Topic: Michelin Harmony

[susan_t]

Hey guys,

Miss me??     I recently purchased a set of used Acura rims that came with Michelin Harmony tires.  I think there's 80% tread left.  Are these tires any good?  I used to always buy Michelins, but lost confidence in them because I find they're good for the first 2 years and start to lose it's performance in the 3rd. year.  So, I'm wondering if it's worth keeping these tires, or try selling them and get a better set of tires. 
My car requires V rated tires.  I think the Harmony's are S rated.  How will this affect the performance of my vehicle?

Thanks. 

[capriracer]

Thwe first thing I would do is determine when the tires were made.  Michelin just came out with a press release that tires should be removed from service after 10 years from the manufacturing date.

To determone the manufacturing date, you need to find the letters DOT on the sidewall.  Nearby will be a 10 to 12 digit number. 

The first 2 digits is a code for the manufacturing plant. 

The next 2 is a code for the tire size.

The next 3 or 4 is a code for the design/tread pattern.

The next 3 or 4 are the date code.  If the tire was produced before 1999, the code is a week/week/year format (358 = 35th week of 1998, or 1988, or 1978).  If the tire was produced after 2000, the format is week/week/year/year (1501 = 15th week of 2001)

[morty]

Harmony is a relatively new tire, so there should be no concerns with age. However, the S-rating is a concern. If your vehicle came with a V-rated tire you will want to maintain that or go higher. S-Rating is a much softer sidewalled tire and has dramatically different handling and braking characteristics. What this will mean is the vehicle will tend to feel like it is all over the road and stopping distance will increase.

[initial_D]

Harmony is a relatively new tire, so there should be no concerns with age. However, the S-rating is a concern. If your vehicle came with a V-rated tire you will want to maintain that or go higher. S-Rating is a much softer sidewalled tire and has dramatically different handling and braking characteristics. What this will mean is the vehicle will tend to feel like it is all over the road and stopping distance will increase.

What this will mean is the vehicle will tend to feel like it is all over the road and stopping distance will increase.

Kinda like with Grand Mama behind the wheel?   

[UmroAyyar]

I changed to Michelin Harmony from stock Michelin MX-4 last year. I am no expert, but this is way better in handling, stopping, cornering.

Being all over the road, I dunno what it means specifically, at higher highway speeds 130+ the car does need more steering input. May be its the car, I didn't feel like that in a Toyota Matrix with stock tires.