Michelin Defender tires report

thanks, great report. well done!

 

Very good but maybe you had a tailwind?

 

Better question should be what brand gasoline were you using on your trip?

I have set of Defenders on my 2010 and they have worn much better than the OE Yokos and the Michelin Energy A/S's

 

great tyres.

 

How did I miss this thread?

Thanks for the review @GardenWeasel.

 

People take gasoline for granted but I've found Top Tier in most cases gives me better fuel mileage. Prius about 5% and the Volvo 960 gets about 9% better fuel mileage on Top Tier over the standard El Cheapo no name branded stations. I run Shell exclusively.

I like my Defenders. With fuel mileage there is minimal difference from the Energy A/S's, making the Defenders a far better deal.

 

The Michelin Defenders are great all season tyres. I ran them on my 2005 Echo hatchback (Yaris / Vitz around the world) and they were fantastic. Long tread life, good road manners, pretty decent wet weather and if needed, barely passable in the winter with moderate snow. They also happen to be good on gas as well but from what I understand, not the best but close to it.

 

i just had a set of defenders put on my 2015 and love them. the rain grooves are very deep and the shoulders are very rugged looking. more impotantly, the ride is smooth with a "feeling" of security. here in daytona when it rains it rains hard and the defenders go through puddles of all sizes without a feeling that they are going to hydroplane at any moment.the cornering is fantastic (for a stock prius). i have noticed no mpg degradation. i also had them on my 2012 plug in where i fell in love with their handling and economy. they replace my "ok"nakook optima tires. although, the michelin a/s may be a tad more efficient i dont think i will go to a different tire than the defenders again (of course, im 74, so i may not ever have to concern my self with that decision in the future).

 

I bought the Premiers which were only $10 more than the Defenders. Now wish I had got the Defenders.

 

I'm starting to think like that when I buy the Costco-sized disposable razor pack: I tend to use each one for at least 3 months, being a cheapskate.

 

Speaking of top tier gas, I dont mean to burst anyone’s bubble but I did a comparison of top tier gas between Chevron, Shell, and Costco premium (91) and Costco gave me the best mpg. I was driving on each for about a week.

I really thought Shell would give me the best. I switched back to 87 regular gas but the 91 gave me better mpg.

Btw: anyone interested in these tires, simple tire.com is heavily discounting them now.. I may buy them tomorrow (sale lasts until tomorrow I think).

 

No Chevron gas around here. I buy 87 octane Costco, BP, or Mobil -- maybe Shell once or twice. Most of our trips are short, so the ICE hardly warms up properly much of the time. The tires are the Kumho TA31 that the dealer (not a Toyota dealer) had put on the trade-in before reselling it.

I don't recall the mpg we got driving to and from Atlanta last year, but on a recent round trip of a couple of hundred miles (including a little around-town driving), we got 50.8mpg.

 

Just got my Defender T + H installed yesterday and did a nitrogen conversion for all 4 tires this morning at Costco.. I know someone has reported getting 80,000 miles from them.. I hope to join that person as well.

I’ll post if my mpg improves.

Car feels so much better with new tires.. I’m probably going to get an alignment as I haven’t in a while (just letting tires wear in a bit).

 

It is BEST to get the alignment with NEW Tires.
If your alignment is off to the point of wearing the tires, you will be damaging the new tires.
Then getting an alignment with worn tires may not give you the correct measurement and
you could have more problems with the car drifting to one side, not because of the alignment,
but because of the tires.