So I think the Michelin Defender is the perfect all-terrain tire... (For most of us) (7 Viewers)

[LX Cruiser]

I had the A/T 2's on my prior half ton truck. They didn't last 30k before needing to be replaced. I thought Michelin was all hype. Thankfully, my tire guy talked me into the Defenders. Not aggressive like most A/T tires, but sure gets the job done for me.

You're not the first to report a shorter life with the AT/2s. I hardly use mine, and they will expire due to time rather than mileage.

It seems that most tires that are put on some truck at the factory are this way. My guess is they are spec'd a bit softer by Toyota (or whomever) to give a better first impression on the test drive. Total speculation

 

[tacoduck]

You're not the first to report a shorter life with the AT/2s. I hardly use mine, and they will expire due to time rather than mileage.

It seems that most tires that are put on some truck at the factory are this way. My guess is they are spec'd a bit softer by Toyota (or whomever) to give a better first impression on the test drive. Total speculation

My wife has the at2’s on her expedition el. They are wearing like iron even though we are a family of 6 and always roll heavy. Im probably going to replace with another set when the time comes.

 

[Mac62]

Just swapped out a set of K02s for these. Only couple hundred miles so far but very nice. I believe this is the newest model of the defender. Time will tell how they hold up. Majority of my driving is road trips but lots of rain here in FL so hopefully they do well in wet weather

 

[Mac62]

Disregard first pic. Different cruiser for comparison

 

[JPRS]

Unfortunately, Michelin doesn't appear to make these in 275/70/r18, which is a size many 200 series owners run.

 

[tincan45]

I recently joined the club with the new LTX M/S2. Fantastic upgrade over the KO2. If you can get over the vanity of a chunky tire, you will never look back.

 

[Madtiger]

The only issue is that it seems MS2 does not come in stock size.

 

[JohnPW]

Unfortunately, Michelin doesn't appear to make these in 275/70/r18, which is a size many 200

The only issue is that it seems MS2 does not come in stock size.

The new version of the Defender LTX M/S is brand new, and I assume they are still releasing different sizes. If you look at Michelin’s website there are only a handful of sizes available at this point, versus many (including both referenced above) in the old version. I would think many more sizes and load ratings will be coming in this tire.

 

[chriscosta416]

I recently joined the club with the new LTX M/S2. Fantastic upgrade over the KO2. If you can get over your the vanity of a chunky tire, you will never look back.

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That is what I Like to see!

 

[WBrown999]

Just swapped out a set of K02s for these. Only couple hundred miles so far but very nice. I believe this is the newest model of the defender. Time will tell how they hold up. Majority of my driving is road trips but lots of rain here in FL so hopefully they do well in wet weather

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How would you compare them against the KO2 tires in terms of road noise and road manners? Obviously the KO2 is supreme off road, but is the set of Defenders that much more superior on the road?

 

[Mac62]

So…..just my opinion is they are in a complete different league. It’s comparing apples to oranges. The BFGs are designed for a different purpose and it shows. To me the BFGs rode way rougher, much noisier, and even though they we’re road forced balanced they we’re very jittery. Kids in the back seat really complained about the rough ride. Around town they were acceptable but on interstate or at highway speeds they felt worse. The Michelins are butter smooth. Maybe not back to the exact 200 ride I had with stock setup but much more quite and smooth at highway speed. Much more enjoyable to travel on trips. Just got back from 6 hour trip and perfect road manners both dry and wet roads. I really like the way they handle. Did not pay attention to gas mileage. I will say the Michelins are just plain boring looking IMO compared to the BFGs. I miss the old school white letters but at my age I guess I care more about ride than looks. Lol.

 

[JohnPW]

So…..just my opinion is they are in a complete different league. It’s comparing apples to oranges. The BFGs are designed for a different purpose and it shows. To me the BFGs rode way rougher, much noisier, and even though they we’re road forced balanced they we’re very jittery. Kids in the back seat really complained about the rough ride. Around town they were acceptable but on interstate or at highway speeds they felt worse. The Michelins are butter smooth. Maybe not back to the exact 200 ride I had with stock setup but much more quite and smooth at highway speed. Much more enjoyable to travel on trips. Just got back from 6 hour trip and perfect road manners both dry and wet roads. I really like the way they handle. Did not pay attention to gas mileage. I will say the Michelins are just plain boring looking IMO compared to the BFGs. I miss the old school white letters but at my age I guess I care more about ride than looks. Lol.

What size Defenders? And do you have LT rated, or P?

 

[Mac62]

285/65/18 LT

 

[bloc]

LT will still need significantly more pressure than stock and therefore leave some ride quality on the table. I went with XL rated 285/60 and couldn’t be happier.. other than the bland appearance.

 

[Mac62]

Yep. Since I wanted a little bigger than the 60 I had to jump up to the LT in the new tires. But you are right, the LT is a little bit stiffer than stock

 

[bloc]

Yep. Since I wanted a little bigger than the 60 I had to jump up to the LT in the new tires. But you are right, the LT is a little bit stiffer than stock

Yeah, both 285/60 and /65 are kindof specialty tires in their own way.. not many 285/60 in the first place, and most 285/65 are built for heavy duty pickups, so our options are limited. Great tire either way.. just trying to get all the information out there.

285/60 will allow stock 33psi, 285/65 will require 5+ more on top of the tire itself being stiffer/heavier.

 

[Mac62]

I added the OEM spacer to lift up front just a bit so I wanted that 65 tire to fill it out. I think it looks pretty good and ride has been fine so far

 

[Dan Higgins]

Great timing for this thread. I have a roadtrip from Bend, OR to Denver coming in about 3 weeks. I have been running KO2s on my trucks since 2016. But I am doing little offloading anymore and what I do is rather mild. Think 90% pavement, not towing. 5% pavement and towing. 5% "mild off-road". I tow a 5700# travel trailer with ~700# of tongue weight but IIRC, the LC is rated for 8100# and I would assume that is stock. So although a higher load rating is a plus, I don't know if it is necessary. With my current setup I get 14.5 MPG combined and ~16 on highway. (No need to even discuss towing MPG!) With gas here in Oregon at $5/gal I would love to get a couple more MPG and better highway ride quality and less noise. All that said, I have a "mild" 2" lift (OME, 2721/2700 done by Slee a couple months ago).

I got a bit lost in all of the terminology and codes as I was trying to follow the thread. But a quick check on the Michelin website shows me that for my 2021 HE 18" wheels they only offer the following:
- Defender LTX M/S2 285/65R18 125S
- Defender LTX M/S 285/60R18 120H XL BSW.
- X LT A/X 285/65R18 121/118R BSW
- Latitude Tour HP 285/60R18 120V XL BSW

Now I guess I could change to 275/xx but I have always run the 285/60s or 285/65s so I am not sure of the tradeoffs of doing 275s. I did consider 275/70s at one point but didn't want to do any cutting and Discount Tire would not put them on due to the tight fit.

So, given the type of driving I am doing now will I see benefits from a switch to either of these tire choices and if so which would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I have about 3 weeks to do that swap and it looks like Tire Rack (or in the case of the Defender LTX M/S2s Costco) have them in stock.

 

[JohnPW]

Random thoughts-

You are correct on the 285 spec Defender choices:
285/60r18 XL
LT285/65r18

I tow with 275/65r18, they are P rated and slightly taller than stock. That size also comes in LT.

LT275/70r18 is a common size on MUD, including stock trucks, so I wouldn’t think you would have any issues fitting that size given a 2” lift.

With the lift I imagine the LT285/65 or LT275/70 sizes would look better. If you stay with LT rated tires (which you don’t need for towing the full rated towing capacity of the vehicle ), then your mpg improvement over KO2’s will likely be pretty insignificant. I would imagine some ride and noise improvement going with LT rated Defenders. For the biggest improvement in MPG and ride you would need non-LT versions which will be 32” or less in height if Defenders are your tire.

 

[gaijin]

Great timing for this thread. I have a roadtrip from Bend, OR to Denver coming in about 3 weeks. I have been running KO2s on my trucks since 2016. But I am doing little offloading anymore and what I do is rather mild. Think 90% pavement, not towing. 5% pavement and towing. 5% "mild off-road". I tow a 5700# travel trailer with ~700# of tongue weight but IIRC, the LC is rated for 8100# and I would assume that is stock. So although a higher load rating is a plus, I don't know if it is necessary. With my current setup I get 14.5 MPG combined and ~16 on highway. (No need to even discuss towing MPG!) With gas here in Oregon at $5/gal I would love to get a couple more MPG and better highway ride quality and less noise. All that said, I have a "mild" 2" lift (OME, 2721/2700 done by Slee a couple months ago).

I got a bit lost in all of the terminology and codes as I was trying to follow the thread. But a quick check on the Michelin website shows me that for my 2021 HE 18" wheels they only offer the following:
- Defender LTX M/S2 285/65R18 125S
- Defender LTX M/S 285/60R18 120H XL BSW.
- X LT A/X 285/65R18 121/118R BSW
- Latitude Tour HP 285/60R18 120V XL BSW

Now I guess I could change to 275/xx but I have always run the 285/60s or 285/65s so I am not sure of the tradeoffs of doing 275s. I did consider 275/70s at one point but didn't want to do any cutting and Discount Tire would not put them on due to the tight fit.

So, given the type of driving I am doing now will I see benefits from a switch to either of these tire choices and if so which would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I have about 3 weeks to do that swap and it looks like Tire Rack (or in the case of the Defender LTX M/S2s Costco) have them in stock.

Here are the Recommended Cold Tire Inflation Pressures (RCTIP) for your tire choices:

- Defender LTX M/S2 285/65R18 125S
The RCTIP for these LT285/65R18 tires on your LC200 is 42psi

- Defender LTX M/S 285/60R18 120H XL BSW.
The RCTIP for these Extra Load ISO-Metric 285/60R18 120H tires on your LC200 is 33psi

- X LT A/X 285/65R18 121/118R BSW (I found no such tire, but did find X LT A/S 285/65R18 121/118R BSW)
The RCTIP for these LT285/65R18 tires on your LC200 is 42psi

- Latitude Tour HP 285/60R18 120V XL BSW
The RCTIP for these Extra Load ISO-Metric 285/60R18 120V tires on your LC200 is 33psi

So...

It looks like your choice is either an LT_Metric 285/65R18 tire @ 42psi, or an ISO-Metric (i.e. homologated P-Metric) 285/60R18 tire @33psi.

Based on your stated use case, in light of the towing, I'd recommend the Defender LTX M/S 285/60R18 120H XL tires.

HTH