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My car is a 2008 Saab 9-3 Aero XWD. It came with Michelin Pilot MXM4 all season tires from the factory. I bought the car at 28k miles and it still had this style tire on it, presumably original.
I made it to about 38k miles before hitting a curb and putting a big welt on my left rear tire. It was pretty bad but surprisingly not leaking air. I decided to keep driving on it as long as possible.
One day my wife called me to tell me she got a flat on her Ford Edge. I hopped on the motorcycle and met her to swap out her tire. When we got home I said she could drive me car until I patched her tire. Of course that is the moment that the questionable tire on my saab decided to go flat. When it rains it pours I guess.
Good news was that I could patch her tire. Bad news is that the flat on my saab was not repairable. Even if I could patch it, the tires now had 46k miles on them and needed to be replaced, regardless of holes.
While the MXM4 tires were good all around tires, I never liked how they felt in corners. The felt like they were floating with no indication that prominent understeer was eminent as you plowed through a corner too fast. They just didnt provide any feedback. They were also not very good in the rain. Snow performance was pretty good though.
For my next set I opted for straight summer tires. After much research I decided on Cooper Zeon RS-3 tires. They have excellent reviews, are less expensive than most of their competitors, and are American made.
After a week with the new tires I can safely say I am very happy with them. They grip much better than the old tires. They probably only stick 20% better, but there is far more feedback. I have yet to find the point where they slip. And that is with driving very agressively on highway on/off ramps. If I have not found that point yet, I probably never will.
I cant speak to rain performance yet. I have been out in the rain but I didn't push them.
They are slightly louder than the MXM4 tires. In truth both tires had very mild road noise. The Michelin's had a lower pitched hum. The Coopers have a higher pitched wind like noise. I would say that the Cooper's road noise is more noticable, but certainly not loud. Then again, the 9-3 is extremely quite so its hard to say.
Obviously I have not tested snow performance yet but I have very low expectations. When it snows, I will consider getting snow tires or just taking my wife's Edge. The Saab is all wheel drive which should help me get around during those few surprise snow storms we have in Maryland, even with snow tires on. Pictures
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| | | old tire, Michelin Pilot MXM4 | | | | | | | | | shop left excess of tire bead goop on the tire | | | | | I love the look of the tread pattern | | | 