Michelin Defender road noise?

[saguaro]

I recently put on fresh Michelin Defenders on my R1T. 21” stock wheels and replaced some worn out factory tires. Odd thing is, above about 60 mph I notice a very distinct, and very annoying, harmonic noise/hum that wasn’t there before. I’ve had the balance checked (road force balance), alignment and comprehensive inspection by the service center. Nothing out of spec noted.

Anyone else encounter this after swapping to the defenders?

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[DuoRivian]

I have the 20” Defender LTX and they are quiet, much more so than the stock Pirellis.

 

[j33pownr]

I made the same change on my 21" and notice at 65-72mph there is a humm that is new. Im at ~2500mi on the new tires and will do it again as long as I get more than 22K miles on this set.

 

[runwithscissors]

I have the 20” Defender LTX and they are quiet, much more so than the stock Pirellis.

Need to replace my Pirellis but want something quiet like the LTX but the more aggressive sidewall like the Pirellis.

 

[Jonjon09]

Need to replace my Pirellis but want something quiet like the LTX but the more aggressive sidewall like the Pirellis.

Let me know what you find! At the time I changed mine from the loud stock Pirellis last year, the LTX seemed like the best choice for a quiet, long-lasting road tire with a somewhat aggressive look. The main negative on those is the weight, they are some heavy tires...

 

[Aardvark]

I swapped the original 20" Pirellis for Michelin Defenders last month (Gen 1 quad R1S) at 42,000 miles. So far I am not experiencing the noise you describe.

 

[Greg Chick]

I recently put on fresh Michelin Defenders on my R1T. 21” stock wheels and replaced some worn out factory tires. Odd thin is, above about 60 mph I notice a very distinct, and very annoying, harmonic noise/hum that wasn’t there before. I’ve had the balance checked (road force balance), alignment and comprehensive inspection by the service center. Nothing out of spec noted.

Anyone else encounter this after swapping to the defenders?

I have 21" all 4 defenders, R1T large Batt, Quad with cover over bed and 2 cross bar racks. the only thing I hear is the wind in my door seals. I am sound sensitive myself, possibly because my hearing is impared, but maybe my hearing cuts out the defender pitch? I play the stereo if I want distraction and I do not listen to "Metal".

 

[wicked2112]

I have the 20” Defender LTX and they are quiet, much more so than the stock Pirellis.

Agreed! I am almost 34K into mines and they work much better than the stock tires. I have 22"s.

 

[saguaro]

Folks I’ve talked to with the 22’s say no noise which makes me wonder if it’s a 21” specific type of resonance.

 

[mik34]

Just put on 22” Defenders. No noise, much better than Pirellis.

 

[ifnh573]

I have 21" defender and I have the same issue. Especially when cruising, not excellerating hard/slowing down. It's very subtle low hum while having my foot on the excellerator keeping at constant speed. I can also feel it through the pedal as well. Sounds like an ICE engine only that it is very subtle.

What's strange is that if I switch to the conserve mode, the noise goes away and comes back when I switch back to all-purpose.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Inherent harmonics. Tread pattern and resonance chamber (internal volume). Not much you can do about it: turn up the music.

 

[evlavista]

I went the same route and never noticed any increased tire noise on my 23 r1s.

 

[Eeyore]

Folks I’ve talked to with the 22’s say no noise which makes me wonder if it’s a 21” specific type of resonance.

No, I get the road noise you describe with my 22" defenders. The OEM Pirelli's were quieter.

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