Tire Review - Michelin Defenders Go On Road and Off

[Thai]

Yikes, forgot to add. What about sizes? I'm not doing any suspension work (for the foreseeable future, anyway), but I'd like to maximize traction. Is there a recommended wheel size and tire size you could share, or should I stick with stock wheels and tire size?

Stock size is probably best for what you're after. Taller tires increase clearance but messes with your speedometer and power delivery (acceleration)...esp if the taller tire is heavier. Ground clearance does not seem to be what you need from what you wrote.

 

[kravi]

Stock size is probably best for what you're after. Taller tires increase clearance but messes with your speedometer and power delivery (acceleration)...esp if the taller tire is heavier. Ground clearance does not seem to be what you need from what you wrote.

True, I was thinking more tire width. With stock wheels (and suspension) can I run 275s without rubbing?

Many thanks for the help!

 

[ElectroBoy]

I think Michelin AT2 will be perfect for you. Defender are nice (and prob just as good) but AT tread is more aggressive for that 1%. Defender would not do well in mud.

I’ve had Michelin LTXs on all my previous vehicles. Many sets. Long life, great on the road in dry and wet conditions. Pretty good in not too deep snow and hardback too. They last so long (65K+ miles) that you can get into the dry rot / sidewall cracking condition if you have them longer than 5 years, and park outside. But tires have a 6 year lifespan at most anyway. Discount Tire always gave me some credit on tire mileage or age when buying new ones.

On my latest 4R I changed over to Michelin AT2. Stock size. Loving them so far. Great on the road, with a little more noise. Not too aggressive of a tread but does well in dirt, sand, and mud. I’m happy with them.

 

[kravi]

I’ve had Michelin LTXs on all my previous vehicles. Many sets. Long life, great on the road in dry and wet conditions. Pretty good in not too deep snow and hardback too. They last so long (65K+ miles) that you can get into the dry rot / sidewall cracking condition if you have them longer than 5 years, and park outside. But tires have a 6 year lifespan at most anyway. Discount Tire always gave me some credit on tire mileage or age when buying new ones.

On my latest 4R I changed over to Michelin AT2. Stock size. Loving them so far. Great on the road, with a little more noise. Not too aggressive of a tread but does well in dirt, sand, and mud. I’m happy with them.

How do they handle on the road? Though I'm a wannabe postman, that lion's share of my driving will be on pavement. And how noisy are they on highways? Just curious, it isn't a deal breaker.

 

[ElectroBoy]

How do they handle on the road? Though I'm a wannabe postman, that lion's share of my driving will be on pavement. And how noisy are they on highways? Just curious, it isn't a deal breaker.

They handle really well on pavement. Comfortable ride, and they balanced well. No vibrations of wobbles. I do a lot of highway driving and I’m very pleased with them. You can check out various reviews on tire dealer websites.

There is more noise than a pure highway tire like the Defender LTX. Kind of an audible buzz you can hear around town if you have your music turned off and are really paying attention. At highway speeds you hear more wind noise and the tire noise is not even noticeable. See the tread pattern difference in the pics below (LTX M/S2, then AT3). Bigger lugs means more noise.

If you buy from a Discount Tire (America’s Tire) you have 30 days to try them out. If you don’t like them you can return them and try a different tire. However you will pay for mounting and balancing again so it could get pricey if you do this too many times. Check out their policy at your local store.

 

[Thai]

Here is an article to describe Defender LTX more and how different from prior MS2: Meet Michelin's new LT tire: the Defender LTX - Retail - Modern Tire Dealer

Note from article:

- The Evertread compounding is “the toughest compound that we have available”....

- In P-metric sizes the Defender LTX stands up better on gravel to chip and tear resistance compared to the LTX M/S2, while treadlife, wet traction, snow traction and rolling resistance are unchanged. With the LT sizes, treadlife and chip and tear resistance both are improved, while wet traction, snow traction and rolling resistance remain unchanged.



Basically, Defender LTX has Evertread which is very tough. And this Evertread is on both sidewall and tread. I like this idea...instead of adding plies to the sidewall (and adding weight and worst ride), they apparently strengthen the actual rubber compound.

 

[Thai]

Another article: PREVIEW: Michelin Defender LTX | The Star

"The Defender LTX, the successor to Michelin’s LTX, features the company’s EverTread compound, which is stronger and designed to stand up better to the vagaries of off-road use, while delivering better gravel wear, improved fuel efficiency and better all-round performance.

Although it is designed to handle off-roading, Michelin claims the Defender LTX is primarily an on-road tire. As such, it also delivers things like improved treadlife, better wet grip and shorter stopping distances (up to 10 metres shorter in some instances) than the competition.

Through channels of knee-deep mud, rocky uphill ascents (even a ski hill) and a variety of very uneven surfaces, the Defender LTX took it all on and kept right on chugging."

 

[Bluesky 07]

The Silver Beast on her Defender LTXs at the recent Kentucky Toyota Trail Ride. Image by our group leader, Josh Walton.

 

[Thai]

More info

I asked Michelin about EVERTREAD compound and whether it was in the sidewall.

Michelin response:

“Thai, thank you for reaching out. The Evertread compound is mixed into the actual tread of the tire to help the tire last longer. It's composed of polymers, resins, and silica that help the actual tread withstand tears and chips. In most cases, tires that feature special compounds include those compounds in the tread area exclusively.”


So, sadly, the EVERTREAD compound is ONLY in the tread area. Sidewall is just a 2-ply sidewall with no special compound.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

I would buy a Michelin Defender LTX M/S without hesitation after my experiences with the original Michelin LTX M/S2… they look like very similar tires.

Not only was it a stellar road tire, I had it on the truck when I did my Yellowstone road trip and found some light trails / fire roads, snow, rain and other all-weather situations and it preformed excellent in all of them.

They really held up to abuse well… I still had them when I started to get more into off-road and pushed them in environments they were not really designed for and even then they didn’t fail me. Obviously there are better choices to be had for off-road use, but they still managed to impress me with intentional abuse.

I had a set on one of my Xterra's that were wonderful.

 

[Thai]

Good real world: Perfect off-highway tire = LTX? What? | Expedition Portal

 

[Bob22222]

My wife's gx470 has defenders on it. My 04 sport v8 has General AT2 (or the current equivalent).
They both perform well on dry pavement, light snow, rain, and mild trails.
The defenders are much smoother and quieter on the highway..
We live in the Colorado mountains. In heavy weather we always take the one with the General AT2 tires. Which are a great value and last a long time. Keeping them balanced might be an issue though.
In short if only one vehicle and I had to chose
The Generals win hands down. But that could be because of where I live.
Oh, I also have the same Generals on my 1993 Toyota PU and have never had and issue plowing my long, steep, crooked, driveway of up to 4 feet of snow without chaining up. No locker but limited slip rear differential on that truck.

 

[jray29]

Always have run michelin's on my 4Runners. will be definitely be putting a set on once I need a new set. Great on or offroad in my experience.