Michelin Primacy Tour A/S tire - impressions

[MyCorvette]

My G90 experienced the same highway vibration issue as what others have reported here previously.

No matter what is the root cause, fundamentally speaking the vibration is caused by frequency resonance between the car body and something which is rotational and imbalanced. Yes unfortunately, the way how Hyundai designs the G90's body frame, makes its primary (1st-degree) natural harmonic resonant frequency falls within the range of something rotating at 60+ mph.

As a side note: it takes a lot of technical expertise of an automaker to design/build the car body right - one of the challenges is to push the car body resonant frequency out of the speed range that a "normal" customers typically will encounter. This is especially hard for cars with longer wheelbase.

For G90, the excitation of the resonance may come from the tire, the wheel, or the driveshafts, or combinations of them. From the way how the G90 vibrates, and how the vibration changes on various road conditions/speed, I feel the tire may be one of the major culprit and should be looked into as the first step.

Before that, I have already done road force balance on the OEM tire (Conti ProContact), no help at all. Since the compound used by the ProContact tires are very hard (feels almost like a rock instead of rubber), I suspect it generates transient flat spots which won't have enough time to recover if rotating fast enough, therefore when the tire is rotating at highway speed, for section that is not touching the ground, it is still not round, which causes the imbalance.

I pulled the trigger and swap the OEM Conti tires with the Michelin today because I have heard a lot of good stories about the Primacy Tour tires.

A couple unique (good) things about the Michelin tire:

- They have higher load rating than the factory OEM ones (102/105 v.s 98/101). The G90 is a heavy sedan (even heavier than some mid-size SUVs), the OEM tires are in fact too weak, especially the front tires.
- Both the front and rear tires are made in France, same factory same compound (For Michelin same tire same size, different country of origin still have slightly variance in terms of compound and geometry - some people on Porsche/BMW forums have done extensive comparison and research)
- Look at Michelin's product catalogue, for Primacy Tour A/S of these specific sizes, both of them have the "GOE" label (you can also see these letters molded on the side wall), which means "Genesis OEM". Since only the G90 is using these sizes, it further indicates these tires are specially designed for the G90.

I have only driven about 20 miles after changing the tire so I do not have a full review at this moment. For now I can only say 90% of the vibration has gone. I still feel"faint" vibrations on some under-maintained section of the road, which surface is non-flat and sometimes rough. I will report more findings as I accumulate more miles on these tires.

 

[Mcc]

My G90 experienced the same highway vibration issue as what others have reported here previously.

No matter what is the root cause, fundamentally speaking the vibration is caused by frequency resonance between the car body and something which is rotational and imbalanced. Yes unfortunately, the way how Hyundai designs the G90's body frame, makes its primary (1st-degree) natural harmonic resonant frequency falls within the range of something rotating at 60+ mph.

As a side note: it takes a lot of technical expertise of an automaker to design/build the car body right - one of the challenges is to push the car body resonant frequency out of the speed range that a "normal" customers typically will encounter. This is especially hard for cars with longer wheelbase.

For G90, the excitation of the resonance may come from the tire, the wheel, or the driveshafts, or combinations of them. From the way how the G90 vibrates, and how the vibration changes on various road conditions/speed, I feel the tire may be one of the major culprit and should be looked into as the first step.

Before that, I have already done road force balance on the OEM tire (Conti ProContact), no help at all. Since the compound used by the ProContact tires are very hard (feels almost like a rock instead of rubber), I suspect it generates transient flat spots which won't have enough time to recover if rotating fast enough, therefore when the tire is rotating at highway speed, for section that is not touching the ground, it is still not round, which causes the imbalance.

I pulled the trigger and swap the OEM Conti tires with the Michelin today because I have heard a lot of good stories about the Primacy Tour tires.

A couple unique (good) things about the Michelin tire:

- They have higher load rating than the factory OEM ones (102/105 v.s 98/101). The G90 is a heavy sedan (even heavier than some mid-size SUVs), the OEM tires are in fact too weak, especially the front tires.
- Both the front and rear tires are made in France, same factory same compound (For Michelin same tire same size, different country of origin still have slightly variance in terms of compound and geometry - some people on Porsche/BMW forums have done extensive comparison and research)
- Look at Michelin's product catalogue, for Primacy Tour A/S of these specific sizes, both of them have the "GOE" label (you can also see these letters molded on the side wall), which means "Genesis OEM". Since only the G90 is using these sizes, it further indicates these tires are specially designed for the G90.

I have only driven about 20 miles after changing the tire so I do not have a full review at this moment. For now I can only say 90% of the vibration has gone. I still feel"faint" vibrations on some under-maintained section of the road, which surface is non-flat and sometimes rough. I will report more findings as I accumulate more miles on these tires.

Don’t know why but I’m not feeling it in my G90. On my second set of Conti

 

[NickinSimi]

I installed the Michelin Primacy Tour tires on my 2017 G90 Ultimate and the ride, handling and road noise got better. The car just feels smoother on the highway. You have done a lot of research in your decision to buy the Michelins and I am sure that you will very happy with them, good luck and smooth driving.

 

[Toadfrog]

Michelin primacy tour tires felt great to me, big improvement over the continetals, HOWEVER they only lasted for 20K miles and because the tires are staggered Michelin only warranties half of the normal tire warranty for staggered tires. Great tires, but be ready to replace them at less than 20K miles. My front ones were starting to show the steel belt.

 

[Gravy]

I recently switched from the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ to the Primacy Grand Touring. The Pilot Sports' were worn at 30k miles. The Primacy's are a better choice for the G90 IMHO; quieter and complement the suspension. The G90 ships with Grand Touring tires.

But, given the staggered setup & faster wear, I am thinking cheaper options might be in play. Does anyone have experience with the Khumo Majesty Solus tires? They rate on par with the Michelin Primacy but cost about $400 less.

 

[bobferg2]

My G90 experienced the same highway vibration issue as what others have reported here previously.

No matter what is the root cause, fundamentally speaking the vibration is caused by frequency resonance between the car body and something which is rotational and imbalanced. Yes unfortunately, the way how Hyundai designs the G90's body frame, makes its primary (1st-degree) natural harmonic resonant frequency falls within the range of something rotating at 60+ mph.

As a side note: it takes a lot of technical expertise of an automaker to design/build the car body right - one of the challenges is to push the car body resonant frequency out of the speed range that a "normal" customers typically will encounter. This is especially hard for cars with longer wheelbase.

For G90, the excitation of the resonance may come from the tire, the wheel, or the driveshafts, or combinations of them. From the way how the G90 vibrates, and how the vibration changes on various road conditions/speed, I feel the tire may be one of the major culprit and should be looked into as the first step.

Before that, I have already done road force balance on the OEM tire (Conti ProContact), no help at all. Since the compound used by the ProContact tires are very hard (feels almost like a rock instead of rubber), I suspect it generates transient flat spots which won't have enough time to recover if rotating fast enough, therefore when the tire is rotating at highway speed, for section that is not touching the ground, it is still not round, which causes the imbalance.

I pulled the trigger and swap the OEM Conti tires with the Michelin today because I have heard a lot of good stories about the Primacy Tour tires.

A couple unique (good) things about the Michelin tire:

- They have higher load rating than the factory OEM ones (102/105 v.s 98/101). The G90 is a heavy sedan (even heavier than some mid-size SUVs), the OEM tires are in fact too weak, especially the front tires.
- Both the front and rear tires are made in France, same factory same compound (For Michelin same tire same size, different country of origin still have slightly variance in terms of compound and geometry - some people on Porsche/BMW forums have done extensive comparison and research)
- Look at Michelin's product catalogue, for Primacy Tour A/S of these specific sizes, both of them have the "GOE" label (you can also see these letters molded on the side wall), which means "Genesis OEM". Since only the G90 is using these sizes, it further indicates these tires are specially designed for the G90.

I have only driven about 20 miles after changing the tire so I do not have a full review at this moment. For now I can only say 90% of the vibration has gone. I still feel"faint" vibrations on some under-maintained section of the road, which surface is non-flat and sometimes rough. I will report more findings as I accumulate more miles on these tires.

I think you made the right choice with Michelins. I have had them on an 2013 Equus and 2017 G90 AWD, and drive them across Utah at 80 (legal limit) and no shimmy. As an aside, if you drive in hilly country with steep grades with the Adaptive Cruise Control on, your heavy car will exceed the limit you have set on the ACC, and the car will apply the brakes to slow the car down. As the brakes get hot, there will be a shimmy that gets worse as you proceed. Just a reminder, It's better to leave the ACC off on long downhill glides.

 

[MorrisGray]

I am getting new Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires for both of my cars. I have had Michelin Primacy MXV4 and the Michelin Premier A/S in the past and liked them both also. Can't find either locally so I am going to try the new Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires. They are supposed to be really good for wet weather and even light snow conditions.

 

[TinsleyC]

What year & model do you have?

Consider adding it to your profile or signature. Makes things easier.

I've considered the same tires, have the OEM MXM4's, too, and like them. Expensive to replace, though. Many places charge $250 or more, each. Just happy they're all the same size!

 

[MorrisGray]

We have an older 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan with the 3.8L v6. Bought it new and only have 76k miles on it.
I also drive a Mazda3 for my daily driver.

 

[Zlakin]

Which one do you choose, Primacy Tour A/S or Defender T/H? The A/S is suitable for a wider range of cars, including electrical vehicles. It’s also a performance tire, unlike the T+H. While both models are somewhat even on dry and wet surfaces, the Primacy Tour does better in comfort and snow traction.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Zlakin]

Michelin Premier and Primacy are two popular tires from Michelin. Primacy All-season – The latest all-season tire from the Primacy line, can fit passenger cars, SUVs, and crossovers.

 

[MorrisGray]

Primacy Tour A/S ... I don't care too much for the Defender series

 

[MikeD]

I "was" another frustrated one with steering wheel vibrations at 65mph (bought the 2018 G90 ultimate 5.0 used over a year ago)

Dealer replaced defective conti tire ($400) with road force balancing all 4 ($100) = problem worse!!! Second chance Balancing again (free) = 65mph strong vibration switched to mild one at 55mph....better, but still not acceptable.

So, per all the above advice. Went to a tire center who replaced all 4 with Michelin's, Primacy in front\larger PILOT 4 in the rear. Along with an alignment = WOW, it rides amazing now, so SMOOTH!!!!!

THANK YOU FORUM MEMBERS!!!

 

[Gravy]

I am getting new Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires for both of my cars. I have had Michelin Primacy MXV4 and the Michelin Premier A/S in the past and liked them both also. Can't find either locally so I am going to try the new Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires. They are supposed to be really good for wet weather and even light snow conditions.

Any opinion on the Pilot Sport A/S 4 tires? Would you pick them over a Grand Touring tire?

 

[MorrisGray]

If you drive a lot of miles the Pilot series is probably not going to last as long but they would give you better traction for sportier driving. I have them on my Mazda and my Genesis and they are great on both but we don't put many miles on our tires and usually replace them due to the age of the tires. 5-6 years.

 

[MikeD]

Any opinion on the Pilot Sport A/S 4 tires? Would you pick them over a Grand Touring tire?

So I messed up mixing Michelin kinds. I’m going back to get all 4 pilot sport like you. Unlike primacy, It’s in stock for both front and rear .

With primacy in front and pilot in rear, it feels like the AWD is confused accelerating. As a comparison, tire rack.com said they would not sell different kinds even if same brand for AWD.

 

[waz]

But, given the staggered setup & faster wear, I am thinking cheaper options might be in play. Does anyone have experience with the Khumo Majesty Solus tires? They rate on par with the Michelin Primacy but cost about $400 less.

I just bought 4 Majesty Soluses 2 weeks ago on Tire Rack's recommendation for a cheaper replacement for Michelin or Continenetal. The tires are very quiet and the ride is comfortable, which is what I wanted for my G(eriatric)90. I don't need a super duper handling tire (I've got my Genesis Coupe for strafing the curves), and since it hardly snows around here anymore, I don't care about snow going.

The major drawback to these tires is that Kumho only provides half of their treadwear warranty on staggered tires, and that cuts the warranty to 22,500 miles.

 

[Husky]

Even without AWD, you can get some screwy, unpredictable handling if you mix tires like that, usually of different speed ratings. I found out the hard way once also on another car.

 

[MikeD]

Even without AWD, you can get some screwy, unpredictable handling if you mix tires like that, usually of different speed ratings. I found out the hard way once also on another car.

Even with tires matching. I’m getting a shutter (knock sound) from transmission in lower gears. Harder I accelerate, more you feel it.

I’m scared what it will be, made appointment w dealer.

I doubt new tires and breaks would be the cause.

 

[Gravy]

I just bought 4 Majesty Soluses 2 weeks ago on Tire Rack's recommendation for a cheaper replacement for Michelin or Continenetal. The tires are very quiet and the ride is comfortable, which is what I wanted for my G(eriatric)90. I don't need a super duper handling tire (I've got my Genesis Coupe for strafing the curves), and since it hardly snows around here anymore, I don't care about snow going.

The major drawback to these tires is that Kumho only provides half of their treadwear warranty on staggered tires, and that cuts the warranty to 22,500 miles.

Interesting, thanks for the review. I agree, ride quality and noise are the right priorities for this car. What tires did you replace and how do the Khumo's compare? Trade-offs? I'm pretty sure all manufacturers cut the warranty in half for staggered setups, so it would be nice to have a less expensive option (without sacrificing quality).