Michelin Defender LTX MS vs Michelin Premier LTX
When it comes to buying new tires for your pickup, SUV, commercial van or larger crossover, the Michelin Defender LTX MS and Michelin Premier LTX are without question, among the top all-season choices available today. With that in mind, here’s a look at how these two tires stack up in a head-to-head comparison.
Dry Traction
The Defender LTX M/S uses a strong tread compound, symmetric tread pattern and 3-D sipes to deliver excellent traction on dry pavement. Braking and acceleration is also above average on this tire.
The Premier LTX is just as impressive on dry road surfaces. A silica and sunflower oil tread compound, symmetric tread pattern and continuous center rib give it impressive traction. We give the nod in this category to the Premier LTX, but the difference is minimal.
Note: Although these tires are not off-road tires by any means, the Defender LTX does take on grass, dirt, light mud and gravel very well.
Wet Traction
Both tires offer very good traction, braking and safety on wet pavement. The Defender LTX uses its sipes and four circumferential grooves to give you solid braking performance, while reducing the risk of hydroplaning.
EverGrip technology on the Premier LTX expands the rain grooves around the tire, while adding emerging grooves on the shoulders as the tire begins wearing down. This helps in keeping wet traction at a high level, even when worn. Advantage goes to the Premier LTX here.
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| Michelin Defender LTX MS | Michelin Premier LTX |
Winter Traction
Grip in winter weather conditions is one area where you’ll find a bit of separation between these two. While the Premier LTX will hold its own in light snow, traction in deeper snow (9 inches plus) and ice is not as good as on the Defender LTX M/S in our opinion. Although neither tire sports the mountain/snowflake emblem, the level of performance on snow and ice with the Defender LTX is far above average for an all-season tire.
Handling/Cornering
I think you can toss a coin here in this category. Both of these tires provide excellent handling and stability, even when pulling heavy trailers or hauling a heavy load. Braking and acceleration is predictable and among the better tires in this class. A slight edge can be given to the Premier LTX when it comes to steering response and feel. The solid center rib helps here.
Ride/Noise Comfort
Michelin is known for making quiet and comfortable riding tires, and both of these tires fit that mold as well. The Defender LTX features a smooth ride and low road noise on all types of pavement with the exception of rougher grooved pavement. No surprise there.
The Premier LTX has an equally smooth and quiet ride. Hitting a pothole does not give you a back ache as some tires will, and this is a tire that provides good comfort on longer highway trips. The edge goes to the Premier LTX, but again, the differences are not that great.
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| Michelin Defender LTX MS | Michelin Premier LTX |
Treadlife
Treadwear is arguably where you’ll find the biggest gap between these two tires. Michelin’s MaxTouch construction in the Defender LTX shows itself well. Long-term durability is noticeably higher than the Premier LTX. In our opinion, you may find an added 10-20K additional miles from the Defender LTX MS.
Warranty
The Premier LTX features a 60K mile tread warranty, while the Defender LTX M/S provides up to a 70K mile tread warranty depending on the speed rating of the tire. Both are among the better warranties in the truck/SUV all-season class.
Overall Winner
We feel that if treadlife is a major factor in your decision, the Defender LTX would be a good choice. In addition, it has very good winter performance and does well in light off-road conditions.
If ride comfort and wet traction are areas that you focus on, the Premier LTX may very well be your best bet. It also holds an advantage in having a lower rolling resistance, meaning it should give you a bit more fuel economy over the Defender.
As you can tell from our overall ratings, these two tires rank highly. The differences between them are minimal for the most part. Either tire makes for an excellent choice and will definitely enhance the comfort and performance on your truck, SUV or crossover.
You can read full reviews on each of these tires by going to:
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Just bought 4 new Michelin Defender tires for my 2018 Jeep JK Rubicon. They have been great on dry pavement, gravel roads, and wet pavement. They hold the road and you feel great control. Waiting for the first snow. I live in a hilly area of the Northeast to see how well they perform. The road noise is very low.
Michelin has a great reputation with all their products. They deliver what they say and more.Granted they are expensive but as the saying goes you get what you pay for. In this case overall I am very happy with their performance thus far.
kurk