For the last several years Michelin has been pushing the idea of "perennial performance" for their tires:
https://www.michelin.com/eng/media-room/...-limit-of-1.6mm
Quote:
For your car, a new tire represents a tread depth of around 8mm and can sometimes be as much as 9.5mm on some models. Current legislation in most of the European Union as well as Japan, the US and Canada sets the legal wear level at 1.6mm. ...Currently, some manufacturers are recommending early replacement of tires at around 3mm. In our opinion, this is reminiscent of programmed obsolescence which is no doubt profitable for the manufacturer, but definitely has no benefit for the consumer or the environment. Our customers do not need to change their MICHELIN tires until the wear indicators appear.
With the new Alpin 6, Michelin is claiming safe use on snow down to 1.6mm tread depth. This tire has a 2 layer tread (both layers are winter formulation), as shown in their 2 minute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHB3odbSNF8&index=1&list=PLnQqxoRZbwnTaYXTve97elEyji5M4oCF5
This is the second new winter tire Michelin has introduced in 2018 (the other one is a studded tire). Is the successor to the XIce Xi3 also imminent, with the same "EverGrip" technologies as the Alpin 6?
https://www.michelin.com/eng/media-room/...-limit-of-1.6mm
Quote:
For your car, a new tire represents a tread depth of around 8mm and can sometimes be as much as 9.5mm on some models. Current legislation in most of the European Union as well as Japan, the US and Canada sets the legal wear level at 1.6mm. ...Currently, some manufacturers are recommending early replacement of tires at around 3mm. In our opinion, this is reminiscent of programmed obsolescence which is no doubt profitable for the manufacturer, but definitely has no benefit for the consumer or the environment. Our customers do not need to change their MICHELIN tires until the wear indicators appear.
With the new Alpin 6, Michelin is claiming safe use on snow down to 1.6mm tread depth. This tire has a 2 layer tread (both layers are winter formulation), as shown in their 2 minute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHB3odbSNF8&index=1&list=PLnQqxoRZbwnTaYXTve97elEyji5M4oCF5
This is the second new winter tire Michelin has introduced in 2018 (the other one is a studded tire). Is the successor to the XIce Xi3 also imminent, with the same "EverGrip" technologies as the Alpin 6?