Michelin Primacy Tires

About a week ago I have replaced Michelin Arctic Alpin tires on my car with Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3.

6 mm (1/4") tread leftover on Arctic Alpin tires was still providing solid grip on icy and slushy roads. This particular model was considered a champion on the ice covered pavement. Yet because of not too aggressive tread pattern it was not the greatest performer upon deep fresh snow condition. It started showing especially with the tread wearing out.

So I went shopping, and my first choice was Michelin X-Ice Xi2. I have the first incarnation of the X-Ice tires on my other car. X-Ice is an overall good winter performer, it kept me happy for the last four years thus defining my choice naturally. Local dealer though ran out of my size in X-Ice X-2, so I was offered to look into the Primacy tires for a few extra bucks.

So here I am driving on Michelin Primacy tires. Having gone through the snow/clear/snow/rain/clear cycle within last week I have been very happy with the Primacy's performance so far. It showed off the very next morning after the purchase, during my routine morning drive along Ottawa River Parkway after the overnight snowstorm and still snowing. While most of the vehicles were moving cautiously slow, and one car was sitting in the snow bank along the scenery route, I have not had any problem going within speed limit and getting to work in time.

Driving on Primacy tires on clear pavement is a bit noisy, considerably noisier than driving on Arctic Alpin. But I have to say that driving on Primacy tires has the closest resemblance to driving on All-Season tires out of all winter tires I have ever used. The feeling of "driving on pillows" is clearly gone. Handling is very much improved.

I will continue my observations and probably get back with more feedback, but so far I want to congratulate Michelin with the job well done. One more superb product to improve safety and pleasure of winter driving!

Winter Tires for Going Green

One of my favourite reads on tires, Wheels.ca offers the suggestion on the timing of putting your winter tires on:

"Traction loss on bare pavement for a typical all-season tire sold in Canada starts at about 7C. Anything colder and traction losses mount rapidly."

Pretty clear, eh? The article also contains some unexpected twist: how to stay green while choosing winter tires. Apparently Michelin claims being a champion in appealing to environmentally conscious segment of the market:

"The X-Ice Xi2 gets the "Green X" rating from Michelin, which means the rubber it uses is part of a line of tires that has lower rolling resistance and lower fuel consumption compared to a regular rubber. Michelin claims that if the world's vehicles were equipped with Green X tires, carbon dioxide emissions would be cut by 72.6 million tonnes."

Read full article on Wheels.ca.

Quebecers Hit The Deadline

Today is the day winter tires in La Belle Province have become mandatory. Despite the rumours there was still enough tires for procrastinators. Actually while some sizes and models where sold out on Ontario side of the border, Quebecers still had a good choice of winter tires.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has covered the deadline approaching. One line though left me scratching my head: "The majority of Quebec drivers already have all-season radials...". The author really did not get it. Who nowadays does not have all season tires? This is what most of Canadians are using to drive through spring, summer and fall.

I liked Moltar's comment to the CBC article, it makes everything clear:

* A common misconception is that all season tires are really designed for all seasons. All season tires are one of the biggest lies in the tire industry. It's just a label for a tire. Means nothing. I can call it a Space Tire, but is it going to get me into space? Probably not...

* Another common misconception is that winter tires are only necessary for snow. The truth is that you need winter tires for temperatures below 5 C. Rubber compound used in non-winter tires is synthetic and loses the qualities under low temperatures become very hard and plastic-like. Ever froze a hose outside? Same deal. Winter tires are made of softer, natural rubber and are able to withstand lower temperatures retaining the soft qualities.

* Most people say that they don't get winter tires is because the tires are expensive. They are. But you are not replacing your summer tires. This is an additional set of tires, which you will replace at the end of the season with summer tires, saving your summer tires in the meantime. In the long run you are not overpaying. Don't forget to consider the savings from potential collision, auto repair, increased insurance costs, disability, etc... Also, don't buy the tires in November, get them during the summer, when they are cheaper. Save up during the year, just like you would save up for a major repair or body work.

* By not putting on winter tires you are putting yourself, your family and drivers around you in danger.

If you still don't believe the winter tires work, try renting a car in Quebec and test driving it for a day.

Full CBC article.

Supply and Demand

Blessed are Ontarians residing near Quebec border. We are now able to rent cars equipped with winter tires.

I have inquired in a Gatineau, QC car rental, across the river from National Capital of Canada, what is the situation with winter tires? Again, there is two news, a good one and a bad one. Yes, such vehicles do exist, but they are very much booked for the season. All the minivans at one particular location are now booked until spring time. Full size cars are still available, but only at certain dates.

One would think free market economy must offer us what we want in abundance. Last few years I was asking for the car or minivan equipped with winter tires in various rental offices in Ottawa, ON with no success. How is that for a supply and demand concept?

Not Enough Tires?

There is panic on tire market as mid-December deadline approaches, reports Canadian Press. Some sizes and models of winter tires have become unavailable while Quebecois sweep mandatory tires off the shelves.

Although it is never too late to get your vehicle equipped with winter tires, December 15 seems to be way too remote a date to put proper shoes on your car. By then many vehicles will get smashed and crashed.

Moral: don't wait till Quebec deadline strikes. You should have been driving on winter tires by now if you live in Ontario or Quebec, should not you?

The Canadian Press: Snow tires in hot demand as new Quebec law slides in.

RBC Insurance Is Looking into Winter Tires

Bad news: 57% of our fellow Ontarians chose not to drive on winter tires. Good news: the number was reported by RBC Insurance, the company that bothered to look into the problem and pay for the survey.

There must have been enough people having smashed their cars and caused harm to themselves and others around to motivate insurance business to get their ass of the chair. Unfortunately they are still begging people to get smart and start using winter tires in winter. They should probably make one more step and offer incentives to those using certified winter tires November through March in Ontario.

Try to rent a vehicle with winter tires installed during winter season in Ontario. I challenge you to call your local car rental office and ask them if such an option is available. Please drop the info in the Comments, so it could save lives of some of my blog readers.

Read full RBC Insurance report.

RBC advice on winter driving (pdf).

Government of Canada Sponsors Winter Driving Video

Government of Canada and The Rubber Association of Canada sponsored series of videos comparing winter driving on winter and so-called all-season tires.


One video demonstrates two front-wheelers, Toyota and Mitsubishi, one equipped with winter tires, and the other equipped with regular tires, making a stop and doing a cornering exercise. Good thing they put red cones on the road to imitate real obstacles, otherwise someone would have gotten hurt. To be fair, after the first run the tires were swapped between the vehicles, only to prove the truth: all-season tires don't belong on winter roads.

Another clip proves one of the deadliest misconception about 4X4 trucks being safe on all-season tires to be wrong. Two trucks coming to stop and doing cornering clearly demonstrate danger of using all-season tires in winter.

I hope tax payers money will work this time and save lives.

Watch Be Tire Smart! Videos.