Quick question on OEM Michelin Tires on a 2015 Gen 1 vs a 2020 Gen 2 Leaf

Hi
We're in Denver and were unimpressed with the winter performance of the OEM Michelins on our '15 Leaf.
I get it... it's an efficiency tire for mileage vs snow traction.

Just got a 2020 SV Plus and It has the Michelin Energy Saver A/S and they are M+S Rated....

Question is: is this the same tire as what was on a 15?

Getting some decent snow right now and wondering how brave I want to be in that car.

Anyone know?

Thanks
The Count

Pretty much all all season tires say "M&S" on them, and it's often meaningless - as it is in this case. You want either dedicated snow tires for Winter, or...(just woke up)... "Three Peak rated" all season tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=125

The Michelin OEM tires that came on my 2019 were the same lousy Energy Saver A/S tires as the ones that came on my 2015. They were both rated M+S but did not work well in rain or dry conditions. Of course I never tried to drive on them in snow.

Thx for the replies. I didn't remember it being the same Michelin on the 15 but it seems likely that it probably was.

Was hoping it was some newer all season but no such luck.

Definitely agree about the 3peak tires.... I just only have a 2 year lease and don't want to waste money on a dedicated snow.

If anyone needs a set of "really great" :roll: stock Michelins with 300 miles in the Denver area or want to pay for shipping...message me.

Thanks

A suggestion, based on my own experiences: get the tires you want and need for the car, save the OEM tires to slap back on it to turn in, and then you have valuable tires left to use or sell. Also, if you like the car, consider trying to extend the lease another year when it ends.

Hey--I can see Denver from here!

I'm pretty glad that this LEAF didn't have LRR tires on it when I got it. When you look at road tests, the rolling resistance difference between LRR (maybe they should be called "low traction" tires) and grippy tires with good winter performance isn't all that much (a 7.38% difference between the Michelin Energy Saver A/S and the Goodyear Assurance Comfortred--a grippy tire).

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=121

This one came with regular Goodyear Assurance tires on it (I wish they were Comfortreds) and I'm quite happy with their grip. They also seem to roll nicely.

If you really want some bite without going to a winter tire, the Michelin Cross Climate sounds amazing! I've also Craigslisted some winter tires in the past and ran them year-round on the Prius. There are lots of options. No need to slide around in bowling shoes!

For what it's worth, I was pretty impressed with the OEM Michelin tires this winter. We received a rare meter of snow in a few days here in early Feb in Chicago. Car handled great, though we have no elevation here to be fair.

Guessing you had the same problem of needing to help nudge the Teslas out of the snow banks, just being kindly neighbors and all.

I've also Craigslisted some winter tires in the past

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Craigslist can be murder on sellers. One of the few things I've sold there easily, though, and for near the asking price, was the original Ecopias from my 2013 Leaf. I got something like $225 for the set when they were a couple of years old.There are people out there looking for LRR tires for their Priuses, Civic, Corollas, etc...

PrairieLEAF said:

If you really want some bite without going to a winter tire, the Michelin Cross Climate sounds amazing! I've also Craigslisted some winter tires in the past and ran them year-round on the Prius. There are lots of options. No need to slide around in bowling shoes!

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I'm through with running "all-season" tires in the winter. On one leaf I have the Cross Climate's and the other full winter tires and the difference is amazing, they both run rings around the previous all seasons. I probably won't go full winter tires once my current ones wear out, mainly because of the$60-100 cost twice a year of swapping them back and forth and time required to do the swaps, the Cross Climates are the best of both worlds and I'd highly suggest them for anyone in snowier climates as a great all-around tire.
And yes I know I could purchase a set of steel rims and save the swapping costs but I really like the TPMS, especially in the winter when you really need them.

The Michelin A/S tires are pretty useless for snow and ice here. I'm running Goodyear Nordic studded winters with 16" alloys/sensors. 205/55 R16". No complaints. They are are about 1/2" less in OD, and maybe approx 1/2" narrower than the 215/50 R17" tires for summer. It gives you a bit more rubber on the rim and a slightly softer ride.

If you have snow regularly, find some winters.

denwood said:

The Michelin A/S tires are pretty useless for snow and ice here. I'm running Goodyear Nordic studded winters with 16" alloys/sensors. 205/55 R16". No complaints. They are are about 1/2" less in OD, and maybe approx 1/2" narrower than the 215/50 R17" tires for summer. It gives you a bit more rubber on the rim and a slightly softer ride.

If you have snow regularly, find some winters.

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Do studded tires give you even worse range than regular winter tires? Of course, studded tires are illegal in most? states and many areas of Ontario, or so I've been told. Still, if you can use them legally and range isn't a factor, I imagine they would be the ultimate in winter tires

The problems with studded tires are that they are terrible on both wet and dry roads - they only help on ice and packed snow.

Jeff, on the range issue, well that drops about 40% at -30 C, so the tires are not the big factor there. Studded are legal here. We also have a set of Blizzaks on our Highlander (and I've used the same on several cars). For a non studded tire the Blizzaks are simply awesome in snow and ice.

I had a surprising ABS intervention at about 110 km/h on clean but cold expressway (dry salt is slick) with the studs, which likely would not have happened with just a non-studded winter. I'm also not a fan of the road noise with the studs. They came with the Leaf, mounted on Momo alloys with TPMS, so I can't really complain. I've got a brand new set of Ecopia 422 Plus on the OEM 17"s going back on the car in a few weeks.

It's quite interesting actually when the Leaf stability management kicks in on the slippery roads. Definitely a good car for my wife and daughter when it's nasty out.