Hi guys, I live/drive in Guatemala City, Central America. We have TERRIBLE roads here, all varieties of roads, concrete (very few), asphalt/tarmac, "cratery" roads (lots of harsh hits on contact patch, sidewalls when trying to avoid holes, etc.), muddy roads,
flooded roads, hydroplaning roads, stony paths, etc., etc., etc... and the "fun" part is that you find them anywhere in the cities or rural. Having said that and being fair to ANY tyre brand, after 33,000 kms (20k miles) of spirited roads and spirited driving style on my 2009 Honda Accord V6 sedan I have to congratulate my 225/50 R17 Michelin Energy XM2 tyres, very good wear (lots of harsh hits on contact patch, sidewalls when trying to avoid holes, etc.), very good grip, good handling, BUT noisy and too much feedback. Yesterday I had my first tyre flat due to a very sharp pothole, it flattened after driving 20 miles, while parked, I took it for repair (very normal AND CHEAP to repair a tyre here in my country) but I got bad news... the sidewall was punctured like knife so I replaced it with a Dunlop SP Sport LM704 which I put it in the front along with the spare tyre (brand new 225/50 R17 Michelin Energy XM2 with brand new original rim from factory), took the "old" front tyre for spare tyre now... "problem solved". Just for you to know, a new 225/50 R17 Michelin Energy XM2 tyre cost here US$130 versus a new Dunlop SP Sport LM704 cost US$90... by the way a tyre repair here is US$6 aprox.
Drive safely.