[Married Man]

Definitely following this. I am between these and the wildpeaks, but might prefer the crossclimate 2 for the lower noise level and potential lower drag.

I don’t think you can go wrong with the Michelin Crossclimate, but the Falken tire that sas-XV replaced is not the Falken Wildpeak which is a very different tire from the oem Falken. I’m currently running the Wildpeaks and find them to be excellent wet road tires and I haven’t had an issue with noise. My mileage is down about 2 mpg from the oem Yokohama’s they replaced. There’s quite a lot of information on both of your choices on this forum. I also like the ride improvement from oem with the Wildpeaks.. I haven’t experienced the Michelin but have heard nothing but good reviews about them.

Doug

 

[AstroKats]

Upvote for the Wildpeaks!

 

[dpc166]

I don’t think you can go wrong with the Michelin Crossclimate, but the Falken tire that sas-XV replaced is not the Falken Wildpeak which is a very different tire from the oem Falken. I’m currently running the Wildpeaks and find them to be excellent wet road tires and I haven’t had an issue with noise. My mileage is down about 2 mpg from the oem Yokohama’s they replaced. There’s quite a lot of information on both of your choices on this forum. I also like the ride improvement from oem with the Wildpeaks.. I haven’t experienced the Michelin but have heard nothing but good reviews about them.

Doug

Yeah, the Falken Ziex tires that sas-XV replaced are similar to the ones that are OEM on my PHEV. Wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to go with the Wildpeaks due to slight range loss and maybe a bit more road noise (granted the PHEV has a lot more sound deadening than a regular Crosstrek). Since I'm moving in a few months, the majority of the places I drive to are all 6 miles closer so range isn't as big of an issue and on a weekly basis, I'm probably charging my car once or twice a week instead of four to five times per week. The Wildpeaks could affect that if they have a higher rolling resistance, but if the CrossClimates are similar or better than my OEM tires from that aspect, it might be worth the extra $25 per tire.

 

[dpc166]

Upvote for the Wildpeaks!

Yeah, I'm thinking about it and have a comparison going. The CrossClimate 2 tires are 3lb heavier than my stock Falken Ziex tires, so 12lbs total. The Wildpeaks are 6lbs heavier than stock, so 24lbs total. The Wildpeaks have 1.5" wider tread than my stock tires and the CrossClimate 2 tires are 0.8" wider. Seems the big difference between the 2 tires are weight and revolutions per mile. My stock tires do 750 revs/mi, CrossClimate is 749 revs/mi, and the Wildpeaks are 763 revs/mi.

99% of my driving is on road and I'm not driving a ton of miles so I'm thinking the CrossClimate might be best for my needs to balance efficiency and winter performance whenever we get 4-6" of snow (so far it's been a lackluster winter as far as snow goes). I really like the sidewall look of the Wildpeaks and they're cheaper so I'm curious what fuel efficiency I would lose if I'm not really driving a ton over 55mph.

 

[AstroKats]

I didn't notice any changes in road noise or fuel consumption with the Wildpeaks (although I didn't strictly analyze the latter). And they look great!

 

[dpc166]

I didn't notice any changes in road noise or fuel consumption with the Wildpeaks (although I didn't strictly analyze the latter). And they look great!

Yeah I figure if most of my driving is under 55mph, is 24lbs of extra weight and the tread pattern really going to affect my range?

 

[Montanan]

Keep in mind that because of the way rotational inertia works in physics, the actual performance impact of a heavier tire will be greater than just the weight difference.

That said, I personally didn't notice a meaningful MPG difference when I switched to the WildPeaks. It would be interesting to hear some real-world results from a hybrid owner.

Upgrading to the WildPeaks (or something similar) really offers a big improvement during wet or snowy conditions, though, so I'd recommend it regardless. You don't need to go off-highway to get a benefit from tires like that.

 

[dpc166]

Keep in mind that because of the way rotational inertia works in physics, the actual performance impact of a heavier tire will be greater than just the weight difference.

That said, I personally didn't notice a meaningful MPG difference when I switched to the WildPeaks. It would be interesting to hear some real-world results from a hybrid owner.

Upgrading to the WildPeaks (or something similar) really offers a big improvement during wet or snowy conditions, though, so I'd recommend it regardless. You don't need to go off-highway to get a benefit from tires like that.

Yeah, either will be better than these stock Falken Ziex A/S tires. There's still a ton of tread left on them (about 7/32"), but they'll expire before the tread wears down so I plan to replace them in Summer 2024 when I get my car inspected.

 

[MA Subie]

Keep in mind that because of the way rotational inertia works in physics, the actual performance impact of a heavier tire will be greater than just the weight difference.

Ahhhh, the old rotational mass debate. I hear this argument on cycling forums a lot that rotational mass will slow you down more than static mass. This is misleading. While rotational mass will make you slower to accelerate, once up to speed, more rotational mass will give you more momentum. In the end, it's a wash. Mass is mass and it doesn't matter whether it's in your tires or the obese passengers in the car.

Any significant fuel mileage differences with be because of more friction due to a more aggressive tread pattern or stickier compound, not extra tire mass.

 

[Montanan]

Well, the laws of physics are definitely real, as is the math behind rotational inertia ... but the key here is the word significant. Changing from 25-pound to 30-pound tires is mathematically going to have more impact on the car's performance than it would if you added four, 5-pound weights to the car's interior, but few people would call it significant. (It will also increase the wear of axle components and so on ... but significantly?) OTOH, if you slapped a set of oversize K02s on your car, or something, you might well actually notice a difference, so it makes sense to remember that physics is real.

People definitely have different ideas about how to define significant, though, especially guys who like to mod their cars. Some of the people I've encountered on this forum over the years have the most sensitive butt dynos in the known universe.

 

[Cutlass]

I didn't notice any changes in road noise or fuel consumption with the Wildpeaks (although I didn't strictly analyze the latter). And they look great!

My hearing isn't great, but if the radio is off, I do think the Wildpeaks are louder.

 

[Cutlass]

Keep in mind that because of the way rotational inertia works in physics, the actual performance impact of a heavier tire will be greater than just the weight difference.

That said, I personally didn't notice a meaningful MPG difference when I switched to the WildPeaks. It would be interesting to hear some real-world results from a hybrid owner.

Upgrading to the WildPeaks (or something similar) really offers a big improvement during wet or snowy conditions, though, so I'd recommend it regardless. You don't need to go off-highway to get a benefit from tires like that.

This is why I offset the Wildpeaks greater weight with lighter rims....

(And they look better)

 

[Qat]

My hearing isn't great, but if the radio is off, I do think the Wildpeaks are louder.

My assessment was the the road noise was not necessarily louder, but different. I put it down to the tread pattern.

 

[MA Subie]

This is why I offset the Wildpeaks greater weight with lighter rims....

(And they look better)

Well if you really want to get mathematical, tire mass will affect rotational inertia more that rim mass.

 

[dpc166]

Well if you really want to get mathematical, tire mass will affect rotational inertia more that rim mass.

I always wondered why they put 18" rims on the PHEV instead of 17" rims to reduce some unsprung weight.

 

[MA Subie]

I always wondered why they put 18" rims on the PHEV instead of 17" rims to reduce some unsprung weight.

Don't all the Limiteds have 18" rims?

I believe the idea here is that a car handles better with less rubber between the rim and the road. That's why sports cars have ultra low profile tires. Of course that also makes it easier to damage a rim hitting a pothole, but there is an opportunity to make some $$ selling you a new rim.

 

[sas-XV]

The weather finally moderated and I took a pic of the new shoes.

 

[MA Subie]

My filthy Crosstrek up in the Tug Hill region of NY State:

 

[Cutlass]

Well if you really want to get mathematical, tire mass will affect rotational inertia more that rim mass.

Maybe. But it's still at a smaller total than the tires on the stock rims.

 

[ccps]

The weather finally moderated and I took a pic of the new shoes. View attachment 314882

Just ordered a set to replace the OEM's on my 2019. Can't wait. How do you like them?