Geolander advatages over Michelin Defenders?

yesmad said:

Hi all!
Been reading your tire posts as I prep for Baja trip. In process of mod = King springs all round and rear 1” spacers and skid plates... looking at tires. Ruled out BFG-K02. Running Michelin Defenders for 2 years = awesome.

What advantages or Defenders would I gain in upgradeing to Geolanders?

To consider:
1. Baja = lots of sand travel.
2. I am full time traveler = 30% off road, 60% highway to get to off road, 10% city to get supplies
3. Heavy load = convereted ‘11 Foz to micro RV with build out and gear added close to 1,000 lbs
4. Tire is “DD” but #3 my DD is not normal
5. Yes I love good gas mileage but willing to sacrifice a little for off road capability
6. Yes I live in this thing - coming up on 3 years

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Sounds like you have an awesome purpose built Forester that is serving you well.

Both tires you mention are solid performers but are built for different terrain. The Michelin Defender is a fantastic highway tire and will hold up to some mild off-roading but it is not built for off-road traction. The Yokohama Geolandar is built as an all-terrain tire but also performs very well on road. I have had a set of them on my FJ Cruiser and now my Dodge 3500 and have been very impressed with them both on and off-road. They ride smooth and quiet on-road and give solid traction off-road I don't believe you will see much if any decrease in mileage unless you change up the sizing.

Many people on the Forester and Outback forums have had good luck with the Yokohama tires.

Have fun (which it sounds like you do) and be safe in your travels. You should share some of your adventures.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Are you really with discount tire?

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I have never run the Defenders but am on my second set of the Yoko G015s. I drive almost 100% paved roads 65% suburban. I also would say I drive more spirited than most. Had to replace the first set of Yokos at 27K miles. Was a little disappointed they wore out faster than I wanted but love the feel in all conditions. I bought the second set only because another forum member was letting a new set go at a great price.

I also have a different size tire than you. Not sure how much difference that makes.

KLEMMER said:

I have never run the Defenders but am on my second set of the Yoko G015s. I drive almost 100% paved roads 65% suburban. I also would say I drive more spirited than most. Had to replace the first set of Yokos at 27K miles. Was a little disappointed they wore out faster than I wanted but love the feel in all conditions. I bought the second set only because another forum member was letting a new set go at a great price.

I also have a different size tire than you. Not sure how much difference that makes.

Click to expand...

What did you have before the geos and did you see similar fast wear with those? Have yoko at/s that have worn well and was gonna move to the g015 soon. G015s actually have 10k longer warranty that my current at/s

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

orgwizard said:

What did you have before the geos and did you see similar fast wear with those? Have yoko at/s that have worn well and was gonna move to the g015 soon. G015s actually have 10k longer warranty that my current at/s

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

The stock Bridgstones lasted 23K then the first set of Yokos.

It's been a while since this subject got into discussion here. Prevailing wisdom in the past has been that the OEM Geolandars suck bigtime. They wear out fast, especially along the outside edge, and they have a hard time avoiding a slide when turning in snowy conditions.

Again, this is old info. I've only been back using them with my two relatively new SJs, since that's how they came from the factory. So far, so good, but they won't be my replacement tires. Snow performance ranks high on the list for my 'summer tires', since you never know when the first or last snow of the season is going to happen up here in New England.

@bbottomley are you referring to the Geo g015’s? As I have been reading about several tires I am considering, I have seen several comment that the 15s are better than the previous version. And it seems as many people on this forum that don’t like them, there are an equal number of people that highly recommend them.

This is my issue with the BFG KO2 as well... as many people that love them, there are an equal number that say the ride is terrible and gas mileage sucks.

Which leads me to why I introduced the topic - both tires have new versions and I am wondering how they preform...So, I continue my search for the best tire option for highway and off-road driving.

It was the Geos that came stock in the 2003-2005 timeframe that had a bad rep here. I don't know what their specific model number might have been. I guess things have improved.

The 2.5 SJ comes stock with Goelander G091. They suck as I had them on my XV. The XT SJ come with Bridgestone Deulers which are better but still suck.

The G015 replaced another Yoko AT tire than ppl didn't like. The G015 didn't last as long as I wanted but that may be due to my driving style. I will say the G015 are a great tire for mixed driving conditions and preform very well in snow and heavy rain. Noise was louder than stock but performance outweighed the noise for me.

New to the forums but we have Yokohama Geolanders that were stock on the 2018 Forester and they are awful. Misty rain on a curvy road, doing 35 mph and felt the slide....so researching tire replacements and Consumer Reports does not list the Michelin Cross Climate + but if you do a search, CR did test them in August 2018 and they did very well across the board. So considering them....Tire Rack has them with $100 rebate currently and reviews seem good. The tires have been available in Europe for a few years and seem to do well in all weather conditions. If anyone has experience with them, am interested as we are seriously looking at the Cross Climate +.

if you are on 17s, continental has the terrain contact AT in 225/60-17, so really not much bigger than stock. I would put it comparable to the G015 in duty and weight

The original post refers to "Defenders" and "Geolandars" but does not specify WHICH ones.

Do you mean the Defender LTX M/S or the car Defender XT?

Which Geolandars?

For a serious Baja trip, I might lean as heavy as the BFG KO2's only because of their unbreakable sidewalls...but otherwise would look at sidewall thickness of anything else you are considering.

Good luck,
George

The Geolanders on my 2014 Forester were OK in the summer but horrendous in Minnesota winters. Worse than my front wheel drive Civic with Defenders. Switched the Forester to Defenders in the summer and they are even pretty decent in ice and snow. That said I bought a set of 215/70R-16 Michelin XI2 on steel 16 inch rims from Tire Rack for the winter (same total diameter). Couldn't be happier now.

Pretty sure we are referring to the Yokohama GEOLANDAR A/T G015 here. These tires get very good ratings across the board.