The Premier’s expanding grooves are found in four channels that run around the circumference and act as the primary means of removing water between the contact patch and the pavement. Existing tires use V-shape channels that become shallower and narrower with wear.
The Premier’s grooves are molded so that they are wider at the base of the tread than at the tire’s surface. As the tire wears, the surface area of the void increases to partly compensate for its reduced depth.
But the new tire isn’t a silver bullet. Wet-weather performance will still degrade as the Premier wears and the rain grooves become shallower. Michelin’s own data shows that the wet stopping distance from 50 miles per hour increased to 119 feet, from 106 feet, between a new and a half-worn Premier A/S. Still, that increase is less than what is expected from traditional tires.
The Premier A/S replaces Michelin’s Primacy MXV4 and will be available in the spring starting at $156 a tire. It comes with a 60,000-mile warranty and will be produced in 32 sizes for wheels from 15 to 18 inches in diameter. Later this year Michelin will introduce the Premier LTX, a tire for S.U.V.’s and crossovers with the same technologies.
