Michelin will release an updated version of Defender tires

The North American division of Michelin announced the restart of the line of tires Defender, introduced in 2012.

The new version is made of the renewed compound, which improves the wear resistance of the tire and allows increasing the warranty mileage to 130 thousand km. In addition, the Michelin Defender speed index is increased to H, which makes the tires suitable for more models of cars.

"We know that many consumers choose tires based on their price and warranty mileage, but unfortunately the warranty mileage does not always reflect real wear resistance," said Scott Clark, director of production at Michelin North America. "Our tests showed that although some tires from several leading manufacturers have a warranty range of 80 to 90 thousand miles (130 to 145 thousand km), in fact they can hardly overcome the declared distance."

When creating a new version of Michelin Defender, the company used a number of advanced technologies, including the design of Maxtouch and the Evertrad compound, which allowed to increase the life of tires. The Intellisipe sipe cutting technology maximizes the cutting edges of the tread pattern and creates a confident all-season grip, while the rain grooves help effectively remove water from the contact patch. The Comfort Control system helps to reduce the noise level when driving.

The new version of the Defender tires will be available starting from March this year: 12 sizes will initially come on the market, and by the end of the year the line will expand to 32 standard sizes.