Michelin premier or defender

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I love in the southern Calif mountains,and we tend to eat tires rather quickly. H rated tires seem to do the best. Defenders start with more tread depth, but the premier's supposedly have a better tread compound. We do get snow for a few weeks a year, so that is a consideration. Which tire is likely to last the longest? Any experience with both?
 
What tires are you talking about for what vehicle?

There are multiple tires named premier and defender.


Not a fan of car sized michelin defender but the defender ltx m/s(truck/crossover sizes) is good
 
Happy with my premiers on the lexus rx400h best set so far.

Curious to see if they start cracking like my energies.

UD
 
I have Michelin Defender A/S tires on my 06 xB with upgraded shocks/struts and Hotchkiss sway bars on stock steel rims. I have fun sliding around tight freeway on/off ramps and windy roads where I live. They have a 90K mileage warranty. There was a discount on the tires and an instant $70 Michelin rebate from a local Discount Tire Store. I have no idea what tire would have been better but I'm happy with my choice. My self-propelled shipping crate handles in a predictable manner with no surprises. What's not to like?
 
If snow is important, the Defender's extra tread will come in handy. They recently rolled out a new version called Defender T+H
 
Have Premier on BMW during non-snow months. Good tire (not on par with BMW suspension, but not an issue for you). However, it seems that not only does it start shallow but rather it is wearing out fast. In talk with tire manager here at DT once he said that wearing out of Premier LTX is number one complaint.
 
In So cal mountains rain performance is probably more important than snow because it doenst stick around long but wet pavement does

The premier has the best rain performance Ive experience or seen tested.

Wear has been normal for the first 10K anyway.


UD
 
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Pretty simple difference: practical vs performace. I am practical so I use the Defender on all my cars. It is not a performance-oriented tire like the Premier...

https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/motorsport-messages-from-marshall/michelin-premier-as-vs-michelin-defender:-which-is-best

The Michelin Premier and Michelin Defender are two completely different tires meant for two different jobs. The Michelin Premier with its higher speed rating and softer tread compound will have more immediate response during lane changes and sharp steering inputs. It will also maintain grip longer during hard cornering on dry pavement. In exchange for the higher levels of cornering performance, the Premier has a lower treadlife warranty than the long-lasting Michelin Defender.

In comparison, the Michelin Defender is all about practicality. This tire is designed to get its driver from point A to point B thousands of times over. What it lacks in dry road handling abilities it makes up for in ride comfort and long treadlife. With its 90,000-mile treadlife warranty, this tire is one of the longest-lasting tires currently on the market. This is not a tire that will set any track records, yet sets its sights on a casual consumer who doesn't consider his or herself an aggressive driver.
 
I wouldn't characterize the premier as performance oriented but it is softer than the defender.

I would categorize it as an acceptably performing and very quiet tire in on dry pavement ,

- and having superb class leading performance in the wet even at lower tread depth which is quite a trick that they pulled off.

They are the only Michelins Ive been happy with.

UD
 
There is a new Defender T+H, which uses a similar compound to the premier a/s and has wider grooves when worn. Tread depth is more than Premier a/s. Not every size is available yet, but I'd check to see if it fits your vehicle.

We have the premier a/s on a Subaru and Honda and it wears faster than the warranty would indicate, but handling is excellent.
 
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Originally Posted By: WillsYoda
Pretty simple difference: practical vs performace. I am practical so I use the Defender on all my cars. It is not a performance-oriented tire like the Premier...

https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/motorsport-messages-from-marshall/michelin-premier-as-vs-michelin-defender:-which-is-best

The Michelin Premier and Michelin Defender are two completely different tires meant for two different jobs. The Michelin Premier with its higher speed rating and softer tread compound will have more immediate response during lane changes and sharp steering inputs. It will also maintain grip longer during hard cornering on dry pavement. In exchange for the higher levels of cornering performance, the Premier has a lower treadlife warranty than the long-lasting Michelin Defender.

In comparison, the Michelin Defender is all about practicality. This tire is designed to get its driver from point A to point B thousands of times over. What it lacks in dry road handling abilities it makes up for in ride comfort and long treadlife. With its 90,000-mile treadlife warranty, this tire is one of the longest-lasting tires currently on the market. This is not a tire that will set any track records, yet sets its sights on a casual consumer who doesn't consider his or herself an aggressive driver.

Since when Premier is performance tire? Or we have different understanding of performance. My BMW overwhelms Premier's really fast.
 
Originally Posted By: UncleDave
In So cal mountains rain performance is probably more important than snow because it doenst stick around long but wet pavement does

The premier has the best rain performance Ive experience or seen tested.

Wear has been normal for the first 10K anyway.


UD

Yes, wet performance of Premier is ridiculous. Definiately people who worked on Pilot Super Sport tires had something to say when Michelin developed Premier.
 
I've owned both tires, but will only buy Defenders from now on. The Premiers are everything folks have already said: great traction and handling. The best I've ever experienced in a Michelin tire frankly. But I also found them to be a tad noisier than the Defender, to have shorter tread life, and most irritating ... roughly a 10% drop in mpg.
frown.gif
Had same experience on two vehicles, a Camry and CRV. And where I live, they cost a little more too. To be fair, I've found the Defenders get noisy once the tread depth gets down to about 6 or 7 32ths. Have only driven the Defenders in snow (without issue), but would guess the Premier would be slightly better in those conditions.
 
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