Michelin Primacy 4 ST Review - Buy Or Avoid?

Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Energy estimates that around 25% of the fuel consumption of a vehicle is attributable to the tyres. That's a lot, and it means that choosing fuel efficient tyres can save you quite a bit of money.

The Primacy 4 ST tyres rank a C on a scale of A to E in the official fuel efficiency tests carried out by the EU (they call these rolling resistance tests).

Relative to an A grade tyre, expect to use an extra 0.2L/100km. This works out to $43 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Comparison

Here's how the Primacy 4 ST compares to similar tyres for fuel efficiency (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Based on the comparison tyres we've selected, the Primacy 4 ST ranked # out of 0 tyres.

Grip & Handling

We'll now take a look at how these tyres compare in terms of grip and handling.

A good measure of this is 'wet grip', which is an indication of how well the tyres will allow the vehicle to come to a stop in wet conditions.

The Primacy 4 ST tyres rank a B on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

Relative to an A grade tyre, expect these tyres to require about an extra 2.5 metres to come to a complete stop when braking at 80km/h.

Comparison

For wet grip, they scored # out of 0 comparison tyres.

Noise

Another key factor to consider when choosing a tyre is road noise. Once you're over about 40 km/h, the dominant source of noise you hear is from the contact of your tyres on the road.

There is a surprisingly wide variation in the amount of noise each tyre makes.

The Primacy 4 ST tyres produce 68.8 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of B on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

Expect these tyres to produce about 2 times as much noise as an A grade tyre (the decibel scale is logarithmic).

Comparison

For noise, they ranked # out of 0 comparison tyres.

For fuel efficiency, they score a grade of C, which is more or less average, though this isn't a super important factor.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, they get a score of B, which is above average.

Finally, for road noise, they receive a B grade, which is about typical.

In terms of data out of the US, they have the following UTQG ratings:

• Treadwear: 340
• Traction: A (scale: AA, A, B, C)
• Temperature Resistance: A (scale: A, B, C)