Michelin Defender LTX Platinum

[ksujeff99]

I'm at 23k miles on my 21s with a 5 tire rotation. They have about 5/32nds remaining so it's tire shopping time. I'm going with 20" aftermarket wheels (either Atomic or Black Rhino). I don't do much (any?) off roading, but of course I want the people in the Whole Foods parking lot to think I do.

The MICHELIN Defender LTX Platinum represents a completely new class of tire developed specifically for luxury heavy-duty pickup trucks. It delivers exceptional tread life along with the cutting edge aesthetics.​

I think there's a lot to like about it:

• A/T sidewall looks with an A/S tread pattern
• 70k tread life warranty
• EV ready (according to Michelin's marketing, which may mean nothing at all)
• 126 load rating
• Available at Costco (albeit currently sold out - was available yesterday)

I can't find any reviews online yet. I think they're just becoming available.

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[jjswan33]

I don't do much (any?) off roading, but of course I want the people in the Whole Foods parking lot to think I do.

We can tell ?

 

[Chewy734]

Curious about which set of wheels you decide on and why.

I plan on doing this something like this (with actual AT tires though) later when I need to get new tires.

 

[brancky3]

I’m planning to get these tires, but they just launched so I’m not sure about availability. I have a set of 20” forged wheels on the way already

 

[Chewy734]

I’m planning to get these tires, but they just launched so I’m not sure about availability. I have a set of 20” forged wheels on the way already

Which wheels did you get?

 

[foxerson]

Intriguing ?
This looks like an attractive AS alternative.

It'll be a tough decision when my AT tires wear out. I originally anticipated I would do little or no offroading and would simply switch to AS tires. However I got to do some mild offroading over Labor Day weekend and was reminded how much I enjoy it. This new Michelin might be the right compromise. Thanks for the tip.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Intriguing ?
This looks like an attractive AS alternative.

It'll be a tough decision when my AT tires wear out. I originally anticipated I would do little or no offroading and would simply switch to AS tires. However I got to do some mild offroading over Labor Day weekend and was reminded how much I enjoy it. This new Michelin might be the right compromise. Thanks for the tip.

You don't have to have ATs to go off-pavement. The difference is where and how far you can go without needing more traction. That's it.

 

[foxerson]

You don't have to have ATs to go off-pavement. The difference is where and how far you can go without needing more traction. That's it.

Yep. So I have to decide how serious I want to get about off-road travel.

An AS would have been fine for most of what I did. But even the AT struggled a bit with the mud, slipping sideways a couple times. I’m not at all interested in going to a super aggressive AT, and certainly not an MT, just for an occasional muddy patch. But it does make me think twice about an AS.

 

[Ecupip]

I may be interested when the time comes. I love the defender tires.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Yep. So I have to decide how serious I want to get about off-road travel.

An AS would have been fine for most of what I did. But even the AT struggled a bit with the mud, slipping sideways a couple times. I’m not at all interested in going to a super aggressive AT, and certainly not an MT, just for an occasional muddy patch. But it does make me think twice about an AS.

One of the founders of Rivianstories.com is running the Toyo Country R/T Trail at 65 psi (when on pavement). It's a hybrid MT/AT tire (not 3PMSF) and he is seeing average efficiency north of 2.4 mi/kW (in relatively flat Florida). I can't imagine on-road handling to be as good as factory. But if you don't ever take paved corners like it was a sports sedan, you probably wouldn't even know what you've given up? In that sense it ticks appearance, off-road performance and range/efficiency boxes. Probably a little noisier than the Pirelli ATs (but that's like ordering hot coffee only to complain it's hot). The downside is cost, as they are about the same as the Pirelli ATs.

 

[mindstormsguy]

Sounds great. But 126 load index is probably going to mean a heavy tire.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Sounds great. But 126 load index is probably going to mean a heavy tire.

Weight matters, but don't seem to matter as much for EV efficiency. Rolling resistance is a more significant factor. With a heavy tire, steering might feel a little heavier. However, R1's power steering is already over-boosted (too light). Emergency stopping distance might also get impacted by weight. But the R1 has huge brakes.

 

[Thegoat]

They weigh 60 lbs

 

[OKRivian]

I was seriously interested in this Defender Platinum tire until Michelin posted the specs to their site a few days ago. 60lbs in 275/65/20 vs 40lbs for the Defender LTX M/S 2 in 275/60/20. That's a huge difference.

 

[ksurfier]

Yep, that's like carrying a 350 pound person around with you all the time...efficiency will drop down to around 2 mi/kwh...range will suffer too...
If you want LT size then go with one of these:
DUELER A/T REVO 3 - 51 pounds
DESTINATION X/T - 52 pounds
(another option is Des. X/T in LT285/60R20, it's 33.5" tall and 9.9 inches wide - weighs 51 pounds).
Will likely be very close to OEM efficiency.
If offroad is rare/occasional, dropping down to 275/60R20 can bump the efficiency and range ~20%.
Someone on here has the General Grabber in that size (34 pounds!) and got 366 miles out of them!
Defenders in that size look really good too (~40 pounds), I'd guess range would be around that of the 21" OEM setup, maybe even a little better...

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