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[StuartO]

I got a set of Michelin Agilis Camping tyres for £142 each, fitted and balanced, from Halfords Autocentre.

 

Expensive but these are hard-wearing tyres which are also marked M+S (i.e. mud and snow, so winter tyres) so I'm well satisfied.

 

The tyres they replaced were far from worn out but were nearly 9 years old, so time for a change. If you are only having to change them once in nine years I don't think it makes too much sense to buy cheap ones.

[Tracker]

Did you get new valves fitted too Stuart?

[Brock]

Good price Stuart. A couple of years ago ATS did a buy three and get one free on Michelins which was useful even if I had to wait for the motorhome tyres to come in stock.

 

According to Michelin, M+S means Mud and Snow indicating that the tyre is, according to European rulings a 'snow tyre' but performances under Winter conditions have not been subject to testing.

[Derek Uzzell]

“Agilis Camping” tyres are ‘summer’ tyres that are “M+S”-marked.. This should be evident from Michelin’s own website.

 

The “M+S” marking invariably leads to confusion. The following explanation is taken from an Australian website specialising in marketed ‘snow’ tyres.

 

"M+S marking on tyres is very misleading.

 

Many AWD tyres are rated M+S, M&S or M/S, i.e., mud and snow. Established by the USA Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), the M+S designation refers only to the tread pattern. The M+S standard calls for a tyre with grooves at the outside of the tread that extend into the centre. It also means that 25% of the tyre tread contact surface be open, i.e., a more open tread pattern.

 

You will find the M+S symbol on most all-season tyres, on off-road and all-terrain tyres and even some high performance summer tyres may have this designation. However, there are no performance standards to meet or traction tests to pass. Any tyre with grooves at angles and with 25% of the tread void can be labelled as M+S.

 

And on icy snow and on ice, the open tread grooves have zero effect on performance. Control of the vehicle comes strictly from equal parts of the tyre rubber compound that provides adhesion and the effects from the tread sipes.

 

In 1999, the RMA defined a real “snow” or winter tyre with its severe snow-rating. Car and AWD tyres that pass this performance test are embossed with the “snowflake on a mountain peak” icon. Severe snow-rated tyres must provide traction at least 10% better than a standard reference test tyre.

 

The off-road, all-terrain and all-season M+S tyres cannot pass this test. The M+S rating doesn’t mean much. The severe snow rating does."

[StuartO]

MY OP on this thread was supposed to be a contribution to an existing one about cheap tyres and i was merely putting the counter-argument for buying good tyres because we don't buy them that often. No idea how I managed to start another thread and so I apologise for creating this one which has no title.

 

Thank you for the explanation of what M+S means. I only use my MH in summer - or at least I don't going skiing with it - so M+S has limited significance for me, beyond it's value to anyone who might buy my MH in due course. For what it's worth I regard them as good all-year-round tyres rather than summer ones.

 

The tyres I replaced were Michelin X Camping, which are no longer made, so I was trying to replace like with like as best I could. The unused spare had the original tread depth of 10mm and after 32,000 miles the fronts had 3-4mm left but the rears still had 8mm. I sold them on EBay (mentioning their 10 year life) and got about £100 after selling costs to contribute to the new ones.

 

 

[Billggski]

As a land rover owner I always translated M&S as mud and s**t, rather than snow.

There are also all-terrain, mud-terrain and proper winter tyres, and, as mentioned above, winter tyres with the snowflake symbol have a different compound and little cuts in the tread to grip the snow.

Of course there are no Campervan winter tyres, so I also bought the agilis camping for the front as the best option for a front wheel drive x250. Confusingly manufacturers say you should have the tyres with the best grip on the rear, to prevent skidding the back end around in sloppy conditions.