I don't think those values are meaningless, but I note that the UTQG treadwear rating is one of the highest I've ever seen. I wonder if that is what is driving the other values.
Perhaps that tire isn't a good fit for your driving.
I did have a live chat with Michelin yesterday, and the agent said that the desire for the best treadwear rating in the category did cause a switch in the tire compound, and the B ratings on the other parameters are the tradeoff. He said that it's still an H rated tire, so there's no worry about the tire reliability at sub-115 mph driving (assuming correct tire inflation).
However, for 110 degree ambient temps, that means 140 - 150 degree pavement temps, and then there's the additional heat from the driving time. It's just a bit of a worry in this climate.
Other choices in this general category would be the Continental TrueContact and the Hankook Kinergy PT, both of which are well reviewed in
this TireRack comparative test. (However, in the same test, they actually liked the older Michelin Defender T+H a little more, and the new Defender 2 is supposed to be a large upgrade over the old Defender T+H - at least in terms of wet and dry handling and braking).
If you go to Michelin's
info page for the Defender 2, in Footnote 2, they state their testing results for this brand new tire design. This footnote states:
"Based on internal wet braking tests from 50 MPH and internal dry braking tests from 60 MPH using tires in size 225/65R17 on a 2021 Toyota RAV4, where the MICHELINⓇ DefenderⓇ2 tire had an average stopping distance of 130.0ft wet and 10.9 ft dry versus the BridgestoneⓇ AlenzaⓇ AS Ultra with an average stopping distance of 127.8 ft wet and 125.8 ft dry and the ContinentalⓇ TrueContact™ Tour with an average stopping distance of 145.2 ft wet and 129.2 ft dry and the GoodyearⓇ AssuranceⓇ MaxLife™ with an average stopping distance of 134.0 ft wet and 125.0 ft dry. Actual on-road results may vary."
I am assuming that they mean 109 ft dry stopping distance for their tire (not 10.9 ft !). Also, the numbers they state for a 50 mph wet stopping distance for their arch-rival Continental TrueContact Tour (145.2 ft) is vastly different than what TireRack found (126.2 ft - see charts in the
linked article.) However, the Michelin data was taken using a 2021 RAV4, and the older data from the TireRack comparison was done with a 2017 BMW F36 430i, so it's hard to compare numbers. The Defender 2 is too new for an objective review to appear in the online press.
I like to get my tires at a local Discount Tire, and they do have the Continentals, but only the DT version of that tire (called the Control Contact, which seems to have a few structural differences from the regular version of the TrueContact).
Another option is the Hankook Kinergy PT, which did have great specs in that TireRack comparison test, and is made with "
an abrasion-resistant, carbon black compound for low rolling resistance and long life. The compound is molded into an asymmetric pattern featuring optimized block stiffness for handling and durability."
I know that in general, Hankook is regarded as a second-tier manufacturer in camparison to Michelin, and also the Kinergy PT is a 5 or 10 year old design (in comparison to the brand new Michelin Defender 2, which was obviously engineered to have better specs than the other tires in its segment).
I wonder if anyone knows what a carbon-black compound is, and whether this tire would really be comparable to a Defender 2 - or perhaps better for my purposes in extremely hot weather conditions.
Thanks everyone !