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Let's hear about michelin defenders

powerranger262

powerranger262

New member
The wife needs new tires on her 04 gpgt. There will never be a set of goodyears in my driveway ever again. Terrible, terrible, terrible tires. She didn't even get 30k out of these loud, leaky piles of ****. I also had a set of good-for-a-years on my truck that only went 25k before they were completely shot.
I think I am pretty much ready to pull the trigger on some michelin defenders in the stock 225/60/16 size. Anybody have any experience with these tires? Good or bad, let me know. Living in Wisconsin, how do they do in snow/rain?
 


I used to work for Sears auto and I will never get the defender tires only because the high tread ware #'s the tire is hard. there is not much of snow trac, not much for wet trac, and not much for dry trac but the will last 90,*** miles no doubt. Michelin has quit a few better tires that get 50-60,*** miles
I went to a 2 day class on the d*mn things, I was required to be able to tell every spec by memory..
MEMORY SPECIFICATION- they suck unless you drive your car where it never rains, wont see dirt, wont see snow, and you never want to buy another set of tires. with those sacrifices for 90,000mi tread ware i would pass
 
I'm happy with my set of Michelin DESTINY tires. They've seen everything MN weather can throw at them without ABS or TC assisting them. I'm not sure if they are still in production...
 
I have about 4k miles on a set of Defenders. No complaints here, no problems at all in the rain / cold, very little snow so far this year, but the little we've had wasn't a problem.

-Rob
 
I have Dunlop Signature II from sam's on my 2000 they are pretty impressive on the snow and ice that we just got, haven't had them long enough to tell you how they wear though. Better than I thought they would be and much better than the bfgoodrich touring t/a that were on it and still on my 2006
 


I just put Michelin defenders on my car. Sorry, no experience with them yet as I've only had them a few days. But they sure are beefy...lol. A bit more road noise than the Michelin symmetry's I had but I think tires make more noise for the first 100 miles or so. I could update this or post again after snow.

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I put on a set of Pirelli P-Nero Zeros when I needed tires for my 04. I have gotten 35,000 and counting out of them. It was a great tire in the Dry, Rain and Snow. I went thru 6" of snow on the way to work one morning, when the tires had about 20,000 miles already on them.

On the other hand, I have a set of Sumitomo HTR A/S that I will put on on the GTP after this winter is over. For $90ish a tire you cant beat them. I ran them as my winter tires on the Bonneville
 
I have defenders on mine and my wife's GP's and love them. They do very well in the rain and do a LOT better than the Pirellis and hydroedge I had previously during hard takeoffs. Haven't had a chance to try them in snow yet but I expect them to do well in that area as well.

Sent from Not so smart smartphone
 
Michelins are notorious for poor traction in the rain. It is the tradeoff they have to get long life and decent dry traction. Even in their performance tires I have been disappointed. I have no experience with snow, but I would assume the same. The only Michelin I have been impressed with in the rain has been the Exalto line in the higher speed ratings. If they make in your size, I would consider it. Otherwise, I have had excellent luck with Yokohama tires (YK420, YK 580, and similar).
 
It's raining here and I floored it while turning, it didnt spin too bad with my new defenders. They have a tread life of 820! Incredible. Michelins all have different designs though. Compare the symmetry to the defender, it's night and day. My symmetrys spun a lot in the rain but they were worn out.
 


Well damn man any tire on the market will spin in the rain at WOT, hell we can spin Drag slicks at the strip to, I'm just saying driving wise they are good on wet roads and have great traction. Are they the best tire on the market? NO.... not by a long shot. But for the money and treadlife they are a damn good all around tire.

Sent from Not so smart smartphone
 
I didn't think $700 was bad for michelins??
X2 Coopers are good tires as well..

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At the end of the day, I paid $447.81 for 4 michelin defenders. Taxes, disposal fee, and installation fee included. That's with a sale, a discount, and a rebate.
 
I wasn't exactly trying to bash the defender it is a good tire. I should be thinking smarter and buy a tires that last but wet traction is very important to me
there is always a better tire, there is always a cheaper tire!
I love my GY assurance but sadly they are discontinued.

things to be noted
- tread ware is rated by the individual companies <I.e. a mich 700 tread ware rating isn't the same as a goodyear 700 tread ware rating
-weight rating has a lot to do with the cornering abilities of a tire
-get the tires that suit your driving style! (most important)
-DO NOT EXPECT A LIFE TIME OF DRIVABILITY from a tire rated for 90,000mi if you drive them like they will never fall off.
 


Another thing people forget...tires dry rot. Some faster than others. If you buy a 90,000 mile tire and it will take you 8 years to drive that 90,000 miles....you are wasting $$$. The tires will likely dry rot long before they wear out. It seems newer tires dry rot faster than I recall happening on tires just 10-15 years ago.
 
You guys haven't completely turned me away from the defenders yet. I like the post about the driving style/conditions. She rarely is on the highway, definitely not looking for some super high performance z-rated tires, and basically, need something that will do well in snow. I would also like to see 60-70k it of them. Also, something quiet. That was the other thing that was awful with the goodyears.
Keep the suggestions coming. NO Goodyears!
 
I had some Dunlop Sugnature II's before I got the Defenders. I replaced all 4 wheel hubs, all 4 rotors, and both CV shafts trying to track down this annoying grinding I heard while driving, and this consistent vibration. After MONTHS and $$$$ I put on a spare set of wheels, and the noise / vibe issues were GONE. Never again will I buy a set of Dunlops. Belle Tire gave me a pro-rated warranty on them for the Defenders, problem solved.

-Rob
 
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