Michelin Defender Alternatives

[nick0789]

Yes, another tire thread. I know tires have been beaten to death on here but I am posting [yet] another one to get an update for 2025.

Long story short, I have the Defender LTX M/S on my tahoe now and am down to 5/32" - 6/32" after only 30k miles. Maybe just a bad batch, but needless to say they have not lived up to the treadwear claims. They have done well for me overall, but I am also in eastern NC and the roads here are trash and likely contributing to the faster wear.
My current driving habits are 95% on-road, 5% off-road (nothing significant, mostly sandy soils). Rebuilt the front end a couple summers back and had a true alignment performed then to get the specs as close to 0° as possible. I have had additional alignments since then, though those have all been minor adjustments.

Historically I have gotten more miles out of Cooper AT3 4S tires than these Michelins but I am curious what alternatives to Defenders people on the forum are running.

 

[swathdiver]

You cannot buy your old Michelin Defenders anymore. They have replaced them with an XL load tire.

Mine will be 4 years old this November and in April had 7/32 of tread after 46K miles.

KO2s lasted 50K miles down to 5/32 tread before they hit 4 years and rotted out.

Have you had any road hazards ********* the tread? The KO2s picked up road hazards all the time. Nothing has gotten through the Defenders.

 

[TollKeeper]

I am still running the Defenders myself, but I have been shopping tires as of late. I am looking at trading off the Rivian, but the tires are getting a bit thin..

4 tires I have been getting really good reviews on
Nokian One HT<- One I am considering the most
Continental ContiContact HL
Continental ContiContact AT
Michelin Defender Platinum

I have heard the the Michelin Defender Platinum does not do well with snow.

My Defenders I have always gotten 70-80k miles on. So I cant complain. Not sure if the LTX/MS2 are as good as the original LTX/MS.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I can't speak to the new Defenders (LTS M/S2), but my old Defenders are well on their way to achieving the 70,000 mile estimate, and there has been nothing that the NH winters have thrown at them that they could not easily handle. And, I'm a reasonably aggressive driver, so the tire do get a daily workout.

 

[91RS]

The new version seems to be a lot better so far. I had to warranty multiple of the Defender LTX M/S on both trucks, including the XL version, for high roadforce. They did also appear to be wearing g pretty quickly, they were down to 8/32 after 15k miles. If you’re willing to put in some time/effort, make a warranty claim for the mileage and you can get replacements prorated and get the new version at a discount.

I have tried the Continental TerrainContact HT, which is usually in the top 3, and I thought they rode ok (only had them about 500 miles) and were quiet, but the Michelins handled much better. I wish I had gone with the Crosscontact LX instead but even with the issues I had with the Michelins, they’re still much better. I was tempted to try the Scorpions at one point, but the P Zero I had on my AMG years ago were so bad that I don’t think I can ever buy a Pirelli again.

 

[TollKeeper]

I was tempted to try the Scorpions at one point, but the P Zero I had on my AMG years ago were so bad that I don’t think I can ever buy a Pirelli again.

I have the Scorpion Zero All Season on my Rivian.. When new, they are great. They wear stupid, STUPID, quick, and at about 1/2 life, traction goes right out the window. Horrid in the snow.

I am at 15k miles on them, and looking to replace already.

Many on the Rivian forums complain about the Scorpion AT doing the same exact thing.

 

[NELLY1947]

Yes, another tire thread. I know tires have been beaten to death on here but I am posting [yet] another one to get an update for 2025.

Long story short, I have the Defender LTX M/S on my tahoe now and am down to 5/32" - 6/32" after only 30k miles. Maybe just a bad batch, but needless to say they have not lived up to the treadwear claims. They have done well for me overall, but I am also in eastern NC and the roads here are trash and likely contributing to the faster wear.
My current driving habits are 95% on-road, 5% off-road (nothing significant, mostly sandy soils). Rebuilt the front end a couple summers back and had a true alignment performed then to get the specs as close to 0° as possible. I have had additional alignments since then, though those have all been minor adjustments.

Historically I have gotten more miles out of Cooper AT3 4S tires than these Michelins but I am curious what alternatives to Defenders people on the forum are running.

Did you buy the tires yourself?
Do you have the bill with the mileage on it? When boyght "Road Force Ballanced" when new?answers "yes"
Call Michelin I've had 3 sets warrantied on my 2019 At no charge to me.

 

[91RS]

I have the Scorpion Zero All Season on my Rivian.. When new, they are great. They wear stupid, STUPID, quick, and at about 1/2 life, traction goes right out the window. Horrid in the snow.

I am at 15k miles on them, and looking to replace already.

Many on the Rivian forums complain about the Scorpion AT doing the same exact thing.

That was my experience with the P Zeros. The rears lasted 3k miles and I made it to 6K on the fronts before I trashed them because they rode so bad.

 

[Eighthtry]

I just bought the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 for my 2021 f150 Lariat 4wd. These are the street tire Scorpions. I had the more aggressive factory all season Scorpions. I ran these Scorpion AS Plus 3 on my 2014 F150 XLT as well. These tires are noticeably quieter than the factory Scorpions, but will not perform as well as the factory Scorpions in adverse weather conditions. I have run dozens of Michelin and Bridgestone street tires over the decades. The Pirellis have the A Traction and A Temperature ratings which seem to no longer be available in the Michelins and Bridgestones. They are highly rated by purchasers in all categories like quiet, handling, traction, etc. It was a no brainer for me.

 

[swathdiver]

View attachment 460628
I just bought the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 for my 2021 f150 Lariat 4wd. These are the street tire Scorpions. I had the more aggressive factory all season Scorpions. I ran these Scorpion AS Plus 3 on my 2014 F150 XLT as well. These tires are noticeably quieter than the factory Scorpions, but will not perform as well as the factory Scorpions in adverse weather conditions. I have run dozens of Michelin and Bridgestone street tires over the decades. The Pirellis have the A Traction and A Temperature ratings which seem to no longer be available in the Michelins and Bridgestones. They are highly rated by purchasers in all categories like quiet, handling, traction, etc. It was a no brainer for me.

How long do they last?

I too was concerned about the loss of the A rating for the traction. Reading up on the testing standards, that rating is for cars without ABS. I haven't had a car without ABS since the early 1990s.