michelin MX X3 - ever heard of them?

[softinthehead]

well, at last ive been prompted to do new tyres all round, mainly because of the large metal bolt sticking out of the tread of my flat offside rear pirelli P zero this morning (its been one of those days). based on previous PH commentary I had decided to take the opportunity to try Michelin Pilot Sports - but! it seems they dont do a suitable one for the 968. And of course being Taunton, no one has any PZeros either.
The OPC in Exeter can get Pzeros in reasonable time (and only £5 per tyre more than my usual bargain basement source) but did suggest if I really wanted Michelins that above were touted by Mich as an alternative - MX X3. Ive never heard of these and the OPC didnt have much experience of them either. Anyone shed any light or just stick to the Pirellis?

[polarexpress]

MXX3s used to be a fabulous trackday tyre before the Pzeros and other high end performance tyres... they were standard issue on a several higher performance cars including the M3 (E36 yes, E30?). The MXX3 has very stiff sidewalls and it gives the sensation of increased responsiveness on turn-in. The trade off was a very stiff ride. The MXX3 has been improved upon most noticeably by other tyres offering softer sidewalls with a softer rubber compound allowing a car's geo to "set" and let the rubber do the grip. As a result, less turn-in response but better ride comfort and sometimes higher levels of lateral grip. The only other tyre I have personal experience of that offers similar levels of turn-in response as the MXX3 is the Bridgestone SO3-PP which has almost equally stiff sidewalls.

[softinthehead]

so probably not the best choice as a bog standard daily drive tyre for use in the wet 8 months of the year (I am of course describing the South West of England), particularly if one is not interested in any track days?

[polarexpress]

Well, let's keep in mind that the MXX3 was a regular road tyre - but this was in the days when dedicated track tyres were not readily available or manufactured/marketed. There are better tyres out there given the advances in technology - Bridgestone S03s, S02s, Goodyear F1 GS-D3s, Mich PS1/2s, etc etc etc.