How's the wet traction on those? TR makes them look terrible and their wet testing is generally not as rigorous as CR.
Finally had to bite the bullet: Michelin Defender LTX M/S
- Thread starter SubieRubyRoo
- Start date
I’m about 130 miles in to ownership now, and yes, they seem like a nice Highway tire so far. 4”+ of rutty slush still is a challenge, but it’s not an M/T tire lol. On plowed highway, even though wet, they’re nearly silent.
I’ve heavily dampened my doors (a layer of KillMat and the SoundSkinz precut door 3-layer dampening, and I’ll have to get my NIOSH app & calibrated mic out…) it’s probably 68dB or so at 60. Very nice. Wet traction seems better than the ‘Kooks… was able to go 3/4 throttle on the ~370rwhp tune with no wheelspin. Thanks guys! Will continue to update but seems like a good tire so far.
I’ve heavily dampened my doors (a layer of KillMat and the SoundSkinz precut door 3-layer dampening, and I’ll have to get my NIOSH app & calibrated mic out…) it’s probably 68dB or so at 60. Very nice. Wet traction seems better than the ‘Kooks… was able to go 3/4 throttle on the ~370rwhp tune with no wheelspin. Thanks guys! Will continue to update but seems like a good tire so far.
SubieRubyRoo
Congratulations on your purchase
I do lots of Highway Driving (my Ford Expedition currently has 346k miles), and I'm on my 5th set of Michelin Defenders
I normally run them to 75k mile which is 5/32nds-6/32nds of tread depth, then I sell them on Craigslist for $275-$300
Best of Luck to you
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2024
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is an excellent tire. OEM on my old Toyota Tundra, but also #1 rated by Consumer Reports for years. I went through four sets before recently purchasing Continental TerrainContact HT as Consumer Reports now places them in the #1 spot, with the Michelin tied in the #2 spot with General Grabber HTS60. You will easily get 65 to 70k miles out of a set with proper rotation.
OP, you got an excellent price.
OP, you got an excellent price.
Currently have them on my Toyota 4x4. They perform well in all but deep drifts and conditions that would need a dedicated tire.
my F150 came with Hankooks...Horrible tire esp in rain,done at 30K
Went to the Defender ,much better tire but they dont balance too well
went for rebalancing too many times,still shakes at 80MPH+
Went to the Defender ,much better tire but they dont balance too well
went for rebalancing too many times,still shakes at 80MPH+
Update: about 700 miles in now due to a couple trips. The LTXs are definitely nice on the road, but I’ve noticed there is much more thump on drop-in impacts like potholes. Stiffer sidewall I assume, because the LTXs currently have about 5psi less than what I ran the Hankooks at. Another thing, and maybe they’ll wear in a little, they are nervous/imprecise in a long straight line. I find myself having to make very tiny corrections to maintain my lane position compared to the Hankooks going very straight. Overall, pretty pleased. Will keep updating.
I didn't notice that. Did you get an alignment after install? When I got them for my wife's car I didn't get one but I think somewhere during their 72k run I did unless it was before. I did get an alignment done probbably about 1k miles after the CC2s were installed. I would have done sooner but timing didn't work out.
Some tires can be susceptible to tramlining…especially on certain vehicle platforms. Not necessarily related to alignment.
But early on, this can sometimes be attributed to tread squirm from new tires.
Agreed. And just because I didn't notice it doesn't mean others won't.
I think you can take 'em back to DT if less than 1,000 miles.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yup, my new snows did that for the first bit, but it's gone now.
I also looked at those Michelin Defender LTX M/S tires before getting Sumitomo Encounter HT, no regrets.
