Sounds great - and what size did you opt for considering @bloc is saying his size is NLA.
So I think the Michelin Defender is the perfect all-terrain tire... (For most of us) (13 Viewers)
- Thread starter chriscosta416
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bloc
SILVER Star
That’s good info. Implication being it may be outside Discount Tire’s normal inventory system but they may be able to get it.
Their sales guy said the road hazard includes replacing it with basically any similar tire of the same size. So MS2 would apply. But then I’m doing 4-tire rotations on the MS’s until they wear out and dropping the MS2 into rotation when I wear out the originals. I don’t like the idea of 2+ years of aging before it goes into service though..
Pskhaat
Tourer
Michelin seems to be allergic to any tire aspect over 70%. :-(
Sorry to derail the convo, but are the KO3s that bad, given they’re readily available, at least in the Bay Area?
I have ko2s on my 62 and like them.
Want something in the 200 that I’ll feel safe in on some off road trails given it’s at stock height. I had quite a tough time recently on the beach with stock tires.
I like the idea of the Michelins, but seems to be quite a challenge to get the ones people like.
I have ko2s on my 62 and like them.
Want something in the 200 that I’ll feel safe in on some off road trails given it’s at stock height. I had quite a tough time recently on the beach with stock tires.
I like the idea of the Michelins, but seems to be quite a challenge to get the ones people like.
Yeah. Seems like most manufacturers avoid those taller skinnier tires in the USA.
BFG has the 34x9.5 that's pretty close and BFG is a sister brand with Michelin so I'm not sure why they don't. And they sell 7.5x16 tire size in lots of places that's a 32x8.5ish tire size - super skinny. But not for us in the USA. I would have opted for the 285/75/18 if I had the choice to go a bit taller and skinner.
IMO - not bad, just different. A bit noisier and tend to track a little less well on the highway. My experience is that the KO3 isn't meaningfully better offroad. Side by side I think they're very comparable on the trail. The KO3 claims to be a bit tougher casing IIRC - I don't know either way. Haven't had issues with either one that I've seen.
For me - if i couldn't get the Defender, I'd also consider the Bridgestone Dueler AT Ascent. They are pretty similar in concept to the Defender series.
Thanks for the info @Jetboy. I clearly have quite a bit of research to do between AT and Defender tires. For some reason I assumed the ko3s were tougher looking at the tread and sidewall, but clearly that’s not the case.
I had no idea they would be comparable in off road performance / durability.
I had no idea they would be comparable in off road performance / durability.
The KO3 probably is a bit tougher. I just haven't seen it make a difference in my own experiences. I haven't had a sidewall failure on the Michelins and haven't seen one on a KO3 either. So, the KO3 might be tougher - I just haven't had any experiences where I saw either one fail. I used to rip sidewalls out of radial tires once a year or so. But tires have all gotten a lot better in the last 30 years and they're probably all better than they once were. But they do have differences.
For example - here's a KM3 on the left vs KO3 right. The mud tire is a lot thicker sidewall. Downside is more heat, more rolling resistance, and more weight. But in trade you get a tougher tire sidewall. My guess is the Defender is a bit thinner than the KO3, but I don't know for sure.
I would say the traction performance is pretty similar though. The KO3 is no better or worse in mud. They're both pretty bad in that. On sand, snow, gravel, rocks - I think they're really similar. May even have the same rubber compound in both.
For me the Michelin is better because most of my miles are on the highway and the noise and road handling was more important than the relatively small benefits offroad. That might be different for you. I've just been on a variety of trails with folks with KO3s because they're really common and I think they are pretty similar on the trails that I do with my Tundra.
If anyone is curious. I ran deepresearch to learn a bit more about the different types of tires and options for the 200 series.
chatgpt.com
Shared Content
I recently picked up the Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 in LT275/70/18. I don’t believe I have seen a suggested RCTIP from @gaijin yet? Most of the variants are 285 in this thread. I am currently running 40lbs , but the shop recommended I could go to 45lbs. In case anyone is wondering, as I have seen a lot of SL vs XL discussion…the LT is really smooth not harsh in any way.
Defenders and KO3 are in completely different tire categories.
The Defender LTS M/S2 are Highway All-Season (H/T) tires. Probably on the aggressive and more capable end of that spectrum but still very much a All-Season tire.
KO3s are in the All-Terrain (A/T) category and with that comes more off-road capability and durability at a trade for some highway performance and manners. In the spectrum of A/Ts, KO3s also tend to be on the more aggressive end.
What is awesome with tire technologies today is how broadly capable each tire is when used outside of their primary focus. H/T tires can definitely be use off-road in a pinch. And A/T tires have better highway manners with lower NVH than ever. Probably why we're talking about cross shopping two different categories of tires.
gaijin
GOLD Star
Assuming you have an LC200...
The RCTIP for those LT275/70R18 tires on your LC200 is probably (because I don't know the year of your LC200) 41psi F/R.
HTH
2020 200 series. Thanks
bloc
SILVER Star
Now I’m curious exactly who you called, and whether maybe they were looking at the M/S 2. I contacted them via the number on their site and that customer service rep said the M/S (non-2) is discontinued.
32cls6speedmt
SILVER Star
I also contacted Michelin from their website and was informed ms 2 was NOT discontinued. Sorry about confusion.
They have removed them from the website
bloc
SILVER Star
I noticed that, didn’t think to check after @32cls6speedmt had posted his conversation with them.
I'm curious, what trouble did you have on the beach? I've been driving on the beach here on the East Coast for two weeks out of the year for the past 20+ years. Most of that with a regular highway tire (now Michelin LTX/2) but some of it with K02s. I've never had any trouble, no matter the tire, as long as I was aired down to 15 psi. The K02s were significantly noisier and also reduced fuel economy by about 1.5 mpg. I've got no experience with the K03s.
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I’ve got to also add, here in NJ on the beach, I would drop to about 12-14lbs and the sugary soft sand has never been a problem. It just seems to float on the top 2” of the soft sand. Highway noise is so much quieter than the more aggressive KO2 I am running currently. My last set I had purchased from Tire Rack
