[saiyan]

Has anyone installed Michelin Premier A/S (H rated) tires on their 2014 Mazda i Touring or Grand Touring?

Premier AS is supposed to be the successor to MXV4 and Michellin's own web site gave it a rating of 10 in comfort rating just like MXV4.

Well. Today I had Michelin Premier AS (H rated) installed on my 2014 i Touring for about $700 including labor.

Afterward I drove around west LA for 40 minutes to see what improvement noise-wise I got out of Premier AS tires.

Here are what I found:

- On super smooth asphalt pavements:
Very little noise from tires. Almost all engine and wind noise only.

- On typical asphalt pavements with imperfection:
Almost same level of tire noise as stock Yokohama Avid S34. May be 1 or 2 decibel less?
That's like pressing the minus volume button once on a TV remote. Hardly an solid improvement.:sad 1:

- On concrete pavements:
Basically the same noise level as stock Yokohama Avid S34.
Driving on the concrete paved 105 freeway near LAX, I get the same loud tire roaring noise as stock tires. :argh 1:

Conclusion:
If you live in areas such LA where 99% of streets are non-smooth asphalt or concrete pavements, don't bother with Michelin Premier AS. :no:

I have a friend brought over a sound measuring device and I found the interior noise of my car with all windows closed varies between 71 to 85 decibel while driving around town. We made sure we did not talk or make any artificial sound to affect the measurement.

The decibel measurements are way higher than what are listed Auto Decibel Database.

Anyway. This summarizes my $700 new tire experiment.

Perhaps I should have chose Pirelli Cinturado P7 tires which some drivers here have actually confirmed their noise reduction attribute.

 

[rvoll]

That's about what I would expect from Michelin's. They are really excellent handling tires in general, but they are a bit noisy -- even the supposedly quiet ones. That's been my experience and why I went with a different brand of tire - Hankook -- which allowed me to get a quiet tire with good performance (but lower mpg). Not all Hankooks are quiet, however. You're always going to have a compromise because no one tire does everything well. Michelin, by and large, is a performance brand. Performance tires generally are noisier. For most cars, with better sound isolation, that's not a problem. Because of SkyActiv, our car does translate noises a bit more. My tires do reduce sound on all surfaces and I have no problems on most asphalt surfaces. On concrete pavements, the sound is less, but still annoying. A softer compound (generally you look for performance on ice/snow) and a wider tire (I went from 215 to 225) will help a bit, but you'll never have a car as quiet as a Mercedes. In the hatch, I've found that most of the sound actually comes from the hatch area, and not the front. The way the car is shaped magnifies the sound like a loudspeaker. That's why I put down a double cargo mat (the OEM soft liner and the Husky Weatherbeater) and put stuff wrapped in towels in the indentions on the right and left sides.

Good luck.

 

[saiyan]

I don't expect to have Mercedes or Lexus quietness ever in this car but I was hoping Michelin Premier A/S would at least provide some noticeable noise reduction on most streets I drives especially on concrete paved highways.

Here are the reasons I decided to give Prermier A/S a try:

1) Michelin Premier A/S is supposed to be the replacement or successor to Michelin MXV4.
As recent as four days ago, Michelin's web site still have both tires listed and Premier A/S have the same rating (10) in comfort category as MXV4. (I think there needs to be a separate rating for quietness in addition to comfort).

2) Consumer Reports gave MXV4 the best rating in noise/quietness among H-rated tires in All Performance Touring category (even topping Pirelli Cinturado P7). Although CR is still testing Premier A/S for their upcoming 2015 tire test results, they published a blog that basically said Premier A/S is as least on par with MXV4 as far as handling and comfort are concerned.

3) Tireracks's own testing also gave Premier A/S pretty good rating in quietness slightly below Pirelli Cinturado P7

4) A few drivers with Pirelli Cinturado P7 posted in this forum that they have noticeable noise reduction. So I though may be Premier A/S will give me similar results.

5) There are some "noise is gone" type of reviews posted by users on Michelin's web site although many did not say what cars they have but I suspect they probably have cars like BMW or Lexus which already have good sound insulation. So to those drivers, a 2 to 4 decibel reduction in tire noise can mean "noise is gone".

 

[vgb]

I don't expect to have Mercedes or Lexus quietness ever in this car but I was hoping Michelin Premier A/S would at least provide some noticeable noise reduction on most streets I drives especially on concrete paved highways.

Here are the reasons I decided to give Prermier A/S a try:

1) Michelin Premier A/S is supposed to be the replacement or successor to Michelin MXV4.
As recent as four days ago, Michelin's web site still have both tires listed and Premier A/S have the same rating (10) in comfort category as MXV4. (I think there needs to be a separate rating for quietness in addition to comfort).

2) Consumer Reports gave MXV4 the best rating in noise/quietness among H-rated tires in All Performance Touring category (even topping Pirelli Cinturado P7). Although CR is still testing Premier A/S for their upcoming 2015 tire test results, they published a blog that basically said Premier A/S is as least on par with MXV4 as far as handling and comfort are concerned.

3) Tireracks's own testing also gave Premier A/S pretty good rating in quietness slightly below Pirelli Cinturado P7

4) A few drivers with Pirelli Cinturado P7 posted in this forum that they have noticeable noise reduction. So I though may be Premier A/S will give me similar results.

5) There are some "noise is gone" type of reviews posted by users on Michelin's web site although many did not say what cars they have but I suspect they probably have cars like BMW or Lexus which already have good sound insulation. So to those drivers, a 2 to 4 decibel reduction in tire noise can mean "noise is gone".

IIRC, some tire shops (discount tire, for example) offer a 30 day satisfaction guaranty. This might give you an opportunity to try a different brand.

For what it's worth, here's what I used to get "some" reduction in "tire roar". Used it under the floor mats, under the hatch carpet and under the rear seat bench. Haven't tried it in the doors or quarter panels yet.http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...00663624?cm_sp=BazVoice-_-RLP-_-100663624-_-x

 

[rvoll]

It's really hard to judge from the reviews. I had some very quiet Hankooks that replaced Michelin's in one of my Porsches so I took a chance and was happily surprised. The Hankooks cost just as much as the Michelin's, so price was not a factor. I could just have well had the same result as you. I did go a size larger and especially looked for really good cold weather performance as that generally means a softer compound. That does reduce mpg, but I calculated the mpg loss would only cost about $50 per year in gas, so that wasn't a factor.

And you're right, different tires behave differently on different cars. As an aside, I'm pretty sure the Michelin's you bought will perform better.

However, did you read the few reviews on your tire? Here are some quotes:

"Wanted to try Michelin newest tire. Got 61,000 miles on original set of tires. The tire does seem to be nosier than the MXM4 that I put on a 2003 SVT Focus."

"I purchased these tires for an 07 Accord. They were incredibly noisy for Michelin. I bought these to replace the primacy MXV4 which are discontinued. I removed them after 300 miles and replaced them with the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity plus Tires. MUCH Quieter"

Other reviews said the tire was quiet, but the reviews don't match the words on the page. In addition, I've found that regular A/S tires generally try to maintain low rolling resistance and high mpg which makes the generally louder than higher performance categories. You get more grip with softer tires.

 

[gregersonke]

It's really hard to judge from the reviews. I had some very quiet Hankooks that replaced Michelin's in one of my Porsches so I took a chance and was happily surprised. The Hankooks cost just as much as the Michelin's, so price was not a factor. I could just have well had the same result as you. I did go a size larger and especially looked for really good cold weather performance as that generally means a softer compound. That does reduce mpg, but I calculated the mpg loss would only cost about $50 per year in gas, so that wasn't a factor.

And you're right, different tires behave differently on different cars. As an aside, I'm pretty sure the Michelin's you bought will perform better.

However, did you read the few reviews on your tire? Here are some quotes:

"Wanted to try Michelin newest tire. Got 61,000 miles on original set of tires. The tire does seem to be nosier than the MXM4 that I put on a 2003 SVT Focus."

"I purchased these tires for an 07 Accord. They were incredibly noisy for Michelin. I bought these to replace the primacy MXV4 which are discontinued. I removed them after 300 miles and replaced them with the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity plus Tires. MUCH Quieter"

Other reviews said the tire was quiet, but the reviews don't match the words on the page. In addition, I've found that regular A/S tires generally try to maintain low rolling resistance and high mpg which makes the generally louder than higher performance categories. You get more grip with softer tires.

Ditto the effect on the turanza tires, they are quite. I've installed a few of them on minivans etc over the years and every time they are really really quiet.

 

[rvoll]

Ditto the effect on the turanza tires, they are quite. I've installed a few of them on minivans etc over the years and every time they are really really quiet.

I never had those tires. I've had several Michelins and Continentals and my share of Kumho's and Yokohama's. I has some Bridgestone OEM's once, but that was on a company car. The quietest tire I ever had was a set of Yoko A008's on one of my Porsches. It was a racing tire with soft compound that would absolutely stick to the road (which is why it was a racing tire). But that only lasted 8,000 miles or so. Next to that are my Hankook's. That said, I never skimp on tires because they are one of the most important safety features. That's why I always buy Ultra High Performance tires even if my car doesn't need it.

 

[WheelMcCoy]

The Premiere A/S also has a feature where the grooves widen as the tires wear. So even when worm, the tire has respectable traction in rain. But the tire is too new, the jury is still out, and I am waiting for reviews.

That's why at 32k miles, I picked up the MXV4s instead. Although the A/S Premiers officially replace the MXV4s, the MXV4s are still available. The sidewall has a manufacturing date and I recall they were "fresh", and made within the last 3 months of purchase. I picked them up at Costco with a $70 instant rebate.. Total cost about $550.

The MXV4s are definitely an upgrade from the OEM Bridgestone Turanzas 400EL. The Bridgestones chirped a bit too easily, were noisy when worn, but were kind of fun in their own way. The MXV4s are definitely quieter, have more grip, and have a longer tread life (they start at 11/32nd of an inch).