20" Michelin Defender LTX Platinum Tires review -- For all of you thinking about a 20" tire! Your wait is over!

[caiudalmau]

Installed over the weekend. First 80 miles more efficient than stick AT tires. There is a back story here. I originally installed defender ltx ms2 because I wanted a more plush ride. My efficiency went up from 1.85 to 2.5 then normalized down to 2.02 over 400 miles. I used the 30 day replacement guarantee from DT to change to the platinums. Here are the reasons:

1. I could get over how the MS2 made the car look bland.
2. Ms2 were extremely quiet and plush. But plush became a problem. Tire response was horrible. Straight line crushing was awesome though.

I love these Platinums. Responsiveness, quietness, and so far fuel Econ. My recommendation is to get there. By the way, pictures don’t do it justice on how awesome they look.
The 2.1 efficiency is on these platinum so far

Best looking All Season I've seen so far. I was thinking on the Scorpion Pus AS3 but these look so much better. Won't get the same efficiency, but who cares!

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[caiudalmau]

Noise is definitely less.

Efficiency will need a little more data but I think it's not as good. I've only driven for commuting in local roads with the new tires (3 days old), I'm getting 1.7 mi/kWh (w/ Pirelli I was at 2.17 mi/kWh), let me report back in a couple of days after some weekend driving on freeways. See pics Trip A is with Pirelli. The new Michelin tires is Trip B. Keep in mind I'm still using 48psi. Have not attempted higher psi's yet.

Any update? Are they really that much worse?

 

[electruck]

Keep in mind, more tread depth equates to more rolling resistance.

 

[ksurfier]

For anyone considering the platinum, here's a look at some others in addition:

All of these are right about 9-inches wide so they should match the 20" OEM width of 9.1". For anyone moving from 21"/22", diameters between 32.5" - 33.5" shouldn't need recalibration.

CONTINENTAL TERRAINCONTACT H/T is a great choice based on wet performance and lightweight (44 pounds)

34.6" Diameter (1.5% >OEM) - MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX M/S (285/65 - 34.6") - 55#s and 9 inches wide [Wet corning/braking dist.: 0.68 | 114.5 feet]

3 PEAK - 34.1" Diameter (OEM) -MICHELIN AGILIS CROSSCLIMATE 275/65 (34.1") - 56#s and 8.8 inches wide

34.1" Diameter (OEM) -MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX PLATINUM (275/65 (34.1") - 59#s and 8.9 inches wide

33.9" Diameter (OEM) - GOODYEAR WRANGLER WORKHORSE HT 295/60 (33.9") - 55#s and 9.0 inches wide

3 PEAK - 33.5" Diameter (1.8% < OEM) -TOYO OPEN COUNTRY A/T III 285/60 (33.5") - 48#s and 9.3 inches wide [Wet corning/braking dist.: 0.56 | 150 feet]

33.0" Diameter (3.3% < OEM) - CONTINENTAL TERRAINCONTACT H/T 275/60 (33.0") - 44#s and 8.9 inches wide [Wet corning/braking dist.: 0.70 | 109 feet]

32.8" Diameter (4% < OEM) - NITTO RIDGE GRAPPLER 265/60 (32.8") - 55#s and 9.0 inches wide [Wet corning/braking dist.: 0.57 | 138 feet]

3 PEAK - 32.7" Diameter (4.3% < OEM) -SUMITOMO ENCOUNTER AT 265/60 (32.7") - 55#s and 9.0 inches wide [Wet corning/braking dist.: 0.55 | 151 feet]

3 PEAK - 32.5" Diameter (4.9% < OEM) - TOYO OPEN COUNTRY A/T III 265/60 (32.5") - 52#s and 9.0 inches wide [Wet corning/braking dist.: 0.56 | 150 feet]

There are at least 10 other fitments with similar dimensions...

 

[Flexia]

Anyone have these on longer than 3k miles yet? Interested in the KWm number. My Perellis are getting loud!

 

[DB-EV]

I recently bought a set of EV Sportline 20" wheels. I started looking for a tire that would look good and ride good. I opted for a cheap set of 285/60/20 tires from China, no doubt. Cost me all of about $800, and they looked great!

Come to find they were noisy. I realized that a big knobbly tire might be noisy, and they were. Much more than the factory 21" Pirelli's.

I started some research, and found that Michelin was about to launch a whole new tire for trucks and large SUV's, called the Michelin Defender LTX Platinum.

These were just released in November 2023! Michelin is actively producing this tire and many sizes aren't available yet! Like a 275/60R20, the Rivian recommended size.

Seeing that I already had a 285/60/20 tire on my truck with no rubbing or any issues whatsoever, I went for them again, and they were available.

Costco's website still shows these tires as "unavailable, temporarily out of stock".

I only had them for a day now. Driving out of the Costco parking lot I could tell, even at these low speeds, that this was a great tire.

They're as quiet as my factory 21's.

On the freeway at speed these were just awsome! By the way the speed rating is "S", 112 mph.

I must say, they don't look as good as some All terrain tires out there, but they have a 70,000 mile warranty!

I never intend to take my truck off road, and these weren't made for rock crawling.

If you're looking for a comfortable great tire that's gonna last a while, these are the one's.

The first picture is of my original "knobbly" tires. The last three are the Michelin's.

Thanks - I apologize the chain is so long I didn't check - how do these compare in efficiency to the Pirelli AT stock 20's?

I have snow tires that I am still running that seem to be about 1 percent more efficient (like 320 miles in conserve on large pack in good conditions) - Blizzack LT.

Just wondering for when the time comes to replace the pirellis.

 

[ksujeff99]

Anyone have these on longer than 3k miles yet? Interested in the KWm number. My Perellis are getting loud!

I got my Platinums put on about 3 weeks ago so no long-term comparison yet.

In the 367 miles I've put on them, ElectraFi reports my average efficiency as 562 Wh/Mi or 1.8 mi/kWh.
For comparison, in the 6,105 miles I've used ElectraFi with my 21" Pirellis, my average efficiency was 521 Wh/Mi or 1.9 mi/kWh.

I haven't had my truck updated yet for the larger tire size, so my efficiency is actually a little higher than reported above. A trip I take a few times per week used to show 29.28 miles and now shows 28.45 miles in ElectraFi.

My review of these tires? They look good. They're louder than the 21" Pirellis. They ride rougher than the 21" Pirelli's. I can feel their weight when accelerating from a stop. I would have gone for the M/S2 if it were not for liking the look of the Platinums better.

I'm running them at 52psi now. I'm going to try bumping up the pressure a bit to see if I can find the sweet spot of efficiency v comfort. I'm sure they'd be great at 80psi, but they'd likely bounce an unloaded Rivian right off the road!

 

[ksurfier]

I got my Platinums put on about 3 weeks ago so no long-term comparison yet.

In the 367 miles I've put on them, ElectraFi reports my average efficiency as 562 Wh/Mi or 1.8 mi/kWh.
For comparison, in the 6,105 miles I've used ElectraFi with my 21" Pirellis, my average efficiency was 521 Wh/Mi or 1.9 mi/kWh.

I haven't had my truck updated yet for the larger tire size, so my efficiency is actually a little higher than reported above. A trip I take a few times per week used to show 29.28 miles and now shows 28.45 miles in ElectraFi.

My review of these tires? They look good. They're louder than the 21" Pirellis. They ride rougher than the 21" Pirelli's. I can feel their weight when accelerating from a stop. I would have gone for the M/S2 if it were not for liking the look of the Platinums better.

I'm running them at 52psi now. I'm going to try bumping up the pressure a bit to see if I can find the sweet spot of efficiency v comfort. I'm sure they'd be great at 80psi, but they'd likely bounce an unloaded Rivian right off the road!

Word on the street is 63 psi is best (going any higher wont get any more MPKs).
My understanding is with the additional pressure this tire can achieve a smaller contact patch and make up efficiency so it's close to the OEM 20" MPK of ~2.2 at 70F.

I'd be curious if anyone has had these in the snow, it's a very unique tread pattern.

 

[Gamial]

Anyone have these on longer than 3k miles yet? Interested in the KWm number. My Perellis are getting loud!

I've had mine for about 5,000 miles and are at 2.20 right now for the life of the tires. My avg before the Defenders was about 2.28. They started out at 1.8 and I have gained efficiency since. I figure they are going to be very close to the OEM Pirellis after summer.

Pros: Very quiet, 70k warranty, look good, good in rain, and bought at Costco-preferred vender

Cons: It bit more expensive at OEM, expected better efficiency when I bought them, not an off-road tire

 

[lslick23]

I've had mine for about 5,000 miles and are at 2.20 right now for the life of the tires. My avg before the Defenders was about 2.28. They started out at 1.8 and I have gained efficiency since. I figure they are going to be very close to the OEM Pirellis after summer.

Pros: Very quiet, 70k warranty, look good, good in rain, and bought at Costco-preferred vender

Cons: It bit more expensive at OEM, expected better efficiency when I bought them, not an off-road tire

Thanks for the report and what psi are you running them at?

 

[ksujeff99]

I've had mine for about 5,000 miles and are at 2.20 right now for the life of the tires. My avg before the Defenders was about 2.28. They started out at 1.8 and I have gained efficiency since. I figure they are going to be very close to the OEM Pirellis after summer.

Thanks for the report!

Were your OEMs the 20” AT or 21” AS?

 

[Gamial]

Thanks for the report and what psi are you running them at?

about 50

 

[Gamial]

Thanks for the report!

Were your OEMs the 20” AT or 21” AS?

20s

 

[23R1TFGFE]

Well—okay, I’ll just go ahead and say it: this is all a bit disappointing for me…. I was truly hoping that the LTX Platinums would be somewhat/moderately/significantly more efficient than the OEM Pirellis but this doesn’t seem to be the case. If the above holds true, it appears that the best we can hope for is an equivalent efficiency. Uuggghhh. I still like ‘em as they look good and appear to be quiet and good in rain, but, that efficiency rating is not what I was hoping to see. There, I said it. Happy Monday all.

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