Any OR owners running Michelin Defender® LTX® M/S 265/75R16 116T?

Could anyone verify if the Michelin defenders have white lettering on both sides or just on one?
On tire rack, some sizes have the white letter styling and some don’t. I don’t want it. Thanks.

 

I don’t know of any tire that has white letters on both sides. If a tire lists OWL then it’s on one side and you just mount them inwards

 

It's just on one side. I have a set on my '17 4Runner.

 

Yes on both counts

 

Just the one side … I put the white letter facing in on mine

 

That's my truck and they are 275/70/16

I go off road as often as I can with these Michelins. They perform well and still have 40% life left. Here are some recent pics.

 

Costco has a Michelin sale through 10/22/2023 and installation is now no charge.

https://tires.costco.com/Home

 

Bump - I'd love to see more photos of the Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 on these trucks.

 

I'll echo the sentiment... I had the M/S^2 on 2 vehicles both 4x4 - one a Series 100 Land Cruiser. They are great off road and in the snow. Several trips to Baja where they had to endure bad pavement as well...

 

I just realized the MS2 only comes in an E-Load tire in 265/70/17, unfortunately. Looks like i'm back to comparing the LTX M/S vs the LTX AT/2 for my next set of tires soon. Still would love to see more photos of the Michelin Defender LTX M/S and the AT/2. Not too many photos across the various threads on this forum (I've looked at most of them).

 

Update on wear.. I have 65,000 miles on these Defenders and still have 7/32" tread depth on all 4 tires with systematic rotation. They came with 12/32" tread depth.

That is 13,000 miles of use per 1/32".

I suspect I could get another 25,000 miles of use out of them or a total of 90,000 miles at 5/32" remaining.


There has been a slight degradation in rain and snow performance with tread wear from new. Also, I notice a bit more tire noise at freeway speed, 75-80 mph, with 65,000 miles of use.
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I’m not surprised. I’ve gotten over 100k on older versions of these tires (pre-Defender) in the past.

 

Since this thread is coming back to life, Costco has a Michelin sale through 6/8/2025.



https://tires.costco.com/Michelin_tires

 

My 255/75R17 M/S2s are also going strong. I’m on track to get a solid 108+ k miles out of them.

 

I see 2 options from Costco, which is the recommended?
1) Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 : size 265/70r16/xl rated 820-B-A load 116T (item 1764199 a set for $1032)
2) Michelin Defender LTX M/S : size 265/75r16 rated 800-A-A load 116T (item 728826 a set for $1176)

M/S-2 in stock size vs slightly larger in M/S version for 16" rim??

 

M/S-2 is 3lbs lighter per tire, which is good for braking and acceleration performance. Still heavier than stock though.

 

#1 is stock tire size diameter 30.6" for the 3rd gen Tacoma

#2 is up one size in diameter to 31.6". This is the tire I run on my 3rd gen.

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That is the amount of miles (approx 100K miles) I got on my Gen2 and Gen 1 standard cabs with the pre-defender Michelin tires also. Amazing longevity.

 

May 1st I started a thread entitled "Need reviews for Michelin Defender LTX M/S2" in the tires and wheels forum section. I ended up buying a set at Costco and am happy with the look and performance of the tires after 150 miles or so.