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Michelin winter tire comparison test

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Mathieu St-Pierre
I'm fresh back from a tire test event that was hosted by the makers of the very popular X-Ice winter tires, Michelin.

The premise of this event held at Mecaglisse, in Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci, about an hour north of Montreal, was to showcase the new X-Ice Xi3's abilities compared to some of its most direct competitors.

To demonstrate the Xi3's prowess, Michelin devised three exercises replicating driving situations that we northerners regularly face in the winter months:

1- Pure ice acceleration and stopping
2- Snow covered driving with corners
3- Ice and snow comparison driving on worn (to 4/32) tires

There were a few more exercises which consisted mostly of introducing or reintroducing to those present other Michelin winter tires as well as a briefing on what makes the Xi3 tick.

The trio of aforementioned tests we conducted with the utmost possible precision, meaning that all cars were identical; same brand, engine, and transmission. In this case, the 2011 Mazda3s all sported 16” steel wheels, the 2.0L engine and 5-speed automatic gearbox.

The exactitude, for comparison purposes, of conditions and tools used were ensured as best as possible, right down to an instructor using a squeegee on the pure ice track to keep the surface equally smooth after every run.

All this reminded me about how much one can learn from doing direct, back-to-back testing. At Auto123.com, we want to bring more of these types of evaluations to you, our readers, be it on cars or other automotive related products. And we will.

As for now, I won't divulge my findings following the Michelin winter tire comparison test day. We'll publish the results shortly.

Mecaglisse
Photo: Matthieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com


Mathieu St-Pierre
Mathieu St-Pierre
Automotive expert
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