Bridgestone as ultra vs michelin defender ltx ms

Hey guys i was wondering if anybody has the bridgestone alenza as ultra installed on their 4runner. i would love some feedback on them.
I am between getting them and getting michelin defender ltx m/s.

I am more leaning towards the bridgestones since they are lighter.

 

I’ve never tried that Bridgestone before but I’ve had other Bridgestone tires in the past. Regardless, there exists no Bridgestone that is a better tire than the Michelin Defender. I’ve run the Defenders on my Limited 4R, my Acura RDX and just put a set on my wife’s MDX this week. It is an exceptional tire in every way. The only reason I don’t have them on my SR5 4R is because I wanted to try Toyo AT3’s. The Defenders are one of the best tires made.

 

I have the Michelin's. I'll say this, there are tires, and then there are Michelin's.

 

I see that everybody thinks the michelins are amazing.

 

I had the Michelins on my Explorer prior to getting a 4R and they were awesome (pricey) but awesome. Most likely that will be the tire I put on to replace Dunlops on my ORP after a few years.

 

Defender LTX MS2 on
My tacoma, two service body trucks, three mechanics trucks, 3 delivery trucks, 1 sales truck, bosses expedition, my co-worker's truck. They last 15-20 thousand miles more than everything elsebwe have tried. Also much more secure feeling in rain and snow. It is just less expensive to buy the others, but the are more expensive since you have to buy them again sooner.

 

Ever had the Defenders off road? How’d they perform? They are in my top 2 for when the factory Grandcraps are more worn. Vredestien Pinza AT is the other

 

They have been to Turkey Bay at Land Between the Lakes. It is a OHV park. They did great for me.
I spend almost all of the life of a tire on the road. Most other people do too. I purchase tires for life, snow and rain control. Offroad abilities are cool, but not my focus. Why give up the most important highest use for a slight increase in performance that I would use for only a few days a year.

 

I’ve used the Defenders off-road and they were shockingly good. Granted it isn’t an AT tire but they performed better off-road than any other non-AT tire that I’ve ever had. Fire roads, trails to fishing spots, dirt roads, gravel, etc. I’m not going to tell you that they’ll beat my Toyo AT3’s because they won’t but I will say that they were capable enough for me to consider going back to them when it’s time to replace the Toyo’s.

 

I really appreciate the feedback on the Michelins. They will replace my Nittos when the time comes.

 

Everyone raves about the Michelin's but aesthetically they just look like such a road tire. I will be replacing my stock Nitto's with Toyo AT3's when the time comes.

 

I put the defenders on both my 2017 landcrusers. They were primarily used for winter highway driving and logging road stuff not serious off-roading. They are great tires! When I need new tires for my 4 runner, I will look for something with a more “off-road look” as it isn’t a highway car for us, prob the bfg tko.
Ps- I liked the defenders so much that I bought some Michelins for my trail dirt bike last week.

 

I ran Michelin LTX AT’2 for years on my 97’ Tacoma. The tires were great. Tread lasted a very long time. Actually the tires started dry rotting before the tread wore out. I off roaded them and they performed very well in winter driving conditions. Also, I had different types of Michelin’s on my Sequoia that would barely last two years. Put LTX AT’s on the Sequoia and they’ve been great, much longer life.

If I wasn’t wanting an aggressive AT tire, that would be my vote.

Currently, I’m running Nitto Ridge Grappler’s on the 4Runner. Great tire but if I was driving frequently in winter road conditions, I wouldn’t run them.

 

When I bought my 2019 TRD OR runner they came with some sort of crap AT tire - I insisted, as part of the deal, they put on Defenders which they did. I've had a LOT of experience in Michelin products - the Defenders are phenomenal but I was (and still am) planning a trip to Moab and a very good friend highly advised that I swap the tires out for the Goodrich KOs - so I did. Obviously they (KOs) are not as quite or comfortable ride as the Michelins but they seem to be awesome otherwise - I don't regret the purchase.

 

This is my dilemma also. I know the Michelin’s are a superior tire for most of what I do, but they lack charisma. Hmmm. Is my 4Runner a tool? Or a toy?

 

My thoughts exactly! Probably 96% absolutely fine for me except the curb appeal!

 

The Defenders actually look good on these trucks imo. I’ve run a few sets. They’re a BIG tire, even in OEM size (compared to the OEM Bridgestones).

I’d like to have a more aggressive look too, but the superior wet/slippery performance of the Defender is just soooo much better than anything else you can get. Combine that with near zero road noise and it’s an easy call for me.

I’ll also add… I got 70k out of my last set before I saw ANY drop in performance at all. And that drop was just some road noise. I probably could have run them another 10k miles.

Lots of other tires I’ve run start dropping off in performance around 40k miles. Nothing terrible. But the Defenders don’t seem to hit that same point for me until 70k miles. So you’re actually getting value for that extra added expense.

If you’re not rock crawling or doing things that might puncture a sidewall, it’s a no brainer for me. For the 5% of mild off road that I do, they work just fine.

 

Can anyone post pics of the defenders in their 4R?

 

I ran Defenders on my Blazers for years, great riding and long lasting tires. The stock Dunlops on my 4Runner are probably down to their last 5k or so miles (have 65k on them now which I find kind of amazing) but I'm putting the Defenders on it when they do go.

 

You will not believe how much quieter the Defenders will be when you upgrade from 65k mile Dunlap’s. I think you’ll be shocked.

 

Doesn’t show the whole truck but…
https://www.4runners.com/threads/4-michelin-defender-ltx-m-s-lt285-70-r17-tires.7392/

See post #10
https://www.4runners.com/threads/michelin-defender-ltx-m-s-pictures.18800/

See post #12
https://www.4runners.com/threads/tpms-sensors-for-2022-trd-orp.25759/

 

To my eye, the lack of prominent lettering on the Defenders makes the big black sidewalls really stand out. Kind of a utilitarian look or something. I like the look.

 

On Michelin LTX MS now called Defender siping is better than many ice tires on the market, with a bit of embedded road grit these act like studded on snow covered highways or trails. We run them year round to handle any road condition and rotate them occasionally for long life.

 

Michelins and don't look back.

 

Yeah, no pics on this thread. Nothing to add from me, just came to see pics of 4runners using these tires..

 

For what it’s worth defenders are probably the best non-3PMSF for driving in the snow. Shockingly good. My Highlander has them.

 

Not the best pic, but...

 

This ^^^

 

I’d bet the Defenders are better in snow than a lot of the tires that DO have the snowflake rating.