Review on MICHELIN X-Ice North 4 SUV 255/50 R20 109T winter by Gabriela Dublewska ᠌

Name: MICHELIN X-Ice North 4 SUV 255/50 R20 109T winter
Item: MICHELIN X-Ice North 4 SUV 255/50 R20 109T winter
Rating: 3

May 26, 2023

A completely ordinary product, nothing remarkable.

Before that, there was HAKA 5. I don’t know how old she was, but a couple of years ago, the spikes left their native places in a friendly crowd. I did a stud and decided that the problem was solved. But, as practice has shown, he simply threw away the money. Spikes leave the promised places in flocks, not because they are old, but because the characteristics of rubber have changed and no one keeps them in these places. By adding studs to the rubber, we solve only one problem, forgetting that the old rubber has the same grip and characteristics as plastic.
I had to buy a new one. Googled for half a year and decided to take the vaunted BEARS in their native dimension 235/60 R18. Delivery, installation all the rules. Run in a bit and went for a test drive out of town. The first thing I noticed was valkost. The rubber is very soft, FRIL, although not pneumatic, is also very soft. As a result, I got the feeling that I was eating jelly from the fruit nanny, only there was not enough rainbow pancake. Overclocked to 100 and started up in the buildup. Although he did everything carefully, the car still barely caught. The moose test is generally contraindicated here. The sensations are new and interesting, but not for me. Decided to move it to RR Evoque. EVOK car with a very stiff and finely tuned suspension. She wore BLIZZAK Spike-01 BRIDGES. I had only complaints about her stiffness. Therefore, I decided that this would be the best option. Rearranged soft rubber on EVOK, hard on FRILLA. Of course, not everything suited, but in the end it became more comfortable to ride in EVOKE, only slower.

Of course, it all depends on how to ride, what and where, but this rubber “didn’t fit” for me. My final, subjective opinion is this:
An excellent tire for a quiet ride, at permitted speeds.
The symbiosis of this tire with the automotive industry from LR gives a very mediocre result.
If I had known all this before, I would not have taken it, definitely. Good luck on the roads!

Pros

Auto LR FR 2 + RR Evoque. The main habitat of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. The rubber is very soft, and soft on all sides (both under the tread and on the sides) just like a ball. For the city, this is of course a plus, but for the highway it is a minus, because the directional stability leaves much to be desired. Of the bright pluses, I can only single out excellent grip on packed snow. Moreover, excellent grip is maintained during turns, and during acceleration, and during braking. The rest, in comparison with tires in this price segment, shows a fairly average result.

Cons

There is noise and it changes depending on the speed of movement. Miracles do not happen, a quiet studded tire has not yet been invented. On loose snow, it rows like the rest of the tires in this segment. On the wet road is also not bad, maybe even better than some. Acceptable on dry pavement. But on a slippery (glass) road, the grip disappointed me. BRIDGE who stood earlier was much better. I went into turns on it at such a speed at which not everyone could do it in the summer, but on BEERS it already carries 60. And during acceleration, all 4 wheels are constantly polished. Sadness, I did not expect this from such a vaunted rubber. When crossing inter-row ice or porridge, you have to constantly catch a car, again the question is about directional stability. Another disadvantage is the narrowed tread width. In this size, KHAKI, BRIDGE and PIRELLI have 200 mm, but here it is only 180 mm. Too sad, but less consumption. Maybe. I hope this is what it's made for.