20" Inch Michelin Defender LTX Platinum tires review update!

[Whataboykie!]

Anyone out there looking for new tires, these are for you. Michelin released these in Nov 2023.

If you're not going rock crawling or doing serious off roading, then spend the money on these.

I now have almost 4,000 miles on my 285/60/20 tires and can honestly say these are phenomenal! Yes they are expensive! But you get what you pay for.

Living in Florida, flat and no hills, comfort and longevity was my main concern. They are quieter than the Factory 21" Pirelli's. So much so that I seldom listen to the radio any more, Just the silent hum of the motors, and a slight wind noise over 70 mph.

Everybody comments on the ride quality. These also have a 70,000 mile warranty and I see no reason why I won't get at least 50,000 miles out of them.

I got mine from Costco, so no warranty or other issues are expected.

Sorry to say, I charge at home 99% of the time, so I never bothered to do an efficiency comparisson with the original Pirelli's, which lasted 20,000 miles.

I also drive in sport mode at the lowest setting and experienced no rubbing at all.
Lastly, the picture show some of the soapy residue they used to mount the tires, and fortunately it's not curb rash.

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[Whataboykie!]

Just do it!

 

[Hillbilly]

My pirellis don't make noise and I've got over 34k miles on them. Interesting.

 

[ozziegt]

How is the handling / cornering compared to the 21s?

 

[Whataboykie!]

Yeah, my Pirelli's had almost 20,000 miles on them and I certainly could have gotten 5-6,000 more miles on them, but I was hot to trot on those 20" Speedline wheels.
As far as the handling is concerned, the Pirelli's where a lighter tire, but I can't tell much difference.
I do however, see a drop in efficiency, which doesn't concern me.
As I mentioned, I have a 10 kW solar system with 20 kW of battery storage, so I charge here in sunny Florida and drive my Rivian virtually for free.
2800SF house, with pool and Air Con and my electric bill last month was $57.00

 

[Arnie1]

Yeah, my Pirelli's had almost 20,000 miles on them and I certainly could have gotten 5-6,000 more miles on them, but I was hot to trot on those 20" Speedline wheels.
As far as the handling is concerned, the Pirelli's where a lighter tire, but I can't tell much difference.
I do however, see a drop in efficiency, which doesn't concern me.
As I mentioned, I have a 10 kW solar system with 20 kW of battery storage, so I charge here in sunny Florida and drive my Rivian virtually for free.
2800SF house, with pool and Air Con and my electric bill last month was $57.00

Nice wheels and tires..i'm in Wesley Chapel FL and considering solar. What company did you go with and would you recommend?

 

[roberttatefan]

My first job was at Discount Tire. The LTX line was ALWAYS one of the store favorites. They balanced easily, customers loved them for their quiet, comfortable ride, they have excellent traction in all conditions (Minnesota), and they came in a ton of size/load ranges. I really like the look of the OEM ATs I have now, but will take a serious look at the LTX when the time comes. The tire has been a benchmark for years and so long as they don't present a huge efficiency hit, I see no reason why they wouldn't be great on the Rivian.

I imagine they'll wear well, offer increased comfort/compliance, and offer serious traction in nearly all conditions.

 

[CGM55082]

I noticed those are 60s versus the 65s that are OEM. Do they come in 65s? Did that throw off your speedometer and range estimates? I thought I read somewhere that there was a three precent difference between the 60 and 65, but I could be mistake.

 

[oskeei]

I noticed those are 60s versus the 65s that are OEM. Do they come in 65s? Did that throw off your speedometer and range estimates? I thought I read somewhere that there was a three precent difference between the 60 and 65, but I could be mistake.

He is coming from 21" so the 60 ratio match (less than 1% difference) to the original 21" set.

 

[CGM55082]

Thanks for that explanation. Do they make that tire in a 65 as an exact replacement for the OEM 20s?

 

[Joules Burn]

Great choice! I have the first version on my Kia EV6 GT-L.

20K miles now after I dumped the original OEM suckie tires. Minimal wear. Great performance. Very quite and smooth. No noticeable range change. Number one rated with Tire Rack.

The LTX is essentially a "truck" tire so it has beefed up sidewalls to take the insult of bad roads. It is not a "rock climber" but it will handle most of your off road situations way above the "soccer mom" level.

When the Pirellis are gone on the R1S, the Defenders are the replacements.

 

[Dc640]

20kw solar is massive lol. I have dinky 7.6kw since my roof is small

I have incoming 20 inch wheel R1T. I really want this tire size. I love Michelin tires

 

[Whataboykie!]

Nice wheels and tires..i'm in Wesley Chapel FL and considering solar. What company did you go with and would you recommend?

I would recommend you get at least two quotes. My company has been bought out and I'm not sure who tey are right now.

 

[Whataboykie!]

I noticed those are 60s versus the 65s that are OEM. Do they come in 65s? Did that throw off your speedometer and range estimates? I thought I read somewhere that there was a three precent difference between the 60 and 65, but I could be mistake.

The factory 20" wheel is a 275/65/20 which has a diameter of about 33.5". I chose a 285/60/20 wheel that has virtually the same diameter of 33.4". My speedo is off maybe by 1 mph at 70 mph.
This is based upon my dashcam's GPS measured speed.

 

[ksurfier]

Just curious why the new thread?

wasnt all of these covered in the one you posted in December?

Can you share you MPK over last 4k miles?

in the previous thread there was some conflicting MPK that showed it was the same or worse than 20” OEM, would be helpful to everyone if there is any new efficiency data on these…

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