A4.Org User Reviews

Michelin Pilot Alpin winter tires

By: Micho Schumann Email: micho@micho.ca (Jan-02)

Make & model of car the product was used on: 2001.5 A4 TQM

After shopping around for quite a while and comparing many brands and models of winter tires, I finally decided to get Michelin's Pilot Alpins over the regular Arctic Alpins. First of all, the Pilot Alpin's tread is quite hard, unlike Blizzak's, Guardex's and the likes. This makes for great dry weather handling. Sound level is also quite low, not very different from the stock Goodyears. Rain performance is also very good. They feel very solid and comfortable at highway speed in heavy rain. Given the hard tread, I can see myself getting 3 maybe 4 winters (if I don't drive too much) out of this set. Of course, the ultimate test is in the snow, slush and ice that is typical to my Montreal climate. In snow, these tires do a great job. I tried some good accelerations out of corners and down some small slopes and never lost traction. On ice, the Pilots are not perfect, but do very well. I guess this would be the tradeoff for the harder tread. I would not recommend the Pilots for people that are out of urban areas where it can take a lot of time for snow removal. You are probably better off
getting something softer and less winter performance oriented (The Pilots are H rated for speed) So the bottom line is I feel I made the right decision for winter tires. I highly recommend the Pilot Alpins for anyone that wants very good dry winter driving, but that can feel safe and have fun when the white stuff starts falling.

By: Pete Tworek Email: N/A (Jun-02)

Make & model of car the product was used on: 2001 A4 1.8TQM

Background information: Since my car came with high performance summer tires, I was looking for a set of winter rubber that would get me through some colder winter months (and occasional snowfall) in northern Virginia, but mainly through some ski trips that I take from time to time. I enjoy performance/spirited driving regardless of season, and the roads in my area are generally clean, hence I wanted tires that would handle as good as all-seasons, yet get me through a few inches of snow when needed. I narrowed it down to Dunlop WinterSport M2 and Michelin Pilot Alpin. Since both have similar characteristics, it was a toss up. Given that the retailer from whom I was buying my winter rims did not carry Dunlops, Michelins won by default.

Cornering Michelin Pilot Alpins spent one season on my car so far (approx. 5k miles). It took me a couple of days to adjust to them after having driven on high performance summer tires before (225/45/17 Pirelli P6000). Their sidewalls are noticeably softer and hence feel a bit "mushy," especially when cornering. This is partly due to the softer H-rated winter rubber compound, but also due to larger sidewall (205/55 vs. 225/45 of my Z-rated summer tires). Nevertheless, this was perfectly acceptable for winter tires. Many all-season tires I've driven on before felt worse. After all, the H-rating makes Pilot Alpins one of the stiffer winter tires out there.

Snow Performance After my first ski trip to western Pennsylvania, I was happy to notice that these Pilot Alpins were very predictable on secondary roads and highways covered with a couple of inches of fresh snow. I had perfect control of the car at all times and no skidding/sliding while going faster than most of the traffic trailing in the right-most lane. I have not been able to test these Pilot Alpins in very deep snow. I do not believe that these sports-oriented winter tires were designed for it either.

Dry/Wet Performance In the dry, these tires perform very well, too. They are not as grippy and responsive as high performance summer tires, but they are as good as most all-season tires I have used in the past. This goes for wet traction (rain) as well. Road noise level is very low.

Treadwear After one season and approx. 5K miles of mostly leisurely driving, these tires appear barely worn. I expect to use them for another 2-3 seasons easily.

Conclusion Overall, these tires definitely boosted my confidence and performance when driving in adverse weather conditions. Paired up with quattro, they allow me to take my car just about anywhere. I highly recommend them to those of you with high performance vehicles driven in areas characterized by mostly dry winters but with occasional cold and snowy winter conditions. Those of you in areas of frequent heavy snowfall/accumulation should probably look into a less "sporty," more heavy-duty Q-rated winter tire instead.

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