Michilen Defender Tires

[tonystdi]

Anyone have any thoughts on this tire? I plan on replacing all 4 tires this Saturday.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Very high treadwear rating, replaced, I think the Hydroedge. Hydroedges tended to ride hard and be noisy, but people thought they were fairly grippy. The Passat I bought had a set and I couldn't wait to get them off the car. They do last a long time, will probably dry rot before you wear them out.

 

[tonystdi]

The two year old Michelen Primacy's on it now I have over 100,000 miles on them and still have 4-5 10th, 100th or 1000th whatever it is, on them but are developing cracks where the tread meets the side walls. Really disappointed that I have to get rid of them with that much tread wear on them.

 

[South Coast Guy]

The two year old Michelen Primacy's on it now I have over 100,000 miles on them and still have 4-5 10th, 100th or 1000th whatever it is, on them but are developing cracks where the tread meets the side walls. Really disappointed that I have to get rid of them with that much tread wear on them.

You got over 100K miles on a set of tires? You have far exceeded the manufacturer's warranty or expectations.

 

[RichmondKYtdi]

I had a set on my wrecked car, had about 70,000 on them. Two needed to be replaced, they had some tread left, rated 4 out of 10 and two didnt (i stole the wheels off my wrecker and put them on my 2001). So i got two more for the front and put the others on the rear. I like how quiet they are... good tire.

 

[Digital4n6]

wow. those have serious treadwear ratings. fred flintstone would approve!

i need to replace the feet on my car, too. let me know how you like them and what size you end up getting.

there is a $70 mail in rebate from tire rack on a set of 4.

 

[Digital4n6]

Saw that the Bridgestone Turanza series had low rolling resistance (better for MPGs) and rated #1 for the size on tire rack.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...Model=Turanza+Serenity+Plus&partnum=965HR5TSP

 

[1854sailor]

Tony,

After several bad sets of Michelins, I switched to Continental tires and I have never looked back.

Paul

Anyone have any thoughts on this tire? I plan on replacing all 4 tires this Saturday.

 

[hevster1]

I have sold a few sets, the customers seem to like them so far. it is a new model so only time will tell.

 

[TDIJetta99]

Very high treadwear rating, replaced, I think the Hydroedge. Hydroedges tended to ride hard and be noisy, but people thought they were fairly grippy. The Passat I bought had a set and I couldn't wait to get them off the car. They do last a long time, will probably dry rot before you wear them out.

I have a set of those hydroedges here that are so dry rotted the tread started to peel away from the tire.. They still have a little bit to go before hitting the wear bars..

 

[Optics2171]

Just bought contitrac pro DWS on discount tire direct. Free shipping and there was $200 in rebates. Each tire is about $136 + road hazard $ 17 = $153 per tire. Good deal since the conti's are rated very high by all in all road conditions. I am replacing my kuhmo's after $30 k. Not their fault really, bad alignment. Correcting that problem and properly rotating this time.

 

[tonystdi]

Got the Defenders put on yesterday, Original quote was $596 for 4 tires with the works. After all was said and done Sears only charged me $297, didn't charge me the $58 for the road hazard because the one I had on my old tires is still good until June 2015, then the prorated my old tire because of the cracks in all the tires, even though the tire were out of the mileage warrenty and I did still have 4-5/32 of tread on the tires. The warrenty for the cracks is based on years. I got over 100,000 miles on the old tires. So I guess long store short to save some money replace tires before the warrenty run, don't just look at the treads, keep and I on the side walls too.

 

[Digital4n6]

I got the Defenders put on at Costco as they had an instant $70 (instead of mail-in) rebate. Great recommendation! They run well, very quiet on the road.

Costco doesn't normally stock our size, so they shipped them to the store for installation. No problems. Afterwards, went to Firestore for my lifetime alignment.

 

[tonystdi]

Very nice!

 

[oliveone]

Michilen Defender Tires will buy again!

I have a set of these on my 2009 Jetta. Have driver from NY to FL and back on them. Feel good on the car, Even if you push it hard in a corner or have to do a fast server to avoid an object in the road they are good . Have about 7000 miles on them and show no signs of wear. Will buy again.

 

[tonystdi]

This is why I needed new tires.

 

[Digital4n6]

Whoa, good reason!

Mine had turned to racing slicks.

 

[ruking]

The two year old Michelen Primacy's on it now I have over 100,000 miles on them and still have 4-5 10th, 100th or 1000th whatever it is, on them but are developing cracks where the tread meets the side walls. Really disappointed that I have to get rid of them with that much tread wear on them.

So why you would not replace them with the SAME MVX4 Primacy? If it were not for the cracks, you are getting 20,000 miles per 1/32nds in. So if you took them down @ 2.5 to 3/32nd in you would be getting app 140,000 miles !! ??

 

[bibendum]

I have defenders in my Magnum, great tires. Great treadlife, a touch noisy on concrete roads.

 

[TDI-JAY]

I put 4 of these on my 09' when I bought it with 91K. Was great but over 70 mph I had a vibration under throttle.

Long story short, I chased the damn vibration for 7,000 long miles replacing parts guessing (had wheels straightend, replaced lower control arms, axles, wheel bearing). Finally had another person look at the car who found one of the 'new' tires had a bad belt in it and had a wobble side to side, made worse under load.

Michelin did step up to the plate and replaced the tire free of charge after over 7,000 miles. Car rides like a dream now, very happy. Sh*t happens, they handled it the right way.

 

[tonystdi]

That's right!

 

[andydrew]

I am also getting excellent wear on Michelin Primacy MXV4's on a 2002 Golf TDI. I am at 80,000 miles at apx. 4/32. I suspect these are going to last another 10,000 miles if I run them to the wear bars at 2/32. It's summer in Southern California / Northern Mexico so should be ok to run them down. The treadwear warranty on the Primacy MXV4's was 60,000 miles so I have far exceeded that.

The Defender (or Defender XT at Costco) has a 90,000 mile warranty and a much higher treadwear rating so they should last even longer than the Primacy MXV4's. My only concern with the Defender's is that they are speed rated T vs. H. Sure I am not travelling anywhere near the top speeds for T or H rating but I understand it's generally recommended to get the same or higher speed ratings when replacing tires.

Any thoughts on downgrading on the speed rating?

The Defender looks like an excellent option for a non-performance all purpose tire. In the past I thought that Michelin's were simply overpriced and 'the same' as any old tire. But after owning the Primacy MXV4 I have been educated that not all tires are the same!

 

[hevster1]

I am also getting excellent wear on Michelin Primacy MXV4's on a 2002 Golf TDI. I am at 80,000 miles at apx. 4/32. I suspect these are going to last another 10,000 miles if I run them to the wear bars at 2/32. It's summer in Southern California / Northern Mexico so should be ok to run them down. The treadwear warranty on the Primacy MXV4's was 60,000 miles so I have far exceeded that.

The Defender (or Defender XT at Costco) has a 90,000 mile warranty and a much higher treadwear rating so they should last even longer than the Primacy MXV4's. My only concern with the Defender's is that they are speed rated T vs. H. Sure I am not travelling anywhere near the top speeds for T or H rating but I understand it's generally recommended to get the same or higher speed ratings when replacing tires.

Any thoughts on downgrading on the speed rating?

The Defender looks like an excellent option for a non-performance all purpose tire. In the past I thought that Michelin's were simply overpriced and 'the same' as any old tire. But after owning the Primacy MXV4 I have been educated that not all tires are the same!

I only sell 91 H Defenders, they are available.

 

[TDI Tampa]

I have Michelin MXV4 Primacy; 25,000 no problem. Went through two sets of Continental Factory equipped. Kept getting flats. The Michelin seem too work.

 

[andydrew]

I only sell 91 H Defenders, they are available.

I am only seeing the T speed rated version per Michelin's website in size 195/65R15. Part number 10042 or 93957. Do you know what the part number is for the H speed rated version or maybe you are referring to another size?

 

[andydrew]

So I ended up running my Michelin MXV4 Primacy's to about 87,000 miles. I could have run them longer but rainy season is approaching and they were at 2/32 - 3/32 so I decided it was time to replace them.

I ended up getting the Michelin Defender XT at Costco. I purchased the T speed rated version since I could not locate any H rated version and Costco says that they don't come in H rated for my size.

Initial impressions is that the Defender's seem to have a bit of a softer ride than the MXV4's. This makes sense since the Defender is more of a standard tire vs. the MXV4 which is a touring tire. Handling not quite as tight around corners at higher speeds. Although this is comparing worn out MXV4's vs new Defender's.

I figure I have 30 days to try them out. If I am not satisfied I'll return and get the MXV4's again. It may be worth the slightly lower performance feel to get the enhanced tire life of the Defender. The Defender is also less expensive per tire than the MXV4.

 

[redbarron55]

I had the Defenders installed 7000 miles ago and have been delighted with them.

 

[andydrew]

After a couple more days of use I am happy with the Defender also. If the tread lasts anywhere near the amount of miles as per the treadwear warranty these will be a good buy.

 

[TDI_G]

This is an old thread but I thought I would throw in my experience with Michelin Defenders. I purchased a set about 6k miles ago and got to test them in Atlanta's snow mess last night (normal 40 minute commute turned into and 8 hour ordeal). Anyways, these tires did phenomenal on the snowy and icy roads. I have never had a tire that performed so wheel in those kinds of conditions and I am from NE Ohio. I will gladly purchase another set when these tires wear out.

 

[TDI-JAY]

I agree about they handle in the snow - I am very impressed!! I have just about 30,000 miles on mine - still look and drive like new.