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

[jeeden]

I've got a week or so on the 21" Michelins, and they are unbelievably quiet. Noticeably so. Couldn't be happier. They also look better in person than in most images. Especially in the 275/55/21 which means less sidewall.

I have had them in 20's for a couple of weeks and they are suuuuper quiet. I mean fall asleep quiet. They did great as expected in a snowstorm too.

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[Bullwinkle]

The Michelin is absolutely a step down in dry and wet traction, hence the B traction rating compared to A for the Pirelli. This isn't an opinion, this is measured by the tire manufacturers. You can also feel the loss of grip after making the switch if you take corners aggressively or accelerate quickly.

The Tire Rack customer ratings for the Michelins are not all coming from Rivian owners, and so the "9.5 excellent" traction rating is only in the opinion of typical truck owners. That is a subjective rating from owners compared to their other truck tires and isn't a one-to-one comparison to the Pirelli or any other tire.

This is true, however it is a large sample size, and it is broken out over various performance aspects--quite useful. It may only have as much validity as a large number of verified star ratings on Amazon, but the sample size for both review sets is large enough to have relevance.

I have had both tires now and feel I can opine on my R1S. Snow and ice performance is not that close--the Michelins are much better--and this matters a great deal in Minnesota. The Michelins are better in terms of NVH also. Handling may be ever so slightly less crisp.

I will be finishing my Pirellis off this summer when I put the back on--they only have 12k on them--and confirm my thoughts then.

 

[mudito]

I have had them in 20's for a couple of weeks and they are suuuuper quiet. I mean fall asleep quiet. They did great as expected in a snowstorm too.

While true on the ratings, I find the wet traction a bit better than the Scorpions in my personal experience (just switched to them last month after 15.000mi on the Pirellis). This might very well be due to worn Pirellis, the actual test should be new vs new.

In Dry, traction is worse, yes. How much worse? Not enough for me to care. My 0-60 times didn't change a bit from Pirelli's vs the Michellin (I have Racebox GPS data, I'll dig it down and share it), maybe when turning aggressively is a bit more notorious but, again, my comparison is worn vs new tires.

I'm overall EXTREMELY happy with the switch, as soon as I left the tire shop, the ride was noticeably better with the newer Michellin so I'm not planning to go back at all.

I would love a "Michellin Pilot Sport A/S" for the Rivian, that would be my ideal tire, but the Defenders are great tire (Unless you're planning to track the Rivian?) ;-)

 

[CrazyOne]

While true on the ratings, I find the wet traction a bit better than the Scorpions in my personal experience (just switched to them last month after 15.000mi on the Pirellis). This might very well be due to worn Pirellis, the actual test should be new vs new.

In Dry, traction is worse, yes. How much worse? Not enough for me to care. My 0-60 times didn't change a bit from Pirelli's vs the Michellin (I have Racebox GPS data, I'll dig it down and share it), maybe when turning aggressively is a bit more notorious but, again, my comparison is worn vs new tires.

I'm overall EXTREMELY happy with the switch, as soon as I left the tire shop, the ride was noticeably better with the newer Michellin so I'm not planning to go back at all.

I would love a "Michellin Pilot Sport A/S" for the Rivian, that would be my ideal tire, but the Defenders are great tire (Unless you're planning to track the Rivian?) ;-)

Do you have/can you pull braking numbers?

+1 on Michelin A/S. It is the highest performance all season that Michelin makes and I use on my other car. It's a pity they didn't make them for Rivian.

 

[mudito]

Do you have/can you pull braking numbers?

I can take new numbers, but I don't have braking numbers from before the tire swap. Once It stops raining around here, I'll find a safe place to test the breaking efficiency with the Racebox

 

[ksurfier]

While true on the ratings, I find the wet traction a bit better than the Scorpions in my personal experience (just switched to them last month after 15.000mi on the Pirellis). This might very well be due to worn Pirellis, the actual test should be new vs new.

In Dry, traction is worse, yes. How much worse? Not enough for me to care. My 0-60 times didn't change a bit from Pirelli's vs the Michellin (I have Racebox GPS data, I'll dig it down and share it), maybe when turning aggressively is a bit more notorious but, again, my comparison is worn vs new tires.

I'm overall EXTREMELY happy with the switch, as soon as I left the tire shop, the ride was noticeably better with the newer Michellin so I'm not planning to go back at all.

I would love a "Michellin Pilot Sport A/S" for the Rivian, that would be my ideal tire, but the Defenders are great tire (Unless you're planning to track the Rivian?) ;-)

It may simply be that they perform well in the wet since they are narrow. Michelins are extremely well built/respected, they also happen to be one of the highest rated tires with a solid fitment across multiple Rivian tire sizes…ratings from owners are important for comparing one tire to another, on their own they may not mean much.

 

[JackRussellRacing]

275/55R-21 Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 ordered from TireRack, delivered to my office. Installed today -- in my warehouse by a mobile installer. How did I live almost 60 years on this planet and not utilize mobile tire installation before? Holy smokes, it's the bee's knees.

Super easy. No impressions of the rubber yet; but I'm anxious for the commute home

(18,500 on the original Pirellis. They had a little meat left, but not much.)

 

[KingTodd]

The Count’s Costco loitering nemesis had his tires install by Costco today - and noticed a horrendous decrease in efficiency. Granted, the Count’s nemesis only drove 10 miles home, but still, the curve was vastly different. Sure, break in period required, but 1.57 miles/kWh?! Saw no “green” on the 15 minute efficiency curve, and that’s a first for said nemesis. He will “carry on” for a few hundred more miles and report back…

9/18 Update - Okay, I saw more green today; it’s improving rapidly. Hopefully I can get back to “steady-state” before the changeover from the Pirellis. The Defenders are noticeably quieter and more supple!

So what is the latest on this? I got a nail in my 21" Perilli's so am now up sh!t creek without a paddle and likely need a new set of 4? How are these defenders?

 

[Bullwinkle]

So what is the latest on this? I got a nail in my 21" Perilli's so am now up sh!t creek without a paddle and likely need a new set of 4? How are these defenders?

Much better in snow and ice. Better ride quality. Much longer life. Some say not quite as precise handling.

 

[KingTodd]

Much better in snow and ice. Better ride quality. Much longer life. Some say not quite as precise handling.

Thanks for that input.
How has your Rivian's efficiency changed, if at all?

 

[Bullwinkle]

Hard to say for sure, I switched them out when winter started. The Pirellis are terrible winter tires. I will know more when spring comes.

 

[ne0phyte]

I made the switch to the defenders about 3000 miles ago. way better than the pirellis!
they are noticeably quieter than the pirellis.

efficiency is about the same, i get 2.4-2.6 around 70-72mph highway cruising on all purpose (I have dual motor, which means only front axle is engaged).

tread life is looking good too. I got 12000 miles out of the pirellis, I wore them down to 3/32 when I changed them.

the michellins start at 12/32 (vs 10/32 on pirelli), and I'm down to 11/32 after 3k miles. so I'm on pace to get 27k miles which will be more than double what i got on the pirellis

keep in mind, the tread warranty on the defender is 70k miles, but I doubt they had a 7000lb EV in mind lol

 

[KingTodd]

Is anyone finding the Defenders 21" in stock? I need a set, and of course it seems like everyone near me doesn't have them....of course their websites say in stock, and then you add them to the cart and BOOM, not available.

 

[snowboarder777]

Is anyone finding the Defenders 21" in stock? I need a set, and of course it seems like everyone near me doesn't have them....of course their websites say in stock, and then you add them to the cart and BOOM, not available.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...Year=2024&autoModel=R1S&autoModClar=275/55-21

 

[JackRussellRacing]

I got my Defenders last week from TireRack. I am in NC, and they shipped from a Georgia warehouse with 1-day delivery.

My road experience thus far is still < 100 total miles.

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