Replacement Tires- Michelin Harmony?

JMD

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Location
Richmond, VT
TDI
GL, 2001, indigo
It looks like I am going to need to replace my OEM Continentals soon. I have done some preliminary research and the Michelin Harmony seems like a good, all season radial. Does anyone have any experience with these tires or have a suggestion for another good all season tire?...My OEM's have about 36,000 miles on them. Has anyone with these Continentals gotten significantly more tread life?
 

wbill

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Location
No.VA
TDI
2002 golf gl 3dr TRed
I just got in a set of BF Goodrich Traction T/A's to replace my OEM Continentals I won't get a chance to put them on until Sat. They seem to do well in all the information I found.

My Continentals were starting to get a little thin close to the wear bars on the fronts and not doing well in the rain
let alone if we see any snow down here in VA. Same milage as you.
 

thortdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Location
Munich, Germany
TDI
2006 Octavia Wagon
Funny - I just had gotten 4 new Michelin Harmony's on my Jetta yesterday.

So far, so good. No complaints yet - paid $80 a piece for them including everything, plus $35 for a new set of wheel locks, as some of the old ones were seized, just like literally anything with a thread on this car


Compared to the Goodyears that were on the car when I bought it (pre-owned), they roll a bit smoother and less noisy on the Interstate at 60-80mph.
Looks like a good 80k mile tire to me !
 

Torlin

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2002
Location
Home of the 'Hoos
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI- 'Diesel Edition'
Tires... everyone has an opinion!

I have Harmony's on my Toyota Avalon and like them fine.
I have Bridgestone Turanza's on my Golf and they are the best yet that I've had on the car. Wearing very, very well and ride fine.

Oilhammer really likes Michelin's and is a fan of Harmony's I believe.
 

jettanight

Active member
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Location
Mankato, MN
TDI
2000 Golf TDI manual
I bought the Harmony's a year ago and now have 35k on them. They ride good and are quiet. I'd say the tread is 50% gone. Last year they were good in the snow, probably won't be as good this year. I paid a bit more than $80 a piece, though!
 

TDIDarryl

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2003
Location
From Barrie, now Winnipeg, MB
TDI
2000 Jetta TDI
I'll second the Bridgestone Turanza's. Very quiet and great ride.

FYI the Michelin Harmony tires only have a load rating of 89 vs. the VW recommended 91. Something to consider if you make trips with a fully loaded car.
 

Hamsterdiesel

TDIClub Enthusiast , Veteran Member & HO5G CoFound
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Location
NH
TDI
1999 Golf IV, Black and now 2015 Reflex Silver Passat SE
Bridgestone Potenza RE950's

Best tires I have ever had - "Rain, what rain??"

55K mi on them and just now thinking about replacements...will DEFINITELY get these again!
 

JMD

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Location
Richmond, VT
TDI
GL, 2001, indigo
Thanks for your opinions, guys. Check out the review below from the Tire Rack. I will end up getting about half the mileage from the OEM Continentals that this guy did:


Continental ContiTouringContact CH95 - (Grand Touring All-Season)

2001 Volkswagen Golf GLS 1.8T Reviewer's
Overall
Rating:
9.12

Miles driven on tires: 70,000


Location: Daly CIty, CA

Driving Condition: Mostly Highway
Driving Style: Average


Have these tires on since day 1 of my car and having been driving on these for 70K+ miles, I am buying them again when I replace the original tires. --Review submitted: 2004-12-02
 

JMD

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Location
Richmond, VT
TDI
GL, 2001, indigo
For those of you using the Michelin Harmony, what tire pressure are you running with? My inclination is to go with the same pressure as my old Continentals, about 36psi.
 

Ghoulie

Veteran Member
Joined
May 16, 2004
Location
FogCity, SFBA/NorCal
TDI
`03 Jetta TDI GL, Platinum Grey
Take a good look @ AVON Tyres!!! Not well known in the states, but a damn good tire from Great Britain. Excellent price for High Performance rubber, under $80 per. I've got the AVON Tech M500's. They rate higher than the GoodYear Eagle RS-A, Bridgestone RE750 & Yokohama AVS ES100.
 

GeWilli

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 6, 1999
Location
lost to new england
TDI
none in the fleet (99.5 Golf RIP, 96 B4V sold)
Well.... i've got the Turanza LS-H... good tire - very quiet, better than the original MXV4s? no but they don't squeal and grip really well.

I might try the LS-T for the hell of it next time, just cause they are cheaper and hopefully i'll get 60+ out of these and that'll put the car close to 250,000 miles ODO and well with a 1/4 million miles i should be using high performance tires.... or should i -MooooWAHAHAHAHAHA-

tires change so much - all i can offer at this point is i'm not quite sold on the lS-H tires.
 

WillR

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2001
Location
Honey Brook, PA
I bought a set of Michelins several years ago. I think they were X-1's or something like that. They had a 80K mile tread warantee. After about 50K they were so feathered they were useless. sounded like a 4wd with monster mudders on it. I know, "should have rotated them more".

Next set were Kumho 732's They have 30K on them and still have another 15K left worth of tread. Nice tires for $37.00. I did distroy one when a piece of metal got kicked up by my front tire, and went through the side wall of the rear tire on its way past. I like the Kumho's so much I put a set on my wifes SUV.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
For a curious reason Continental ch95's (oem) have a 60,000 mile warranty. The oem Michelins and Goodyears DO NOT! So if you are at 36,000 miles you might have a prorate due for 24,000 miles!?

Both the H and the T are very highly rated! On the tire rack's web site, the Turanza LS-T (73)(195/65/15) actually has slightly better ratings than the Bridgestone Turanza LS-H (96.)!! As you have pointed out, the LST (at 73.) is FAR cheaper (24%).

The Bridgestone LS-T has a literally awesome warranty of 80,000 miles and has a 30 day FREE test drive.

However, if you factor that the Bridgestone LS-H has a 50,000 mile warranty (and corresponding 30 day FREE test drive), then in my estimation it clearly tilts in favor of the LS-T.

So if you only get 50k vs 80k (or vice versa) respectively, then you are talking of an additional 30k miles or 38% MORE wear. This meets my standard of BANG for the BUCK!?


So current research for me puts three T rated tires head to head:
1. Bridgestone LS-T
2. Goodyear Comfort Tread
3. Goodyear Triple Tread.

I have app 7-8 tires on my H rated tire list. I can post those if you/others are interested.

As a point of reference the H has a speed rating of 130 mph, the T is at 118 mph. The other rating is 91 (H)1356 #'s max load vs 89 (T)1279 #'s max load = 77#'s.

So,
1. if one does not tend to over load a vehicle where 77#s REALLY makes a difference, (no big deal is the translation)

2. and you do not have an average speed of between 118-130 mph (12 mph) for hours on end,

3. the tire should cost 24% cheaper

4. the tire should last 38% longer

the switch to a T rating might have a few advantages.



For me,the Bridestone LS-T came up on the radar for it is available in the size I need for a Honda Civic 185/70/14.(63.)
 

Yvez

Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Location
Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada
TDI
2006 Jetta Reflex Silver
I had a set of Harmony and took them off after only 10000mi. I replaced them with Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce "V" rated ... Yes tread wear sucks, but handling doesn't compare to the Harmony. I also had a set of Michelin Artic Alpin and never again. This winter I’m running TOYO GO2-plus and it doesn't compare ... But that's me!!!
 

Torlin

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2002
Location
Home of the 'Hoos
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI- 'Diesel Edition'
just to clarify... I have the LS-T's on the Golf, less expensive than H and performing just fine.
 

JMD

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Location
Richmond, VT
TDI
GL, 2001, indigo
I have decided to go with the Yokohama Avid H4s after running into a problem with the speed rating on the Michelin Harmony.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
This tire is also on my 7-8 H rating list! Please let us know how it fares for you!
 

volksviggen

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2001
Location
Route 4
TDI
2001 Golf GLS ,blue
I have 52k on my original Contis; they have a decent amount of tread left,but are dry rotting.

I can get a deal on Michelins through my mechanic,so I am very interested in how people like the tires.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
Oem Contis are 55 dollars and have a 60k warranty. Both Goodyear and Michelin oems (108/71 respectively) carry no mileage warranty. Seems a majority of folks report oem Michelins going 30-40k, with some statistical deviants going 95,000 miles.
So which Michelins are you interested? If you wish to stay with the OEM's, seems the Conti's (55./more than 52k miles(dry rot noted) vs Michelins 108./30-40k) are the better deal. Surveys also indicate that the Kumho Ecsta HP-716 H (50,000 mile warranty) (44.)rate better across the boards than oems Michelins, Goodyears, Continentals. The price is attractive also.
 

AndyBees

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 27, 2003
Location
Southeast Kentucky
TDI
Silver 2003 Jetta TDI, Silver 2000 Jetta TDI (sold), '84 Vanagon with '02 ALH engine
My Michelin Harmony tires have over 33k on them and they look good for another 33k and more.

However, I have not been totally satisfied with them. On the second rotation (every 7.5k), I got a pull to the left. The next day the tire dealer switched the two front tires from right to left-left to right and the pull went away. The next rotation was fine. Now, at the last rotation those two are back on the front....same problem. The did the switch and now it pulls to the right just a smidge.

Also, my bad...... I never noticed that they put on 60s instead of 65s and this has made a difference in my odometer reading (fast by almost 4%) and speedo is also fast by about 5 mph. Which means my adjusted fuel milage is not as good as previously (the tires have been on a year come late February).
 

JMD

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Location
Richmond, VT
TDI
GL, 2001, indigo
Interesting point on OEM's. My car came with the Continentals and I was surprised to be getting only about 36K before I needed replacements. I called the manufacturer to see whether I could get some prorated money based on the 60K warranty and customer service said the warranty did not apply to OEM tires. I wonder if the OEMs differ in any way from the after market tires?
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
>>I wonder if the OEMs differ in any way from the after market tires? <<

According to my tire dealer, the Goodyears that came on the car weren't as good as the ones he sells... they lasted about 60,000 km (~37,000 miles), just as he predicted they would... I wound up buying 3 tires to go with the factory spare so that I would get rid of the GY "performance" in toto...

YMMV

Yuri.
 

ruking

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 27, 2003
Location
San Jose area, CA
TDI
2003 VW Jetta, 5 M, Reflex Silver: 09 Jetta, 6 Sp DSG, Candy White: 12 VW Touareg, 8 Sp A/T, Flint Gray
From a consumer's point of view or my .02 cents, the OEM's Michelin, Goodyear, Continental do not do themselves any favors by 1. not offering a mileage warranty 2. not honoring one when it is specifically stated.

If I got only 36,000 miles from any of them, you can bet I would not be considering any of them for any of my next tires!! If you get no warranty service from any of them for the oem tires, what is to make me think I will get warranty service for any of the other tire manufacturer's non oem models? All of a suddened the far cheaper (44.) Kumho's with the 50,000 mile warranty vs a non warranty oem's Michelin (108.)Goodyear (71.) Continental (55.) make all the sense logic and backing in the world!!! From a warranty fulfillment point of view it makes almost NO sense to buy replacement oem tires (from Michelin, Goodyear, or from Continental), if indeed they will not fulfill on the warranty either implicit or implied or as stated by Continental. While tire buying has always been a "buyer beware propositiion", it almost seems you have to hold the warranty fulfilling agents feet to the proverbial fire BEFORE you buy: not when you have a problem and NEED some type of resolution.

I would say the oem tires are different than other models of the other oem's tire models in that they are usually crafted to meet specifications that the oem tire manufacturer's specify.
 

wbill

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2001
Location
No.VA
TDI
2002 golf gl 3dr TRed
I had the oem Continental's and at about 36k the fronts were getting worn, so I put some BF Goodrich Traction T/A's on the car and have been happy with them. But they are not ECO tires so I will except to take a small milage hit on the hwy, I have not taken any road trips since I put them on but it sure is nice to have round tires again.
 
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