Michelin Defender

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Well, the OP lives in Ontario, and Critic has also posted that the Energy Savers are useless in winter.
The Defender appears to be a very good A/S tire by any measure.
If the OP can get a decent price, I'd say he might as well go for them.
You really can't go wrong with a Michelin tire.
Even if you have problems with them, there are ample threads here that show that Michelin will bend over backwards to make it right.
You do get what you pay for in this case.
 
Mine seem to be doing well so far. Have been on for 10 months now with 11,000 on them on our Camry. Car is extremely smooth now that I have replaced some bent rims. They have done very well IMO in some heavy rains we have been through. The stay balanced well and the air does not fluctuate in the much either.

Happy Happy Happy so far.
 
2 things.

1) They will get a good bit worse fuel mileage on a Prius than OE tires.
2) I've found Tire Racks origin information not very accurate for Michelins.
 
Originally Posted By: Oldswagon
I looked at the A/S Energy Saver, but the price is significantly higher (like I said, Defenders are on sale). I know the Defenders are supposed to be worse than OEM tires, but this car still gets great mileage even with winters. I would hope the Defenders would be better than winter tires. Further, the fact that they are rated significantly higher for mileage wear important.


You'll likely see a 3-5% drop from new OE tires with the Defender. This is the average loss with the "more efficient" aftermarket tires that are not advertised to be super LRR.

I have 31,000 miles on my set of Energy Saver A/S and still have 7/32" left on them. When they were new, the tread was 9/32". I think the treadlife is just fine.

As for winter, I cannot comment since I have never taken the car to a snowy region. The wet weather traction is only slightly better than the OE tires - which were pretty dismal. The Primacy MXV4 were much better in the rain, however.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
According to Tire Rack, which uses information supplied from the tire manufacturer, the following sizes in the Defender are manufactured in Mexico:

175/70R13
175/65R14
175/70R14
185/70R14
195/70R14
205/70R14

The other 33 sizes are manfuactured in either Canada or the United States. The few sizes manufactured in Mexico are smaller sizes that are probably lower production sizes, and the move was likely done to consolidate efforts on those smaller and less popular sizes.

For most customers, their Defenders will have been made in either Canada or the United States.

I took a look at mine this morning. Strange, they are 185/65-14 and made in Mexico.
 
My brother installed Defender on his 2009 Camry and thinks they drive great. I have 4 ready to go on my son's Corolla once the miserable Ontario winter ends. All the four cars in my household aside from mine have Michelins. Defenders will go on my Sonata once the OEM tires get worn.
Buy them with confidence.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder

I took a look at mine this morning. Strange, they are 185/65-14 and made in Mexico.


odd.. i will visually confirm and photo the ones I have on thurs.
 
Thanks for advise so far guys. It sounds like for the most part they are decent tires. If the Critic's 3-5% fuel loss is accurate, I can live with that for improved ride, handling, wet and snow weather traction over a LRR tire. At the fuel economy this car gets, a 3-5% is a drop in the pan. Although we do have dedicated winters for this car, the stock Bridgestone LRR tires are downright dangerous in even light winter conditions (and are poor in the rain). Often we'll get an early or late freak snow fall (when the snows tires aren't on the car), and I want a tire that can handle a light snow fall.

Any other input appreciated.
 
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Originally Posted By: Oldswagon
Thanks for advise so far guys. It sounds like for the most part they are decent tires. If the Critic's 3-5% fuel loss is accurate, I can live with that for improved ride, handling, wet and snow weather traction over a LRR tire. At the fuel economy this car gets, a 3-5% is a drop in the pan. Although we do have dedicated winters for this car, the stock Bridgestone LRR tires are downright dangerous in even light winter conditions (and are poor in the rain). Often we'll get an early or late freak snow fall (when the snows tires aren't on the car), and I want a tire that can handle a light snow fall.

Any other input appreciated.


A new set of Primacy MXV4 vs a new set of OE Yokohama S33d resulted in a 5% (on avg) decline in fuel economy. Sometimes, it was as high as 10%, but it was usually about 5%. I would expect the difference to be similar for the Defender. However, keep in mind that we are talking about new vs new….a new set of Defenders vs a worn-out set of OE tires may result in a significant difference since worn-out tires are significantly more efficient.

Also, the difference in traction between the Defender and the Energy Saver A/S may be minimal, as TireRack’s testing did not find them to be a champ in the wet traction area.
 
Critic,

I am getting about a 13% difference with my winter tires, in winter conditions with winter gas (we see temperatures in the -30 range during winter). In the end under these conditions I am still overall averaging about 45 MPG (US gal). I can't imagine the Defenders will do WORSE than winter tires, in winter time on winter gas. Regardless, the A/S are more expensive, and someone already posted they are terrible in snow, and I need a tire that is at least acceptable in snow. To me the fuel cost difference is worth the overall better tire.

FWIW, the stock Bridgestones have always averaged about the same MPG's even as they wore out, I didn't see any major change. Typically it was about 51 MPG avg for all driving.
 
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Well, I am not expecting that they be as good as my OEM Bridgestone Ecopia's (for MPG's), but I hope they are a fair bit better than my winter tires. I am Defenders should ride nicer, be queiter and have overall much better traction than the OEM tires though.

That said, I did check into the Energy Saver A/S's again. All the local retailers say they are unavailable in my size. Even the local Michelin Dealer said they are unsure if they could even get them. From the reviews I read on Tire Rack, they seem like they are impressive for fuel mileage, not so much for traction in the snow. And while these tires may work well in California, they may not be the best choice for Ontario.

Overall, from what's posted here, it seems like the Defenders will be a decent choice. Although I do appreciate any further discussion.
 
I predict it loses 10% on fuel economy with the Defenders...
whistle.gif
 
What about the Continental PureContacts? From some perusing on PriusChat, those seem to be a pretty good all-around tire that doesn't have a large fuel economy penalty.
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I predict it loses 10% on fuel economy with the Defenders...
whistle.gif



I predict it does not.

probably more like 5%

i lost
the defender is a standard touring with "green x" and shouldnt be that bad.

although it may be more than 5% if the current ones are worn down to bald. and the new tires are therefore also "bigger"

so the observed fuel economy will go down.
(and worn down tires are usually slightly more efficient anyway)
 
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Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I predict it loses 10% on fuel economy with the Defenders...
whistle.gif



I predict it does not.

probably more like 5%

i lost


I hope I don't lose 10%, especially since my winter tires in winter conditions on winter gas cost me 13% overall average. We lost that much or sometimes more with our old Civic (and it had std all seasons, same winter tires). A 5% loss is fine, I can live with that. Just for the record I do keep a log of my overall fuel mileage, not just track a trip here and there. Overall mileage is more important to me.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
What about the Continental PureContacts? From some perusing on PriusChat, those seem to be a pretty good all-around tire that doesn't have a large fuel economy penalty.


I can look into them, but Continental's are hard to get locally. Also, long mileage is very important as we drive a lot. That's what attracted me to the Defenders. Cost per mile, I know they are still pretty good (maybe not quiet as good as the E/S). Our OEM Bridgestones have not worn well, and have terrible wet weather and snow traction.
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
O.K. everyone who has or knows someone personally with a Prius that put Defenders on it raise their hand.

thankyou2.gif





Do you? You were the one who suggested a 10% loss, so if you have something to support this, I'd be interested. That's the problem though, is no one seems to have used the defenders on a Prius to report the results. Even if someone went from a LRR tire to a Defender would be helpful.
 
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