Michelin defender ltx m/s vs. General grabber atx

[inscarguy]

Hi all. I need opinions on these 2 tires. I just got a set of 4runner xp wheels and im stuck on these two tires.

By the numbers and reviews they are pretty even with general slightly in the lead. I have the defenders on my other 4runner and they have been bulletproof. I did have the old bfg ko's and the Michelins are night and day. I did have the general at2 on my pickup and i never needed 4x4.

What are your thoughts? Im not interested in any other tire( falken, toyo etc.)

They are going on a 08 v6 limited with a 2.5, 1.5 lift.

 

[Fried Rice]

FWIW, i have the Michelin Defenders and I really like them. Quiet and Capable on my 08 Urban Runner with Bilstiens and FJ rear coils.

 

[Bluesky 07]

A link to my build thread is in my sig. There you will find a list of videos, all of which were on Defenders. Well, with the obvious exceptions of the Australia, Lambeau Field, Ford TriMotor, & traveler vids, though I did drive to the airport on my Defenders in each case. ;-)

Never had an issue with a Michelin tire. I will likely buy the A/T version of the Defender next time, those look like the perfect road/trail balance to me.

 

[Gatafly]

Depends if you are mainly on road with occasional light off road or do you like to get a little more dirty once in awhile? The Michelin can not be beat for on road performance in any condition. I have pushed snow with my front bumper in just regular AWD. They are quiet as you know and will outlast the General by quite a bit, but the general will probably beat out the Michelin in offroad abilities. I have used the Defenders and previously LTX M/S for several years on my 4runner and previous truck and have never gotten less than 105k miles out of them. I doubt I will ever go to a different tire.

 

[CA-RJ]

I recently went from Goodyear Duratracs to the Michelins and man my truck feels like new. So smooth and quiet. I mostly do farm roads, fire roads, and gravel roads when I'm offroad and the Michelins have handled that just fine. My fuel mileage went up as well. I'm pretty sure I'm a Michelin fan for life.

 

[Trumpet]

........y LTX M/S for several years on my 4runner and previous truck and have never gotten less than 105k miles out of them. I doubt I will ever go to a different tire.

Is that a typo? 105K per set??

 

[tors10]

Those tires don't seem like they're all that comparable, so I guess for me it would depend more on how you were going to use your truck. My 4runner was wearing Michelin LTX Energy tires when I bought it, great on pavement, but recently replaced with the General ATX on 17s. The General's are also really good on pavement, but I can hear them ever so slightly. I do like them a lot more than the Duratracs that I had on my 3rd Gen, and that's saying something. Whatever decision you make, I just got an email from discount Tires Direct, and they're running a flash sale today and tomorrow, I think its $80 buck off!

 

[fourwd1]

Moving this to the Wheels and Tires section.

 

[Bumbo]

It's an apples-to-oranges comparison... The Michelins core focus is being a road tire and the others is an all-terrain.

In terms of road tires... I absolutely love the Michelin. That said, it does fine on the occasional drive on a dirt road or even trail for that matter. Its not going to excel in this application but it can hold its own. I've beat the crap out of mine off-road and its really impressed me how much intentional abuse to was able to sustain. These days I have a separate set of tires (mud terrains) that I actually use for off-road because I kinda wanted the best for each.

If you want a AT do-it-all tire for daily driving and more frequent off-road use, the General Grabber would be a better fit. I've never owned one, but I suspect it wont be as nice on-road.

 

[inscarguy]

Thanks all. I am and havve always been a michelin fan. I have them on 3 of my 4 vehicles. I ended up with another set of defenders. They should look great on the new 4runner xp rims.

Its kinda stinks because the ones in the 4runner now are Michelin ltx ms2. They are 5 years old, have between 9-10/ 32nds on them but dry rotted rally bad.

 

[Bumbo]

Not that I am going to condone riding on really old tires, but I had some old/end of life Michelin ltx ms2 and decided to give them a proper retirement from road duty... off-road

I would venture to guess that my on-road tires have probably seen more off-road than some off-road tires. I even got small chunks of tread missing from light duty rock crawling.

 

[swampy_swimmer]

Thanks all. I am and havve always been a michelin fan. I have them on 3 of my 4 vehicles. I ended up with another set of defenders. They should look great on the new 4runner xp rims.

Its kinda stinks because the ones in the 4runner now are Michelin ltx ms2. They are 5 years old, have between 9-10/ 32nds on them but dry rotted rally bad.

I’m right there with you. Exact same thing happened to my exact same tires. Ltx ms 2 dry rotted and sidewall cracked before 60k. I could not proof my date of purchase for warranty but Michelin paid for one of my 4 new Defenders ltx ms. Now I keep the receipt. And yes, defenders are overall good tires for my use. No hard off road, but occasional sand and snow. Mostly pavement.
Do not use tire shine! Any of them!

 

[Bluesky 07]

It's an apples-to-oranges comparison... The Michelins core focus is being a road tire and the others is an all-terrain.

In terms of road tires... I absolutely love the Michelin. That said, it does fine on the occasional drive on a dirt road or even trail for that matter. Its not going to excel in this application but it can hold its own. I've beat the crap out of mine off-road and its really impressed me how much intentional abuse to was able to sustain. These days I have a separate set of tires (mud terrains) that I actually use for off-road because I kinda wanted the best for each.

If you want a AT do-it-all tire for daily driving and more frequent off-road use, the General Grabber would be a better fit. I've never owned one, but I suspect it wont be as nice on-road.

You’re right about apples & oranges but IMO this is underselling the Defender’s off-road capability based on my experience. I’ve driven the sand on the Outer Banks and trails with mud, rocks, branches, ruts, you name it, and no worries about the tires. Again, see for yourself in the videos in my build thread. Maybe our difference comes down to degree, because I’m not talking rock crawling Moab, just trails the average 4R driver is likely to run - but definitely more challenging than fire roads.

This is the tread on the Defender A/T I plan to get next time. Can’t imagine going anywhere it wouldn’t take me.

 

[Bumbo]

[MENTION=114846]Bluesky 07[/MENTION]

I can see where we are having a misunderstanding...

The thread title says Michelin defender ltx m/s, which is a different tire than the one you posted a picture of.

You are posting a photo of the LTX A/T2.
Truck Tires, Car Tires and more – Michelin Tires

The Defender LTX M/S is the newer version of the original LTX M/S which is a road tire.

Truck Tires, Car Tires and more – Michelin Tires

That said... I haven't tried the LTX A/T but it sure looks like a good choice for something that is going to see on and off-road conditions. Perhaps ill try one in the future.

 

[Bluesky 07]

[MENTION=114846]Bluesky 07[/MENTION]

I can see where we are having a misunderstanding...

The thread title says Michelin defender ltx m/s, which is a different tire than the one you posted a picture of.

You are posting a photo of the LTX A/T2.
Truck Tires, Car Tires and more – Michelin Tires

The Defender LTX M/S is the newer version of the original LTX M/S which is a road tire.

Truck Tires, Car Tires and more – Michelin Tires

That said... I haven't tried the LTX A/T but it sure looks like a good choice for something that is going to see on and off-road conditions. Perhaps ill try one in the future.

No, I'm aware of which of those tires is which. I have the Defender M/S on my truck and have taken them on many trails as previously mentioned. What I said was that I would likely get the new A/T version the next time I buy tires b/c it should offer more off-road capability while retaining the Defender's other outstanding characteristics.

 

[Gatafly]

Is that a typo? 105K per set??

No typo. The 4runner came with factory Michelin tires and I replaced them at 105K and replaced them again last fall with 110K on them. My previous truck (Ford Ranger) got 125K out of 1 set and when I sold it there were 80k on the next with a ton of tread. My dad got 95k out of Michelins on his Super Duty. You won't get those miles living in the south due to the heat. I live in MN and have tried other tires and compared what other people get with similar SUV's and trucks and none have even come close to that. I take good care of them with pressure and rotating often.

 

[Trumpet]

No typo. The 4runner came with factory Michelin tires and I replaced them at 105K and replaced them again last fall with 110K on them. My previous truck (Ford Ranger) got 125K out of 1 set and when I sold it there were 80k on the next with a ton of tread. My dad got 95k out of Michelins on his Super Duty. You won't get those miles living in the south due to the heat. I live in MN and have tried other tires and compared what other people get with similar SUV's and trucks and none have even come close to that. I take good care of them with pressure and rotating often.

That's pretty amazing. How was snow performance as they aged?

 

[Gatafly]

That's pretty amazing. How was snow performance as they aged?

Being AWD I never noticed any difference, the 4runner does so well in the snow even without dif lock. They handled packed snow and ice well almost to the end. Being that the sipes were almost gone when nearing the wear indicators they did have less grip and braking wasn't as good as it was when there was more tread, but nothing extreme or unsafe, you just had to be aware and alter your driving a little. I had some Duelers one time that when they reached about 75% worn they were terrible in packed snow and ice.

 

[Trumpet]

Being AWD I never noticed any difference, the 4runner does so well in the snow even without dif lock. They handled packed snow and ice well almost to the end. Being that the sipes were almost gone when nearing the wear indicators they did have less grip and braking wasn't as good as it was when there was more tread, but nothing extreme or unsafe, you just had to be aware and alter your driving a little. I had some Duelers one time that when they reached about 75% worn they were terrible in packed snow and ice.

Guess I'll be looking at Defenders to replace my Geolanders soon. They were about a third worn last winter and were not so great. Which is a shame as they were fantastic the first winter. Not looking forward to running them this winter.