Michelin Defender LTX M/S ~3,000 mile review.

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Hey guys!

Thought I'd drop in and post a review now that I have a few miles on these tires. I've had them installed for about a month now and completed the second half of my 3,800 mile road trip on them in addition to putting in a 10 hour day in the woods with them covering about 180 miles of improved (gravel) and nonexistent roads. They've seen dry, rain, dirt, mud, sand, gravel and warm and cold temps (no snow). So far at 3,000 ish miles I'm really impressed with these tires, exceptionally quiet on the road, fantastic in the rain and they handle fantastic. I can say without a doubt they're the best all around truck tire I've ever owned. Off road where they should have been terrible they did extremely well, I was astonished with how well they performed, they were every bit as good if not better than the all terrain Goodyear tires they replaced. I'm not suggesting there's not better suited tires for off road driving, but I'm simply saying that someone who drives occasionally off road for work or pleasure but spends the majority of their time on pavement or gravel shouldn't be scared of these tires. They went up grades and hills and over slippery and loose terrain that I thought for sure would trip them up and require 4wd and some finesse to get up; then they just drove up it in 2wd.

Finally tread wear. Tires have yet to tick off their first 1/32" of wear, not a huge surprise since they're rated as a 70,000 mile tire. I'll follow up as I rack up some more miles but the initial ~0.5% of their advertised life has been fantastic!
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
I'll follow up as I rack up some more miles but the initial ~0.5% of their advertised life has been fantastic!


I think you meant ~5% of their life.

What size and load rating did you purchase?
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
I'll follow up as I rack up some more miles but the initial ~0.5% of their advertised life has been fantastic!


I think you meant ~5% of their life.

What size and load rating did you purchase?


You're right, put my decimal point in the wrong place. Too early in the morning for math. The correct math is 4.28% of advertised life.

I purchased 4 P235/75/R15 XL 109T load spec. I was going to buy the LT235/75/15 but the 109T (XL tire) actually has a higher load rating than the LT tire. The 109T (XL) load rating is 2271 @ 50 PSI, as I'm searching now I see that this is the only spec available. When I ordered a month ago a Standard Load and LT was also available with the XL having the highest load rating available.
 
Re: Load Rating.

P-rated tires when mounted on Trucks or SUV's have a reduced load rating by a factor of 1.1, in accordance with FMVSS guidelines.
 
Plus you might need to air up>>tow>>bleed back down.
I went back to P285's on smaller truck - tossed around on the stiff LT's
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Re: Load Rating.

P-rated tires when mounted on Trucks or SUV's have a reduced load rating by a factor of 1.1, in accordance with FMVSS guidelines.


That's neat! I never knew that. However it will NEVER be a factor on this truck considering its light weight and lack of power. The truck weighs about 3250# dead empty about 3450 with my things in it, each tire it rated to 2271 or by the reduction 2043, that could support the truck on just two wheels LOL.
 
As I approach 5,000 miles on these tires I thought I'd post a follow up with my impressions. I'm still really loving these tires and I'm so glad I bought them over something more aggressive for what I currently use the truck for. They're quiet and smooth and the best handling brand new full tread depth tire I've ever owned. The rain traction is outstanding and they definitely punch above their weight class off road. No issues with balance and I'll be rotating them here shortly as I eclipse 5,000 miles.
 
^^^Nice review. Glad they work for you.

I have had more than one employee come to my office and ask me what I did to "his" truck after new LTX MS2's were installed. The difference over the factory Bridgestones is incredible.

Not to mention the safety factor!
 
nice
thumbsup2.gif
 
Nice to see another positive review on these tires. I'm considering these for the Lexus LS430 (even though they make the Defenders and Premiers in 225/55R17) but it would be interesting to have a truck tire on a luxury full size sedan.
 
I put Defenders on my Suburban a month ago and could not be happier. I don't drive much during the week but on weekends, I'm all over the place.
So far, I've driven them in snow, rain and good, clear conditions. Like stated above, they are super quiet and have awesome grip on wet roads. Even in the one four inch snow fall we had a couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled at how well they rolled and stopped.
They were a little more money than I wanted to spend but I drive this truck to Maine and Florida quite a bit and don't like to worry about my tires. I'd certainly buy em again.
 
Good to hear positives. Come spring the junky low-end Hankook all-seasons on our RAV4 are coming off for something with better wet grip and that are quieter. Let somebody else with a RAV4 lease scoop up the old tires to replace dead ones before turn-in...
 
I put Defender LTX's on my wife's 2015 Sienna early last month. We have about 1500 miles on them right now. Fantastic tires in the dry, rain, as well as slushy conditions.

I am expecting significantly better treadwear than the 20,000 miles we got on the Bridgestone OEM runflats. We probably could have gotten another 5,000 miles out of them, but I wanted full tread for the winter months in NJ.
 
Thank you, Good feedback to hear as I am looking at the Defender LTX to replace the poorly wearing Firestone's on the wife's Jeep Cherokee soon.
 
Was looking at that tire. With the huge grooves - I can see wet roads but I prefer some lateral water displacement and not giving up so much rubber - maybe the sipes and compound OK for snow where I have only moderate experience but certainly have been happy to have real snow tires. (And trust our site expert - will not mention name but has VW & BMW) ...
But what is the "M" in M/S ? That's a highway tread IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Was looking at that tire. With the huge grooves - I can see wet roads but I prefer some lateral water displacement and not giving up so much rubber - maybe the sipes and compound OK for snow where I have only moderate experience but certainly have been happy to have real snow tires. (And trust our site expert - will not mention name but has VW & BMW) ...
But what is the "M" in M/S ? That's a highway tread IMO.


M is for Mud, as in Mud & Snow.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Was looking at that tire. With the huge grooves - I can see wet roads but I prefer some lateral water displacement and not giving up so much rubber - maybe the sipes and compound OK for snow where I have only moderate experience but certainly have been happy to have real snow tires. (And trust our site expert - will not mention name but has VW & BMW) ...
But what is the "M" in M/S ? That's a highway tread IMO.


Never judge a tire by tread alone. Just look at Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Seemingly almost no tread at all, yet even when worn they are fantastic in the rain.

Overkill has run LTX in snow for years and says they are great...
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Yes, I know - but that tire is not ...


It is actually better than it looks it would be in mud. That's based on experience.
 
Originally Posted By: 4WD
Yes, I know - but that tire is not ...


M/S has been the historical brand name for that tire since the LTX M/S was developed in the 1990s. The technical definition of a "mud and snow" designation for a tire (outside of its brand name) is a specific void-to-tread ratio. As long as a tire has enough void space for the amount of tread space, it can be labeled as a "mud and snow" tire, regardless of how well (or not) it actually performs in those conditions. It appears in many forms: M/S, M&S, M+S, etc. In this particular case, Michelin is actually using it in the tire's brand name. Almost all tires, though, have the M/S or M&S or M+S label in the fine print down by the tire's size or DOT code, because nearly all street tires have the minimum void-to-tread ratio.
 
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