Which Michelin Tire? Defender LTX M/S or LTX Winter

[dewey02]

I have a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 that takes 245 75R 16 tires.
I currently have Firestone Transforce A/Ts that are 7 years old and have cracks in the sidewalls near the rim. We don't do any off road, almost all paved, occasional gravel roads (to get to a campground). We haul a travel trailer with Max loaded weight of 6500 lbs and around 900lbs loaded tongue weight. We put about 5 to 7K miles total on the truck per year.

Discount Tire has 2 Michelin tires that have the same load (E1) and speed ratings. I seek the experience of folks here on the forum.

Michelin LTX Winter: $169 each.
Rebates for buying 4 tires a $100 mail in rebate (on winter tires) and $50 mail in rebate (for buying on a Discount tire credit card).

Michelin Defender LTX M/S: $197 each.
$30 mail in rebate (for buying on a Discount Tire credit card).

Specs of the two are nearly the same.
Winter tire weighs 3 lbs less and has 40K warranty.
Defender M/S weighs 3 lbs more and ha 50K warranty.
Winter tire actually has a slightly better user rating except of course for the mileage wear.

Michelin LTX Winter would cost $526 with rebates (plus $64 mounting and balancing)
Michelin Defender M/S would cost $758 with rebate (plus $64 mounting and balancing)

Is the Defender M/S worth the extra $225? Is it that much better, especially with the low miles we drive each year? Do both tires drive pretty much the same on paved roads? (smoothness of ride)

Thanks for your comments.

[drsteve]

I've had a few sets of Michelin's over the years, and didn't like any of them. Poor ride, poor wear, and pricey.

[walker111]

Asked similar questions a year ago for my F350 that came with Michelin LTX AT2.
I went with Defenders and am happy but only put 13k on last summer.

I run hankook Ipike winters on designated rims for winter. They are true winters and awesome.

Good luck with your choice.

[dewey02]

OP here.
Thank you to all who have responded.
I have the information I need now and have made my decision.
Again, thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.

[ktmrfs]

dewey02 wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:

RAS43 wrote:
The winter tire will have a softer rubber compound for better grip in snow and on ice.If it is run during warmer weather and in towing situations I believe they will wear faster, hence the lower mileage warranty. I doubt you would get 40000 miles from them.

IF it is a true "winter" tire, which I kind of doubt. Winter tires are usually MORE EXPENSIVE than non-winter tires.

They on way to know if it is a true winter tire is to look for the symbol of a mountain embossed into the sidewall.

Yes, they are a true winter tire and yes they are normally more expensive, but with spring coming they are closing out their stock and selling them for cheaper and have a rebate on them as well. But based on what folks here have said, I am no longer considering the winter tires anyway. (And the winter tires do take 80 lbs pressure, so they are not LT/Passenger tires, but full LT tires).

And just to put your mind to rest, it says WINTER in bold letters on the tire as well as having your winter symbol on the tire. Why on earth would a well-respected tire dealer like Discount Tire deliberately lie on their webpage?

they are a "winter tire" with a snowflake rating but they are NOT a studless winter tire. completely different animal. that is the Michelin x-ice LT tire or bridgestone blizzak. the compound stays soft at lower temps etc. but still is listed as a year round tire but with shorter tread life.

[ktmrfs]

alexleblanc wrote:
Tire debates can go on for days, all I know is for on road use, those Defenders are always the highest rated on every site I see and everyone I talk to who runs them seem to be happy.

I will say that I've been impressed with the last few sets of Toyo tires ive run, might be worth looking at their new Toyo Open Country HT tires, they are well rated.

I tried the toyo HT when they first came out. NOT impressed. wore out quicker than either other toyo's or michelins and wet traction was terrible. may have changed over the years. Couple that with Les Schwab's lock on toyo's in Les schwab territory and much higher prices than toyo's elswhere and I pass on toyo's now.

[alexleblanc]

Tire debates can go on for days, all I know is for on road use, those Defenders are always the highest rated on every site I see and everyone I talk to who runs them seem to be happy.

I will say that I've been impressed with the last few sets of Toyo tires ive run, might be worth looking at their new Toyo Open Country HT tires, they are well rated.

[huntram]

troubledwaters wrote:
I have Michelin LTX M/S 2 on my F250. I got 80,000 miles out of the first set and 65,000 miles out of the second set. I'm on my third set. You won't buy them for $200 each however.

I just bought a set of 6 for my RAM Dually in October from Discount Tire for $186 per tire plus installation. In addition I got the $70.00 rebate so if you stand firm you can still get a good deal on the m/s 2!

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

Flapper wrote:
OK, you force me to ask, since I am in the same situation: What tires are better, so I can get those instead?

Firestone Destination or Transforce. I'm was running Coopers didn't like the wet weather traction so I swapped them out for Yokohama YK-HTX so far so good. They ride very smooth are quit and have very good wet weather traction, also are SL load range. Dunlap and Uniroyal are very good tires too.

[ktmrfs]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

RAS43 wrote:
The winter tire will have a softer rubber compound for better grip in snow and on ice.If it is run during warmer weather and in towing situations I believe they will wear faster, hence the lower mileage warranty. I doubt you would get 40000 miles from them.

IF it is a true "winter" tire, which I kind of doubt. Winter tires are usually MORE EXPENSIVE than non-winter tires.

They on way to know if it is a true winter tire is to look for the symbol of a mountain embossed into the sidewall.

sorta. from my experience there is a HUGE difference between a snowflake aka mountain symbol, studless winter tire and a plain snowflake winter tire. the snowflake winter are NOT a studless winter tire. better than M&S they are ok for use year round, but not a substitute for a studded or studless winter tire.

for years the snowflake was reserved for studless or studded true winter tires. Now there are quite a few snowflake tires that are a year round tire, not the performance of a snowflake studdless tire. they may meet the test spec, but not the same ultimate performance

the true studless winter are spendy and the tread wear is fast. but they stick in the winter. I believe after carefull consideration I did, the michelin is a crossover tire. no where near the winter performance of the michelin x-ice or the blizzaks I've used on my truck. but then they last more than 10-15K miles the blizzaks do.

Personally I use the Michelin LTX for the summer and blizzak's in the winter.

I have never seen a true snowflake studless or studded winter tire with a treadlife mileage warranty.

[dewey02]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

RAS43 wrote:
The winter tire will have a softer rubber compound for better grip in snow and on ice.If it is run during warmer weather and in towing situations I believe they will wear faster, hence the lower mileage warranty. I doubt you would get 40000 miles from them.

IF it is a true "winter" tire, which I kind of doubt. Winter tires are usually MORE EXPENSIVE than non-winter tires.

They on way to know if it is a true winter tire is to look for the symbol of a mountain embossed into the sidewall.

Yes, they are a true winter tire and yes they are normally more expensive, but with spring coming they are closing out their stock and selling them for cheaper and have a rebate on them as well. But based on what folks here have said, I am no longer considering the winter tires anyway. (And the winter tires do take 80 lbs pressure, so they are not LT/Passenger tires, but full LT tires).

And just to put your mind to rest, it says WINTER in bold letters on the tire as well as having your winter symbol on the tire. Why on earth would a well-respected tire dealer like Discount Tire deliberately lie on their webpage?

[micpib1]

This year I had Costco to install the latest and greatest Michelin M&S tire as I did not even get one year out of the LTX??? last year. I am done with Michelin Tires. I have purchased a new set of Michelins for many years and they are riding on their reputation now, not their quality of years past, just my opinion. My next set will be something else. Again, just my experience and opinion. JH

[theoldwizard1]

RAS43 wrote:
The winter tire will have a softer rubber compound for better grip in snow and on ice.If it is run during warmer weather and in towing situations I believe they will wear faster, hence the lower mileage warranty. I doubt you would get 40000 miles from them.

IF it is a true "winter" tire, which I kind of doubt. Winter tires are usually MORE EXPENSIVE than non-winter tires.

They on way to know if it is a true winter tire is to look for the symbol of a mountain embossed into the sidewall.

[Chrisatthebeach]

troubledwaters wrote:
I have Michelin LTX M/S 2 on my F250. I got 80,000 miles out of the first set and 65,000 miles out of the second set. I'm on my third set. You won't buy them for $200 each however.

I run the same. Current set right at 80,000 on them and plan to replace soon. I am looking at 900+ out the door on 4 P285/75/R16.

I have been running only these since 97 on all of my trucks and have no complaints.

Chris

[coolmom42]

I put Defender tires on my minivan and do not like them. They are a very hard ride; the tread is actually hard, which gives it the high mileage rating. Supposed to go to 90K miles.

I've also had one that was very difficult to balance. Took the 4th try at a good tire shop.

That said, they handle reasonably well and are holding up as advertised.