Here is the Tire Rack test showing the two original equipment tires that come on the XC 2.5 AWD, the Michelin and Pirelli, with the Pirelli costing around $121 each and the Michelin around $200 each. Neither seem to be very high up the performance chart, so it appears that there are some better choices.
Here's the link, any and all comments are welcome, as we're all in this together and we're looking for a consensus, or good comments one way or another.
None of the tires I posted images of look all that good visually, with regards to how I would anticipate them handling transient manuvers like quick lane changes, spirited back road driving, and "wagging the tail" due to high cross section and generally open tread pattern. The more open the tread pattern the better the tire generally works in the wet, and depending on pattern, the snow (I may be in Nashville, but I grew up in Erie, PA :-)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=HAS
Here is another important link, the owner survey part, this makes for some good reading if you're considering the Geolander, which appears to be the best tire for the price. http://www.tirerack.com/survey/Surve...ommentStatus=P
Mr. P
From France, the Michelin
And from Italy, the Pirelli
But..........From Japan, the Yokohama is waaaaaay higher in the performance charts, in every possible way, so this certainly appears to be a better choice..
GO51
Note: This tire comes in three tread patterns, and three different weight ratings, look at the writeup and you'll see the alternatives.
Here's the Yoko GO52, note the difference in tread pattern
Here's the Yoko GO53, note tread difference
Contrary to popular belief, I'm not on the marketing staff for Yokohama, as a matter of fact, I'm not too high about having the word "Yokohama" emblazoned on the side of a vehicle built in Sweden, but hey, I guess I can get over it, ha ha.
Jumping over the Khumo, from Korea, to the Firestone in third place, all of which are probably essentially "dead even" the way these tests are actually done, we have the Firestone, which appears to be a good choice too.
Back when Ford had problems with Firestone, jointly putting a cheap tire on their SUV and jointly suffering from the blowout issues, partially due to underinflation and running too fast with too heavy a load, I got a bad feel for Firestone and purchased Bridgestones for my 928. Since then I learned Firestone did, indeed, build a great high performance tire (SZ50 EP) and I have a set of those on one of my 944s, and they handle very superbly. Therefore, I know Firestone can build a good tire, and seeing this particular test makes me consider the Firestone as analternative. I'm also searching the higher performance tires to see if they offer alternatives in the size we require for the XC90, and I'll report in later.
I'm interested in your opinion, and anyone who may be running one tire or another with good or bad results.
regards, Mr. P
Bookmarks