[JAVELINMAN]

5 or 6 inches of snow landed in my area of MICHIGAN yesterday.
My Fusion cut right thru it, the Michelin Pillots seem to stay planted.
Got into an intensional slide in a corner, was easy to correct & maintain direction.
The ABS kicked in once & prooved itself.
I did'nt opt. for the traction control, heard bad things about it. 8)

 

[Showtime]

I've noticed how stabile these cars are. I've swirved side to side to try to get it to kick out but it seems to catch itself with out having to steer into the turn. A couple times I intentinally brought the back end around with the ebrake but even then it was 100% controlable. I'm amazed at how much you can put it sideways and still bring it back. This would be a blast if it was RWD/AWD.

What wheels do you get the Pilots with? I've got the 16's on the SE and I have Continentals. They really don't have that much traction. I'm not too impressed with these tires except in a straight line, they are very quiet. I think I'll be fine this winter but I'm switching to snows next.

 

[JAVELINMAN]

Hey, I've got the 17's on my SEL, I thought the 16's were Michelins too.
I had those Continentals on my 2003 Taurus w/16's, I thought they were good.
Although I do notice the diff. w/these Mich's...& your right these cars are super stable!!!
Michelins web site gives the Pilots a 10 for snow & wet traction & Tirerack.com gives the
Pilots a 4. I guess if ur gonna get snows, go for the Bridgestone Blizzaks... 8)

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

You won't love those Pilot's when you look at the price tag.

Anyway, the Pilot Sports are decent tires - way overpriced for what they are though. Plenty of other all seasons out there that perform as well, at 2/3 the price.

 

[captainhook]

Milan was decent in the snow the other day for me. I was not overly impressed with the Conti's in the snow, but what do you expect for factory all-seasons. It seems that with good snow tires the car would be a tank in the snow.

 

[mkaresh]

My Mazda Protege5 behaves similarly in the snow. Very easy to control the back end.

I think the Michelins are Pilot HX MXM4s, NOT Pilot Sports. These are not high performance tires. Instead, they're touring tires. At TireRack owners have rated them worst in the class. That said, people often hate OEM tires, and tend to give them lower ratings than tires they had a hand in selecting.

A smart manufacturer would offer two or three selections. I know this would complicate matters in the factory, but this way they could charge more for fancier brands and everyone would be happier. People like having a choice. If they wanted to keep the factory simple, they could enable the dealer to perform swaps at little or no extra charge (beyond the incremental cost of the tires).

I have Michelin Pilot Alpins on my Mazda right now. Though halfway between a hardcore snow and an all-season, they do much better in the snow and ice with fewer compromises on clear roads. $60 coupon at CostCo right now. CostCo's tire service not always the best, though other tire stores will often match the net price.

 

[97SHOMANN]

What is this SNOW you talk about?   :klavergreg:    We are supposed to get some snow here in TN tonight. I'll be anxious to take the Fusion out and Play.

 

[JAVELINMAN]

SNOW, it's the white stuff that u slip on & gets ur Fusion dirty....LOL 8)

 

[97SHOMANN]

:klavergreg: Oh Yeah, I hate when that happens. This must be the stuff you're talking about.