Michelin Crossclimates

trevorswaine

trevorswaine

Member
New-Zealand
Over the winter my A2 was on 185/50x16 winter tyres, SE wheels. Now on 195/55x15 Crossclimates, pepperpot wheels, but these give a noticeably harder ride despite the taller sidewall. I suppose that the weight rating (89 for Crossclimates as against 81 on standard tyres) is the reason?
 
trevorswaine said:
Over the winter my A2 was on 185/50x16 winter tyres, SE wheels. Now on 195/55x15 Crossclimates, pepperpot wheels, but these give a noticeably harder ride despite the taller sidewall. I suppose that the weight rating (89 for Crossclimates as against 81 on standard tyres) is the reason?
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The Crossclimates you have are XL rated and I suspect that this may be a factor in the quality of the ride.
 
trevorswaine said:
Over the winter my A2 was on 185/50x16 winter tyres, SE wheels. Now on 195/55x15 Crossclimates, pepperpot wheels, but these give a noticeably harder ride despite the taller sidewall. I suppose that the weight rating (89 for Crossclimates as against 81 on standard tyres) is the reason?
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I agree with Steve these do have a stiff side wall but xl spec varies a lot I’ve had other xl you can get a much softer wall ..
 
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Yes as you and others have collectively said, the reason is the tyres are reinforced / designed for a heavier axle load than the A2 would ever need, plus your tyres are not really any taller in terms of sidewall / profile, so no extra rubber to compensate.

Good to know, thanks for sharing the feedback / result of fitting this tyre, even if you have my sympathies that (by the sounds of it) it was not the result you were after in fitting them.
 
...interesting - I found them softer compared to the 17" tyres I had on my other set of wheels so its a different point of view for sure.

Also interesting is the fact that you've gone for the slightly larger 55 size when 50 is more accurate in relation to speedo accuracy. Any reason for the choice or was it availability?
 
trevorswaine said:
Over the winter my A2 was on 185/50x16 winter tyres, SE wheels. Now on 195/55x15 Crossclimates, pepperpot wheels, but these give a noticeably harder ride despite the taller sidewall. I suppose that the weight rating (89 for Crossclimates as against 81 on standard tyres) is the reason?
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What tyre pressures were you using with the 185/50R16 tyres?
What tyre pressures are you using with the 195/55R15 tyres?

185/50R16 and 195/55R15 tyres have about the same outside diameter. It's the 195/55R16 size that has a noticeably bigger outside diameter than standard tyres.
 
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Thanks everyone - I hadn't considered the XL rating factor. As to tyre pressure, about the same for both sets, somewhere around 30psi front and 29psi rear - there's never more than the 2 of us in the car.
 
trevorswaine said:
Thanks everyone - I hadn't considered the XL rating factor. As to tyre pressure, about the same for both sets, somewhere around 30psi front and 29psi rear - there's never more than the 2 of us in the car.
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The 195/55R15 tyre size has a higher load index than the much lower sidewalled 185/50R16 tyre size. Hence, you can often use lower tyre pressures with the 195/55R15 tyre size compared to the 185/50R16 tyre size. Up to 4psi lower. As you are only carrying two passengers, try 29psi front and 26psi rear.

As the Audi A2 is such a light car, you may find that you use higher tyre pressures than is needed for the tyres to support the weight of the loaded car. The additional tyre pressure being used to improve the car's handling. For example, with just two passengers and 195/55R15 tyres, you may find that 26psi front and 23psi rear is enough for the tyres to support the weight of the loaded car, but because the tyre pressures are starting to get a bit low you may find that the handling starts to suffer.

Try 29psi front and 26psi rear and let us know how you get on. You may not notice the 1psi drop in the front tyre pressures, but you should easily notice the much larger 3psi drop in the rear tyre pressures.

After that, you may want to compare 26psi front and 23psi rear tyre pressures. You should notice a big improvement in ride comfort, but at the expense of worse handling. Tyre pressure helps to keep the tyre in shape when cornering, so you might notice that your handling isn't quite as good after a 3psi drop in tyre pressures, but the upside is improved comfort.

Probably best to stick to 29psi front and 26psi rear with the 195/55R15 tyres, and if you want more comfort in the future consider a more comfortable tyre size. 165/65R15 on 5Jx15 ET28 rims is something I would consider. Compared to the pepperpots 6Jx15 ET38 rims, 5Jx15 ET28 rims will increase the front and rear track by 20mm.

Vredestein Quatrac 5 165/65R15 81T (Euro Label C C 68dB)

Vredestein Tyres / All Season Car / Vredestein Quatrac5 Vredestein Quatrac 5 - 165/65 R15 81T TL Fuel Eff.: C Wet Grip: C NoiseClass: 1 Noise: 68dB All Season - Four Season - All Weather - Car/MPV Tyres - 15" R15" - 165/65/15, 165/65R15

Buy online cheap Vredestein Tyres / All Season Car / Vredestein Quatrac5 Vredestein Quatrac 5 - 165/65 R15 81T TL Fuel Eff.: C Wet Grip: C NoiseClass: 1 Noise: 68dB
www.camskill.co.uk www.camskill.co.uk

Michelin Energy Saver 165/65R15 81T (Euro Label B A 68dB)

Michelin Tyres / Car / Michelin Energy Saver+ Energy Michelin Saver Plus - 165/65 R15 81T TL Fuel Eff.: B Wet Grip: A NoiseClass: 2 Noise: 68dB Car Tyres - MPV Tyres - People Carrier Tyres - 15" R15" - 165/65/15, 165/65R15

Buy online cheap Michelin Tyres / Car / Michelin Energy Saver+ Energy Michelin Saver Plus - 165/65 R15 81T TL Fuel Eff.: B Wet Grip: A NoiseClass: 2 Noise: 68dB
www.camskill.co.uk www.camskill.co.uk

There's also plenty of good winter tyres in the 165/65R15 size.
 
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An additional idea you may wish to consider is to get a digital tyre tread depth guage to monitor the tread at the centre and at the edges of the tread - you can then monitor whether the tyre is wearing evenly or not (hence indicating under / over-inflation).
 
Interesting reading.
I've been considering all season tyres for the Q3 and the Michelins are always praised for low noise and excellent ride quality by Honest John in the Saturday Telegraph motoring section. I did wonder how this could be achieved when every size option I checked only came in XL construction.
Maybe it works ok on heavier vehicles but is a minor drawback on the A2. Still, they get a cracking review on every other feature.

Trevor's observations will however make me look closer at the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons Gen2 as many sizes come with a standard load rating so should offer a more supple ride

Cheers Spike
 
spike said:
Trevor's observations will however make me look closer at the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons Gen2 as many sizes come with a standard load rating so should offer a more supple ride
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I'm planning to go for Vector 4 Season G2 tyres when I change mine. They tend to come out pretty much as good as the Cross Climates in test, with the benefits of low rolling resistance and compliant ride.
 
I've amended the tyre pressures - they were 33psi all round - I suppose that the tyre place that did the switchover bumped up the pressure although they didn't say so. Anyway now at 29psi front and 27psi rear - it's much better.
Careful everyone about the speed rating on your tyres - it's supposed to be V even on the 15" wheels - T might not be adequate.
 
I don't think 'T' speed rated tyres were ever fit as standard to any A2 whether 15, 16 or 17" however they are good for 118mph so I can't see them being a problem and I personally have never been anywhere near that speed in an A2 and quite frankly wouldn't want to ??

'H' rated is good for 130mph and 'V' 149mph which I believe were fit to most A2's when new.

Glad to hear your ride quality has improved. Tyre pressure's do make a huge difference, as does accurate tyre balancing to the wheel.

It is quite amazing to me how many tyre fitters just bang weights on willy nilly, or don't at all in some instances!

I always have my tyres dynamically balanced, meaning they are perfectly balanced (weights hidden out of sight on the inner and outer sides of the wheels behind the spokes) meaning no bobbling through the steering wheel ever, even at high speed ?
 
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RAB said:
Not quite true! The 1.2Tdi standard size is 145x80R14 (76T) and the only manufacturer is Bridgestone.

RAB
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Sorry, I never actually think of the 1.2TDI when I refer to the 'A2' as they are such a rare beast.

My apologies ??
 
A2Z said:
'V' rated is good for 150mph and 'H' 149mph which I believe were fit to most A2's when new.
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Sorry to pick - I believe H rating is 130 MPH. I was looking in the 2004 MY brochure and it specifies V rated tyres, but H should (with the permission of your insurer) be more than adequate.
 
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dj_efk said:
Sorry to pick - I believe H rating is 130 MPH. I was looking in the 2004 MY brochure and it specifies V rated tyres, but H should (with the permission of your insurer) be more than adequate.
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Your 'Pick' is appreciated and indeed you are correct.

My fingers didn't quite compute what my brain was thinking ?

I have corrected my error for clarity ?

I have seen many 'H' rated tyres on many A2's with the standard 16" SE 6 spoke alloys though and would be more than happy with them on a car of mine as I rarely go above 70mph and have never known an A2 do 130mph (probably a few in Germany I would guess though) .

I think regarding a lot of parts but especially tyres, a lot of the time car manufacturers fit what is available at the time and what they can get the best deal on.

The standard 185/50R16 size wasn't a very common or mass produced size, shared only by the Nissan Micra to my knowledge and so choice was limited and price relatively high
 
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I am about to fit pepper pot wheels to my car and am thinking about an all season tyre in size 195/55 R15. I live in London, but I like to think I can do a bit of winter touring in reasonable safety. I do not want to run specific winter tyres. The choices I have in mind are Michelin Cross Climate + or Vredestein Quatrac 5, the latter being a cheaper option, H rated and not XL marked. Does anyone have experience of the Quatrac 5 to share?
 
Interesting experience! I fit crossclimates+ in 185/60 15 flavour and am over the moon with improvements in ride comfort after changing from 185/50 16. Maybe the slightly thicker sidewall can make such a big difference? or we have different expectations and subjectivity strikes again?
 
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