Just got the X-Ice Xi3s tossed on

[kpk02]

I believe the wheels are Sport Edition A7. Obviously there's been no winter weather yet to try them out in, but so far I'm already impressed. Last winter I had Blizzaks (DM-V1) on my Highlander and it was great but definitely felt like a winter tire in mild weather. These Michelins so far feel a whole lot more like a normal tire on dry roads in mild weather. In fact, I'd dare say that they perform better than the OEM Continentals in just about every way. Road noise is much much lower. Handling is more consistent. Mileage is equal to if not better. And they feel stronger (absorbing more of the bumps in the road than the OEMs did). It's making me think about replacing the OEM crap on my summer wheels with something good once Spring comes around.

One initial difference between the Blizzaks and the Xi3 I notice right away is that the Xi3 did not stink up the garage with a very strong rubbery smell the first night like the Blizzaks did. Whether good or bad, I won't know until winter weather shows up. I just found it odd.


I'll have to try to remember to add to this post once I get a chance to try them on snow/ice.

Update 11/28/12:

No major winter weather yet, but we have had a few transition days. Mid 20s and slight amounts of slush/snow/ice on the roads. Everything's still feeling good so far, but the real question mark is on moderate to deep snow performance and also heavy slush. I expected to sacrifice some in that area but will it be too much of a loss compared to the Blizzaks or will it hold its own.





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[beachedwhale42]

Thanks for the pic....please keep us posted when the snow hits! I run the Blizzak WS-70 and love it, but I'm always trying to keep up on my snow tires for when I have to get new ones. Just curious, where are you located?

[kpk02]

I'm in "northern lower" Michigan, northern part of the lower peninsula.

Added a quick update to the first post: "No major winter weather yet, but we have had a few transition days. Mid 20s and slight amounts of slush/snow/ice on the roads. Everything's still feeling good so far, but the real question mark is on moderate to deep snow performance and also heavy slush. "

[tennvol]

Had X-Ice last year on a dedicated set of wheels and they did great in the 1 storm that Denver had (18+ inches of snow in 2 hrs). I had a 7am flight out of DIA and the plows hadn't cleared any of the roads when I left the house at 4am. No problems whatsoever.

[PanJet]

I've had my Xi3's now for about three weeks, and I am very impressed. I've had the chance to drive them in snow, slush, and ice already, as well as plenty of dry roads, and I'm quite happy with them.

Granted, these are the first snow tires I've ever purchased, so I can't compare to any other snow tires, but I'm very happy with them nonetheless. They are quiet, smooth, efficient (little to no change in mileage on dry roads), and have lots of grip on snow and ice.

I live in northern Minnesota.

[kpk02]

We just had our first substantial amount of snow, so I was finally able to get a better feel for them. It wasn't a ton of snow but was enough for some snow packed back roads and combinations of snow/slush/clear main roads.

I really like these tires. I had to drive around 80 miles total one day this week for work and I made it a point to take the back roads including one wide open flat barely used dirt road that was snow covered. Between the Outback and the tires, as soon as I turned onto the dirt road I was able to push the pedal pretty much to the floor without any significant loss of control during acceleration. I was also very impressed at the handling of roads that randomly shift between clear, slushy, and snow covered. I didn't feel much of any difference rolling over them all.

I tried some stopping tests to the extent possible while remaining safe, and it performed beautifully. Unless I really slammed the brake all the way down, it stopped near effortlessly.

Last remaining tests for my interests are deep snow and ice. So far though I'd say I'm much happier with these than Blizzaks, but could be plenty happy with either one for winter conditions.

[Novablue]

I have Xi2's and I've only used them in the snow twice last season. I leave them on year round which seems to be fine here in WA where it is 50 degrees all year except a few months in the summer. They do great in the rain (same as the stock conti's) but only marginally worse in the dry that the stock tires. They tend to lose grip at slightly lower speeds in the corners. This isn't an STI though so I'm not too worried about dry cornering.

The only bummer for me is they are directional tires.