Michelin Defender T+H

sf13

Member
:
2016.5 CX-5 & 2008.5 Mazda3
Anyone out there have a set of these on their CX-5? Have been comparing to the Altimax RT43's. There's quite a price difference but the new Defender seems to edge out the General in just about every meaningful metric for the 225/65r17's.

Thanks.
 
General AltiMAX RT43 definitely is not the best performed tire available on the market. But compare to Michelin Defender T+H, RT43 225/65R17 102H has several advantages over T+H:

1. Price: $113.99 vs. $165.07 @ Tire Rack.

2. UTQG on Temperature rating: "700 A A" vs. "820 A B". I'd never get a tire with B-rated Temperature on UTQG for safety reason.

3. Tire weight: 25 lbs. vs. 27 lbs.

4. Maximum inflation pressure: 51 psi vs. 44 psi. Higher MIP means newer design technology and more safety margin.

If you really want a Michelin, Premier LTX is a much better choice. It has better performance, and the price is cheaper ($153.97 @ Tire Rack). Costco now is running $130-off promotion for a set of Michelin's until 6/17/2018.
 
I just got a set of Michelin Defender 225/65r17's recently. It's only been six days, so not much driving yet. Initial thoughts from me are, a lot more smoother riding, and quieter. I looked at the Premier also, but for a few dollars more the Defender had a 90,000 mile limited warranty as compared to, I believe it was 70,000 for the Premiere. They were $165.00 per tire at a Discount Tire store. I went to Discount because over the years they had fixed two slow leaks with no charge, and I had never bought anything from them. That is the way to gain customers.
 
Last edited:
I just got a set of Michelin Defender 225/65r17's recently. It's only been six days, so not much driving yet. Initial thoughts from me are, a lot more smoother riding, and quieter. I looked at the Premier also, but for a few dollars more the Defender had a 90,000 mile limited warranty as compared to, I believe it was 70,000 for the Premiere. They were $165.00 per tire at a Discount Tire store. I went to Discount because over the years they had fixed two slow leaks with no charge, and I had never bought anything from them. That is the way to gain customers.
Michelin Defender is a different tire from Michelin Defender T+H. Defender 225/65R17 102T has lower "T" speed rating than H-rated Defender T+H. And B-rated UTQG Temperature is a concern too. Premier LTX offers 60,000-mile / 6-year warranty. There're too many unknowns during 90,000-mile tire life. To me any tire mileage warranty over 60,000 miles such as Michelin Premier LTX is good enough.

Yeah I like Discount Tire Store too and I'm getting new tires from them all the time. They fixed and balanced my flat with no charge on my OE Toyo A23 tire.
 
The Defender also has a tread depth of 10/32, versus 8.5/32 for the Premier. Just drove over some speed bumps for the first time, they take those things a lot better..
 
Last edited:
Back