There have certainly been lots of threads on this subject to date, but I'm hoping that there might be some new info available. In past threads, the Michelin Latitude Tour (the ones supplied on recent FEH vehicles) were highly rated. Recently, however, I've seen some uncomplimentary reviews on these that make me want to look for other alternatives. Specifically, short tread life, higher-than-expected road noise were quoted as negative attributes of the Latitude Tours. Can anyone provide refuting comments, or perhaps offer a different option for tires, based on their personal experience, that are also low rolling-resistance ones that won't negatively impact mileage ? My Conti OEM tires are shot and I'd like to replace them before taking my '08 FEH on vacation this next weekend.

Thanks in advance,
Gary

 

GPSman posted he only got only 35,000 miles out of his Michelin Latitudes which concerned me also. Looking at my set on my '09 FEH which I run 50psi, I see a little wear on the front and they still look new on the back at 20,000 miles. I don't rotate unless I've got abnormal wear and need front end adjustment but the Michelins are doing great so far. John has posted he tows for long distances with heavy trailers and that may be a factor also. I take hard turns to keep my speed up but the tires are wearing great on the sides in the front and back. The Michelins perform better than any tires I've owned so far and are quiet riding. I don't see me looking to go to anything else in the future.

GaryG

 

That would make sense. Prius owners have had tire issues attributed to the extra battery weight.

 

Thanks, guys !! I'm finally going to my dealer on Tuesday, to do SOMETHING on these tires before we go on vacation. The thought of suffering with the Contis on this trip is unpleasant at the very least. I can put up with it on my relatively short trips to/from work, but sitting hours in the vehicle is another matter entirely. How has your mileage been with the Michelins, compared to the OEM Contis, can you tell me (if you HAD the Contis, of course) ?

Cheers,
Gary

 

Our 08 had conti's, our 09 has the michelins.

Michelins are wearing faster than the conti's, but The Michelins are MUCH quieter, ride MUCH better and slip much less (softer compund = better grip).

So Michelin for better, quieter ride.

Conti's for better wear/longer life.

Disclaimer: this is my opinion.

 

I just put the Michelins on my 07 FEH a few weeks ago and I couldn't be happier with the noise and ride improvements. I hope the wear will be good, the rating is super high, but I know others have had issues.

I would buy the Michelins again in a minute. I missed out on the $70 rebate through, darn it!

 

My fronts ( drive ) are the ones that wore down the quickest.
Also, using 45 psi cause RAPID center wear on the Michelins, and running 45 psi did NOT cause any extra wear to the Conti's after 75,000 miles.

As my Michelins wore down, they got louder and louder, which seems counter intuitive, but it was true in my case.

Just at 28,000 miles on Michelin Lattitude tour and two are down to the wear bars. Also, I just notice a 1" x 3" piece of SIDEWALL rubber missing... not the tread side in contact with the road mind you. This didn't occur from running over an object, but may have from a deep pot-hole where the edge of the pot-hole scraped the side of the tire??? Very strange. And this occured on one with a bit more tread, so I now have 2 bald tires, and 1 damaged at 35,000 miles. I towed for fewer than 2500 miles, and ran with 1 passenger and no cargo for most of the other miles. Most were interstate miles with very little "cornering" or braking.

VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH MICHELIN LATTITUDE TOUR.

 

After looking at the Michelin Latitude Tours, plus some Nokian, Goodyear and Bridgestone options, I went with my 'gut feel' and put a set of the Michelins on this afternoon. What a difference in noise and ride quality....We're going on a 3-day trip on Friday, so we'll see if i still like them as well by the time I get home. Good test of the mileage, too. My dealer is REALLY good to work with, & since these have a 65K mile guarantee, I hope I'll get my money's worth with them.....will post an update later....thanks to everyone for their kind comments......Gary

 

Day 1 of a 2000-mile round trip to PA. 950 miles on new Michelins, VERY smooth ride, handling is improved, mileage actually seems 1-2 mpg higher than with the Contis (on the same trip just this past October), noise level is quite low, compared to the Contis.

It was snowing a bit this afternoon, pretty icy road in the mountains....no problems with tracking or traction at all.

I'm impressed so far....

Gary

 

It occurs to me that it is not a fair comparison to compare new of any tire, to an old, worn, "broke in" of any tire.

You really must compare new tires of two different makes, or with 50,000 miles on each. But few people find it convienient to do this.

It was shocking to me how fast the Michelins wore out.