser price than Michelin and Pirelli. This has also helped them to penetrate more in to Indian markets. Now that’s a better approach than blaming the government policies and creating tyre shortage.

Wholly agree. Michelin SA built their mother plant in Thailand and want to continue with the India-Thailand DTAA to import tyres, and hence are reluctant to invest in Indian manufacturing facilities.

If the Continental UC6 continues to prove reliable and/or they get the CSC6 or MC6, I will switch to them for both my cars.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by LaRoca

. If Indian Tires are so good why aren't they popular in the Middle East?

Point is we must learn to accept where we are. We do not have the same level of R&D like other top international brands do. It doesn't matter if the compound is soft or hard, MRFs perform poorly in the roads of the Middle East.

Since you were referring to trucks - Different road conditions, over loading , poor suspension maintenance etc - In indian trucks we still prefer cross ply tyres , not radials. Radials are slowly coming into the market since a few decades but very very slow for the above mentioned reasons.

If you subject your Michelin to the same punishment that an MRF or Apollo goes through , I doubt if the results would be the same here.

[superchamp]

Michelin tyres has got good reviews for sure. I have some bad experiences with Michelin ones with both my cars. I had changed the tyres to Michelin from stock when it was due but hasn't lasted more than 30K km's. I was forced to change the tyres as the tyres had very weak side walls and got punctured often.

I have changed to Apollo Alnac and i haven't felt any change to ride quality or noise. Also Apollo gives warranty for sidewall punctures or damage as well.

I think the tyre preference can be a brand obsessed perspective without any solid facts to back it up.

[NiInJa]

Yup, I had experienced Michelins once and they were far far better than the usual MRF and JK tyres on a small car. Heck, I have Michelin fitted on the rear wheel of my scooter and I've never felt the tiny scooter so grippy before.

It is sad that of late their availability is very limited these days, for smaller cars like Alto/Zen its almost non existent.

[DCharger]

Originally Posted by harry10

My experience with Michelins were superb for our Honda City for around 135000 Kms.
My experience with Yokohama Earth 1 has been quite good so far on Tiago.
It's early days but Apollo Alnac 4GS are also doing fine on our Sonet.
I will anyday prefer Michelin but they are harder to source now and expensive than the rest.

I am fan of Michelins, always had them on all my cars(India & USA) in last 10 years.

My Honda City 2012 got Michelin XM2 stock tyres. I replaced them with Michelin 3ST @ 45,000km. Existing 3STs developed cracks on the corners and I cannot risk driving on them. Now @ 90,000km I waited for almost 1 LONG year for Michelin Primacy 4ST 195/60R15, no clue when they would be available. I switched to Yokohama Earth 1 and am not happy with the ride quality, too much of tyre/road noise seeps into the cabin. My dealer assured to swap these with 4STs soon(subject to availability). Eagerly waiting for that.

Requesting inputs from members on whether damping will reduce this noise a bit. If yes, any suggestions on whether to get a single layer or double layer, brand, etc.

[PrasannaDhana]

I love Michelin too.

More than cars, their two wheeler tyres are great. I am talking about Michelin Pilot Street radials. I have used them in my Hinda CBR250R, Duke 390 and currently in my RC 390. They offer excellent grip and durability, while costing just about 70% of what metzelers cost.

When it comes to cars, my experience with Michelin is just with a set of tyres on my ciaz.

195/65 R135 Michelin P4ST - perhaps the best tyre I have had on my ciaz when it comes to ride quality and tyre noise.

I have had stock apollos(useless), Continental MC5 (superb handling and life, but noisy).

But to be honest, Michelin p4st did not come close to Contunental MC5 when it comes to grip and handling.

[headbanger]

I have not experienced the newer Apollos or MRFs. Ever since I shifted to Michelin XM2, 6-7 years back, I have stuck with them and Michelin have been one of the top recommendations from me to my friends and family. My first set on Ritz lasted for 1L+ kms replaced by current one with 20k kms under the belt. My Dzire is running on XM2s with 70k kms and good for another 10k at the very least. May be running on good quality tarmac and more highway running is the reason for churning out these numbers. But there is no denying the fact that my experience with Michelin XM2s has been head and shoulders above the OEM tires that my cars came with. They provide better ride quality, much higher road grip particularly on wet surfaces and comparatively better high speed control.

[Yieldway17]

I loved my Michelin XM2 tyres and they are still the best tyres for driving experience I have had. But the dry rot within 3.5 years even with medium usage and care was something I was not happy with. Almost everyone on web says that Michelin is known for those cracks after 3-4 years. It's disheartening when you had to give away a tyre with good treads because of these sidewall hairline rot cracks.

[anandavinash]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

But Michelin is not available in Bengaluru and so am stuck.

Did you try at Madhu's Wilson Garden? I got Michelin PST4 for my car (205/55/R16) just last month from them.

Originally Posted by Sebring

I use only Michelins (For 15 years now) and think that these don't /wont last as long as other tyres do. (The Goodyear and MRF have lasted 80,000+ Kms. in our other cars. This will do 70,000+).

I always believed that tyres usually shouldn't be used over 40-45K km or 4 years whichever is earlier. Running them for 70K or 80K km is quite high. Don't we risk the possibility of tyre imbalance ruining the bearings?

I remember on our 2006 Honda City, we forgot to change tyres at 40K km and at 65K km, the car started to make a loud noise when driven on the highway. Turns out that the tyres were bad and running them any longer would've had an impact on the wheel bearings.

[JagMan]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

I doubt any local manufactures like Apollo or MRF has ever bothered to be poking around tyre shops in India getting feedback and would instead send low level interns or such

For a brief period in 2010 ~ 2011 I redistributed TVS srichakra's two wheeler tyres and was visited by senior folks from the company as well. But they were already aware of the issues and wanted yet more sales in a market that was already depressed.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Since you were referring to trucks - Different road conditions, over loading , poor suspension maintenance etc - In indian trucks we still prefer cross ply tyres , not radials. Radials are slowly coming into the market since a few decades but very very slow for the above mentioned reasons.

If you subject your Michelin to the same punishment that an MRF or Apollo goes through , I doubt if the results would be the same here.

The issue from what I learnt from selling Tata ace tyres was that cross ply tyres are more forgiving of radials when it comes to overloading. The stock radials on a Tata ace would bulge within months on the vehicle being overloaded. Cross plys would last longer. And a lot of these tyres were being made by local factories with no QC nor certifications. I wonder if it's the same for larger vehicles.

And whether it's indian tyres or imported ones, all truck tyres afaik are over engineered to support multiple uses after retreading. Otherwise tyres would be a huge expense for transporters.

[Arbind Ray]

Originally Posted by GTO

...Big fan of Michelins here, they remain my no.1 tyre brand. Be it the Pilot Sports range...

Picked up a 2005 Boxter 987 S 3.2 manual this week. Dropped it off at the local Porche dealership for it's MOT and major service including diagnostics. It currently has a rear pair of 265/35/R19 which are Michelin. If advisories include change of tyre, the Michelin Pilot Sports range is a strong contender. I've also shortlisted Pirelli and Continental.

The MRF tryes are still going strong on the Ford Endeavour which I'll probably be replacing next year with Goodyear, GF or Geolander all terrain tyres.

Wet/dry road safety remains a constant however I'm less inclined to utilise the vehicles for their optimal purpose; be it the Endeavour for its off-road/load capacity or the Porche roadster for it's racing prowess. With it's flat-six mid-engine inches behind the driver's seat, tyre noise is least of my priorities which, on the other hand with the Endeavour, ride comfort and acoustic properties will certainly inform my decision.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

...noticed two white folks examining tyres and prodding around...

This sentence probably explains why the OP is now so immensely trusting of Michelin tyres, and not in favour of other brands.

If the top executives of each company visit a few dealerships occasionally and hand out their visiting cards to a few random customers, the advertising / marketing mileage they would gain from it would be far higher than any money spent on their advertising agencies. For example, if I meet Mr Anand Mahindra at a dealership when I am checking out a Thar or XUV7OO, and he hands me his visiting card and says "Call me if your car has a problem or your dealership experience is less than optimal", I would be far more inclined to buy the car than if the sales advisor was giving me a large discount just to close the deal! And I'd certainly write a thread about it on Team-BHP too, and share his number with all my Mahindra-owning friends!

[somspaple]

Originally Posted by saket77

I have had Michelin XM1+ ( made in Thailand) on my Zen. Grip wise, they were good but after a few years and 12K kms, they started spitting on the circumference in between the treads. All four of them. Some dismissed this and put it down to lower usage of mine. Mind you, no sidewall cracks whatsoever.
However, my usage pattern is same as ever and I’m on my third set of wheels on the zen and second set on the Civic. None except Michelin failed prematurely and in this way.

Here’s my experience: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...e-failure.html (Michelin XM1+ Tyres: Age-related damage or failure?)

A few months later, I spotted set of XM1+ on an Alto in my apartment parking. The owner was well known to me. He told that he had covered about 35K kms in 3 years and the condition of tires were just like mine. Splitting/ cracking in between treads. There went the theory of low usage down the drain. Michelin dealer was highly uncooperative, so I decided no Michelins again. I understand that XM1s has issues on that front. Or a bad batch. Or a rejected foreign dump. But that experience was enough for me to move away from Michelins permanently. There are Pirellis and yokos available which I’m pretty happy to use. In fact the tire dealer from whom I got my replacement tires told clearly that this was a manufacturing defect.

It doesn’t mean that not having Michelins on your car is like it’s end of the world. Lots of equally good or even better options are available with better service.

Originally Posted by Yieldway17

I loved my Michelin XM2 tyres and they are still the best tyres for driving experience I have had. But the dry rot within 3.5 years even with medium usage and care was something I was not happy with. Almost everyone on web says that Michelin is known for those cracks after 3-4 years. It's disheartening when you had to give away a tyre with good treads because of these sidewall hairline rot cracks.

I guess XM series are prone to this issue. Even we had the same experience on our old wagonR. I made my Dad buy XM2s after reading good reviews back then on Michelin tyres. Within 12K kms they developed cracks as if the tyre surface had dried hard.

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

.. It's unfortunate that your tyres failed prematurely - like every product, some are bound to have issues. I am sure Michelin would have sorted you out if you had approached them.

Also, does any one else offer 5-8 year warranties in tyres? Not sure. I think most others offer 3 year warranties - if that.
...

Warranty on tyres doesn't quite work the way it works for other goods - at least it's not in my experience with Michelin.

When I took it up with the tyre shop from where we had bought the tyre he helped log a complaint with Michelin and I even met one of the sales guy from Michelin. His reply varied from 'this is normal' to 'it is the driving conditions' to 'probably car is parked under direct sun all the time' nonsense. When I didn't budge for his nonsense he offered a grand 30% off on next set of tyres [because it's under warranty].Even the shop owner felt that it is stupid. I let him know how I feel about his 'offer' in a polite North Karnataka way and went ahead changed the tyres to Yokos. I didn't want to take chance since Dad drives on highway frequently and it'll be pain for me travel between Bangalore and Hubli just to take care of this issue. And we have not faced this kinda issue after that on other brands of tyres on wagonR or on current Ignis.

Later I learnt that[here on this forum] it is a common occurrence with Michelins and people have been using tyres like that for more than 40K kms without any other issues.

Having said that I might go for Michelin Pilot as next change for my Verna which are running on MRF Perfinza right now.