Michelin Defender tires report

Reportedly, Consumer Reports is relying on dynamometer testing at new tread depth and also at 4/32".

 

Thanks. I had not seen that. For those without a subscription, here is the chart:

 

I loved my defenders - I got about 67,000 miles out of them before chickening out and replacing them. I took about a 2-4 MPG hit for the first 10K miles, then they seemed to catch up. Wet handling was incredible compared to my OEM Bridgestone Ecopias.

I've got Yokohama Avid Ascends now, they're working out well. And everyone on my block with a compact import has replaced their tires with Avid Ascends.

One side-effect of hanging out on priuschat.com is that you obsessively check out sidewalls to see what people have bought. Or is that just me?

 

Don't hide the MPGs you were getting with those tires, post it

 

Saaay ... there's that Vredestein Quatrac 5 again. I wonder what people are thinking of those now that they've been around a bit longer.

I thought they were a little too new to gamble on last year, and bought General RT43s instead.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one, lol. Have you noticed with Michelins: the brand is really easy to spot, but the specific tire name is always very low-key; you have to stop, crouch down, look close. Which is a little embarrassing...

 

Good stuff. Thx for the info! I'm going to try them on our Elantra GT ( already have Defenders on both Prii ). The Avid Ascends seem to have a cheaper entry point than the Defenders as well. However, I never seem to see them on sale. have you?

 

Note this from the 2018 Prime owner manual - if you change the tires, certain death may result (clearly written by the lawyers).

Make sure that all tires are of the specified size, brand, tread pattern and total load capacity. In addition, make sure that the tires are inflated to the recommended tire inflation pressure level.

The ABS, TRAC and VSC systems will not function correctly if different tires are installed on the vehicle.

Contact your Toyota dealer for further information when replacing tires or wheels.​

 

I wonder if it’s 2am and AAA puts in a new tire on your prime because let’s just say a razor blade is stuck on the blown tire, we’d have to call Toyota first?

 

If you have a Costco membership and you get the Michelins when they have $70 off the set, plus free installation, you may well end up paying less than for the Avid Ascends.

 

Are they plain Defender, or Defender T+H? I'm just wondering if they've messed with the rolling resistance, with the new iteration.

 

I went with new Defender T+H treadwear 820 last month, and decided to not go w/Defender Green X 480 treadwear. T+H has harder rubber wear obviously and weighs in at 18lbs new. No regrets....yet

 

If you can find another set of Green X treadwear 820, keep it stashed. I know those have been discontinued, looked everywhere for old new stocks w/no luck. My previous was also Green-X 820, yielded 63-64 mpgs daily for the last 12 months with them. A good thing came to an end last month when they had 1 mm left til wear bar touches the road.

 

After 5,000 miles, the T+H tires finally broke in. Getting mid 60 mpgs on the commutes again, back to 63 mpg per tank also. So yes T+H 820s are equivalent replacement to the discontinuednDefender Green X 820s

 

The king is dead, long live the king?

I was thinking it was the same tire, they just changed the warranty, name, rolling resistance logo. Be nice if they'd be candid though.