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Review on MICHELIN X-Ice North 4 205/65 R16 99T winter by Radko Marinov ᠌
The price/quality ratio is great, I will buy again.
Great choice for the middle lane with winter tires. They remain rigid and steerable even after thawing, and their on-ice behavior is consistent. It's evident that the decision was taken to prioritize a tougher compound and handling above low-temperature characteristics and all-terrain capability, making these tires less suited for use in severe frosts compared to earlier iterations of the range.
Pros
- Superb performance in all weather conditions, especially in the snow. They're not too loud, they handle well on the road, and they don't sag in the heat (the sidewalls are pretty rigid even on the 65 profile, and the thrust wheel doesn't break in corners). Unlike the XIN2, changing to winter tires (from summer Michelin PS4s to winter Michelin PS55s with an even higher load index and a very rigid sidewall) does not feel like going from driving a car to wading through a bog. On ice, the grip is not as "anchor" as the 8 Hakkapelita, but the predictability of control is greatly improved; skidding does not occur suddenly, but the car begins to be somewhat dragged long before the breakdown into a skid. Position of the car and the margin of the hold feel fantastic on ice, as if the tires were not spiked but rather coarse sandpaper.
Cons
- They "flatten" less and row worse on soil or a yard covered with snow than the XIN2 do, because to the stiffer sidewalls. A common complaint about the XIN brand as a whole is its lackluster directional stability in "track after a heavy snowfall" conditions, necessitating frequent taxiing. However, on rolling snow, XIN3 is more effective at slowing down than XIN2. The composition of this rubber raises serious concerns about its performance at -40 degrees.
