After 3500 miles of mostly highway driving and towing, I have no complaints on the OEM Bridgestones. After these wear out, I'm gonna try the Continental TerrainContact H/T. They have good reviews on Tire Rack....plus they're cheaper than Michelin/Pirelli.
Pirelli AS plus 3 vs Michelin Defenders LTX M/S
- Thread starter Delta33
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WalleyeMikeIII
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Get yourself into a little bit of a rain storm, or some ice...then let us know how you feel about those Alenza AS/02 OEM tires...I agree, dry they are not bad...throw any water at them...oof...
KMeloney
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Yeah, that's where I am with the stock Bridgestones. And I've been in the rain with them, and some ice/light snow here in Philadelphia. I'm not suggesting that I will replace them with the same thing when they wear out, but I'm definitely have no reason to hate them right now.
And as for the looks of them, I actually like the mostly smooth and uncluttered sidewalls. They take tire shine well (and probably due to the lack of grooves, don't sling excess tire shine on the sides of the truck).
We had a snow storm here in SE Wisconsin on Jan 12 I got stuck driving in....many places recording 12" snow fall. In 4wd mode on the interstate, tires handle as expected driving @50 mph. Sure they slid a little here and there but I didn't find the Bridgestones to handle any different from other name brand M/S rated tires I've driven in the snow...from Goodyear, General, Michelin, and Pirelli.
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The Continental TerrainContact H/T have pretty good initial reviews.
What I like about Michelins (brand in general) is that they maintain consistent performance throughout the life of the tire. That aspect is hard for initial reviews to assess.
Stbentoak
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If you don't rap on tons of miles, this could be a good choice. But we don't have the huge price difference here. If the defenders have an updated look, I'll give them a 2nd look.
And yes, I do care about sidewall appearance. I don't want my vehicle looking like a 1 ton dually.
I have the Pirelli AS Plus 3. They are top of their class for noise and comfort. However, they wear down much quicker and the sidewall tends to look brownish/grey once your tire shine wears off. You will find you need to apply tire shin more often do to the natural color. I will probably go Michelin for the next set.
WalleyeMikeIII
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Surprisingly, I think they are ok in snow..ice and wet, the lack of sipes makes them bad. I think the texture at the base of the grooves helps in snow. In moderate to heavy rain, they hydroplane way too much to inspire any confidence.
lol agreed. Yeah the defenders are $500 CDN a pop and I’m getting the Pirelli’s for $350 with. Discount. Retail seems to be around $425 though.
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