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Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only

kb2755

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While I still think it's boring with the Michelin tires it isn't horrible. Glad I had it leveled 2.5 last week. Looks much better

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I can't tell, are these 275/65R18? Or 275/70R18? Or something else?
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Pelican

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I personally like the look of my Conti Terrain Contact H/T's. I initially got the A/T's which admittedly looked a little better but was unsure of the mileage. My mpg's took an immediate hit by 2-3mpg. I had DT swap them for the H/T's because I felt confident they would not be as bad given their similar looks of the Michelin XTX's. Well, they were not as bad but still 1-2mpg less than the OEM Hankooks.
After coming to my senses, I realized i hit the trifecta of the start of colder winter weather, winter blend fuel, and fresh sticky rubber. All reduce milaege. After about 1500 miles my mpg's were right back to normal and that's even after installing a set of Eibach coilovers to level up the front. I detected no loss of mileage with the small lift.
The Conti's perform spectacularly. Supreme grip in the wet most of all. And overall a better wearing and feeling tire to the OEM Hankooks. Also quiet and smooth. Maybe a touch more difficult to get balanced right. But that could be the installer not taking their time. I always ask them to match up the balance dots with the valve stem. Seems to help.

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Great choice if i do say so myself. I bought the same tires for my 21. I'll be buying them again when the 24 needs new shoes. I like the look and they perform well in the rain and snow, too.
 

spiritrider1

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Great choice if i do say so myself. I bought the same tires for my 21. I'll be buying them again when the 24 needs new shoes. I like the look and they perform well in the rain and snow, too.
Agreed! I really like them now. Especially withe the Eibach coilovers. They have a nice square look vs. the old Hankooks that had a softer rounder look to them. These look more 'tough'. The A/T's would look just that little bit 'tougher' but overall I think I'm on the right tire. They do almost anything the A/T's would have in my daily driving environment. If I someday get rich (not) and buy a farm or land, I'll go more aggressive. ;)
 

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Snakebitten

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Do a lot of towing and interstating with the Powerboost Landyacht. And have been using the Michelins on my trucks since the mid 90's, when they raised the bar on what a premium truck tire should ride and handle like.

Admittedly today, there are more premium tires to compete against, but even with the recent compound change, the Defender just delivers on my expectations.

I personally think it's a great looking tire, but it's probably because I'm biased at this point.

Ford F-150 Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only 20230522_152408(1)



Ford F-150 Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only 20230704_182621(1)
 

RocketPack12

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Do a lot of towing and interstating with the Powerboost Landyacht. And have been using the Michelins on my trucks since the mid 90's, when they raised the bar on what a premium truck tire should ride and handle like.

Admittedly today, there are more premium tires to compete against, but even with the recent compound change, the Defender just delivers on my expectations.

I personally think it's a great looking tire, but it's probably because I'm biased at this point.

20230522_152408(1).jpg



20230704_182621(1).jpg
It is a good looking tire. I fight the urge sometimes to put something more aggressive looking on my trucks. I try to find a middle ground, but performance does come first for me.
 

js312

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I was trying to think of a good way to describe them, and "jittery" is pretty good. Almost like there's some sort of mild reverb or something. It's more noticeable at lower speeds on mine. I can feel it ever so slightly in the steering wheel too. The best way I can describe it is that they always feel like they're riding on pavement that's slightly rougher than it is. I don't know that I've ever gotten that "driving on glass" feel with them on a smooth road, and I definitely did on the last generation of defenders on my previous truck, and those had less sidewall (275/55/20 vs 275/60/20 on this one)

I'm admittedly more sensitive to this kind of thing that most people I think. I'm also not 100% sure it's not one of the tires being sub-par. I couldn't get the tire shop or the dealer to acknowledge anything though. One weekend I may just swap the spare around and see if there's any change. It's not something I'd probably even think too hard about except that I've had every generation of these tires going back 20+ years on multiple trucks, and something just seems off.
I think some of mine might be balance being not quite perfect, too, but I haven't been motivated to have anyone try to rebalance them. I'm due to rotate them for the first time, so I'll probably do that this weekend and it'll be interesting to see if it changes at all.
 

ttnuagmada

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I think some of mine might be balance being not quite perfect, too, but I haven't been motivated to have anyone try to rebalance them. I'm due to rotate them for the first time, so I'll probably do that this weekend and it'll be interesting to see if it changes at all.
I had mine roadforce balanced without much of a change.
 

spiritrider1

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Do a lot of towing and interstating with the Powerboost Landyacht. And have been using the Michelins on my trucks since the mid 90's, when they raised the bar on what a premium truck tire should ride and handle like.

Admittedly today, there are more premium tires to compete against, but even with the recent compound change, the Defender just delivers on my expectations.

I personally think it's a great looking tire, but it's probably because I'm biased at this point.

20230522_152408(1).webp



20230704_182621(1).webp
Good show! I’ve always liked the KR wheels over the ‘Dark’ Sport style. But, I’ll see your Defenders and raise you a set of Terrain Contacts!
Ford F-150 Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only IMG_1319

(Pardon the dirt)
 
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Snakebitten

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It is a good looking tire. I fight the urge sometimes to put something more aggressive looking on my trucks. I try to find a middle ground, but performance does come first for me.
It's a mission thing.
If my vehicle is going to need to manage tough off-road conditions, I'd choose the tire for the mission.

I've had KO2's on a truck when I was doing a fair amount of boondocking on beaches. I don't know that the Defenders wouldn't have handled the challenge, but I felt better with the improved sand/mud clearing tread blocks.

And honestly they weren't terrible, or even bad on pavement. But they were very noticeably less smooth and quiet.

Ford F-150 Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only IMG_20250905_122057_(1400_x_700_pixel)
 

js312

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It's a mission thing.
If my vehicle is going to need to manage tough off-road conditions, I'd choose the tire for the mission.

I've had KO2's on a truck when I was doing a fair amount of boondocking on beaches. I don't know that the Defenders wouldn't have handled the challenge, but I felt better with the improved sand/mud clearing tread blocks.

And honestly they weren't terrible, or even bad on pavement. But they were very noticeably less smooth and quiet.

IMG_20250905_122057_(1400_x_700_pixel).jpg
Similar here - when I ran a single tire year round, I went with the General Grabber AT2 for better winter performance. For an A/T, they were surprisingly good in winter conditions - the performance wasn't as far off from a dedicated winter tire as I thought it would be. The new ATX version would probably still be my choice if I were looking for a "do it all" tire.

Now that I have a set of Blizzaks on their own wheels, I go with a less aggressive tire when there isn't snow on the ground and gain fuel economy and lower noise.
 

SeanV313

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Similar here - when I ran a single tire year round, I went with the General Grabber AT2 for better winter performance. For an A/T, they were surprisingly good in winter conditions - the performance wasn't as far off from a dedicated winter tire as I thought it would be. The new ATX version would probably still be my choice if I were looking for a "do it all" tire.

Now that I have a set of Blizzaks on their own wheels, I go with a less aggressive tire when there isn't snow on the ground and gain fuel economy and lower noise.
What size Blizzaks do you use? Are they DM-V2 or LT? I just put a set of 20" Defenders on my truck, and will be getting a set of snow tires in October/November.
 

js312

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What size Blizzaks do you use? Are they DM-V2 or LT? I just put a set of 20" Defenders on my truck, and will be getting a set of snow tires in October/November.
DM-V2. I ran Nokians previously, but the prices I got for them last time around were nuts. The Blizzaks are probably 95% as good as the Nokians were.

I have them on 18" wheels from a 2018-2020 sport appearance package truck. They look okay, but they're a size smaller since I bought the tires when I had my 2020 and for the next generation they moved to 33" stock:

Ford F-150 Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only 1757099403486-dh
 

24STX

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@SeanV313 I run a set of P275/65R-18 BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK DM-V2

on tremor wheels they are great in the snow.
Ford F-150 Michelin Defender LTX MS2 Buyers Remorse Based on Looks Only IMG_4101
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