# Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever???



## Vr6Fidelity (Oct 4, 2001)

Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever???
I swear, this is the worst tire I have ever encountered in my entire life. Sure it rides smooth and soft, and makes almost no noise whatsoever, but is SUCKS as a tire!
The tire gives up traction all the time. It totally destroys my confidence when driving my 2003 GTI 1.8T Sport. 
Is it totally the tires fault? Im i correct in saying that this tire is total garbage? The real kicker is they are also EXPENSIVE! $189ea at tire rack! And they totally blow.
I was seriously considering selling my near mint set of (4) 225/45/R17's and replacing them with something very good. The tires only have 20,000 miles on them, and i have only had the car for 3000 and they need to go STAT. 
Advice please.










_Modified by Vr6Fidelity at 11:52 AM 4-5-2007_


----------



## WS6Fury (Feb 4, 2003)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (Vr6Fidelity)*

I remember those on my 99 jetta. yeah, they suck pretty bad just as you describe.


----------



## pturner67 (Dec 27, 2002)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (Vr6Fidelity)*

In general, I don't like Michelin tires...return on investment is terrible...for the money, there are many other tires out there that are better


----------



## crazy88 (Jul 11, 2003)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (Vr6Fidelity)*

that's oem for u... i would just get new tires


----------



## Vr6Fidelity (Oct 4, 2001)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (crazy88)*

Im pretty sure thats why this thread exists.


----------



## Jimmy Russells (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (Vr6Fidelity)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Vr6Fidelity* »_Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever???
I swear, this is the worst tire I have ever encountered in my entire life. Sure it rides smooth and soft, and makes almost no noise whatsoever, but is SUCKS as a tire!
The tire gives up traction all the time. It totally destroys my confidence when driving my 2003 GTI 1.8T Sport. 
Is it totally the tires fault? Im i correct in saying that this tire is total garbage? The real kicker is they are also EXPENSIVE! $189ea at tire rack! And they totally blow.
I was seriously considering selling my near mint set of (4) 225/45/R17's and replacing them with something very good. The tires only have 20,000 miles on them, and i have only had the car for 3000 and they need to go STAT. 
Advice please.









_Modified by Vr6Fidelity at 11:52 AM 4-5-2007_

That tire is about 12 years old, which is true of most of Michelin's whole line-up. I've never seen a lazier company that just relies on its name and continues to produce dated product. They're the Sony of tires, asking 20% more than everyone else, for mediocre product. 
Replace them with some Potenza RE960's if you drive in snow, or P-Zero Nero's if you don't have much snow, and you'll be amazed at the difference. 


_Modified by RedRabidRabbit at 8:20 PM 4-5-2007_


----------



## Vr6Fidelity (Oct 4, 2001)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (RedRabidRabbit)*

I think im going for Falken Azenis RT-615's.


----------



## DIAF (Sep 17, 2005)

They are great tires for what they're designed for, they're not performance tires.
People who think that they're awful tires obviously don't have a lot of experience with tires in general. All seasons that are as durable and as quiet as the HX MXM4 are not cheap, not to mention how well Michelin's balance out.
I think the problem is that everyone thinks that all-season rubber should be as sticky as R-Comps. Different tires for different purposes. 
I have MXM4's for cold weather use (I can't justify snow tires as long as the MXM4's are healty), Pilot Sports for summer use, and V710's for autocross. Every tire has a specific purpose.


----------



## Jimmy Russells (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: (DIAF)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DIAF* »_People who think that they're awful tires obviously don't have a lot of experience with tires in general. All seasons that are as durable and as quiet as the HX MXM4 are not cheap, not to mention how well Michelin's balance out.


I will not argue this point. Michelin always has fantastic build quality and they do balance well. That doesn't change my opinion on the performance or the age, though.


----------



## Cooper (Sep 11, 2000)

*Re: (DIAF)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DIAF* »_They are great tires for what they're designed for, they're not performance tires.

x2.
As an OEM tire geared towards a middle-america target audience, they're great. If you're looking for something specific, swap them out.
We had them on our two 1997 Passats, and they were very good tires overall. They wear very well. Coolchick has them on her 2002 New Beetle, and thay have almost 40,000 miles on them. This may be the summer year for them, though.
Are there better tires out there? Certainly, depending on what you're looking for.
I needed new tires for my car, as I hit a pot hole and two tires blew out. I went with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.


----------



## pturner67 (Dec 27, 2002)

*Re: (DIAF)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DIAF* »_
People who think that they're awful tires obviously don't have a lot of experience with tires in general. All seasons that are as durable and as quiet as the HX MXM4 are not cheap, not to mention how well Michelin's balance out.

The orig poster was saying the HX MXM4 tire is aweful. Compared to other similar tires, the original poster has a pretty decent point.
In the comparison of all-season to all-season (not including UHP all-season), Michelin's only strength is in their marketing campaign. There are tires out there as good as, or better than, Michelin for 25-50% less money. With Michelin, you are paying for their marketing budget.
Goodyear handles very similarly to Michelin and I always considered Goodyear to be overpriced crap. Yet Goodyear is less expensive than Michelin in most cases (assuming similar applications).
Look at 215-50-16 on TireRack and compare all-seasons. Continental's ContiPremierContact has better ratings, etc than the Pilot HX MXM4 and the Continental is about 40% less expensive than the Michelin. I would put the Turanza LS-H up against the HX MXM4 any day of the week. Look at the specs on TireRack. Turanza is $114 and the Michelin is $153.
Now in the UHP tires, it's possibly a different story. This is where companies like Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone are similar in feel, handling, and price. 
Anyway...have a great night and a Happy Easter


----------



## DIAF (Sep 17, 2005)

*Re: (pturner67)*


_Quote, originally posted by *pturner67* »_
The orig poster was saying the HX MXM4 tire is aweful. Compared to other similar tires, the original poster has a pretty decent point.
In the comparison of all-season to all-season (not including UHP all-season), Michelin's only strength is in their marketing campaign. There are tires out there as good as, or better than, Michelin for 25-50% less money. With Michelin, you are paying for their marketing budget.
Goodyear handles very similarly to Michelin and I always considered Goodyear to be overpriced crap. Yet Goodyear is less expensive than Michelin in most cases (assuming similar applications).
Look at 215-50-16 on TireRack and compare all-seasons. Continental's ContiPremierContact has better ratings, etc than the Pilot HX MXM4 and the Continental is about 40% less expensive than the Michelin. I would put the Turanza LS-H up against the HX MXM4 any day of the week. Look at the specs on TireRack. Turanza is $114 and the Michelin is $153.
Now in the UHP tires, it's possibly a different story. This is where companies like Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone are similar in feel, handling, and price. 
Anyway...have a great night and a Happy Easter










The OP was complaining about a lack of grip with the HX MXM4's, which is something that you'll deal with with _all_ all-season tires. When considering the important specs for OEM tires, the MXM4 is a great tire, it's quiet, durable, and of top quality. Sure there might be other tires that are better all seasons, but the OP wants a race tire.
One could successfully argue that an all-season was the wrong tire to spec on a GTI (which I believe), but as an all-season radial, the HX MXM4 gives up very little as an OEM spec tire. The majority of drivers are not out spanking on their cars every day, and appreciate ride comfort and low NVH levels above ultimate grip, as they drive 3/10ths most of the time.


----------



## MEIN_VW (Jul 29, 2000)

*Re: Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 The worst tire ever??? (Vr6Fidelity)*

They're not great but they are somewhat better than the Michelin MXV4 Plus tires that came with my Passat.
I had HX MXM4's on 17" Long Beaches from my 1.8T Jetta that I have been using on my TDI. Now that they've worn out, I've just replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Positions. These should give me the kind of cornering and wet weather grip the Michelins lacked. Can't wait to get them on the car but it's STILL snowing here!!!
On the plus side, I used those Michelins for 4 years (April - October). The Potenza's won't last that long but they were CHEAPER than the HX MXM4's! $135 vs. $189 each at Tire Rack.



_Modified by MEIN_VW at 6:06 PM 4-8-2007_


----------



## crazy88 (Jul 11, 2003)

*Re: (RedRabidRabbit)*


_Quote, originally posted by *RedRabidRabbit* »_I will not argue this point. Michelin always has fantastic build quality and they do balance well. That doesn't change my opinion on the performance or the age, though.


i've heard good things about the pilot sport 2 + exalto 2, which are fairly recent tires


----------



## Jimmy Russells (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: (crazy88)*


_Quote, originally posted by *crazy88* »_

i've heard good things about the pilot sport 2 + exalto 2, which are fairly recent tires


Yep, those are both more recent.
What about stuff like the MXM4/MXV4+ and the whole LTX series, that stuff is ancient... even the PS1, PS A/S and Harmony and Hydroedge aren't exactly recent.


----------



## crazy88 (Jul 11, 2003)

*Re: (RedRabidRabbit)*

yeah, but if u look at the various brands, they all have older tires in their line-up like the dunlop sp5000 or kuhmo ecsta mx
and of course, the tried + true oem goodyear rs-a + bridgestone re92


----------



## WS6Fury (Feb 4, 2003)

*Re: (crazy88)*

It's a horrible all season tire. The only thing it was good for was going round and round for a very long time, which it did great!
Stoppping, going, wet, dry, snow, it was sub par in every category in comparison to similar tires. I switched out from a 16" wheel to 17" and tossed on a set of all-season toyo's and they blew the mich's away, esp in the snow.


----------



## farfrompukin (Oct 3, 2003)

i've got about 800+ mi. on a set of Exalto A/S (4 season) on my 4mo wagon and they are a far better tire than the stock Contis (i'll never buy Contis ever again. they NEVER balanced). great cornering and very good in the snow (ok, so it's a 4mo). i just bought a set of Exalto PE2s (summer only) for my GTI and even tho i've only got a few hundred mi. on 'em i like 'em alot. getting up my driveway last week with 1 inch of snow on the ground was interesting (it only took 2 attempts).
overall, when i've gone cheap (Toyo, Kumho, Dunlop) i've kicked myself from mile 1. when i've spent the money (Yokohama, Michelin) i've been pleased. 
do alot of research and the tire rack is not always the best deal. i've bough both sets of these Michelins thru Costco and when you compare everything- i saved about $50.


----------



## Jimmy Russells (Feb 4, 2007)

*Re: (crazy88)*


_Quote, originally posted by *crazy88* »_yeah, but if u look at the various brands, they all have older tires in their line-up like the dunlop sp5000 or kuhmo ecsta mx
and of course, the tried + true oem goodyear rs-a + bridgestone re92


I noticed in Bridgestone's newest price book, the RE92 is gone, other than OE. They finally killed it







.
I think the P-Zero Giallo takes the cake though. That tire is so old even the tread itself looks horrendous. 



_Modified by RedRabidRabbit at 1:29 PM 4-10-2007_


----------



## vancity 1.8t (Jan 12, 2003)

I have the same Michelin tires, and they are fine tires if you drive the speed limit and not have to make any sudden stops... It is reasonably quiet, and handles pretty well in the dry and wet. These tires even got me home during a few snow storms, but almost got stuck on an ice covered hill, but managed to get out of that mess with some careful driving.
I had a set of the Falken ZE512 and these are pretty good tires, definetly cheaper in price and much better braking ability. These were Consumer Digest rated #1 Tires. They do seem to wear out fast, so you need to regularly rotate the tires.
Avoid the Goodyear RSA, once they were below 50% they are useless, I almost did a 180 going around a corner at about 20 mph with these tires.


----------



## pturner67 (Dec 27, 2002)

*Re: (vancity 1.8t)*


_Quote, originally posted by *vancity 1.8t* »_I have the same Michelin tires, and they are fine tires if you drive the speed limit and not have to make any sudden stops...


wow...no sudden emergency stops...and yet Michelin sells a ton of them with their marketing campaign "so much is riding on your tires" while showing a fast emergency stop with a baby in the car...LOL...marketing...gotta love it


----------



## Mike Gordon (Apr 11, 2005)

Yeah, they're junk.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...+MXM4


----------



## Vr6Fidelity (Oct 4, 2001)

*Re: (Mike Gordon)*

Yep, still sucking, They tramline like crazy, feel floaty, and turn in sucks ass. 
http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif


----------

