EcoAZ

My truck came with the Goodyear Wrangler Sr-a Tires.
They were tires. They functioned. Had two flats on gravel/rocky forest roads while camping. A large puncture from road debris meant I needed a new set of tires.

My tires are 275 65 R18. The Goodyears were P-rated.

I read a lot of reviews about tires. I thought LT tires might work better for me for the gravel roads I travel and just having a more rugged construction.

My dilemma was all the horror stories I read about load range E tires. So many people warn about the harsh ride. Rattle your teeth.

Well I purchased the Michelin Defender LTX M/S LT Load range E tires. I stayed the same size as OEM.

Discount Tire installed them and put 41psi in them. I came home and upped it to 50psi. Still working on figuring out the right pressure.

All I can say is they are silent. I get no road noise. And as far as the teeth rattling harsh ride. It doesn't exist. Now maybe I don't have a sensitive enough butt in the seat but the stories of a tank like ride are not relevant to this tire.

Don't know if Michelin designed them different or what but I give these tires a 10 out of 10. The ride comfort is great. The noise is great.

BTW....These tires are replacing the LTX M/S2 tires. The Defender line is taking it's place. The M/S2 tires got excellent reviews and it appears that the new Defender LTX M/S will continue that great tire.

WestsydeGuy

I use Michelin, Cooper, Firestone and Toyo in LT tires on all my trucks....have found these brands to be excellent.
Worst tire brands i have found are Goodyear, Pirelli, and Bridgestone.

Kenferg1

Try the Cooper AT3 tires. They have a great reputation. And they come in a 6 ply rather than passenger or LT 10 ply. I just put a set on my truck. They ride a little harder, but have great traction in the rain. I'm looking forward to towing my travel trailer this year. A stiffer sidewall will help with the squishy feel of the P rated SRAs. They are definitely worth a look, and they are priced right too.

Rygi

Happy to hear this as I ordered a set today for my F250. It was rated #1 out of the 33 in its class and has great reviews so I splurged the extra $$$. In addition to it being a quality Michelin, it is an all season modestly threaded tire so it should make a truck ride like a caddy.

WVBKW

I put these on my wife's 2015 Navigator a few months ago. They are awesome tires. We live in WV and have a good amount of snow. One storm this year was nearly 30 inches. We live in a house on a hill with a long paved driveway. More than a couple times we came home to a heavy snow covered driveway. I have a SxS for plowing duty but each time we tried it in the Navigator with the Defender tires it did exceptional. I have an F150 Fx4 with the new BFG ATKO2's. In the "driveway test" I can honestly say the Defenders did every bit as well as the snowflake rated BFG's. There ride is exceptional also.

homeskizzle

I've put a couple thousand miles on my LTX Defender load range E 275/65/18s now and love those tires.

_MacLeod_

I've ran the LTX M/S before and they're the best truck tires on the market IMO. I got 70,000 miles out of a set on my old 02 Dodge Ram Quad Cab without rotations. Haven't tried the new Defenders but all the reviews and tests I've seen rate them higher than the old M/S they replaced.

BFG AT's are also excellent and rugged but they don't ride anywhere near as nice as the Michelin. By far my favorite truck tire and I've tried Goodyear, Firestone (surprisingly pretty good actually), Continental and Bridgestone over the years. Michelin will always be my first choice.

ACTIV68-69

EcoAZ above is right about the Defender taking the place of the LTX M/S 2, I just replaced mine (after 67k) with the Defender and am happy with the ride. My old ones would have probably been safe for another 2-3K.

I believe the LTX were a 70k tire while the Defender is 50k. While they are both load range E, the LTX had a slightly higher max inflation. I ran mine at 50 lbs but will have to check the sidewall on the new ones again before going higher than the door sticker which is 36 lbs.

Both tires have a "sipe like" tread design which, I believe, contributes greatly to the excellent traction I have experienced. I believe the Michelin's are worth the extra up front cost.

ruggeddoug

Looking at getting a set of Defender LTX M/S, it's great to her they're quiet and silent and comfortable. Are you still running them? If not, how many miles/kms did you get out of them? I was reading a review online and they said they typically run a little louder than other tires, so it's great to hear they're quiet. Cheers in advance!

http://shedheads.net/michelin-defender-reviews/

rrp0968

My 2013 Lariat came with Bridgestone Dueller Alenza tires on 20" wheels. I do have to say that this is probably the best set of OEM Tires that I have ever had on a vehicle. I have about 33k on them now and by the way the tread looks, I think I can get that much more out of them.