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Winter Tire Strategy - Insight in Snow

101K views 169 replies 42 participants last post by  p11-insight  
#1 ·
#101 ·
The Green X logo is Michelin's guarantee that a tire provides a level of energy efficiency among the highest in the market for its category without compromising other key characteristics, such as traction and tread wear.
It could be nonsense but I think you might get better fuel economy than the stock Touring Conti tires. The stock Michelin Energy Saver tires on the LX/EX is marketed as Green X, too.
 
#109 ·
Overall, I have positive experience. But at a very slippery hill, when the ABS light keep flashing, only electric motor was working. And it moved very slow. A little bit scary at that point.
We just got our first snow today as well. I didn't have any hills on my commute, but what you described is torque limiting traction control. In a pinch, if you needed to spin the tires you should be able to hit the traction control button to disable it temporarily.
 
#114 ·
Did you see just the ABS indicator (round circle) or did you also get a message on Brake Performance being reduced?
- It was the ABS indicator keep flashing.

And when only the electric motor was working, was that due to traveling at low speed (low throttle)? Or was there message that indicated gas engine wasn't available?
- I forgot how hard I pushed the pedal, I think at least 1/3 to half way. No message just the EV in the display.

And thanks for the screenshot.
 
#121 ·
Dredging this up as I may need to invest in a set of snow tires for the Insight (I travel semi-regularly across the Cascades for work).

I've always been a Bridgestone Blizzak guy (for studless snow tires they are as good as it gets for snow traction, IMO). However, the rolling resistance sucks. Out Outback averages 32-33 mpg in the summer with the stock tires on it... when I put the Blizzaks on, it drops to 28-29. I am eying the Michelin X-ice now... has anyone actually run a set on their Insight yet?
 
#122 ·
I've always been a Bridgestone Blizzak guy (for studless snow tires they are as good as it gets for snow traction, IMO). However, the rolling resistance sucks. Out Outback averages 32-33 mpg in the summer with the stock tires on it... when I put the Blizzaks on, it drops to 28-29. I am eying the Michelin X-ice now... has anyone actually run a set on their Insight yet?
Check out posts 71 thru 105 earlier in thread for discussion of X-Ice in use. :)
 
#126 ·
Just took the snows off today!! Every time I was thinking of taking them off the future forecast was for more snow !! And Yes last Sunday... Mothers Day we did get snow !! Put on 20780 miles on the ICE X's very happy with them this winter... up to 6 inches April snowstorm that dumped 10 inches wet and heavy, by the time I was rolling home there was 6 inches down. As long as I kept the momentum going I did not have any problems - It was at its limits as I was plowing through. Kept pumping the gas and tried to keep the speed up, I am sure that if I stopped I may have gotten stuck! Ground Clearance being the enemy... So yes thumbs up for the Michelan's I think I should be able to get 2 -3 more winters out of the snows at the mileage I pound on the Insight.
 
#127 ·
^
I too put about ~22k miles on my Michelin X-ice Snow tires. Amazing. I never got stuck while everyone was slow.

Am I good to use these snow tires again next winter? I drive a lot. I put about 40k miles on my Insight TOURING trim in one year (142 miles round trip to work Mon-Fri)

😊😬😬
 
#129 ·
Has anyone used the Continental VikingContact 7s? I know my Insight sports Continental Tires stock and wanted to get some info. Premium tire and lots of positive reviews on other vehicles.

5415


I'm also looking as WS90s and Kumho Wi31 on 16s (downsize for my Touring). I'm in the Canuckistan Prairies and winters with FWD, snow tires are a must.
 
#132 ·
I finally placed my order for winter tires and rims. I decided to downsize to 16" for my 2020 Touring. I've had amazing success with Quattro Tire in Canada (3rd set of tires I've ordered) and got a solid discount on top of the $60 cash card. I went with hubcentric steel wheels and Kumho WINTERCRAFT ICE Wi31 tires. They'll ship balanced and ready to install
5843
 
#133 ·
I finally placed my order for winter tires and rims. I decided to downsize to 16" for my 2020 Touring. I've had amazing success with Quattro Tire in Canada (3rd set of tires I've ordered) and got a solid discount on top of the $60 cash card. I went with hubcentric steel wheels and Kumho WINTERCRAFT ICE Wi31 tires. They'll ship balanced and ready to install
View attachment 5843
I was going to ask a stupid question but then I re-read your post. So...nevermind.
 
#138 ·
Just took it out in 2in of unplowed snow to remind me how bad it is on stock tires (Conti). Well, it's not awful but it isn't great. It actually gets traction even on an incline but turning or braking feels unsafe. Hard to justify spending 1k on snow wheels when I'm not even driving to work though :( I have a pair of chains in my trunk ICE.
 
#145 ·
The recommended tire size for the Insight EX is 215/55R16. 205/60R16 is narrower in width and has taller sidewalls which will affect the speedometer and handling of the vehicle somewhat. Some people prefer to run narrower wheels with a larger sidewall in winter to improve handling in deep snow and reduce damage from potholes. The first number is the tire width in mm, the second number is the aspect ratio (sidewall height vs tire width) in %, and the third number is the rim diameter in inches.

Wheel offset is the distance from its hub mounting surface to the centerline of the wheel. Tire Rack offers wheels with offsets between +35 mm and +48 mm for the Insight so anything within that range should work
 
#148 ·
The bottom line here is that you want to outside diameter of the new minus one winter tires to match up with the outside diameter of the original tires supplied with your car. You can go to any number of online tire retailers and perform the calculations on their web sites to make sure that you get a match. It so happens that the 17 inch tires supplied with the Touring model match up almost perfecty with the 16 inch tires supplied with the LX and EX models. By going with a taller but thinner tire with the correct outside diameter, you should get better road grip in the winter and still avoid confusing the onboard electronics that are expecting the OEM recommended tires sizes.
 
#151 ·
Costco finally have the Michelin CrossClimate2 (Insight LX/EX size) in stock again after being sold out for months. I just placed an order and the total w/installation came out to $645.xx which is about $120 more than it was 2 years ago. 😬

Anyone planning on purchasing new tires for Winter should consider before the end of September. Bridgestone and Continental have announced price hikes starting October 1. Goodyear and Toyo already implemented price changes in July and August. Michelin hasn't announce anything yet but they did increase prices twice(March & May) already this year.
 
#156 ·
The tires arrived earlier this week at Costco and I went in to have them installed today.

Image


Pros:
  • Love the aggressive thick tread block design. Reminds me of an off road tire. Looks great on the Insight.
  • The steering wheel is much more stiffer when traveling straight. It doesn't have any play to it where I had to do small corrections to really keep it straight on the highway. My Insight is due for a wheel alignment but I was surprise this tire actually improved my vehicle's ability to track straight. It's so straight that my vehicle doesn't even squirm when traveling over bridges with metal grates. :eek:
  • Less body roll when making tight turns.
  • Overall handling is much better. This tire makes simple things like quick lane changes on the highway much more precise. Without needing to do corrections once you're in the next lane.
  • Does a much better job at absorbing road imperfections. You'll still feel speed bumps and potholes but not as harsh.

Cons:
  • I can definitely hear the tire growl noise depending on speed and type of road. It'll probably not faze me as I give it more time like the Insight's engine noise.
  • Tire doesn't glide as much as the Energy Saver. I notice myself hitting the gas pedal more to keep up to speed.
  • It's too early for me to tell what the mpg impact of this tire will be. Based on the trips I've done today, I would say about 5%(city) - 10%(highway) impact.
Unknowns for me right now are snow and rain. If it does as good as the professional reviews say then I wouldn't mind sacrificing some mpgs for more grip. Which are my main reasons for choosing the CrossClimate 2.
 
#158 · (Edited)
The tires arrived earlier this week at Costco and I went in to have them installed today.

View attachment 7631

Pros:
  • Love the aggressive thick tread block design. Reminds me of an off road tire. Looks great on the Insight.
  • The steering wheel is much more stiffer when traveling straight. It doesn't have any play to it where I had to do small corrections to really keep it straight on the highway. My Insight is due for a wheel alignment but I was surprise this tire actually improved my vehicle's ability to track straight. It's so straight that my vehicle doesn't even squirm when traveling over bridges with metal grates. :eek:
  • Less body roll when making tight turns.
  • Overall handling is much better. This tire makes simple things like quick lane changes on the highway much more precise. Without needing to do corrections once you're in the next lane.
  • Does a much better job at absorbing road imperfections. You'll still feel speed bumps and potholes but not as harsh.

Cons:
  • I can definitely hear the tire growl noise depending on speed and type of road. It'll probably not faze me as I give it more time like the Insight's engine noise.
  • Tire doesn't glide as much as the Energy Saver. I notice myself hitting the gas pedal more to keep up to speed.
  • It's too early for me to tell what the mpg impact of this tire will be. Based on the trips I've done today, I would say about 5%(city) - 10%(highway) impact.
Unknowns for me right now are snow and rain. If it does as good as the professional reviews say then I wouldn't mind sacrificing some mpgs for more grip. Which are my main reasons for choosing the CrossClimate 2.
Hi Andrew, how are you handling the snow this year? And how much MPG are you getting ;-)
 
#157 ·
2nd update on the CrossClimate 2:
I can say these tires perform really well on wet roads. So well that it makes you feel you can do things you shouldn't. Did a 2 hour drive in heavy rain with poor visibility last Sunday on the highway. I was going 80mph even though I probably shouldn't be going that fast in these kind of conditions. Had to suddenly brake at one point due to a crash up ahead and the car came to a stop a lot quicker than I ever could do with the Energy Saver.

Another thing I want to bring up is the stability of the vehicle with these tires. I remember with the Energy Saver tires I can feel my vehicle shake while stationary if a passenger is like wiggling around. I chalked it up to the vehicle being 3,000 pounds and light weight before. With the CrossClimate 2, the vehicle doesn't shift around even when I purposely wiggle in my seat. This seems like a dumb thing to bring up but it has a really big impact when driving with cross winds. I previously turn on LKA(lane keep assist) when driving with cross winds on the highway to keep my car centered without having to do micro-adjustments to my steering. The CC2s seem to keep my car stable enough where cross winds don't seem to push my car around as much.

After 2 months with the new tires. I can say the noise issue is mostly on smoothly paved roads. I don't notice anything different on rougher road surfaces. When I got the tires I can say the road noise on smoothly paved roads did annoy me. Where as with the Energy Saver I looked forward to driving on smoothly paved roads but not with the CC2s. I'm not sure if I got use to the noise or the tires have broken in but the noise seems quieter now.

Finally, the fuel efficiency. It's no surprise to me this is where I would take the hit with these tires. My recent fill ups have been 50.7, 49.3, and 47.7mpg. The 47.7mpg tank is lower than normal because I drove 200miles in heavy rain while doing 70-80mph. Calculations were done with a fuel efficiency tracker app instead of relying on the infotainment system. In my case, the infotainment system underestimates by 0.5 - 0.8mpgs. I run my tires at 40psi front/38psi rear now since the CC2s are XL tires with stronger sidewalls so I figure they can take more from potholes.

No snow yet so I will do another update when that happens.