Highway Tire Choice (1 Viewer)

[toyuda]

I have reviewed many helpful threads on the forum about off- road tire selection, but I am faced with a choice in replacing my OEM Dueler H/T's (no longer available) with something for road use only and wondering if any members have experience with or comments on either of the two I am choosing between. Both of these have a long history of revisions with slight changes in the name to reflect changes in tread compound, tread design or "ecofriendliness--weight/rolling resistance". I was wondering if any had experience with the current versions of:

Michelin Defender LTX M/S
Bridgestone Dueler Alenza Plus

Thanks very much!

 

[Mark WV]

My 03 LX ran on the OEM Dunlops (from the Lexus dealer) for the first 110k miles of its life. I's sure they are good tires, but from the service history the PO only got 25- 30,000 miles out of a set. I drove on the Dunlops until 110k at which point they were shot. They rode good, handled decent, and were relative quiet.

I finally switched over to the Michelin Defender LTX M/S at the last tire change as the few remaining dunlops in inventory were going for 250 + each. The michelins were only $190 each at the time.

After 4,000 miles on the michelins, I can say that these are far superior to the Dunlops (which were not bad tires at all). The ride is smoother and handling is even better.

I have run Michelins on multiple other vehicles over the years, and have never had a bad experience with them.

 

[AMGAndrew]

I pretty much only buy Michelin tires anymore plus they offer $70 off rebates every 6 months or so which covers the cost of mounting and ballancing. I've found they outlast the mileage warranty, wear evenly and stay quiet until they are about ready to be changed.

My LX came with a set of Toyo H/T highway tires that I'm happy with so far but will put Michelins on it when the time comes.

And from past Bridgestone experiances, they usually have very stiff sidewalls and ride quallity suffers because of it.

 

[ReallyACruiser]

The Michelin LTX are pretty much the standard for road tires on these rigs. I believe many came stock with them. They are a quiet, comfortable and durable tire that provides good all-season traction.

 

[Couvi]

I have the Alenza Plus on mine. Very smooth tire (very quiet on highway) and seem to wear well. I have maybe 25-30 k on them now and they have a lot of tread left.

 

[tacoduck]

Michelin Defender LTX M/S without question. They have great on road traction, wear like iron and last a long time.

 

[landylover21]

The Bridgestone Dueler Alenza Pluses that I had for a year were really crappy tires (in my own opinion). Poor snow traction for the time that I ran them when I got caught in a late spring storm (I have dedicated snows), plus, a lot of road noise for a "premium touring tire." Was looking at other options before I just said to hell with it and got some all-terrains.

Go with the Michies as they are bulletproof!

 

[JonD]

Defenders all the way. My summer shoes and absolutely love them.

 

[aging fleet]

Another vote for the Defender LTX M/S. Wife currently has them on her Acadia and I had the older model on my Cruiser prior to swapping to KO2s. Great all season highway tire, super quiet and they look really nice in a 275/65/18.

Edit to add an old crappy photo... First month of ownership and right after adding the 275/65 LTX MS2s.

 

[toyuda]

Thank you all for taking the time to give me the firsthand experience I was looking for. This is a great group of folks on this forum.

 

[Yeeper62]

So between your old tires and your new tires, which tires do you prefer?
Here is why I ask. I need to replace my crappy bridgestone duelers that the dealership put on just before I bought it. I picked up a nail in a spot that isn't repairable. Since my tires have about 15,000 of wear on them I don't want to risk the transfer case so I think I will just replace all 5 tires. The spare is a brand new 14 year old tire but I think I will just do it too and rotate them through rather than needing it again and risking a blowout on old rubber. I do have an old Jeep Wrangler that I is my offroad toy because I can't bear to ding or scratch the LX. The Jeep wears KO2's and was my go to vehicle on snowy days this past winter because my LX would slide down and around the hills in my neighborhood. I am a realtor in Utah, and I spend a lot of time in my car so I would love tires that are quiet and comfortable but that also perform well in all weather conditions. I plan to upsize to 275/70r18 and I much prefer the look of the KO2's but my other cars have always rolled on Michelin tires. They are usually a bit more expensive but I don't think I have ever not liked a set on any of my cars. I am already not excited about having to buy an e rated tire because I like the plushness of my LX. Unfortunately, E-rated tires seem to be all that is available in a roughly 33" tire with the 18" rim.
Since you have had both of the tires I an looking at, would you please tell me which ones you prefer and why? I really appreciate it!
Dave

Another vote for the Defender LTX M/S. Wife currently has them on her Acadia and I had the older model on my Cruiser prior to swapping to KO2s. Great all season highway tire, super quiet and they look really nice in a 275/65/18.

Edit to add an old crappy photo... First month of ownership and right after adding the 275/65 LTX MS2s.

 

[aging fleet]

Since you have had both of the tires I an looking at, would you please tell me which ones you prefer and why? I really appreciate it!
Dave

The good news, you won't go wrong either way. The bad news, I can't give you a definitive answer.

Ultimately, the Michelins did everything well, but I preferred the look of a 33" vs the 32" LTX and going with an A/T enables me to do stuff like HIH this summer without worrying about tires.

With that said, it was a compromise. The ride was smoother/quieter with the LTX, I burn a bit more gas pushing the heavier A/Ts, and the Michelins did better in heavy rain. You have first hand experience with the KO2 so you know it's a pretty quiet A/T and with the AHC on the LX, your clients probably won't know the difference between the two.

If you like the look of a 33" and prefer an A/T, then that's the route I'd go. If having an A/T isn't a must because you have the Jeep, then the Michelin won't disappoint.

 

[diego355]

I woould go with a michelin LTX withouth a question.

Working for a tire shop I get all sort of feedback from customers, Michelin's seem to be the best ones.

 

[JonD]

FWIW I just swapped out my 32.6" Blizzaks on steel wheels to my 31.6" Defenders and the difference in fuel consumption is amazing. With the 32.6's I could literally see the fuel gauge moving in real time as I drove and now in contrast I feel like I am driving a Prius. The 32.6's look cooler for sure, but the 31.6's look cool too... IMO if you have a a dedicated off road vehicle I would focus on a comfy, non e-rated highway tire with low rolling resistance.

 

[TmacLX]

Michelin LTX/MS. I have not run them on the 470, but I had them on 2 prior Jeep Grand Cherokees and they were very quiet and wore VERY well. They also preformed better than a set of dedicated snow tires that I had of one of the Jeeps.

 

[Yeeper62]

Thanks for all the feedback and opinions! I ended up with the ko2's because of how good my Jeep was in the snow last winter and because I just love the look of them. I also upsized to a 275/70r18. They are definitely stiffer because the ko2 in most of the 18's are an E rated tire but it it is such a plush riding vehicle that it doesn't bother me. All in all, I'm really pleased!

 

[tjb]

Folks with Michelin Defender LTX M+S (275/60R18 113H) - what pressures are you running at?

Michelin just told me to use the same 32 rear/29 front that Lexus called for for the OEM P tires.

 

[toyuda]

That's what I run and it rides well.

Like these tires very much.

 

[Patassa]

Another vote for the Michelins. I keep mine between 30-35psi.

 

[chrisbruck]

Michelin Defenders hands down for road use. Great longevity... 75k on my last set. 2nd set recently installed.