Can premium rubber allow a family minivan to out-handle a sports coupe? In this track experiment, host Scotty Reiss joins Derek Secord, Senior Subjective Test Driver at Michelin, to test a simple premise: the right tire changes everything.
To evaluate the real-world impact of budget rubber, the team pitted a Chrysler Pacifica minivan equipped with premium Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-weather tires directly against a sport-tuned BMW 4 Series running on brand-new “tier 4” cheap tires. The test took place on an aged, one-mile wet handling track engineered with continuous sprinklers to evaluate grip, control, and driver confidence at the limit.
The results delivered a stark performance contrast. The Chrysler Pacifica maintained continuous traction and steering predictability through wet slaloms and sustained hairpins, allowing the driver to confidently accelerate through corners without sliding. Conversely, the BMW 4 Series running budget tires suffered an immediate loss of grip at significantly lower speeds. As Secord explained, the cheap tires lacked critical “large angle response”—the tire’s vital ability to generate cornering power when pushed near its limit, which is essential for real-world emergency accident avoidance.
This experiment reveals an eye-opening reality for luxury car owners and daily drivers alike. Equipping a capable vehicle with low-cost tires severely degrades its handling dynamics, safety thresholds, and driver feedback. Ultimately, no matter how advanced a car’s chassis or prestigious its badge may be, the right tire changes everything when it comes to wet-weather safety and control.
Read more on Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottyreiss/2026/08/17/track-testing-michelins-best-tires–does-premium-equal-performance/
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