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Review on MICHELIN X-Ice North 4 205/65 R16 99T winter by Boyan Asenov ᠌
Feel free to buy, for such a price, the quality is simply amazing.
The middle lane is a great choice for winter tires. They act consistently on ice and do not sag during a thaw. They are also fairly stiff and steerable. They are less suitable than earlier models in the line for use in harsh frosts because the decision was obviously made to focus on a tougher compound and handling rather than low-temperature features and all-terrain performance.
Pros
- Excellent behavior in the winter and off-season on both dry and wet pavement. The sidewalls are fairly strong, even on the 65 profile, and they steer properly on pavement. The thrust wheel does not break in corners, and it does not droop at warm temperatures. On the XIN2, switching from summer tires to a 55 profile Michelin PS4 with an even higher load index and very rigid sidewall didn't feel like going from a vehicle to a swamp. On ice, the grip is not as "anchor" as that of the 8 Hakkapelita, but the predictability of control is considerably better. Skidding as the lateral load increases does not come suddenly; instead, the car begins to drag somewhat long before it breaks down into a skid. The car's position and the hold's margin feel excellent because on ice the tires appear to be coarse sandpaper rather than spikes.
Cons
- Due to the stiffer sidewalls than the XIN2, they "flatten" and row poorer on soil or in a yard covered in snow. Since the entire line of XIN has historically had subpar directional stability in "track after a heavy snowfall" conditions, you have to constantly taxi, but XIN2 slows down more effectively on rolling snow. The rubber's composition is quite hard, therefore there are serious questions about how it would perform at -40 degrees.
