New 21" tire option - Michelin Defender LTX M/S 2 275/55-21 @ $380

[LL75]

This is what I did. Weather has made it difficult to get a good read on comparative efficiency, but so far it looks like it's pretty close. Most likely it's slightly less efficient than the 21" AS but more than the 20" AT. I know @Atomic Wheels did a test and this option with their wheels was more efficient than OEM 20" wheels.

For reference, my 21" tires made it 26k miles and were at the nubs. I was starting to get a lot of slipping, especially with any throttle from a stop.

How is the ride and handling compared to the stock 21"?

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[Atomic Wheels]

This is what I did. Weather has made it difficult to get a good read on comparative efficiency, but so far it looks like it's pretty close. Most likely it's slightly less efficient than the 21" AS but more than the 20" AT. I know @Atomic Wheels did a test and this option with their wheels was more efficient than OEM 20" wheels.

For reference, my 21" tires made it 26k miles and were at the nubs. I was starting to get a lot of slipping, especially with any throttle from a stop.

It is actually right about as on 21”.

When we ran test on Michelin it was 34F, battery at 62F, also it was considerably noticeable wind, but we did loop test and it should not affect efficiency that much.

25 mi, at 70mph gps, with average speed of 68mph.

2.04 mi/kwh. Considering 20% loss due to weather we are at 2.448 mi/kwh which brings us to 330mi of range if we are talking about large pack+quad.

So we can conclude, wider rim with more aggressive offset is not affecting range that much, if at all because wheel itself is lighter than factory one.

 

[LL75]

It is actually right about as on 21”.

When we ran test on Michelin it was 34F, battery at 62F, also it was considerably noticeable wind, but we did loop test and it should not affect efficiency that much.

25 mi, at 70mph gps, with average speed of 68mph.

2.04 mi/kwh. Considering 20% loss due to weather we are at 2.448 mi/kwh which brings us to 330mi of range if we are talking about large pack.

So we can conclude, wider rim with more aggressive offset is not affecting range that much, if at all because wheel itself is lighter than factory one.

330 in all purpose mode is damn awesome. I get 338 in conserve and 303 in all purpose with 21"

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

How is the ride and handling compared to the stock 21"?

I'm very pleased with the ride. The extra 1" of sidewall makes for a smoother ride and the truck feels very planted. We've had some pretty heavy rain recently and I let it rip in a few turns and it felt very solid. You can tell just looking at the Michelin tread compared with the Pirellis that it's a much more capable tire.

Anecdotally, today I got efficiency on par with what I was getting on the 21" OEM.

 

[LL75]

I'm very pleased with the ride. The extra 1" of sidewall makes for a smoother ride and the truck feels very planted. We've had some pretty heavy rain recently and I let it rip in a few turns and it felt very solid. You can tell just looking at the Michelin tread compared with the Pirellis that it's a much more capable tire.

Anecdotally, today I got efficiency on par with what I was getting on the 21" OEM.

That is great. the stock perillis 21" ride is nice as well, but damn, it is wearing out way too fast.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

That is great. the stock perillis 21" ride is nice as well, but damn, it is wearing out way too fast.

As I've said before, a $450 tire that lasts less than 30,000 miles with no treadwear warranty is just not sustainable. The Michelin Defender M/S2 cost $300 per tire and last twice as long.

 

[mabowden]

I wouldn't either if it last 30k miles. I'm at 14k miles and already at 4/32 all evenly. All purpose driving and rotated once at 7k miles where they told me I don't need to do it that often.

I wonder if there was a compound change at some point, because there are many folks in both camps. Early on I saw a lot of 21's wearing out early, and mid/later VINs I tend to see people with my story (as long as you're not doing full throttle launches every day). I don't baby the truck, but I'll easily get 30k out of this set.

What's your VIN? I'm 15,6XX 2022

 

[mabowden]

This is what I did. Weather has made it difficult to get a good read on comparative efficiency, but so far it looks like it's pretty close. Most likely it's slightly less efficient than the 21" AS but more than the 20" AT. I know @Atomic Wheels did a test and this option with their wheels was more efficient than OEM 20" wheels.

For reference, my 21" tires made it 26k miles and were at the nubs. I was starting to get a lot of slipping, especially with any throttle from a stop.

Found your photos on the Atomic wheels thread. Looks really nice! Let us know about efficiency long term.

 

[LL75]

I wonder if there was a compound change at some point, because there are many folks in both camps. Early on I saw a lot of 21's wearing out early, and mid/later VINs I tend to see people with my story (as long as you're not doing full throttle launches every day). I don't baby the truck, but I'll easily get 30k out of this set.

What's your VIN? I'm 15,6XX 2022

I am 6xxx. 2023 model r1s. My wife is the main driver and she drives like a grandma

 

[LL75]

As I've said before, a $450 tire that lasts less than 30,000 miles with no treadwear warranty is just not sustainable. The Michelin Defender M/S2 cost $300 per tire and last twice as long.

I'm wondering would the defender would last twice as long for this weight of the rivian. Only time will tell

 

[dleepnw]

from my experience, tires hardly ever last as long as the stated treadwear warranty. so we dont know if the Michelin's are going to last twice as long as the OEM Pirellis, no matter what they state since its being run on a heavy EV.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I'm wondering would the defender would last twice as long for this weight of the rivian. Only time will tell

Treadwear warranty is 70k miles and it is a truck tire optimized for EVs. The Rivian is heavy, but it's not that heavy for a truck. I don't expect to get the full 70k miles, but I don't think 50k is outside the realm of possibility. I got 26k out of my first set of OEM tires, so 50k would double the life. Add to that the pro-rated discount that I would get on the replacement for the other 20k miles that you don't get with Pirelli, and I will call that a huge win.

 

[LL75]

Treadwear warranty is 70k miles and it is a truck tire optimized for EVs. The Rivian is heavy, but it's not that heavy for a truck. I don't expect to get the full 70k miles, but I don't think 50k is outside the realm of possibility. I got 26k out of my first set of OEM tires, so 50k would double the life. Add to that the pro-rated discount that I would get on the replacement for the other 20k miles that you don't get with Pirelli, and I will call that a huge win.

I don't think my OEM will last more than another 2k miles. I'm at 14500 and got 4/32 left. That is good to know about discount tires pro-rate discount. I will definitely get the tires from them. How is your efficiency since the weather in texas is warmer as of late?

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I don't think my OEM will last more than another 2k miles. I'm at 14500 and got 4/32 left. That is good to know about discount tires pro-rate discount. I will definitely get the tires from them. How is your efficiency since the weather in texas is warmer as of late?

While it has been warmer of late, the warmer temperatures also brought a lot of rain and I'm afraid that the wet conditions are nearly as much of an issue as the cold. On the one day since I got them that the weather conditions were warm and relatively dry, I got observed efficiency equivalent to what I was getting with my 21" OEM tires.

 

[AllInev]

The Michelin Defender M/S2 cost $300 per tire and last twice as long.

The Michelin tires last twice as long? Do we actually know that for a fact? Or are you just assuming that based on Michelin's marketing info? Do we have ANY evidence that the Michelin's tires will last longer than the Pirellis on our R1 vehicles?

Not trying to single you out @kurtlikevonnegut. Does ANYONE on this forum have evidence that any non-OEM Pirelli tire is going to last longer?

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