Pirelli AS Plus 3 or Michelin Defender LTX MS 2

[aspade]

I'm replacing the Defender MS1s on my F-150 this year and have it down to the same competitive set. There's not an obvious winner to me.

My MS1s were outstanding and still have 4/32 at 93K. Hard not to give Michelin another go.

Hard to overlook how convincingly Continental beat the world in the Tire Rack tests, Consumer Reports, etc., too.

Michelin claims far superior tread life (45% longer vs Continental) but my MS1s already lasted forever and Consumer Reports claims the Continentals last longer than MS1s. I'd like another 100K tire but stretching that to 150K isn't worth much to me.

A dark horse is the Goodyear Weather Ready 2. Haven't had much luck with Goodyear in the past, I've had SR-As and Fortitudes and they were both garbage with a capital E, but Tire Rack reviews for this one - albeit in CUV sizing - are quite favorable and Sams Club has them cheap.

 

[z71bill]

That's a ton of money for tires.
I will soon be needing tires for my F-150.
I can't fork over that kind of money for LTX M/S 2. That's what is on there now. They are the OE tires. I will be looking at Cooper Endeavor Plus or Cooper Pro Control. Plus, Cooper is an American company and the tires are made here.

The Cooper Endeavor Plus is $823.21 at Sams -

The Michelin Defender M/S2 $1,150.6

$327.39 savings ~~$82 per tire is significant $$

But for some reason I usually end up grabbing the more expensive tire.

Even though I have been critical of Michelin - I have had a few disappointments - I think it is more like they didn't live up to my expectations of being really really good. When in doubt go for the company with the best reputation - and I doubt many will claim Michelin is not at least in the top 3 brands.

Ask 1,000 people to name the highest quality tire - I bet over 50% say Michelin.

Better question would be who is #2?

Continental? Bridgestone?

 

[edyvw]

The Cooper Endeavor Plus is $823.21 at Sams -

The Michelin Defender M/S2 $1,150.6

$327.39 savings ~~$82 per tire is significant $$

But for some reason I usually end up grabbing the more expensive tire.

Even though I have been critical of Michelin - I have had a few disappointments - I think it is more like they didn't live up to my expectations of being really really good. When in doubt go for the company with the best reputation - and I doubt many will claim Michelin is not at least in the top 3 brands.

Ask 1,000 people to name the highest quality tire - I bet over 50% say Michelin.

Better question would be who is #2?

Continental? Bridgestone?

I generally stick to Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental and Pirelli.
In Europe, I used a lot of GoodYear snow tires, but here I always had mediocre results from Good Year.
Others? Yeah, sometimes I will do it for the sake of checking it (nokian) or because. super good price (Yokohama Advan V601). Did I have bad experience with Michelin? Yeah. Their LTX Premier was a true disappointment when it comes to wear.
But, I never had a performance issue with them, like braking, handling, especially in wet conditions, which I cannot say for Nokian, for example. I used Yokohama on track mostly, and was really good tire, especially considering price.
IMO, they are worth that extra money, bcs. Cooper won't last as long, and won't retain performance as good. Continental TerrainContact HT would be only other tire I would give a look in that segment.

 

[4WD]

That's a ton of money for tires.
I will soon be needing tires for my F-150.
I can't fork over that kind of money for LTX M/S 2. That's what is on there now. They are the OE tires. I will be looking at Cooper Endeavor Plus or Cooper Pro Control. Plus, Cooper is an American company and the tires are made here.

This is the Cooper I put on our 2017 Tahoe after Mich’s
Outstanding tires …

https://www.coopertire.com/en_US/tires/discoverer-srx/24492.html

 

[MParr]

This is the Cooper I put on our 2017 Tahoe after Mich’s
Outstanding tires …

https://www.coopertire.com/en_US/tires/discoverer-srx/24492.html

I believe that the new Pro Control is scheduled to replace the SRX. Comparing the test charts on Tire Rack, the Pro Control shows good wet and dry handling characteristics.

 

[MParr]

The Cooper Endeavor Plus is $823.21 at Sams -

The Michelin Defender M/S2 $1,150.6

$327.39 savings ~~$82 per tire is significant $$

But for some reason I usually end up grabbing the more expensive tire.

Even though I have been critical of Michelin - I have had a few disappointments - I think it is more like they didn't live up to my expectations of being really really good. When in doubt go for the company with the best reputation - and I doubt many will claim Michelin is not at least in the top 3 brands.

Ask 1,000 people to name the highest quality tire - I bet over 50% say Michelin.

Better question would be who is #2?

Continental? Bridgestone?

No doubt Michelin make good tires. I can't justify spending the extra money.

 

[z71bill]

No doubt Michelin make good tires. I can't justify spending the extra money.

Since my next set of tires will be for a 2007 Tahoe that has a trade in value of $8,000 - I wonder about putting tires on that are 12-15% of its value. Seems like a bad idea.

I was considering going super cheap - Rocky Mountain tires which is Discount Tire store brand made by Falken - $118 each!

But I still want safety and performance - so I start looking at what else is available and before I know it I am within spitting distance of name brand Michelin or Pirelli.

 

[MParr]

Since my next set of tires will be for a 2007 Tahoe that has a trade in value of $8,000 - I wonder about putting tires on that are 12-15% of its value. Seems like a bad idea.

I was considering going super cheap - Rocky Mountain tires which is Discount Tire store brand made by Falken - $118 each!

But I still want safety and performance - so I start looking at what else is available and before I know it I am within spitting distance of name brand Michelin or Pirelli.

I agree with you about putting high dollar tires on a $8,000 vehicle.
Falken, Cooper, Sunitomo, and Firestone will give safety and performance at a decent price point.
Take a look at Mastercraft tires. Mastercraft uses tread designs of discontinued Cooper tires.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mastercr...son-265-70R17-115T-Light-Truck-Tire/625246768

 

[meep]

While I do my primary tire research on tire rack, the discount tire website shows dry and wet braking and handling tests/distances. The Michelin tires seem to pretty consistently demonstrate maintaining their distances better than the other makes with few exceptions.

I often replace tires before they hit the wear bars due to falling wet performance. Michelins might hang in the game better.

That doesn’t mean my vote goes to them every time. I’m probably about to put Michelin on a friends car, and next year my wife’s. Mine may get something else when it’s time.

 

[MParr]

While I do my primary tire research on tire rack, the discount tire website shows dry and wet braking and handling tests/distances. The Michelin tires seem to pretty consistently demonstrate maintaining their distances better than the other makes with few exceptions.

I often replace tires before they hit the wear bars due to falling wet performance. Michelins might hang in the game better.

That doesn’t mean my vote goes to them every time. I’m probably about to put Michelin on a friends car, and next year my wife’s. Mine may get something else when it’s time.

Tire Rack shows the wet braking and handling tests too. I will often compare one group of tire tests to another.

 

[BrandonT]

 

[Oily Ape]

I've ran Michelins for many years. Realized my '15 Sierra was in need of tires this past Feb., so I got on tirerack and others and researched for the latest in the greatest, especially for wet roads. Pirelli Scorpion Weatheractive's took top spot. So ordered them thru local dealer.

After 2 months, 1 rotation, adjusting tire pressure and 4 re-balancings, the dealer relented and offered me to warranty them out. I put LTX M/S2's on. They were my original choice, but had to try something new.

The issue with the Pirelli's is they felt like I was on the rumble strips. When I went in for the 3rd balance, I requested the tire tech go for a ride-a-long. I hadn't even gotten to the highway and he could tell something was not right. We did another rebalance and as soon as they pulled the truck out, we went for another drive. No change, again.

That was my first set of Pirelli's. And my last. The Michelins are smooth as butter.

 

[MParr]

I've ran Michelins for many years. Realized my '15 Sierra was in need of tires this past Feb., so I got on tirerack and others and researched for the latest in the greatest, especially for wet roads. Pirelli Scorpion Weatheractive's took top spot. So ordered them thru local dealer.

After 2 months, 1 rotation, adjusting tire pressure and 4 re-balancings, the dealer relented and offered me to warranty them out. I put LTX M/S2's on. They were my original choice, but had to try something new.

The issue with the Pirelli's is they felt like I was on the rumble strips. When I went in for the 3rd balance, I requested the tire tech go for a ride-a-long. I hadn't even gotten to the highway and he could tell something was not right. We did another rebalance and as soon as they pulled the truck out, we went for another drive. No change, again.

That was my first set of Pirelli's. And my last. The Michelins are smooth as butter.

I would never buy any Pirelli tires.

 

[Astro_Guy]

I've ran Michelins for many years. Realized my '15 Sierra was in need of tires this past Feb., so I got on tirerack and others and researched for the latest in the greatest, especially for wet roads. Pirelli Scorpion Weatheractive's took top spot. So ordered them thru local dealer.

After 2 months, 1 rotation, adjusting tire pressure and 4 re-balancings, the dealer relented and offered me to warranty them out. I put LTX M/S2's on. They were my original choice, but had to try something new.

The issue with the Pirelli's is they felt like I was on the rumble strips. When I went in for the 3rd balance, I requested the tire tech go for a ride-a-long. I hadn't even gotten to the highway and he could tell something was not right. We did another rebalance and as soon as they pulled the truck out, we went for another drive. No change, again.

That was my first set of Pirelli's. And my last. The Michelins are smooth as butter.

I had a similar experience with my one and only set of OEM Pirellis. No matter what they did in terms of rotations and balancing they were never quite right. In my case it was more on an annoyance level thing so I just scrapped the tires at an early age and never looked back.

Top on my list at present are the Continental DWS06 Plus and the Vredestein Quatrac Pro +. I never buy tires before reviewing the tests at TireRack.

 

[chuck wood]

I have the MS2 on a 2018 Armada and the Scorpion AS +3 on a 2020 MDX. The MS2 rides nice and smooth, it actually got better after about 5k miles and a lot of interstate driving in high heat. Definitely the best choice for the heavy beast Armada.

The Pirelli compound in these new +3 tires is completely different from the older junk they made. They are smooth and fun to drive, everything in the good reviews is accurate. Had the first set on a MDX that got totaled and still had 9/32 after 20k miles.

Both these tires are some of the best ever made.