Michelin Primacy 4 Reviews - Page 4

Coming from BluEarth AE50, Falken ZE914 and Kumho PS31, this Thai made Primacy 4 is the quietest set of tires I have ever owned. On nicer paved roads, it's really a silent on a Japanese ride. But on roads with poorer condition, it is still noisy for me. Dry braking distance is noticeable longer but still able to stop in time during emergency. On heavy rainy days, I can maintain speed limit confidently on the highway. Aqua planning is great. Can't really feel the steering pulling to one side when driving through puddle. Road feedback is average, but you won't feel like you are losing control at 140km/h on Malaysia highway. However, I feel it is still short on comfort even on stock suspension setup with all newly replaced original parts. Inflate to 2.1 bar, the car is bouncing everywhere like a boat. Inflate to 2.3 bar, the ride is extremely harsh on uneven Singapore roads like I am on coilover. Other than this bumpy/bouncing issue, it is a great set of tires. Now at 22,000km and 4 years old, noise level and grip are still good. But have to look for other brands as good 15 inch tires are hard to find these days.

These Michelins are very predictable and reliable. For reference, my front-heavy Ute produced 220.9rwkw (296.2hp) on a Dyno Dynamics Dyno and is now likely closer to 235rwkw (315hp).

At this power level, they offer amazing grip in the dry. Full-throttle acceleration from a standstill won’t break traction in a straight line. Full throttle from a stop while turning or purposefully kicking the clutch will see them spinning but still accelerating rapidly, quickly requiring a shift into 2nd gear. Under hard braking, ABS is never needed, with the exception of on gravel.

The combination of high torque and little weight over the rear axle isn’t ideal in the wet. As expected, heavy acceleration will cause these Primacy 4’s to lose traction easily in wet conditions.

That said, I do wish they offered slightly more wet traction. However, for everyday driving in the wet, they’re still acceptable and always predictable. There’s enough grip with smooth throttle inputs, and axle tramp/wheel hop gives plenty of warning when traction is about to be lost.

When purposefully sliding the rear of the vehicle in the wet, control is excellent. Simply lifting off the throttle quickly brings the slide to a stop before it goes further than intended.

The tires have been fitted for approximately 30,000km and are due for replacement. I’m happy with this, considering I paid $700 for all four tires, regularly engage in spirited driving, and deal with the excessive camber and toe wear that these models are known for.

I fitted the Primacy 4 after using the Bridgestone ER300. It lasted for around 3 years before I replaced the primacy 4 with the Kumho HS52.
The reason I chose this Michelin is because of all the good reviews online.
The Primacy 4 from the moment I drove from the tire shop, they felt slippery and floaty which is not really what you want from a new tire. These tires always slipped under hard acceleration and they never stopped slipping. My car is only a 1.4 TSI with 122BHP so nothing really powerful, yet the primacy 4 is just that bad in dry grip.
On the highway, It was comfortable and quiet (quieter than the ER300 I had before) but on worn highways where there are some dips in the surface, the car would just feel floaty and does not make me feel confident.
In the wet they were good, However, I live in a hot and dry climate and I rarely care about wet performance for a tire.
If you notice, all online reviews focus on wet performance and very little on dry performance. This turns out to be the reason why the primacy 4 are well regarded online.
For comfort however, these are quite comfortable and make speed humps seem smoother than other tires. But at what cost? I would choose dry grip over comfort any day.
For braking, dry braking was about average, not impressive for a new over priced Michelin. Wet braking was good.
For Wear, the tires lasted for just over 3 years and have done about 33,000 km, The thing is, I have never replaced tires because they are worn to the limit. Where I live, all tires dry rot way before ever wearing down. So all the good wear performance mean nothing for me when choosing a new tire, unless they start testing new tires for dry rot maybe!

So in conclusion, for my use and the climate here, Wear performance mean nothing, wet performance mean very little (If it is pouring down, I would just choose not to drive anyway). Comfort was good. Road feedback was average but the Passat B7 does not provide that much feedback either. Dry grip was just not good at all, always slipping under high acceleration and dry braking was above average.

I have replaced the primacy 4 with the Kumho HS52. In comparison, the HS52 has much better dry grip, they actually feel like new tires, they are less comfortable that the primacy 4 but I would choose dry grip over comfort. For wet grip, I haven't tested it but I live in hot dry weather anyway, so rarely do we have rain so don't care that much.

To describe the primacy 4 in short sentences:
Does not grip well in the dry at all. feels slippery
Feels floaty and does not induce confidence.
Very good in the wet.
Comfortable and quiet.

Would not buy again, even if they were cheap.

Like in all subjective scores, these are relative to the other tires I used on the same car. These were cheap Winter tires (for one Winter) and UHC All-Season Hankook Kinergy 4S. Please also note that my Michelin Primergy 4 are OEM tires for an EV, so they might be different from the retail version of the same model.
Michelin Primergy 4 loses in every category to Hankook Kinergy 4S:

Wet roads: Michelin start to skid unpredictably with quite sudden and nasty understeer and the tire doesn't react to weight transfer when you slow down a bit to load front tires for more grip - the car just keeps sliding until the speed reduces enough. Hankooks feel way more safe in same situations and way more manageable and react to corrections just nicely.

Dry roads: Michelins start to slide quite early (earlier than Hankooks) on a heavy Hyundai IONIQ 5, but are very predictable and forgiving and once they start squealing they are still driveable and react to the steering.

Hot dry roads: I'd expect a Summer tire not to overheat on a hot sunny day, but hey... It is normal when all-season Hankooks start sliding more and become mushy at temperatures around 25-27 C and by 30 C they drop quite noticeably. But Michelins start to slide more at above 30 C, which is surprising. I'd expect a Summer tire to hold to at least 35 C. Of course, the road is way hotter under the Summer Sun. however my next Summer tire will definitely be something that can stand the heat better.