New tires and rims: 17" Method 502 wheels with Michelin Defender 2 tires (235/65x17)

[Old Fart]

that's the interesting thing. on the tirerack, their in-house 10 tire comparison says they wanted more wet grip from the defender 2, but they had stronger language than that on several other tires in the test.

and then, user reviews that have come in since then (TR tested when the defender 2 was very new, and thus little/no user review scores and comments), most reviewers score it high on wet traction.

so, anyway, under what driving conditions do you want more traction? (i.e, 'a bit slippery')

We tow a small camper, on damp pavement the tires tend to slip coming off the line but I notice it trying to get out of the subdivision too but I bought the 225 width because it was the deal at Sam's club ($745 including road Hazzard and mounting/balance) they replaced one tire already so pleased with them so far. The hybrid has a lot of torque for a light vehicle but the same thing happened with the PriusV towing and leaving the hood wearing Michelin Defender ² tires.

Sponsored

 

[smoreho2]

I’ll be needing tires for my hybrid soon, I’d be interested to see how your mileage is affected, please let us know

Dave

I plan to put these on my 23 hybrid when time. I did put these on my 21 VW Tiguan and they are smooth and quiet, which is what I was looking for. Gas mileage in that car was unaffected

 

[colinl]

We tow a small camper, on damp pavement the tires tend to slip coming off the line but I notice it trying to get out of the subdivision too but I bought the 225 width because it was the deal at Sam's club ($745 including road Hazzard and mounting/balance) they replaced one tire already so pleased with them so far. The hybrid has a lot of torque for a light vehicle but the same thing happened with the PriusV towing and leaving the hood wearing Michelin Defender ² tires.

I think you'll have traction issues towing regardless, but if you haven't already tried it, I'd probably try Slippery mode to see if it takes off from a stop a bit better.

 

[Tunerman570]

I’ll be needing tires for my hybrid soon, I’d be interested to see how your mileage is affected, please let us know

Dave

It’s actually the same. Calculations at the pump is average of 38 mpg at mostly highway.

 

[Tunerman570]

They look like factory steel wheels painted black.

More of a wagon wheel look.

 

[Lovejoy]

New mod to my Maverick, Method 502 wheels with 235/65x17 with Michelin Defender 2 tires.

Can’t go wrong with Methods and Defenders … great combo!

 

[Mav4us]

I am over 10k miles on Defender 2's on my Maverick hybrid. They are significantly better than the Conti's. My wife is also over 10k miles on Defender 2's in her Camry hybrid.

There is no significant MPG difference that I have noticed.

This is odd. I replaced my contis with Defenders at Discount Tire about six weeks ago. Contis had about 38k on them, so they were worn. I was getting about 43 mpg. I’ve been getting about 35 mpg since then. No change in driving habits or route (10 miles each way, 60/40 local roads/highway).

 

[mswillis5]

This is odd. I replaced my contis with Defenders at Discount Tire about six weeks ago. Contis had about 38k on them, so they were worn. I was getting about 43 mpg. I’ve been getting about 35 mpg since then. No change in driving habits or route (10 miles each way, 60/40 local roads/highway).

I just hit 14k miles into my Defenders and have no noticeable difference in mpg. Now that summer is over I get around 41 to 42mpg average. I am about 60/40 highway/local roads. During the summer I was between 32 and 35mpg due to the heat and the hybrid system not working much over 95 degrees.

 

[Tunerman570]

This is odd. I replaced my contis with Defenders at Discount Tire about six weeks ago. Contis had about 38k on them, so they were worn. I was getting about 43 mpg. I’ve been getting about 35 mpg since then. No change in driving habits or route (10 miles each way, 60/40 local roads/highway).

 

[Tunerman570]

Sometimes the readout is lower than the actual calculated numbers.

 

[colinl]

This is odd. I replaced my contis with Defenders at Discount Tire about six weeks ago. Contis had about 38k on them, so they were worn. I was getting about 43 mpg. I’ve been getting about 35 mpg since then. No change in driving habits or route (10 miles each way, 60/40 local roads/highway).

it is likely that the mpg decrease was mostly due to increased heater usage and oxygenated winter blend gas.

Sponsored