Part of my contract was an agreement with the dealer for Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires, and he installed them for me with a nearly 50% discount, keeping the OEMs to do with as he pleased.

 

Michelin Cross Terrains were very nice three season tires. Quiet, smooth riding, decent grip wet or dry. But winter was not their friend, in my experience. Those things took years off my life descending snowy passes. Terrifying. Latitude Tour took their place in the Michelin line, and they have the same feature set IMO. They reminded me that dedicated winter tires are a good thing for driving in real winter.

More modern replacements from Michelin are Premier LTX and Defender LTX. I have both on different vehicles. Both seem to be good All season tires by report. I use dedicated winter tires on all my vehicles now, so I can not assess winter performance for either of them. ( But if I don't get moving and do my seasonal changes soon, that could change... ). Defenders will wear longer. Premiers have better grip in the wet. Defenders are slightly more noisy.

 

When it is time for a change I will be going with General Altimax. I have used them in the past on several vehicles with good results. I will spend the money when needed but in this case it is not.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=AltiMAX+RT43+%28H-+or+V-Speed+Rated%29&partnum=45HR0AMRT43XL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Honda&autoYear=2016&autoModel=Pilot%20AWD&autoModClar=Touring

 

I am actually am going to keep buying the Continental Cross Contacts on my Elite. All the 2016 and 2017 Pilot Touring and Elites came with them. I might get Michelin Defenders though. I have had no problem with the Cross Contacts and they rank among the best in Consumer Reports. Once again, only being slightly edged out my Michelin Defenders. These are the best stock tires I have experienced. Especially on 20 inch wheels. So, I see no reason not to get Continental Cross Contacts again.

 

The primary complaint I have read about on the Continental Cross Contact Sport LX 20's that come on the 2016/17 touring/elite is that they often wear out around 30,000 miles. My car is brand new, so I don't have any personal wear experience with these tires, but I do know that was a primary reason given for going with another make/model or tire.

 

When I am due for the replacement, I am switching over to Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S tires. I want something with a little more bite form when I venture off pavement into Sand, Gravel, and Mud. Plus being in the Northeast, I want something that can withstand the Snow and the Ice we receive. I am willing to sacrifice 2-3 mpg for better grip and security for my family.
The tire I really want is not available in the size for Smoky. I want the Goodyear Wrangler Kevlar (formerly call the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor)

 

When I am due for the replacement, I am switching over to Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S tires. I want something with a little more bite form when I venture off pavement into Sand, Gravel, and Mud. Plus being in the Northeast, I want something that can withstand the Snow and the Ice we receive. I am willing to sacrifice 2-3 mpg for better grip and security for my family.
The tire I really want is not available in the size for Smoky.

Maybe Smoky would like this tire:
TerrainContact A/T - 245/60R18 105H Tire | Continental
http://www.continentaltire.com/site...es/default/files/documents/brosure/CT16_TerrainContact_Flyer_Final_HiRes_r1.pdf

 

+1 here for the Defenders. Better cornering, wet traction and potential wear than the Conti's. I swapped my stock Conti's out at 24k Miles. They were down to 5 and 4/32 already. Compounded by that fact that they are still more expensive than the Defenders and Premiers. I would never look at them again.

 

I’m just over 30k and I’m ready for new tires before driving for Christmas. I’m looking at the Premiers on tirerack, but they don’t have defenders. Did you shop local or order them online? Also, are defenders better than premiers?


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Bill: I started down the same path as you in budgeting and planning for the next set of tires. I drive about 18k miles/year, so I expect to replace my tires before the 2018-2019 winter season.

Although the Continentals on my Elite have performed well, I will go with the Bridgestone Dueler 422 Ecopia. I had a good track record with Bridestones on three prior vehicles. I had the Dueler 422 Ecopia on my prior vehicle ('08 Toyota Highlander Sport), and they lasted 40,000 miles with 5/32" tread remaining by the time I traded the Highlander.

 

Thank you !!!

 

Michelin doesn't make the Defender LTX M/S in the stock 245/50R20 size, so Tire Rack won't show it as a standard option if you're doing a "search by vehicle". If you search by manufacturer/tire or look at expanded size options you will find it.

I'm using the Defender in size 255/50R20 without issue.

 

Michelin doesn't make the Defender LTX M/S in the stock 245/50R20 size, so Tire Rack won't show it as a standard option if you're doing a "search by vehicle". If you search by manufacturer/tire or look at expanded size options you will find it.



I'm using the Defender in size 255/50R20 without issue.

Have any pics of the 255 vs the 245? Is there a visual difference?


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There is a difference in appearance and in addition to the 1cm wider width, the more blocky contour of the Defender sidewall gives the tire a more "truckish" look IMO. Premiers or Contis have a more rounded edge profile. There is probably about a 1% speedometer error. Revs/mile = 691 vs 699 for the stock Conti.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=203

 

Michelin Defender LTX M/S

 

Went with the Michelin Premiers. Only had them a week or so, but happy with them so far.

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Michelin LTX Premier 255-55-20 A+rating

I just swapped out my stock Continentals for the Michelins on my Elite and I am absolutely thrilled. Perfect fit. Gives a quieter and more supple ride. Looks WAY better than the skinny Conti's and have seen no negative impact on fuel economy. Why this isn't the stock tire for the Elite, I will never know... If you are thinking about a switch, the Michelin LTX is the way to go!

 

Bought two set of tires from Tire Rack last week and installed them yesterday. Defender LTX M/S for 16 Pilot EX (245/60R18) and Premier LTX for wife's 15 Lexus RX350. I see a huge difference between the two. The Defender is substantially noisier and harsher than the stock Bridgestone Dueler H/P sport A/S. Made the Pilot a choppier light truck now. Some people might like that way. While the Premier is much quieter and surefooted than the stock Bridgestone Dueler H/L 400 which came with the RX350. Made the RX350 sportier and quieter than when it's new. Just called Tire Rack to order a set of Premier LTX and will ship back the Defender. The only draw back for the Premier is that it has only 8/32" of tread depth at new vs Defender's 11/32" (that's the reason I went with the Defender for my Pilot in the first place). Surely won't be as robust as the Defender for New England winter snow. Looks each tire has its trade off.

 

I have Defenders and my initial assessment was similar. I could instantly feel the knobbier tread and it was a tad noisier. My wife has Premier AS on her Accord. I want to say that after about 1500 miles of driving the Defenders settled in an are fabulous. Quieter than at first and great handling. I guess the initial wear helped. Love then and wouldn't consider any other tire on there with all its positive attributes.

 

I just put on the Defenders about 1500 miles ago and I think they're about the same if not quieter than my stock Bridgestone Dueler H/L 400's. Chose them over the Premier's due to snow performance. If I lived in the south i would have likely gone with the Premier's. So far I'm very happy with the Defenders!

 

So TireRack delivered the Michelin Premier LTX tires last Friday and I swapped out Defender LTX at night. I have been driving my Pilot with Premier LTX tires the last couple of days. I am extremely happy that I changed the tires. As I expected, the Premiers are much smoother and quieter. Quieter than the stock BridgeStone Dueler H/P Sport A/S and of course much quieter than the Defender LTX. I only hear the wind noise on highway now. The Premier is much smoother as well. I don’t feel any small road imperfections any more. And, Premier is much more stable thus handles better (I noticed that Premier’s side wall is actuall stiffer than Defender’s when I was swapping them). I would recommend anyone go with Premier LTX if deep snow traction is not the primary aim. I had the LTX M/S (which is Defender LTX’s predecessor) on my 2005 Pilot before and do know the snow performance of that tire is phenomenal equal to many snow tires.

 

Thank you for posting your experiences with each tire. Even though I have been using the Premier LTX tires for about a year now it is nice to know we have similar experiences with them.

 

Thanks for the detailed feedback, MinMet. I'm still happy with the Defenders on my Touring but I prefer a sportier ride. I think road noise varies with the type of road surface, but they are probably a bit noisier on the Interstate. They seem pretty quiet when I take off the winter tires.

My wife's 3rd-gen MDX will be due for new all-season rubber in the next year or so, so I may go with Premiers for that. I'm not sure the "manly truck" look would suit that vehicle, and we have winter tires. Also, annual mileage on that vehicle is about 1/4 of what I put on mine.

 

[FONT=&quot]The Defender breaks in really well and the noise level gets better over time. It was either those or the Ecopia and the features looks slightly better imo. It’s definitely close though: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]http://topautotools.com/bridgestone-vs-michelin-top-two-brands-compared/[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

 

ANavigateState, I assume you have Michelin Defender LTX on you Pilot. Don't be confused with Michelin Defender. Michelin Defender is Standard Touring All-Season tire for passenger cars while Defender LTX is Highway All-season tire for Light-truck/SUVs.

 

Guys that installed taller tires such as 255/50/20 on their elite/touring, remember that these are almost 1/2" taller. Be aware that it could affect the AWD components when using the OEM spare after a blowout unless you guys bought one for it as well. I don't have any experience but a lot of guys that owns Subarus, particularly wrx, says that all tires must be of equal hight which makes sense when it comes to AWD vehicles. Can someone chime in on this because I'd like to put that wider and taller tires as well when time comes. It's probably I good idea to replace the spare as well, but will it fit in the spare well?

 

Hey, do you have any pictures of your 255/55R20 tires on your car? I assume you have no rub with those tire dimensions. Out of curiosity, did the slightly larger tire improve the smoothness of the ride? Small bumps, road joints, imperfections... did they become less pronounced? I am thinking of switching to 18 or even 17 inch tires for that reason but I don;t like the idea of buying new rims. Thanks for answering my questions.

 

They are fine from what I've noticed. Yes they are a tad taller and wider but I doubt that .4 inch difference has much effect on the cars components compared to those sports cars.

 

The OEM compact spare is smaller in diameter than the stock tires. There is no TPMS sensor in the spare, so I think many of the electronic nannies will shut down. I’m not sure if AWD will be active, but there is independent electronic control of clutches at the rear differential. This is nothing like old-school mechanical limited-slip or locking diffs, and I doubt there is danger of mechanical damage to the system from using the underside spare, but performance will obviously suffer. The compact spare is for short-term emergency use only.

 

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=18

Above is what tirerack has to say. I have yet to check our Pilot's manual concerning the oem spare. I haven't even checked what the spare is if it's the same tire as the other four. I find it hard to believe if the spare is smaller in diameter or circumference on AWD Pilot. My Nissan 4x4 spare had matching aluminum wheel and tire from the factory. My Tacoma has matching spare tire but with steel wheel and both are driven 2wd mode 99% of the time. I understand that the spare is for emergency and short term use only, but for anyone who went with taller tires, how long can you get a new one and installed right away? The total distance traveled on your daily commute will come to play as well until you get a new replacement. If you had a blow out with significant miles left until you arrive at your destination, 0.4+ inch seems a lot even if using the spare only. I'm not sure at the moment so I'm just putting this out there.

 

Don't guess or assume. Look under the back. The OEM spare is compact, and it's not even supplied stock if you have a FWD. A full size spare will fit ( or the one you take off to install the spare ), but if you want a full size spare you need to buy a wheel and tire ( and a TPMS sensor would be a good idea ).

The spare will be fine to get you to a shop. If I were towing cross country, or exploring the wilds of Alaska, I would install a full size spare.

Diameter of compact tire is 27.6", OEM Conti: 29.7", Defender LTX 255/50R20: 30.0"
There are good reasons to keep the stock tire size, but this isn't really one of them.

 

Don't guess or assume. Look under the back. The OEM spare is compact, and it's not even supplied stock if you have a FWD. A full size spare will fit ( or the one you take off to install the spare ), but if you want a full size spare you need to buy a wheel and tire ( and a TPMS sensor would be a good idea ).

The spare will be fine to get you to a shop. If I were towing cross country, or exploring the wilds of Alaska, I would install a full size spare.

Diameter of compact tire is 27.6", OEM Conti: 29.7", Defender LTX 255/50R20: 30.0"
There are good reasons to keep the stock tire size, but this isn't really one of them.

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Wasn't guessing or assuming, just got me thinking. Thanks for the verification though, just didnt have the time to really look into it before commenting. Since I already have an extra 20" wheel, I'll have to buy 5 tires and ditch the OEM spare when time comes.

 

I just put on Hankook Dynapro on my 07 Honda and LOVE them. I read a lot of reviews and settled on these. My tire guys had to order them but they came in the next day and I couldn't be more please. I put on Uniroyal Laredo and found them to be quite loud and kinda garbage. One tire had two different issues with it alone. The Dynapro have been so quite that we can actually talk to each other in the car now. The handling has been great so far and the reviews said they are great in gravel and on the hwy. Anyway, that's just my two cents... I just got them a couple days ago and I'm still on the new tire high!