The Bridgestone WeatherPeak is a very new tire that was just released in June 2022. I have no experience with them, but they fared OK when TireRack tested them against the Michelin CrossClimate2. I don't think you could go wrong with the Bridgestone WeatherPeak, Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady, or the Michelin CrossClimate2. There's a lot of online hype with the Michelins, but the other two offerings also look like good options. They're both a little cheaper too. Goodyear is currently offering a $100 rebate off a set of the Assurance WeatherReady through the end of the month.
I’ve never had a tire I wasn’t pleased with from Bridgestone or Michelin so I don’t think you could go wrong with either. Costco is definitely a good tire source with free rotation for as long as you own the tires and their ability to replace TPMS sensors if you ever have one go bad. Typically you also get at least $159. off the purchase of four also.
whirlingwheelz.com
Michelin used to be pretty good. My 2009 Challenger came with Michelins, and they were just plain awful. They were not great on wet pavement, it was like driving on ice if there was any amount of water. They wore out completely at 20K, to where cords were showing. I never once did a burnout or drove aggressively with these tires, it gets driven a couple miles to work and back during nice weather. The car only has 30K on it now (2K miles a year), so you can tell I don't drive it that much. The Cooper CS5 are a million times better in all ways, except gas mileage. The Michelin were 1-2 MPG better than the Coopers. In any case, I am not buying Michelins until I see evidence they have gone back to the way they used to be.
Do you need tires in general, or could you get by with just new winter tires and keep your current summer tires? I like buying an extra set of rims, and having a dedicated set of snow tires. I have always used Firestone Winterforce here in Michigan, and I am very happy with them over probably 20 years of using them on all types of cars and minivans. They don't last if you use them in the summer, so you need a good set of 3 season tires in addition to these.
You can't really judge a tire company based on one particular model. Every company makes good models and not so good models. Regardless of what we think of any of them, they make all of their models for specific reasons. They wouldn't waste resources making mediocre tires if they didn't have something to gain by offering them. All tires are a compromise of some sort between grip under a variety of conditions (dry, wet, snow/ice, hot, cold, etc.) longevity, and to a point price. There are no magic tires that truly perform great in all conditions. However, some are good enough to satisfy the needs of many drivers year-round (all-weather tires).
OEM tires are built to specifications of the auto maker and are almost always softer for ride quality and hence wear very quickly so not a good way to judge a brand's own spec tires. For example 2 sets of tires with the same brand and model name but 1 set came on a new car and the other set from a tire shop they are likely totally different tires at least in tredwear etc.
How do you like the defenders, on your Pacifica? Are they more harsh, or steer (tracking) differently?
Michelin does make some great tires (most notably, the CrossClimate2 and Defender), but like any brand they make some crappy tires too (Premier and to a lesser degree Primacy).
My friend can relate to this. He's satisfied with the grip of the OEM Continental tires on his Honda Pilot so he ordered another set from 4 Wheelonline which lasts longer than the first set.
