The Almighty Michelin CrossClimate 2 is starting to disappoint me after 20,000 miles.

[Slemers]

Thanks Ogg....fit looks tight in front of rears but suspension draws away. Full extension does not rub. Fronts no rub. Checked it all. The guys in Crosstrek forum helped. Anything wider or taller requires lift.
View attachment 180461

Snowfan, What did going with the Falken A/T 3W's do to your fuel economy? About the same or slightly less?
I'm considering the Falken on my Outback in the stock size(225/60/18).
Was there a slight hit in fuel economy? Not that it really matters, the tires get good reviews to be sure and I like the look
Slemers

 

[Snowfan]

Snowfan, What did going with the Falken A/T 3W's do to your fuel economy? About the same or slightly less?
I'm considering the Falken on my Outback in the stock size(225/60/18).
Was there a slight hit in fuel economy? Not that it really matters, the tires get good reviews to be sure and I like the look
Slemers

Hi Slemers....225 60 17 replaced with 235 65 17 AT3. 1 size wider and 1 size taller. I added 4lbs front and 4 lbs rear. SAME MILEAGE and now lieometer is 100% accurate. No additional noise. FANTASTIC IN SNOW. Mountaingoat traction. 34 hwy 28 city is working.

 

[AmyPJ]

Once again, I'm having to buy new tires. The Yokohama YK/CTX I have had on my CX-5 are wearing way too fast. I've liked them a lot, though. So, the question is do I run another set of decent snow handling all-season M & S and get the credit for the Yokohama's, which are only at just over 30k miles, or get snows and have to buy wheels and new tires in the spring. I'm leaning towards getting another good M&S tire because 2 sets in six months is NOT in the budget.

CC2, Michelin Defender II, Continental LX 25 have been recommended. It snows so little in Ogden anymore that I won't need them much for commuting. I had no issues getting up to the mountain in the snow last winter with fresher tread on the Yokos. But I know how to adjust my driving for conditions and for the tires I had on.

 

[Slemers]

Hi Slemers....225 60 17 replaced with 235 65 17 AT3. 1 size wider and 1 size taller. I added 4lbs front and 4 lbs rear. SAME MILEAGE and now lieometer is 100% accurate. No additional noise. FANTASTIC IN SNOW. Mountaingoat traction. 34 hwy 28 city is working.
View attachment 181620 View attachment 181621
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View attachment 181623

Hi Snowfan, Thanks for the info and the photos. A neighbor had some friends over for dinner the other night. They had their Outback Onyx with the 2 " Ironman lift and Falken 235/60/18 tires. I may go with the slightly wider foot print. I'd like to lift it too but we'll see
Here's the before photo currently it's all OEM.
Slemers

 

[socalgal]

Once again, I'm having to buy new tires. The Yokohama YK/CTX I have had on my CX-5 are wearing way too fast. I've liked them a lot, though. So, the question is do I run another set of decent snow handling all-season M & S and get the credit for the Yokohama's, which are only at just over 30k miles, or get snows and have to buy wheels and new tires in the spring. I'm leaning towards getting another good M&S tire because 2 sets in six months is NOT in the budget.

CC2, Michelin Defender II, Continental LX 25 have been recommended. It snows so little in Ogden anymore that I won't need them much for commuting. I had no issues getting up to the mountain in the snow last winter with fresher tread on the Yokos. But I know how to adjust my driving for conditions and for the tires I had on.

We've been really happy with the Michelin Defenders for the driving we do in our Outback.

 

[crgildart]

Yesterday I saw some of these on a Chrysler 200 convertible down here in the flatlands driven by some older woman who didn't look like she would be physically able to ski. All I could think was to wonder what was the chain of events for someone to choose this tire for that car, assuming the driver had some input. Even brand new with a different driver (skier?) this would be a horrible winter vehicle choice..

 

[In2h2o]

Once again, I'm having to buy new tires. The Yokohama YK/CTX I have had on my CX-5 are wearing way too fast. I've liked them a lot, though. So, the question is do I run another set of decent snow handling all-season M & S and get the credit for the Yokohama's, which are only at just over 30k miles, or get snows and have to buy wheels and new tires in the spring. I'm leaning towards getting another good M&S tire because 2 sets in six months is NOT in the budget.

CC2, Michelin Defender II, Continental LX 25 have been recommended. It snows so little in Ogden anymore that I won't need them much for commuting. I had no issues getting up to the mountain in the snow last winter with fresher tread on the Yokos. But I know how to adjust my driving for conditions and for the tires I had on.

@AmyPJ I was similarly situated with the Yokohama YK "GTX" as discussed in the "Passenger All-Weather Tires with 3PMSF aka "4season" tires discussion" thread - I bought the SUV used with the Yokohamas which were really fantastic in the rain (all 5 days in 3 years that I had to drive in SoCal) and an ok daily driver. They did not feel that great in the plowed roads or lighter snow in Mammoth, I'm sure it was the SH-AWD that kept me going. I really, really, really wanted to get the CCSUV, but they seem to be extremely hard to find in my size, discontinued, or maybe switching to a different model name. I did need to replace my less that stellar wearing Yokohamas by end of November. 'Estimate' for delivery to Tire Rack was to be the first week in December. I do have the Michelin Defender LTX M+S on another vehicle with 4WD (the push a button and go less than 30mph to get the 4WD) and honestly the Defender has been exceptional, never needing chains and only using the 4WD when necessary- I'm on my third set of Defenders (or their predecessors).(BTW I'm not sure what the difference is between the LTX and the Defender II? ) The Defenders LTX are easy driving on the highway and seem to last to warranty with the ability to do some light trail/ OHV travel. I ended up just caving in and getting the Defender LTX M+S last week to replace the Yokohamas. (a bird in the hand...) I have 60 days to decide if I "like" them or swap them out - if I do really hate them then maybe the CC will be in stock in my size. I think for me, the choice was more the availability and ability to work with my preferred installer (America's Tires). I don't want to be stuck needing a replacement for a tire that was discontinued or always low in stock. I think there is some definite pluses and minus between the Defenders and the CC2/ CCSUV but at least I don't have to worry about having "delicate" Yokos when I'm driving on trails. Another interesting thing about the Yokos was apparently my daily canyon driving was wearing them on the edges. I don't have that issue on the other SUV with the Defenders. I think it just boils down to wheat you are looking for - the Defenders LTX M+S are a bit beefy and the CC2 are more easy riding with better wet and dry stopping (from my limited research) ......

 

[AmyPJ]

@AmyPJ I was similarly situated with the Yokohama YK "GTX" as discussed in the "Passenger All-Weather Tires with 3PMSF aka "4season" tires discussion" thread - I bought the SUV used with the Yokohamas which were really fantastic in the rain (all 5 days in 3 years that I had to drive in SoCal) and an ok daily driver. They did not feel that great in the plowed roads or lighter snow in Mammoth, I'm sure it was the SH-AWD that kept me going. I really, really, really wanted to get the CCSUV, but they seem to be extremely hard to find in my size, discontinued, or maybe switching to a different model name. I did need to replace my less that stellar wearing Yokohamas by end of November. 'Estimate' for delivery to Tire Rack was to be the first week in December. I do have the Michelin Defender LTX M+S on another vehicle with 4WD (the push a button and go less than 30mph to get the 4WD) and honestly the Defender has been exceptional, never needing chains and only using the 4WD when necessary- I'm on my third set of Defenders (or their predecessors).(BTW I'm not sure what the difference is between the LTX and the Defender II? ) The Defenders LTX are easy driving on the highway and seem to last to warranty with the ability to do some light trail/ OHV travel. I ended up just caving in and getting the Defender LTX M+S last week to replace the Yokohamas. (a bird in the hand...) I have 60 days to decide if I "like" them or swap them out - if I do really hate them then maybe the CC will be in stock in my size. I think for me, the choice was more the availability and ability to work with my preferred installer (America's Tires). I don't want to be stuck needing a replacement for a tire that was discontinued or always low in stock. I think there is some definite pluses and minus between the Defenders and the CC2/ CCSUV but at least I don't have to worry about having "delicate" Yokos when I'm driving on trails. Another interesting thing about the Yokos was apparently my daily canyon driving was wearing them on the edges. I don't have that issue on the other SUV with the Defenders. I think it just boils down to wheat you are looking for - the Defenders LTX M+S are a bit beefy and the CC2 are more easy riding with better wet and dry stopping (from my limited research) ......

I've had Defenders on other vehicles (a different CX-5) and liked them a lot. They're $40 more per tire than the Continentals, hence my pondering.

I've really liked the Yokohama but am sorely disappointed in their wear. I rotate them faithfully.

 

[johnnyvw]

FWIW....Halloween 2011 the Northeast got hit with an early major snowstorm. I was with a friend in the Beacon NY area, and started the drive home around 9 or 10 pm. We were headed to the Parsippany NJ area via the NYS Thruway and I-287. He had an Audi A4 with Conti Contact ExtremeContact DWS tires, and I was amazed at how well they handled the snow. Getting near the I-80 exit, there was a tree that had come down and blocked the right hand lane completely, and we didn't see it until we just about hit it. He had to make a quick evasive maneuver, and had no slippage at all. Other people who were at the same place ended up staying at a nearby diner for 6 hours while the roads got cleared, and one guy who lived local ended up camped out in the Wal-Mart parking lot because some of the roads to his house were impassable. If I was looking for an all-season that could handle some occaisional snow, I would be looking at these.

 

[Ogg]

FWIW....Halloween 2011 the Northeast got hit with an early major snowstorm. I was with a friend in the Beacon NY area, and started the drive home around 9 or 10 pm. We were headed to the Parsippany NJ area via the NYS Thruway and I-287. He had an Audi A4 with Conti Contact ExtremeContact DWS tires, and I was amazed at how well they handled the snow. Getting near the I-80 exit, there was a tree that had come down and blocked the right hand lane completely, and we didn't see it until we just about hit it. He had to make a quick evasive maneuver, and had no slippage at all. Other people who were at the same place ended up staying at a nearby diner for 6 hours while the roads got cleared, and one guy who lived local ended up camped out in the Wal-Mart parking lot because some of the roads to his house were impassable. If I was looking for an all-season that could handle some occaisional snow, I would be looking at these.

My wife ran those on her Legacy GT. They performed quite well but had a problem with sidewall bubbles on more than one tire which, according to our research, was not too uncommon with them. Consequently my wife won't run Continentals any more. I'm willing to give them another chance but she's lost confidence in them.

 

[johnnyvw]

That's interesting. Back in the late 70's I had gotten a pair of Conti snow tires for my VW Beetle, the belts shifted and the tires were undriveable. Unfortunately I got them at such a good price what they offered for warranty replacement was so little I bought another brand cheaper. I honestly haven't been able to bring myself to buy Conti's since, so I get her sentiment. My buddy had two full sets, never had an issue

 

[Ken_R]

View attachment 176099

A new one looks like this.

Excuse the rocks. It's after driving on a National Park forest road.

So, it doesn't have full depth sipes that some people claim the CC2 have from their "expert analysis" like Justin Bieber, the engineer, from Engineering Explained youtube video (which was merely him regurgitating Michelin marketing notes).

The shoulder sipes have become partial. The center tread "stepped" sipes are gone... it's looking more like the original CrossClimate/CrossClimate+

Performance in the dry has already dropped off, since I can get traction control kicking in accelerating from a stop to merge onto the highway. If I'm taking a curved on-ramp hard, stability control is intervening.

I seriously hope winter traction doesn't take a dump... but I do have cable chains, just in case.

TFL (youtube) did some tests on snow with those tires and honestly they did not do great. There are worse for sure but there are much better "all-weather" tires out there.

 

[pais alto]

TFL (youtube) did some tests on snow with those tires and honestly they did not do great. There are worse for sure but there are much better "all-weather" tires out there.

Link?

 

[Ken_R]

Link?

 

[tball]

TFL (youtube) did some tests on snow with those tires and honestly they did not do great. There are worse for sure but there are much better "all-weather" tires out there.

What? I watched both those videos, and the CC2 seemed to have done well. CC2 is not a winter tire, but they are at the top of every test I've seen. Where have you seen them bested by other all-weather tires?

 

[pais alto]

I thought the CC would be compared to winter tires In those “tests.” I’m not sure those videos were scientific.

 

[Ken_R]

I thought the CC would be compared to winter tires In those “tests.” I’m not sure those videos were scientific.

I think they have a few more videos on those tires. Hard to search on my phone

 

[James]

I thought the CC would be compared to winter tires In those “tests.” I’m not sure those videos were scientific.

I watched them last season. Not going to watch again. Pretty bad iirc.

 

[Snowfan]

I prefer they run both tires on same car. Comparing an AWD to a FWD fouls the results.

 

[Ken_R]

CC2 test. Look for Snow Braking.


Seems really good. Maybe im wrong.