Both the BF Goodrich Advantage Control and the Michelin Crossclimate 2 come in Grand Touring All-Season category, crafted primarily for coupes, sedans, crossovers, and SUVs. Let’s find a better fit for you.
As a tire engineer, I can confirm that the CrossClimate 2 provides exceptional grip, winter performance, wet traction, and riding comfort, backed by its snowflake rating and adaptive rubber. The Advantage Control, though, takes the upper hand in overall handling, fuel efficiency, and tread wear due to its more durable construction and rubber composition.
Table of Contents
Size Variants
The Michelin Crossclimate 2 comes in 16 to 22 inches with following specs.
- Speed ratings: H and V.
- Load ratings: SL and XL.
- Tread depth range: 10.5/32″ (on all)
- Weight range: 25 to 36.5 lbs
- Tread mileage rating: 60k miles.
- UTQG: 640 B A.
Review this tire in greater detail: https://tiredriver.com/michelin-crossclimate-2-review/
The BF Goodrich Advantage Control Review comes in 14 to 20 inches rims, and they have the following specs.
- Speed ratings: H, V and W.
- Load ratings: SL and XL.
- Tread depth range: 10.5 to 11.5/32″.
- Weight range: 17 to 32 lbs.
- Treadwear warranty: 75k miles for H, or 65k miles for V and W speed rated sizes.
- UTQG rating: 700 B A.
Review this tire in greater detail: https://tiredriver.com/bf-goodrich-advantage-control-review/
Construction
The Crossclimate 2 stands apart from its rivals with a refined directional tread pattern.
It’s tread comes with a distinct “directional” design, where one can clearly see swooping V shaped lugs.
Right in the middle, these lugs form an interlocking pattern, and are very closed up, relatively.
Moreover, they also have interlocking sipes here (the wave-like pattern, that you see in the image).
As we go towards the shoulders, the sipes become more linear, and thicker.
The shoulder boundary starts from the thick longitudinal slits you see.
And these shoulder blocks besides being more voided up in comparison, also have mere lateral slits in them, which act as snow biters.
Speaking of which, the lugs also have notches on their lugs, which are technically called snow vices.
Internally, the tire integrates a 2-ply polyester casing, reinforced with two steel belts, and capped with a polyamide layer.
Moving towards the BF Goodrich tire, you get a very different structure.
All its internal ribs are continuous running, where there aren’t any prominent groove separating them.
So unlike the Crossclimate, this tire ends up with some challenges, when evacuating water out, laterally.
Though it does offer great road connectivity, enhancing dry grip.
Besides, since it’s shoulder lugs are clearly voided up, they still connect outer outer circumferential channels, adding to its wet performance.
These shoulders have very streamlined linear/lateral tread elements, while the 3 middle ribs come with slightly interlocking siping, and notches facing both sideways directions.
Talking about the tire’s internal build, although it features 2 ply polyester and 2 steel belts, just like the Michelin, it only has a single lighter nylon cap ply.
Wet Traction
The efficacy of wet traction in tires is primarily influenced by their sipes and grooves. As they are in charge of clearing of water from the tread, (otherwise, water would come in the way, and tread won’t be able to properly grip the road, causing hydroplaning and slippage).
Now, here grooves act as direct pathways to expel water, while sipes, which are essentially slits in the tread, work on a smaller scale.
Technically speaking, these slits have air in them (at all times), and as the tire rolls, and these sipes contact the surface, they get compressed, expelling that air out, creating a vacuum. This results in a suction effect, aiding the tire in water displacement.
So water particles get sucked in, and later are sprayed out, when the tire goes/rolls over.
Now having said that, there are two key takeaways to note here:
- A greater number of sipes, preferably having interlocking pattern, generally enhances wet traction.
- The sipes need to be sufficiently flexible to ensure optimal suction.
With this in mind, it’s evident why the BF Goodrich Advantage Control might not be at the forefront for wet traction, as the tire lacks in both of these factors, well kind of.
I mean, it’s design has fewer full-depth “interlocking” sipes and it’s rubber is composed of a relatively stiffer composition.
On the other hand, the Michelin Crossclimate 2 offers both linear and wave-like siping patterns, where they also have width-varying and multi-directional structures too. And these features, combined with the tire’s overall more pliant rubber, you get much superior water clearing capabilities and overall wet performance, relatively.
Speaking of which, the tire with it’s directional pattern, having V shaped lugs, expels out more water through its groove in the first place.
Meaning, there’s less water burden on sipes to begin with. So we have a clear winner here.
Fuel Economy
Fuel economy is influenced by a lot of factors. And among the most significant ones, are the tire’s weight, tread depth, and composition, (these actually directly impact the tire’s rolling resistance).
Now out of both boys, the BF Goodrich Advantage Control coming with a stiffer rubber, lighter weight, and reinforced lug support, is clearly taking the lead here.
Actually, simply put, all these factors minimizes the lug flexing on this tire. And since lug flexing demands energy to modify the tread (back to its original) shape, this tire optimizes its energy for propulsion instead, thereby enhancing fuel efficiency, or should I say conserving energy.
On the other side, in comparison to BFG’s tire, the Michelin Crossclimate 2 is lacking here, for sure.
However, it’s important to note that this is the trade-off for achieving superior winter traction. Despite this, the tire’s performance remains still appreciable, where its rounded contact patch and MaxTouch technology helps a lot, as they both effectively distribute it’s greater weight, somewhat reducing undue pressure on it’s lugs.
Dry Performance
Dry performance paints a comprehensive picture when assessing the tire’s traction combined with its steering response. So it’s best we check out both of these separately.
Directional Grip
Directional grip is measured by tire’s braking, and depends on central tread area, which forms the most contact with the ground, as the tire rolls straight.
And here, the Michelin Crossclimate 2 stands out, out of the two tires. This is attributed to it’s three main features:
- A directional tread design.
- Interlocking central lugs.
- A rounded contact patch.
Let me explain all.
So with a directional tread pattern, the tire gets to have pretty closed up lugs design in the middle, which then provides you with a greater rubber to road connectivity, enhancing grip.
Moreover, since they (lugs) interlock with each other, they form a zigzag circumferential groove (right in the middle), adding to the tire’s biting efficacy.
And with a rounded contact patch, the tire ensures that its weight is placed evenly across its tread, and that promotes a more stable inertia, allowing for quicker braking.
On the other hand, the BF Goodrich Advantage Control, despite its more streamlined central ribs, falls slightly short here, where it sopped a foot longer (on average), on conducted tests.
This is mainly due to the the tire’s central area more voided up, reducing the rubber’s contact with the road, consequently diminishing braking performance and directional grip.
Overall Handling
Handling is the combination of a tire’s lateral grip and steering responsiveness.
Speaking of lateral traction first, this sideways grip of a tire, is predominantly determined by its shoulders and sidewalls. This is due to the fact, that the weight distribution shift towards the opposite side of the tire’s turn.
Now, the BF Goodrich Advantage Control excels in this domain, as its shoulders are solidly built without excessive voids, and are backed by reinforced foundational supports.
So you get 0.3 g greater lateral g forces (on averaged tests), relatively, with this tire.
On the other hand, the Michelin Crossclimate 2 lacks with its more voided up shoulders, though it’s not the main cause of it’s lacking overall handling, as the culprit here is it’s lagging steering response.
The tire basically weighs more, and has a softer overall rubber composition, relatively. Both of these factors actually cause bending of its lugs, which then take time to recover (back to their original shape). And this time is literally translated to the overall handling times.
I mean, that’s why the tire lacks by over 2 seconds, when it comes to overall handling times on laps tests.
Winter Performance
If you’re seeking an all-season tire proficient in snowy conditions, the Michelin Crossclimate 2 stands out as a prime choice, especially in grand touring tire’s category.
I mean, this tire dominates in crucial performance areas here: from acceleration and braking to handling snow and offering precise steering.
That’s why it makes sense why it gets to have the 3-peak mountain snowflake rating, (missing in the BFG’s tire).
So what makes this tire so great?
Well, for one, its directional pattern, with swooping lugs, efficiently dispels snow (backwards), and in return aids it’s forward momentum.
Moreover, it’s interlocking sipes, especially in the middle provide pretty decent directional grip on icy terrains.
And since the tire holds a thermally adaptive rubber, it’s thick linear siping slits running in both lateral and longitudinal directions, allow for much better overall handling performance in all types of winter conditions too.
(Actually, with this rubber, it’s biters don’t get stiffened up, like they do on BF Goodrich Advantage Control.
Impact Comfort Performance
The comfort a tire provides is largely contingent on its construction. So it’s pretty understandable, why softer tires excel at absorbing road vibrations, offering a more seamless ride.
And this is where the Michelin Crossclimate 2 shines, with it’s winter tire-like (relatively) softer tread, which excels at mitigating road imperfections.
So the tire effectively handles impacts, providing both cushioning and control, ensuring bumps dissipate rapidly post-impact.
On the other hand, the BF Goodrich Advantage Control adeptly manages smaller bumps, rendering them nearly imperceptible. However, it struggles slightly with larger bumps, taking more time to neutralize their “after-effects”.
So in terms of overall “impact” comfort, my subjective evaluations lean in favor of the Michelin Crossclimate 2.
Tread Wear
The durability of tread life is shaped by variables such as the tire’s weight, its specific composition, and tread depth. And in this assessment, the BF Goodrich Advantage Control distinctively stands out.
This tire is designed with a specialized rubber composition, having polymers with provide the tire with enhanced resistance to high temperatures.
Moreover, it’s tread durability is further enhanced, by it’s relatively stiffer rubber, and more robust reinforced foundations underneath all it’s ribs.
Conversely, the Michelin Crossclimate 2, with its bulkier construction and softer rubber compound, faces challenges in this domain (showcasing lower mpg readings in comparison).
Now similar to its compromised fuel efficiency, the tire’s shorter tread life is another compromise made in exchange for its exceptional winter traction capabilities.
But one should appreciate the fact, that the tire with such superb snow capabilities (when it comes to grand touring tires, I mean), still promises you with 60k miles, treadwear warranty.
Bringing It All Together
Ultimately, your unique requirements will dictate the choice since each tire has its strong suits.
The Michelin Crossclimate 2 excels in the following:
- Exceptional directional grip with its interlocking central lugs, and rounded contact patch, providing quick braking.
- Superior winter performance, with its directional tread pattern, and thermally adaptive rubber, earning it the 3-peak mountain snowflake rating.
- Enhanced wet traction, due to its multiple sipe designs, and flexible rubber compound, offering superior water expulsion and reducing hydroplaning.
- Greater impact comfort, with a softer tread, that absorbs road imperfections for a smoother ride.
While the BF Goodrich Advantage Control takes the lead in:
- Overall handling, supported by solid shoulders and reinforced foundations, offering better lateral traction.
- Fuel efficiency, with its stiffer rubber, lighter weight, and minimized lug flexing, leading to lower rolling resistance.
- Tread wear, due to its specialized rubber composition and robust construction, promising enhanced durability and a longer tread life.
