Now as he said if this car made it through that depth of snow without ANY traction control aids and being front wheel drive. I can only imagine how an AWD vehicle particularly an SUV with 8in of ground clearance would do. PHENOMENALLY that's how. Great tires for sure.
I completely agree. An AWD SUV would be a hoot in the winter with these tires, plus as an all-season, you could easily run them year round. The only thing I can really knock them on is that you can't cross rotate the tires due to them being directional. LOL, but then again people may be surprised to find out that many places don't cross rotate anyways, either from a tech being lazy or from a corporate level as if a tire is starting to cause a pull cross rotating will move the pull and cause a customer to come back and say, "you rotated my tires and now my car pulls or the steering wheel is off center." That's why I recommend marking your tires before getting them rotated. Thanks for the comment.
Yesterday I had CC2s installed on my Palisade and we received 8-10 inches of snow last night. I was able to drive in my sloped backyard with no issues and very little engagement of traction control! On unplowed road with 5 inches no problems stopping or turning. Previous OEM tires (Hancooks nobles) were absolutely HORRIBLE in even 1” of snow. Just goes to show that you could have the best AWD/4x4 system but tires matter most!
Thanks for the comment and sharing how your vehicle performed. I definitely had the same experience with Hankook's Kinergy GT tires a few years back on a VW Jetta. I replaced those tires when they were just about half worn, because they were horrible in anything more than a whisper of snow. I went with Michelin Premier A/S tires for that car and they performed so much better in similar situations.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom there are bad things about this tire: 1- Durability (nails and screws get stuck in the V grooves more often) they puncture & fail when hitting pot holes 2- gas milage goes down significantly 3-5 MPG 3- Road noise is noticeably loud 4- They are not meant for ICE (Michelin actually warns ppl it’s NOT a WINTER tire) 5- it’s mainly built for the unpredictable weather of Europe due to climate change. NOT for Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, or SNOW BELT USA. Pros: they are way better than all seasons in Snow. They are comparable in dry, they are warrantied to 95,000 km (60,000 Miles) though they are expensive, they still save u money vs buying & installing 2 sets of tires per car (4 sets if u own 2 cars)
Thanks for the comment. What kind of vehicle did you have these tires on that you noticed these things? 1- I agree that these pick up a lot of little rocks. I disagree with your thought about the nails and screws and pot holes. Pot holes attract and collect road debris similar to the sides of the roads and driving over either will put any set of tires to higher risk of puncture. 2- The fuel mileage in the Astra actually improved from the older set of tires that I had. So I'd be really curious as to what car you have that you lost that much in fuel economy. If you had low rolling resistance tires, then went to these which aren't a low rolling resistance tire, that would explain your loss. Otherwise, anyone can expect a slight change in fuel economy when changing from heavily worn tires to brand new tires as the worn tires would have 1/4" less tread all around, which is not an insignificant amount of weight. I would expect that if I changed the worn out Cross Climate 2s for new Cross Climate 2s then I would see a 1-3 mpg difference in the Astras fuel economy. 3- Watch this video ruclips.net/video/7LmtLPQwIgo/видео.html as it's where I test the old tires on the Astra and compare it to the Cross Climate 2s and there is a 2 decibel drop which is 1.5 times quieter with the CC2s. Do you drive on any types of roads in particular that is sounds louder? The construction methods of roads can cause vibrations and noises that react differently through tires and into the vehicle's suspension to generate various noises. So it might be an instance where these tires are loud on this type of road for your car year make model. 4- Correct not a full on winter tire. Winter tires are not designed to be ran on roads above a certain ambient temperature and they also have a ton more sipes to aid in grip. In my experience with the Astra though, these surprised me with how good they were on ice. 5- I felt like I had more control driving the Astra, a light Front Wheel Drive car, with these tires than I did driving a Cadillac Escalade, a heavy All Wheel Drive SUV, this winter. If you only have money for one set of tires and you live in any of the areas that you mentioned, I would run these. Now, if the area is bad enough that you need studded winter tires or chains, then you should opt for those options as these tires are not magic. I do want to here what vehicle you ran these tires on and the road style that was noisey for you, as anyone who reads these comments can learn from your experience. I will add 1 thing that you forgot. 6- Directional tires suck because you can't cross rotate them. So far so good on my tire wear, but if your car has a bad alignment angle on one side, you can't cross rotate the tires to even out the wear.
You can rotate the tires front to back, but because they are directional tires you shouldn't cross rotate the tires. If you check out my initial review video ruclips.net/video/7LmtLPQwIgo/видео.html at about the 12:07 point I talk about this a bit more as it applies to directional tire tread design. If you read your owner's manual, it'll talk about how the manufacturer recommends rotating the tires for your car and how often. My Saturn Astra is an oddball in that GM recommends just rotating front to back with no crossing. So the front and rear wheels get rotated while staying on the same side of the car. Most vehicles have a cross rotation, which is where either the front or the rear wheels get cross swapped, so the front Driver side wheel becomes the left Passenger and the front Passenger wheel becomes the rear Driver, meanwhile the old rear tires move straight up to the front. A cross rotation is the best style as it helps counter any tire wearing issues and extends the life of the tires by running the tire in the opposite direction to even the wear out. A simple front to back rotation without a cross is helpful for shops, as if there is a pull caused by a tire the car will handle almost the same after the rotation. It saves walking while carrying distance for the mechanic and not having a pull after a rotation saves the shop from an angry customer coming back with a complaint after the work. So, unless you mark your tires or watch the tire rotation being done, a shop might be doing a simple front to back as opposed to a cross rotate anyways. Lastly, if you really wanted to, you could have a shop dismount and swap the tires from the Passenger side to the Driver's side to get a similar effect as a cross rotation, but who wants to pay for 4 mount and balances and risk possible tire damage. With the length of this comment, you've given me the idea to make a video about rotations. Thanks for the comment and the view.
I was looking this type of review because I just bought a set of cross climate 2. Thank you for this amazing video. Exactly what I needed to watch before I take mine out to the snowy road. Happy new year!
Happy new year, thanks for the view and the comment. I'm impressed by the tires, even the other day I had to do a hard braking maneuver on some packed snow and ice when someone just walked out into the middle of the street. It was -6 degrees F outside and they were bundled up to the point I couldn't even see their face, so I doubt they saw me. As I stepped on the brake, my head said "get ready for the slide and to countersteer" but the car stopped nice and straight without any slide. The 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating is for acceleration on medium packed snow, so it's not a rating of braking ability in snow and ice, so I was a little worried about that. It was one of those tingly finger moments after it happened.
Reassuring to see this video. I put a new set of CC2 tires on my Trailblazer last week. I need a tire that can handle these tough Michigan winters as well as good performance for the other seasons. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the view and the comment. I'm sure your Trailblazer will be quite capable in the snow with those tires, especially when you kick in the 4WD, it would have pushed right through the snow I tossed the car into with no problem. Plus with the design of the tires, you probably get a much smoother, crisper, "carlike" highway driving experience than if you would have gone with a tire a little more truck based.
I have two SUV's, one Honda CRV AWD and the other Honda Pilot FWD, both with the CC2's. So as is probably obvious, My AWD with the CC2's is just ridiculous with its ability to plow through almost literally any snow situation. I was In an icy slushy parking lot trying to do donuts and my car literally wouldn't let me spin out; and Id even consider the CRV more top heavy than id hope. We had a blizzard in Northeast Ohio this past week, and there was probably almost a foot of snow on our street that wasn't plowed, I was about to make it through that mess. It felt like was driving over a sea of couch cushions, but I made it none the less. As expected, but FWD pilot had a more difficult time making it through the amount of THICK deep snow, however, I was still able to do it without getting stuck. When it comes to traction AWD is always idea, but I also know that not everyone has that type of drive train. So its really cool to see these tires perform spectacular on a FWD as well, even though they will never get close to their true potential on an AWD. It may not be a fun experience driving through deep snowy slush with FWD as it is with the AWD, but at least you know you can make it without getting trapped.
Thanks for the comment and the real life experience with your vehicles. It's reassuring to hear that they work well for you too. Tires can really make or break a car and normally you're stuck with the decision for years, so it's really cool to keep hearing positive reviews for the tires.
Your issue was definitely ground clearance. It did really good in the 8" snow drift considering you bottomed out. Thanks for the review. I have been thinking about buying these for my wifes car.
Thanks, I've been impressed with the tires so far. I was just thinking today, that the only other vehicles I saw out on the road were AWD or 4WD Trucks and SUVs on my way to and from work. If you check Michelin's website out, they have tire rebates a few times a year, and you may luck out and catch one that applies to these. Or if you don't need tires right away, you may be able to catch a good tire sale as winter winds down and spring gets closer and stores want to move the remaining stock.
GM sold the Astra in the US as a Saturn for 2 years only like 2008 and 2009. They even had a "Kiss my Astra" marketing campaign. It was hard to find a 3 door, here in Minnesota but there's almost always a 5 door for sale on Facebook Marketplace. The next generation astra after this one is sold as a Buick Verano and had a much longer run.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom Absolutely, the ecotec hatchbacks are suprisingly underrated. The J is a bit heavy when compared to a similar VW Golf or Focus, but it has great quality and ride. It's in these smaller models the ecotec engine makes sense and comes alive!
Ground clearance is key . Once you high center your done no tire will get you out. Having a good tire with good ground clearance for amount of snow your in is key. For not getting stuck never exceed your ground clearance. That's why rwd trucks do well in snow lots of ground clearance no body drag.
That's a pretty good joke about the RWD Trucks. It gave me a pretty good laugh because I can guarantee no one has ever gone down the road in the winter and said "I wish this was a RWD truck" or "this 4WD isn't cutting it, let me go bad to 2WD." Thanks for the funny comment and the view.
Okay, I HAVE a 22 FWD equinox. With these on it. With at least 3-4 inches on the road and they did GREAT, you made the mistake of stopping. Most tires, even snow tires, will struggle from a stop.
Ya, GM brought them over for just 2 years under the Saturn badge for 2008 and 2009. Just 2 trim levels and either 3 door or 5 door and the 1.8 gas engine only. They even had a "Kiss my Astra" marketing campaign.
Wow that car must suck bad. I had a ford tempo (look up the poor specs) for 10 years with basic cheap tires and driving on lakes in winter never had this happen to me once.
Hahahaha, I don't need to look up the specs for a Ford Tempo, I know someone who had a white one as her first car. I'm pretty sure the only things to ever stop it was the High School Vice Principal's parked car, one of those huge yellow concrete light pole bases in a grocery store parking lot, and the car running out of gas which the hole in the gas tank didn't help. I would agree that the Astra is built more for beauty and isn't a stellar battletank and definitely lacks the ground clearance of the tempo, and the heft of the iron engines to aid the front wheels in getting traction, which isn't needed because it couldn't spin it's tires even on ice. But if you never got stuck out on a frozen lake, cannonballing through snow drifts, and sliding the car sideways until a tire pops off the bead and you have to reset it with starting fluid and throwing lit matches, then you weren't driving right. Now, if you want to talk about a go anywhere, not enough power to spin the tires if they were in the air, get you out of the deepest snow plowed in driveway before her parents make it home car, then I recommend a 1990 Plymouth Laser 1.8 with a 5 speed, no cruise, no A/C, power steering sometimes, with pop-up headlights.
There is not much snow yet! Okay! I see the other problem, you are driving a 2008 Saturn Astra. CC2 tires will get you through light snow as in less than 2 inches. Get Michelin X-Ice Snow tires for your Astra then you can easily get through slush at 35 mph and snow up to 5 inches deep between 15 to 30 mph. 1 inch of snow on the roads you can do 50 to 65 mph depending on traffic and visibility with either CC2 or X-Ice Snow. Always drive safely, have a backup plan if you get stranded, bring a bag of sand and a small shovel, you don't need water as you can eat the fresh snow, LED flashlight as batteries last longer, and a blanket. Don't forget your smartphone. Unfortunately, vehicles are now made without a cigarette lighter in the 12v socket. Hope you have a lighter or some matches.
LOL, so you might want to edit that one more time and pull out the part about not needing water and eating the snow. Google "Is it safe to eat snow" or anything along those lines, you'll see what I mean as it lowers your core body temperature and the ratio of snow to water is 10 snow to 1 water, so figure a large McDonalds cup packed full of snow netting you about half a small McDonalds cup of water. The body temperature part though is the real killer especially with hypothermia. And then there's the "stuff" in snow, especially if you're stranded on the road, as the snow can have bacteria and other junk like road grime, salt, etc. and that's the white kind not even talking about the yellow kind. Once you edit it, add another comment so RUclips lets me know and I'll edit mine down to Thanks for the comment and the tire recommendations.
Yes, the ground clearance of the Astra has been the main limiting factor for the Saturn Astra that I put these tires on. The Astra is a lightweight, front wheel drive, 4 cylinder with a manual transmission, and doesn't have a limited slip differential, so just one wheel pushes and pulls when you start to lose traction. As the subframe was hitting the snow it increased drag and at some time filled the rear of engine bay with snow. I would be curious if the car had a limited slip differential or AWD if the drag increase caused by the subframe would have still stopped it, especially if you can get more than 1 wheel applying force. Most of the reviews I saw for these tires were All Wheel Drive small SUVs so I wanted to make one for the FWD guys. Also, these are brand new tires, it would be interesting to see if when the tires are half worn if there is a major drop in performance, or if it's still a champ.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom I just got these for my Mercedes Metris cargo van. It’s RWD and light in the rear (like all cargo vans) but the ground clearance is there. I also loaded almost 800 Lbs worth of cargo mostly over my rear axle. Hopefully, with these tires and weight, I can dash through the snow without any shoveling. I hate shoveling 😂
Thanks, here in the states they were sold under the Saturn brand for just 2 years and are tough to find parts. Luckily I've fixed most of the issues for the car. Thanks for the comment and the view.
I got these my dumass went down a ditch to test them i got into deep wet mud i thought i was stuck nope did a 360 and gun it and got out😂 im happy with these tires.
Kind of, sort of. So that was the limit for my economy powered, light, front wheel drive car without a limited slip differential and those tires. The snow was deeper than the car's ground clearance as the subframe was essentially skiing across the top and acting like a grater packing snow into the engine bay. You can hear the tires spinning when it gets stopped. Even if the car had more power, it wouldn't have helped. Now if I was just looking to have fun and cannonballed into the snow at a higher speed, I bet it would have made it. As this was a test of the tires, I didn't go full send. And of course this year has been light for snow, so no chance of doing that anytime soon. Thanks for the comment.
Now as he said if this car made it through that depth of snow without ANY traction control aids and being front wheel drive. I can only imagine how an AWD vehicle particularly an SUV with 8in of ground clearance would do. PHENOMENALLY that's how. Great tires for sure.
I completely agree. An AWD SUV would be a hoot in the winter with these tires, plus as an all-season, you could easily run them year round. The only thing I can really knock them on is that you can't cross rotate the tires due to them being directional. LOL, but then again people may be surprised to find out that many places don't cross rotate anyways, either from a tech being lazy or from a corporate level as if a tire is starting to cause a pull cross rotating will move the pull and cause a customer to come back and say, "you rotated my tires and now my car pulls or the steering wheel is off center." That's why I recommend marking your tires before getting them rotated. Thanks for the comment.
Yesterday I had CC2s installed on my Palisade and we received 8-10 inches of snow last night. I was able to drive in my sloped backyard with no issues and very little engagement of traction control! On unplowed road with 5 inches no problems stopping or turning. Previous OEM tires (Hancooks nobles) were absolutely HORRIBLE in even 1” of snow. Just goes to show that you could have the best AWD/4x4 system but tires matter most!
Thanks for the comment and sharing how your vehicle performed. I definitely had the same experience with Hankook's Kinergy GT tires a few years back on a VW Jetta. I replaced those tires when they were just about half worn, because they were horrible in anything more than a whisper of snow. I went with Michelin Premier A/S tires for that car and they performed so much better in similar situations.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom there are bad things about this tire:
1- Durability (nails and screws get stuck in the V grooves more often) they puncture & fail when hitting pot holes
2- gas milage goes down significantly 3-5 MPG
3- Road noise is noticeably loud
4- They are not meant for ICE (Michelin actually warns ppl it’s NOT a WINTER tire)
5- it’s mainly built for the unpredictable weather of Europe due to climate change. NOT for Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, or SNOW BELT USA.
Pros: they are way better than all seasons in Snow. They are comparable in dry, they are warrantied to 95,000 km (60,000 Miles) though they are expensive, they still save u money vs buying & installing 2 sets of tires per car (4 sets if u own 2 cars)
Thanks for the comment. What kind of vehicle did you have these tires on that you noticed these things?
1- I agree that these pick up a lot of little rocks. I disagree with your thought about the nails and screws and pot holes. Pot holes attract and collect road debris similar to the sides of the roads and driving over either will put any set of tires to higher risk of puncture.
2- The fuel mileage in the Astra actually improved from the older set of tires that I had. So I'd be really curious as to what car you have that you lost that much in fuel economy. If you had low rolling resistance tires, then went to these which aren't a low rolling resistance tire, that would explain your loss. Otherwise, anyone can expect a slight change in fuel economy when changing from heavily worn tires to brand new tires as the worn tires would have 1/4" less tread all around, which is not an insignificant amount of weight. I would expect that if I changed the worn out Cross Climate 2s for new Cross Climate 2s then I would see a 1-3 mpg difference in the Astras fuel economy.
3- Watch this video ruclips.net/video/7LmtLPQwIgo/видео.html as it's where I test the old tires on the Astra and compare it to the Cross Climate 2s and there is a 2 decibel drop which is 1.5 times quieter with the CC2s. Do you drive on any types of roads in particular that is sounds louder? The construction methods of roads can cause vibrations and noises that react differently through tires and into the vehicle's suspension to generate various noises. So it might be an instance where these tires are loud on this type of road for your car year make model.
4- Correct not a full on winter tire. Winter tires are not designed to be ran on roads above a certain ambient temperature and they also have a ton more sipes to aid in grip. In my experience with the Astra though, these surprised me with how good they were on ice.
5- I felt like I had more control driving the Astra, a light Front Wheel Drive car, with these tires than I did driving a Cadillac Escalade, a heavy All Wheel Drive SUV, this winter. If you only have money for one set of tires and you live in any of the areas that you mentioned, I would run these. Now, if the area is bad enough that you need studded winter tires or chains, then you should opt for those options as these tires are not magic.
I do want to here what vehicle you ran these tires on and the road style that was noisey for you, as anyone who reads these comments can learn from your experience. I will add 1 thing that you forgot.
6- Directional tires suck because you can't cross rotate them. So far so good on my tire wear, but if your car has a bad alignment angle on one side, you can't cross rotate the tires to even out the wear.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom You can't rotate these tires?
You can rotate the tires front to back, but because they are directional tires you shouldn't cross rotate the tires. If you check out my initial review video ruclips.net/video/7LmtLPQwIgo/видео.html at about the 12:07 point I talk about this a bit more as it applies to directional tire tread design. If you read your owner's manual, it'll talk about how the manufacturer recommends rotating the tires for your car and how often. My Saturn Astra is an oddball in that GM recommends just rotating front to back with no crossing. So the front and rear wheels get rotated while staying on the same side of the car. Most vehicles have a cross rotation, which is where either the front or the rear wheels get cross swapped, so the front Driver side wheel becomes the left Passenger and the front Passenger wheel becomes the rear Driver, meanwhile the old rear tires move straight up to the front. A cross rotation is the best style as it helps counter any tire wearing issues and extends the life of the tires by running the tire in the opposite direction to even the wear out. A simple front to back rotation without a cross is helpful for shops, as if there is a pull caused by a tire the car will handle almost the same after the rotation. It saves walking while carrying distance for the mechanic and not having a pull after a rotation saves the shop from an angry customer coming back with a complaint after the work. So, unless you mark your tires or watch the tire rotation being done, a shop might be doing a simple front to back as opposed to a cross rotate anyways. Lastly, if you really wanted to, you could have a shop dismount and swap the tires from the Passenger side to the Driver's side to get a similar effect as a cross rotation, but who wants to pay for 4 mount and balances and risk possible tire damage. With the length of this comment, you've given me the idea to make a video about rotations. Thanks for the comment and the view.
I just ordered a set for my all-wheel-drive Volvo XC70. It's going to be a great winter here in Idaho!
Thanks for the view and the comment. I'm pretty happy with the tires, I hope they serve you well.
Update?
@@MemphisMojo15s Hoping for an update, too.
I was looking this type of review because I just bought a set of cross climate 2. Thank you for this amazing video. Exactly what I needed to watch before I take mine out to the snowy road. Happy new year!
Happy new year, thanks for the view and the comment. I'm impressed by the tires, even the other day I had to do a hard braking maneuver on some packed snow and ice when someone just walked out into the middle of the street. It was -6 degrees F outside and they were bundled up to the point I couldn't even see their face, so I doubt they saw me. As I stepped on the brake, my head said "get ready for the slide and to countersteer" but the car stopped nice and straight without any slide. The 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating is for acceleration on medium packed snow, so it's not a rating of braking ability in snow and ice, so I was a little worried about that. It was one of those tingly finger moments after it happened.
Reassuring to see this video. I put a new set of CC2 tires on my Trailblazer last week. I need a tire that can handle these tough Michigan winters as well as good performance for the other seasons. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the view and the comment. I'm sure your Trailblazer will be quite capable in the snow with those tires, especially when you kick in the 4WD, it would have pushed right through the snow I tossed the car into with no problem. Plus with the design of the tires, you probably get a much smoother, crisper, "carlike" highway driving experience than if you would have gone with a tire a little more truck based.
I have two SUV's, one Honda CRV AWD and the other Honda Pilot FWD, both with the CC2's.
So as is probably obvious, My AWD with the CC2's is just ridiculous with its ability to plow through almost literally any snow situation. I was In an icy slushy parking lot trying to do donuts and my car literally wouldn't let me spin out; and Id even consider the CRV more top heavy than id hope. We had a blizzard in Northeast Ohio this past week, and there was probably almost a foot of snow on our street that wasn't plowed, I was about to make it through that mess. It felt like was driving over a sea of couch cushions, but I made it none the less.
As expected, but FWD pilot had a more difficult time making it through the amount of THICK deep snow, however, I was still able to do it without getting stuck. When it comes to traction AWD is always idea, but I also know that not everyone has that type of drive train. So its really cool to see these tires perform spectacular on a FWD as well, even though they will never get close to their true potential on an AWD. It may not be a fun experience driving through deep snowy slush with FWD as it is with the AWD, but at least you know you can make it without getting trapped.
Thanks for the comment and the real life experience with your vehicles. It's reassuring to hear that they work well for you too. Tires can really make or break a car and normally you're stuck with the decision for years, so it's really cool to keep hearing positive reviews for the tires.
Your issue was definitely ground clearance. It did really good in the 8" snow drift considering you bottomed out. Thanks for the review. I have been thinking about buying these for my wifes car.
Thanks, I've been impressed with the tires so far. I was just thinking today, that the only other vehicles I saw out on the road were AWD or 4WD Trucks and SUVs on my way to and from work. If you check Michelin's website out, they have tire rebates a few times a year, and you may luck out and catch one that applies to these. Or if you don't need tires right away, you may be able to catch a good tire sale as winter winds down and spring gets closer and stores want to move the remaining stock.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom thanks for the reply and thanks for the info!!
How did you get Opel Astra in Minnesota?
GM sold the Astra in the US as a Saturn for 2 years only like 2008 and 2009. They even had a "Kiss my Astra" marketing campaign. It was hard to find a 3 door, here in Minnesota but there's almost always a 5 door for sale on Facebook Marketplace. The next generation astra after this one is sold as a Buick Verano and had a much longer run.
drove them at -30 last winter and they remained competent on icy road
Thanks for the comment on your real world experience. It's pretty cool that everyone has had good things to say about the tires in the comments.
They're good in reverse. Like the old Beetle going forward.
Thanks for the comment, I was just glad I was able to get it unstuck. Can't wait for this winter.
Running CC2s on my Opel Astra J lmao, really amazing tires bro
That's pretty cool, I wish we could have more of the Astra J versions in the US besides just the sedan as the Buick Verano. Thanks for the comment.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom Absolutely, the ecotec hatchbacks are suprisingly underrated. The J is a bit heavy when compared to a similar VW Golf or Focus, but it has great quality and ride. It's in these smaller models the ecotec engine makes sense and comes alive!
Is the tarction control kiching in
Nope, my Astra doesn't have traction control. It would be interesting if it did, and if it would have helped.
Is your car a AWD or just real wheel drive or front wheel drive?
The Astra is just FWD, these tires would be really interesting on an AWD vehicle in the snow.
Ground clearance is key . Once you high center your done no tire will get you out. Having a good tire with good ground clearance for amount of snow your in is key. For not getting stuck never exceed your ground clearance. That's why rwd trucks do well in snow lots of ground clearance no body drag.
That's a pretty good joke about the RWD Trucks. It gave me a pretty good laugh because I can guarantee no one has ever gone down the road in the winter and said "I wish this was a RWD truck" or "this 4WD isn't cutting it, let me go bad to 2WD." Thanks for the funny comment and the view.
Okay, I HAVE a 22 FWD equinox. With these on it. With at least 3-4 inches on the road and they did GREAT, you made the mistake of stopping. Most tires, even snow tires, will struggle from a stop.
A Vauxhall Astra in the US. I thought I’d never see that
Ya, GM brought them over for just 2 years under the Saturn badge for 2008 and 2009. Just 2 trim levels and either 3 door or 5 door and the 1.8 gas engine only. They even had a "Kiss my Astra" marketing campaign.
Wow that car must suck bad. I had a ford tempo (look up the poor specs) for 10 years with basic cheap tires and driving on lakes in winter never had this happen to me once.
Hahahaha, I don't need to look up the specs for a Ford Tempo, I know someone who had a white one as her first car. I'm pretty sure the only things to ever stop it was the High School Vice Principal's parked car, one of those huge yellow concrete light pole bases in a grocery store parking lot, and the car running out of gas which the hole in the gas tank didn't help.
I would agree that the Astra is built more for beauty and isn't a stellar battletank and definitely lacks the ground clearance of the tempo, and the heft of the iron engines to aid the front wheels in getting traction, which isn't needed because it couldn't spin it's tires even on ice. But if you never got stuck out on a frozen lake, cannonballing through snow drifts, and sliding the car sideways until a tire pops off the bead and you have to reset it with starting fluid and throwing lit matches, then you weren't driving right. Now, if you want to talk about a go anywhere, not enough power to spin the tires if they were in the air, get you out of the deepest snow plowed in driveway before her parents make it home car, then I recommend a 1990 Plymouth Laser 1.8 with a 5 speed, no cruise, no A/C, power steering sometimes, with pop-up headlights.
There is not much snow yet! Okay! I see the other problem, you are driving a 2008 Saturn Astra.
CC2 tires will get you through light snow as in less than 2 inches. Get Michelin X-Ice Snow tires for your Astra then you can easily get through slush at 35 mph and snow up to 5 inches deep between 15 to 30 mph. 1 inch of snow on the roads you can do 50 to 65 mph depending on traffic and visibility with either CC2 or X-Ice Snow. Always drive safely, have a backup plan if you get stranded, bring a bag of sand and a small shovel, you don't need water as you can eat the fresh snow, LED flashlight as batteries last longer, and a blanket. Don't forget your smartphone. Unfortunately, vehicles are now made without a cigarette lighter in the 12v socket. Hope you have a lighter or some matches.
LOL, so you might want to edit that one more time and pull out the part about not needing water and eating the snow. Google "Is it safe to eat snow" or anything along those lines, you'll see what I mean as it lowers your core body temperature and the ratio of snow to water is 10 snow to 1 water, so figure a large McDonalds cup packed full of snow netting you about half a small McDonalds cup of water. The body temperature part though is the real killer especially with hypothermia. And then there's the "stuff" in snow, especially if you're stranded on the road, as the snow can have bacteria and other junk like road grime, salt, etc. and that's the white kind not even talking about the yellow kind. Once you edit it, add another comment so RUclips lets me know and I'll edit mine down to Thanks for the comment and the tire recommendations.
So long as the fresh snow isn't a lemon snowcone!!
Great video! So your main limiting factor after putting on the CC2 was pretty much just your ground clearance? 🤔
Yes, the ground clearance of the Astra has been the main limiting factor for the Saturn Astra that I put these tires on. The Astra is a lightweight, front wheel drive, 4 cylinder with a manual transmission, and doesn't have a limited slip differential, so just one wheel pushes and pulls when you start to lose traction. As the subframe was hitting the snow it increased drag and at some time filled the rear of engine bay with snow. I would be curious if the car had a limited slip differential or AWD if the drag increase caused by the subframe would have still stopped it, especially if you can get more than 1 wheel applying force. Most of the reviews I saw for these tires were All Wheel Drive small SUVs so I wanted to make one for the FWD guys. Also, these are brand new tires, it would be interesting to see if when the tires are half worn if there is a major drop in performance, or if it's still a champ.
@@bigmikebeardwisdom I just got these for my Mercedes Metris cargo van. It’s RWD and light in the rear (like all cargo vans) but the ground clearance is there. I also loaded almost 800 Lbs worth of cargo mostly over my rear axle. Hopefully, with these tires and weight, I can dash through the snow without any shoveling. I hate shoveling 😂
Nice Vauxhall Astra
Thanks, here in the states they were sold under the Saturn brand for just 2 years and are tough to find parts. Luckily I've fixed most of the issues for the car. Thanks for the comment and the view.
I got these my dumass went down a ditch to test them i got into deep wet mud i thought i was stuck nope did a 360 and gun it and got out😂 im happy with these tires.
👍🇨🇦
Awesome, Thanks.
It's not the tires. Your car is underpowered
Kind of, sort of. So that was the limit for my economy powered, light, front wheel drive car without a limited slip differential and those tires. The snow was deeper than the car's ground clearance as the subframe was essentially skiing across the top and acting like a grater packing snow into the engine bay. You can hear the tires spinning when it gets stopped. Even if the car had more power, it wouldn't have helped. Now if I was just looking to have fun and cannonballed into the snow at a higher speed, I bet it would have made it. As this was a test of the tires, I didn't go full send. And of course this year has been light for snow, so no chance of doing that anytime soon. Thanks for the comment.