How many miles should I get out of Michelin CrossClimates (and/or other tyres)?

[Hawthorn654]

Hi all

 

I had some Cross Climates fitted to the front of my Fabia a couple of years ago, which now need replacing.  They've done around 17,000 miles...  

 

I've been trying to find out whether that's good or not.  Some of what I've read would suggest it is low.  But then I found an article from a Welsh taxi driver (I'm in Wales too), and I also spoke to a local mechanic.  Both said that 17,000 miles is in fact pretty good, and that with a more basic cheaper tyre I'd be looking at getting more like 11,000 miles.  

 

So I wondered what folk 'round here think to all that?  

 

In terms of driving...  We're right in the sticks, so a lot of dodgy back roads, but we also have family in Norfolk and so go back a few times a year so a reasonable amount of motorway driving too.

 

Cheers

[Ootohere]

EDIT.

I see you just have them on the Front, if that is right what are on the rear,

and could those from the front if good enough tread go to the rear and get a new pair of CrossClimates???

 

 

 

What wear is there, are any of the four / front tyres showing uneven wear?

 

Pull into a Tyre & Exhaust centre and they might measure your treads for you if not busy.

 

3mm plus would be nice.

 

It would have been good if the mechanic used a depth gauge and measured the tread of your tyres or if you did.

Or take picture and post it here. 

How one person drives compared to another makes a difference of maybe 11,000 miles or 22,000 miles or 36,000 miles.

So does moving tyres front to rear and rear to front ever year or sooner.

 

What size are your CrossClimate?

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/473898-tyre-tread-depth-change

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/493035-at-what-tread-depth-do-you-change-your-tyres

 

Below,  CrossClimate +. Not CrossClimate.

 

Edited 14 August, 2021 by e-Roottoot

[KenONeill]

26 minutes ago, Hawthorn654 said:

But then I found an article from a Welsh taxi driver (I'm in Wales too), and I also spoke to a local mechanic

And the correct answer is "it depends", on your driving style, what you use the car for, the abrasiveness of your local road surfaces, having the correct tyre pressures for the vehicle and tyres...

[xman]

17,000 miles is rubbish! All our cars including 2 fabia mk2 manage at least 30,000 on the front , on Vredestein, Michelins, Bridgestones, Goodyears even Continentals though they wore the quickest. Some have managed 40,000 miles.

 

I put a pair of original CC (not CC+) on the mk2 fabia 1.2tsi estate about 5 or 6  yrs ago then later moved them to the mk 2 1.2htp hatch and something like 60,000 miles or more clocked up (approx 50% of which on front and 50% rear) they still have a ridiculous amount of tread left but they have got very noisy.

 

Got some Vredestein Quatracs waiting to replace them soon.

 

The fabia size is 195 55R15, I replace when down to between 2-2.5mm

 

We did have a mk1 htp fabia like yours, which iirc had 185 60R14 tyres. Still recall over 30,000 being acheived on the fronts, they were Continental Premium Contact 2

 

Get your steering geometry checked. Costs around £60 at places like Kwikfit which usually have Hunter alignment rigs. 17000 miles is rubbish. 

[SurreyJohn]

It varies, depends on how vigorously you drive, and the quality of the tarmac.

 

If you drive on the polymer tarmac on newer surfaced motorways and main roads (and your wheels are properly aligned and inflated) then can get 50,000+ miles out of some premium tyres.

 

But there are some drivers who will struggle to get 10,000 miles out of some tyres.

[skomaz]

Personally my experience with CCs is that 18k is about normal.  They have a pretty soft compound and to be frank I'd worry if I was getting much more as it would be indicative of a harder, less grippy, compound.

 

But each to thier own.

[Hawthorn654]

Many thanks for the helpful replies.

 

One of the front tyres was an MOT advisory and the other front apparently didn't have much more tread.  Both Michelin CCs at the 17k miles mark.  Both worn on the inside more than the outside, so will get tracking done when I get the tyres replaced.  

 

One of the rear tyres is an Avon ZT5 and is quite new with very little wear.  The other rear tyre is getting low so time to replace that too. 

 

  

On 14/08/2021 at 11:14, e-Roottoot said:

What size are your CrossClimate?

 

 

They are 185/60/H14.

 

  

On 14/08/2021 at 11:14, e-Roottoot said:

How one person drives compared to another makes a difference of maybe 11,000 miles or 22,000 miles or 36,000 miles.

 

 

On 14/08/2021 at 11:21, KenONeill said:

And the correct answer is "it depends", on your driving style, what you use the car for, the abrasiveness of your local road surfaces, having the correct tyre pressures for the vehicle and tyres...

 

  

On 14/08/2021 at 12:58, SurreyJohn said:

It varies, depends on how vigorously you drive, and the quality of the tarmac.

 

  

On 14/08/2021 at 12:37, xman said:

17,000 miles is rubbish!

 

  

On 14/08/2021 at 13:07, skomaz said:

Personally my experience with CCs is that 18k is about normal. 

 

 

Excuse the excessive quoting!  But from the answers on here, on another forum I posted on, and on the internet generally, I concur 1000% with the "it depends" answer.  

 

I've done around 17,000 miles in the last two years.  I'd say around half of that would be travelling from Wales to Norfolk (so predominantly motorways).  The other half is driving very minor roads in rural Wales, some of them barely fit for purpose!  I do check pressure often, so don't think that is an issue.  But the uneven wear would suggest the tracking is off and perhaps I'd have got more out of them if it wasn't.  

 

As for driving style, both me and my partner use the car so it varies.  And even if I was using it just myself it would vary; usually depending on whether I'm running late or not!  

 

What I'd be really interested to know is how many miles I'd get out of a pair of the Avons on the front.  My mechanic - and the internet blog by the Welsh taxi drive - would suggest around 11,000 miles.  I haven't been in Wales long enough to experience it for myself.  As such, I'm going to put x3 new Avons on and see how it does.  Whilst it is nice to have the CCs, the likelihood of actually needing to drive in bad conditions is tiny with my current lifestyle and work.  If that changes then I can reconsider.  In the meantime I'll find out first hand how the mileage compares.  And if what I've been told RE mileage ends up being true, then I guess it will be CCs all round in the future as they'll actually work out to be cheaper in the long run. 

 

Cheers     

 

 

EDIT - I should add also what major disagreement I have come across RE have x2 All Seasons vs x4.  And if having x2 whether they should be on the front and back.  People seem to argue strongly in favour of both sides.  It seems increasingly difficult to get a simple answer in life nowadays!  

 

Edited 17 August, 2021 by Hawthorn654

[Ootohere]

I ran 185/60 R 14 Avon Ice Touring in a Kia Picanto Kia Automatic all year which was only around 5,000 miles at the most but more of each years miles was winter time and they did over 20,000 miles and were still good when the car left me.

[langers2k]

17k seems very low to me, have you checked the tyre tread depth yourself?

 

For comparison, I put four crossclimates on my MK2 Octavia at ~64k:

- replaced two at ~102k (puncture on one)

- replaced two at ~138k (worn out)

- replace all four at 188k (worn out)

 

They were rotated occasionally but that's an average of ~62k miles per tyre despite the puncture causing lost usage from one pair...

 

28 minutes ago, Hawthorn654 said:

I should add also what major disagreement I have come across RE have x2 All Seasons vs x4.  And if having x2 whether they should be on the front and back.  People seem to argue strongly in favour of both sides.

 

I'm of the opinion you should have more grip on the back to reduce the chance of oversteer given it's harder to control. This seems to be backed up by most tyre companies,

 

The problem with mixing summer/all season/winter tyres is the grippy end can change depending on the weather/season. I'd very much suggest sticking to one variety on all four corners for a more predictable (and safe) experience 

[skomaz]

34 minutes ago, Hawthorn654 said:

 

EDIT - I should add also what major disagreement I have come across RE have x2 All Seasons vs x4.  And if having x2 whether they should be on the front and back.  People seem to argue strongly in favour of both sides.  It seems increasingly difficult to get a simple answer in life nowadays!  

 

 

My answer - 4 fully matching tyres all round!

[Ootohere]

Damn difficult in a FWD car to reduce oversteer if you get into a corner too quick and there is no grip traction at the front end and you are going straight into a wall, fence, hedge ditch or if lucky through an open gate.

 

Good tyres all around is just 'simply clever'   

 Not all are driving gods so even know what under or oversteer is, and those with ESP and good tyres might not even be aware the car is helping keep them on the road.