OEM tires (1 Viewer)

[mceagle555]

At the end of the day, wheels & tires are probably the most "personal taste" thing you can put on any vehicle.

Tons of tire threads on MUD, so I think the OP's question has effectively been answered.

1. Stock size: 285/50r20
2. Stock brand: Dunlop or sometimes Michelin
3. Most Lexus dealers put on Michelins at the first time of replacement

 

[TeCKis300]

I disagree on oem’s spending tons on r&d on the perfect tire. Imo, those would be the Michelin ltx defenders, but they are more expensive than dunlops, therefore, we get dunlops.
Car manufacturers continue to deal with ever bigger vehicles with more crap on em as well as EPA mpg mandates. Bigger = heavier. Mr t deleted tundra front recovery points because most don’t use em, they add weight, and they hurt aero. I think it’s dumb as hell, but I’m not in the car business (thank god). Car companies are run by lawyers and bean counters these days, and that’s why they put stupid looking tires on 90k heritage LC’s.
That said, I appreciate jeep putting bfg’s on their top line rubicon trucks. Imo it adds to the capability and aesthetics.
We also are seeing the rise in popularity of 22’s on trucks. They are as useless as tits on a boar, but buyers want em, I guess.

We agree on Michelin LTX Defenders enough as enthusiasts, that I put them on my parents GX when they needed replacements.

As good as they are, they're not necessarily better for overall OEM requirements, and did give up some minor NVH to the stockies. Likely some efficiency trades as well.

 

[Sandroad]

Per the Michelin website MS2s aren't available in 285 section width on 20s.
The LTX M/S is though. Not sure of the differences.

Michelin created a bit of confusion in their tire lines with names. The above reference in post 9 to a M/S2 Defender is not correct. The Defender LTX M/S is their latest version and available in many sizes and load ratings. The older LTX M/S2 has very limited availability now.

 

[Sandroad]

I disagree on oem’s spending tons on r&d on the perfect tire. Imo, those would be the Michelin ltx defenders, but they are more expensive than dunlops, therefore, we get dunlops.
Car manufacturers continue to deal with ever bigger vehicles with more crap on em as well as EPA mpg mandates. Bigger = heavier. Mr t deleted tundra front recovery points because most don’t use em, they add weight, and they hurt aero. I think it’s dumb as hell, but I’m not in the car business (thank god). Car companies are run by lawyers and bean counters these days, and that’s why they put stupid looking tires on 90k heritage LC’s.
That said, I appreciate jeep putting bfg’s on their top line rubicon trucks. Imo it adds to the capability and aesthetics.
We also are seeing the rise in popularity of 22’s on trucks. They are as useless as tits on a boar, but buyers want em, I guess.

At least as a replacement tire, the Dunlops are way more expensive. They are $441 each at the Tire Rack compared to $297 each for the Defender. Maybe Toyota gets a deal on the Dunlops?

 

[Lou Gill]

Life changing ride MICHELIN® Defender® LTX® M/S with Evertread™ compound delivers long-lasting, durable treadlife,[1] wet grip and snow traction[2] in all seasons. Eco-friendly, fuel-efficient[3] light truck and SUV tire.

 

[TeCKis300]

Life changing ride MICHELIN® Defender® LTX® M/S with Evertread™ compound delivers long-lasting, durable treadlife,[1] wet grip and snow traction[2] in all seasons. Eco-friendly, fuel-efficient[3] light truck and SUV tire.

One of the common trades OEMs will make is tread-life. It's a latent quality that only becomes evident well after purchase. They'll trade it for better primary metrics and performance numbers, as these up-front numbers show up in comparos and reviews. Which is why I call them cheater tires. Often less tread depth and compounds to eek out every bit of performance, NVH, and efficiency, or whatever quality the manufacture wants to prioritize. Deeper tread blocks create more squirm, wastes energy, and add weight. Conversely, shoppers for replacement tires generally value tread-life as a primary quality.

When spec'ing components, companies will generally have performance requirement targets. These requirements are distilled to sub-contractors. Often for logistics and to manage risks, multiple venders may be picked to provide the same or equivalent components.