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I don't doubt that there are better dedicated snow/ice tires, better offroad tires, and better summer/performance tires, but for a balance of all seasons and all conditions, these are hard to beat.
 
The Michelin CC2’s are overkill for you. You should look at the General Altimax RT45s. They are the best bang for the buck tire out there.

I'm going with the RT45s personally. I see a decent amount of snow, but not too much snow.
 
I’m also researching new tires. I probably have the record: under 17k on the OEM Falkens after 3 years. The dealer is too expensive and I’ve had great experiences at BJs tire center. They don’t sell Continentals at my club so I narrowed it down to Michelin Primacy Tour or Goodyear Assurance Maxlife. The Michelins dont get great reviews due to poor treadwear, which makes sense because other brands use them as OEM. I think I’m going with the Goodyears - there are several members here that have good things to say about them.

Edit: uh oh, just noticed BJs has Michelin CC2s. Everyone seems to love them but I’m worried about road noise with that tread pattern.
 
I’m also researching new tires. I probably have the record: under 17k on the OEM Falkens after 3 years. The dealer is too expensive and I’ve had great experiences at BJs tire center. They don’t sell Continentals at my club so I narrowed it down to Michelin Primacy Tour or Goodyear Assurance Maxlife. The Michelins dont get great reviews due to poor treadwear, which makes sense because other brands use them as OEM. I think I’m going with the Goodyears - there are several members here that have good things to say about them.

Edit: uh oh, just noticed BJs has Michelin CC2s. Everyone seems to love them but I’m worried about road noise with that tread pattern.
No road noise at all. I have them on two vehicles and quiet as can be.
 
I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion
We live in the Phoenix, AZ area where (at least this last year), rain is scarce and snow is non-existent (although drive a bit north and you'll see some). Discount tire recommended the Defender 2 over the CC2, but at the end of the day the price difference for 4 was only about $150, so I went with the CC2's. Our OEM Falcons on our 2019 Touring lasted just under 30k miles, somewhat disappointing but heat here is a b***h (we see rubber tire tracks in our driveway all the time...). Yes, the Falken ride was a bit smoother, but the CC2's, while maybe an overkill for our environment, are just fine- a little harsher ride, but not unacceptable.
 
We live in the Phoenix, AZ area where (at least this last year), rain is scarce and snow is non-existent (although drive a bit north and you'll see some). Discount tire recommended the Defender 2 over the CC2, but at the end of the day the price difference for 4 was only about $150, so I went with the CC2's. Our OEM Falcons on our 2019 Touring lasted just under 30k miles, somewhat disappointing but heat here is a b***h (we see rubber tire tracks in our driveway all the time...). Yes, the Falken ride was a bit smoother, but the CC2's, while maybe an overkill for our environment, are just fine- a little harsher ride, but not unacceptable.
You made the right choice going with the CC2s.
 
Edit: uh oh, just noticed BJs has Michelin CC2s. Everyone seems to love them but I’m worried about road noise with that tread pattern.
NVH is highly subjective, based on the particular sensitivities of every unique individual. This is why you'll see some who have posted that they do hear more - while others proclaim that they're whisper-quiet. No-one is lying: it's just that different people perceive these things differently. :)

To illustrate this point, my wife sometimes proclaims that my breathing bothers her. Those of you reading the thread not yet married probably have not noticed (yet) your significant other's annoying intake of life-giving oxygen and exhalation of deadly carbon dioxide, but rest assured that such a day will come. Anyway, she hated my modified 2005 Legacy (mainly because it had a 5MT that I skilllessly rowed and pretended to be good at, but also for a host of other reasons) - so much so that one day, while riding in it, she accused me of having changed the tires (yet again: I had 5 sets of tires on that car in the span of 7 years) and made the ride rougher and louder, even though I had not. On the flip side, we took a CLE-to-DC trip a few years ago in my Outback, shod in studded tires: she didn't complain. Similarly, we traveled extensively this past summer in my '21 Touring, shod with the noticeably-louder-than-stock Falken Wildpeaks...again, not a peep.

This is further compounded by the fact that certain NVH factors are either enhanced or muted due to vehicle-to-vehicle variances in how NVH isolation are addressed. Even when the same make/model is seen in reviews and even when objective data is available, keep in mind that even small differences between unique vehicles (perhaps yours is better sealed in one area or perhaps the test vehicle has an unseen defect) can cause some variability.

My example-from-personal-experience here is that as I have noted elsewhere in these Forums, I have at times been able to cross-fit the same wheel-tire combos from one of our Subarus to another (we're a leasing family, and we're currently on our 12th Subaru since 2005). The same tire -same fitment, at the same inflation pressure and even mounted on the same wheels- fitted to one vehicle can produce significantly more noise in one vehicle than another: the Falken ZIEX ZE-512s fitted to my '05 Legacy were practically silent versus when fitted to my wife's '05 WRX.

Finally, the on-road habits of those in the vehicle can affect perceptions, too. Those who cruise with the windows open or listen to music/programming at higher volumes (or simply have a cabin-full of joyfully [or otherwise] screaming kids 😅 ) may not perceive some differences even as their "last mile" is free of such noises.

We put a set of CC2s on my daughter's '19 Legacy a bit over a year ago as her 3-seasons tire (she's on Michelin X-Ice Snows for the winter).

Image


She drives extensively during the school-week, managing an hour commute from the suburbs to downtown to row, through some of the most pothole-ravaged streets that CLE-proper has to offer. 🤪 An atypical teen, she doesn't listen to her music at eardrum popping levels - however, with the roads being as rough as they are, tire-noise just isn't a thing. Sure, on some of the just-repaved/renewed roads in the suburbs, if we're going at just the right speed and not listening to music, yes, the CC2s are louder, but that's honestly not a realistic scenario in our lives.

Sadly, because of the subjective "I feel" unique-individual assessments that are part-and-parcel to this kind of evaluation as well as the fact that there are vehicle-to-vehicle differences, it's virtually impossible for any one of us to come to a definitive conclusion when NVH is being addressed. The best that you can do is to screen reviews for those who drive the same vehicle as you do, and hope that an acquaintance or friend -anyone- who may have the same setup in the same vehicle can offer you a ride-along for an in-person assessment.
 
NVH is highly subjective, based on the particular sensitivities of every unique individual.
Hi TSiWRX, I completely agree. For additional context, the Ascent is my wife’s car. In 2020 it replaced a 15 year old Altima so it was a big improvement in NVH just based on age alone. As good as the CC2s seem to be, I don’t want to take a chance that she may feel it is less quiet after installing new shoes. I drive a 2007 Mazda6 and am much less concerned about NVH.
 
Hi TSiWRX, I completely agree. For additional context, the Ascent is my wife’s car. In 2020 it replaced a 15 year old Altima so it was a big improvement in NVH just based on age alone. As good as the CC2s seem to be, I don’t want to take a chance that she may feel it is less quiet after installing new shoes. I drive a 2007 Mazda6 and am much less concerned about NVH.
They are very quiet tires. This is my third set. The tread pattern is not like an off-road vehicle. Most tire shops will put them on, allow you to see what you think and swap them out for something else at no charge if you are unhappy. I suggest you try them before you judge on what they may or may not sound like.
 
They are very quiet tires. This is my third set. The tread pattern is not like an off-road vehicle. Most tire shops will put them n, allow you to see what you think and swap them out for something else at no charge if you are unhappy. I suggest you try them before you judge on what they may or may not sound like.
^^^agree^^^
I ran the OEM falkens for ~800 miles before switching to CC2s. NO difference in road noise, but a big positive difference in ride and handling, aside from the much superior performance in rain and snow.
 
@CVette at Discount Tire, we would give you a 30 day ride guarantee on the Michelin tires. So if ever your not satisfied with one of our tires, feel free to bring it back. (y)
 
Are they quieter than the OEM factory tires?
I can't give a scientific answer, but I noticed NO difference in noise from the OEM tires, both are quiet, but the CC2s are head & shoulders superior in ride, handling, and most importantly, wet & snow.
 
Are they quieter than the OEM factory tires?
^ well......... --->

NVH is highly subjective, based on the particular sensitivities of every unique individual. This is why you'll see some who have posted that they do hear more - while others proclaim that they're whisper-quiet. No-one is lying: it's just that different people perceive these things differently. :)

To illustrate this point, my wife sometimes proclaims that my breathing bothers her. Those of you reading the thread not yet married probably have not noticed (yet) your significant other's annoying intake of life-giving oxygen and exhalation of deadly carbon dioxide, but rest assured that such a day will come. Anyway, she hated my modified 2005 Legacy (mainly because it had a 5MT that I skilllessly rowed and pretended to be good at, but also for a host of other reasons) - so much so that one day, while riding in it, she accused me of having changed the tires (yet again: I had 5 sets of tires on that car in the span of 7 years) and made the ride rougher and louder, even though I had not. On the flip side, we took a CLE-to-DC trip a few years ago in my Outback, shod in studded tires: she didn't complain. Similarly, we traveled extensively this past summer in my '21 Touring, shod with the noticeably-louder-than-stock Falken Wildpeaks...again, not a peep.

This is further compounded by the fact that certain NVH factors are either enhanced or muted due to vehicle-to-vehicle variances in how NVH isolation are addressed. Even when the same make/model is seen in reviews and even when objective data is available, keep in mind that even small differences between unique vehicles (perhaps yours is better sealed in one area or perhaps the test vehicle has an unseen defect) can cause some variability.

My example-from-personal-experience here is that as I have noted elsewhere in these Forums, I have at times been able to cross-fit the same wheel-tire combos from one of our Subarus to another (we're a leasing family, and we're currently on our 12th Subaru since 2005). The same tire -same fitment, at the same inflation pressure and even mounted on the same wheels- fitted to one vehicle can produce significantly more noise in one vehicle than another: the Falken ZIEX ZE-512s fitted to my '05 Legacy were practically silent versus when fitted to my wife's '05 WRX.

Finally, the on-road habits of those in the vehicle can affect perceptions, too. Those who cruise with the windows open or listen to music/programming at higher volumes (or simply have a cabin-full of joyfully [or otherwise] screaming kids 😅 ) may not perceive some differences even as their "last mile" is free of such noises.

We put a set of CC2s on my daughter's '19 Legacy a bit over a year ago as her 3-seasons tire (she's on Michelin X-Ice Snows for the winter).

View attachment 22723

She drives extensively during the school-week, managing an hour commute from the suburbs to downtown to row, through some of the most pothole-ravaged streets that CLE-proper has to offer. 🤪 An atypical teen, she doesn't listen to her music at eardrum popping levels - however, with the roads being as rough as they are, tire-noise just isn't a thing. Sure, on some of the just-repaved/renewed roads in the suburbs, if we're going at just the right speed and not listening to music, yes, the CC2s are louder, but that's honestly not a realistic scenario in our lives.

Sadly, because of the subjective "I feel" unique-individual assessments that are part-and-parcel to this kind of evaluation as well as the fact that there are vehicle-to-vehicle differences, it's virtually impossible for any one of us to come to a definitive conclusion when NVH is being addressed. The best that you can do is to screen reviews for those who drive the same vehicle as you do, and hope that an acquaintance or friend -anyone- who may have the same setup in the same vehicle can offer you a ride-along for an in-person assessment.
 
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I'd be curious to know how metering equipment measures the disparity found here on noise? I think the tire (CC2) rides a tad rougher, but is distinctly quieter. My wife thought the same.

Being a dedicated snow tire guy since 1994, I'm looking forward to trying the CC2s out in the snow. Last year we had a 2 footer in mid October that the poorly shod (OEM) Ascent got stuck in. I will say this forum was my exposure to a new hybrid type of tire that will hopefully cover the 8-10 weeks (100") of snow we see before we leave after Christmas.

The General Altimax has also been mentioned above. I had the first iteration of them back around 2008 when they were rebranded here from Norway or Sweden? They weren't close to Blizzaks, but worked well enough in snow and wore like iron.
 
I'd be curious to know how metering equipment measures the disparity found here on noise? I think the tire (CC2) rides a tad rougher, but is distinctly quieter. My wife thought the same.
Absolute cabin noise can be measured, but my humble two cents is that any objective difference is only half the story. The other half of the problem is person-to-person differences in how we pick up various NVH factors - I detest cabin resonance, my wife is bothered by sounds at the lower frequency ranges, while my daughter is bothered by higher frequency noises.

And towards that individualized perception of things, we also have to factor in what we're willing to simply overlook. This can come in the form of being prejudiced/having preconceived notions of something supposing to be one way or another: colored perhaps by what we might read or hear (turn back the clock to when Michelin introduced the X-ICE Xi2 here in North America, and you'll see that virtually every consumer survey "review" of that tire on Tire Rack was bad - fast forward a month, after the first objective test scores came out overseas and it was clear that the Xi2s were just heads-and-shoulders above everything else at the time, and almost instantaneously those same consumer reviews started being stellar) - all the way to simply voluntarily deciding not to pay attention to what's actually there (like my wife during her test-drive of the VA-chassis WRX: the factory exhaust drones a bit at around 25 to 35 MPH and she immediately said that it bothered her, which was a huge problem, as it's almost all 25 and 35 MPH PSLs around us, locally - but she decided that she loved the car so much, that she was just going to not pay any attention to it 🤪).

I'm a nerdy benchtop basic scientist by trade, so I tend to approach pretty much everything by looking at both the positives and negatives, and I try to be objective...or at least put forward my personal biases. 😅

-----

Being a dedicated snow tire guy since 1994, I'm looking forward to trying the CC2s out in the snow. Last year we had a 2 footer in mid October that the poorly shod (OEM) Ascent got stuck in. I will say this forum was my exposure to a new hybrid type of tire that will hopefully cover the 8-10 weeks (100") of snow we see before we leave after Christmas.
Modern "All Weather" tires truly are a wonderful compromise. Michelin, however, doesn't use this description for any of their tires, and instead prefers to simply lump the CC2s under their "All Season" category. However, they do highlight the fact that it carries the 3PMSF designation. So even though Michelin doesn't play that "All Weather" game, it's really pretty much what the CC2s happen to be.

Just remember to temper your expectations with what the 3PMSF designation actually tests for: it's for straight line acceleration in "medium packed" snow only. Braking and turning are not measured. Nor is any type of ice traction.

The General Altimax has also been mentioned above. I had the first iteration of them back around 2008 when they were rebranded here from Norway or Sweden? They weren't close to Blizzaks, but worked well enough in snow and wore like iron.
Yup, they were -and are still- the Gislaved NordFrost variants. There's speculations about its precise compounding, but overall, it's virtually impossible to not see the similarities between the tires on a gross scale.

Generally, "studdable" winters will offer longer treadwear versus comparable "Studless Ice & Snow" tires as the need to physically support studding requires a heartier compounding. That said, the way studded tires and "Studless Ice & Snows" attack the ice-traction equation is itself different, with comparable-quality studded tires actually offering better ice traction on the warmer end of the temperature scale, while "Studless Ice & Snows" offer traction on ice as temperatures drop even colder (think of this as the ice being so cold that studs start to have trouble actually "chipping in," and instead the softer compound of the "Studless Ice & Snows" continuing to be pliable at such temperature extremes, allowing the "micro" aspects of the tread design to whisk-away the water evolved at the contact patch [with ice, free of any water at the contact surface, offering nearly the same coefficient-of-friction as concrete]). So it's not surprising that you -and so many others- report such excellent treadwear longevity from the Altimax Arctics.
 
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I replaced my OEM tires on my 2019 Ascent at about 23000 miles with Goodyear Assurance Maxlife tires. The ride is fantastic with way less road noise and a much smoother ride than the OEM tires. I rotate my tires with every oil change (6000 miles) and I have 66000 miles on the odometer (43000 miles on the Goodyear Assurance tires with a ton of life still left). I tow a Vistabule teardrop camper and do not do extreme off roading but have taken it on many logging roads in northern Maine and other parts of the country in order to get to some great backwoods sites. I am extremely pleased with the performance and life that I am getting and highly recommend these tires.
 
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