Choosing the right set of rubber for your car requires you to weigh in your options accordingly. You need to pick the tire that best suits your car, your driving style, the time of the year, comfort levels, and many other less or more important factors. After all, the price you end up paying can also serve as either a motivating factor or a demotivating one.
There are hundreds of different tire brands available on the market, but hardly any of those are as prominent as Goodyear and Michelin. The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady and the Michelin Defender are some of the most well-known tire series of each brand, and in this article, we will compare them thoroughly to decide which one of these two tire giants makes the better rubber for every occasion.
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Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
Throughout the years Goodyear has been a major player in the tire game thanks to their impressive and well thought after tire designs that include all sorts of cutting-edge technologies. Goodyear is a brand that is not afraid of innovating and trying to push the industry forward with each and every new tire they make.
The Assurance collection offers a wide array of tire choices suited for many different driving scenarios. Thanks to innovative solutions such as dual aqua channel grooves, unique polymer design, and ComfortFLex Technology, Goodyear manages to be one of the most successful tire companies out there. If you pair that with an eco-friendly design and durable treadwear, it is rather obvious that Goodyear means business.
The aforementioned dual aqua channel groove technology enables Goodyear to make tires that are incredibly resistant to hydroplaning by channeling the air and water away from the middle of the contact patch. The unique polymer design ensures superior traction while the ComfortFlex Technology minimizes road noise and increases comfort.
All in all, the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady is an incredibly capable tire, but before we dwell deeper into how this tire behaves in a variety of different environments, we first need to introduce the Michelin Defender tires.
Michelin Defender
The Michelin tire company is arguably the most successful and best-known tire company on the planet. The Michelin Defender tire series was initially designed as somewhat of a response to the ever-growing number of accidents caused by reckless driving.
As such, the Defender series offers enhanced durability due to the heavy use of Kevlar, carbon fiber, and multiple layers of steel. This makes these tires incredibly durable and able to withstand driving in less-than-ideal environments, even though they are rated for any sort of serious off-roading.
The Michelin IntelliSipe Design which is incorporated into the Defender series ensures optimal snow traction thanks to several small rubber protrusions on the tire itself. The Green X Michelin Technology is a fancy name of saying that Michelin Defender tires are designed with efficiency in mind in order to minimize fuel consumption.
All in all, the Michelin Defender series of tires is one of the most impressive products Michelin makes which ultimately makes this series one of the best all-season tires on the market.
What Are The Pros Of The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Tires?
The Goodyear Assurance WetherReady tires are known for their all-weather tread compound design that remains flexible even in the coolest possible situations. This is because the tread is made out of soy and thus makes the tire able to constantly offer traction no matter the outside temperature.
The tread design of the WeatherReady series incorporates both circumferential and sweeping traction grooves which work in tandem to push the water away from the center of the tire which ultimately ensures traction even in severely wet conditions.
The Goodyear WeatherReady tires also come with zig-zag biting edges that boost ice and snow traction while the 3PMSF designation also ensures that the WeatherReady Goodyears are up to the task even in deep snow.
What Are The Pros Of The Michelin Defended Tires?
The Michelin Defender tires are best known for their good all-season traction which means that you can rely on these to offer decent traction in almost all possible scenarios. They are known to offer crisp and responsive steering which also adds to the feeling of lightness, even though the tires offer enhanced levels of protection.
With such a complex construction, one would think that these tires are going to be loud and uncomfortable, but it’s the exact opposite as the Defender series offers very small amounts of tire noise and an overall smooth ride, especially if you go for a larger sidewall.
Michelin has also made sure to decrease the levels of rolling resistance these tires produce in order to lower the necessary energy needed to roll these tires. All of this ultimately means that these tires are designed to save fuel and to be capable in almost every situation imaginable.
No matter how you look at it, these tires come with a myriad of different benefits. They are not as good when it comes to snow and ice, but this is a small niggle when compared to what they offer in every other possible situation.
What Are The Main Differences Between Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady And Michelin Defender?
Now it’s time to square these two popular tires in a head-to-head battle in order to decide which one of these two is the better pick. We are going to compare them in a variety of different segments including on-road and off-road performance, treadwear durability, snow and ice driving, comfort, warranty, and price.
On-road Performance: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tires are available for many different cars because Goodyear is confident that the WeatherReady’s are able to provide great performance on the road, no matter the car. These also come with lots of proprietary Goodyear technology solutions in order to preserve optimal traction on the road even when the tires start wearing rapidly.
The greatest on-road party trick these tires offer is the single-ply polyester casing design that is also backed by two steel belts across the tread area in order to maximize handling response and highway-speed stability.
The Michelin Defender series of tires come with a variety of great all-season tires for the road, but the Defender T+H seem to be the ones to get if you want the best on-road performance possible. Thanks to a clever design, the Defender tire is able to sustain strong lateral forces which make the tire perfect for those who like spirited driving.
Wet traction is where both of these excel, but the Goodyear proprietary dual aqua channel design seems to slightly edge out the Michelins when it comes to wet traction. All in all, the Goodyears do seem like a slightly more reliable tire when it comes to all-season traction.
Winner: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
Off-road Performance: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
The Goodyear WeatherReady utilizes a fairly aggressive tread design, but they are not off-road dedicated tires, not by a long shot. They should be able to do the trick when it comes to light off-roading, but don’t expect them to deliver in more extreme conditions.
The main reason is that they lack protective features and thus are vulnerable to chipping, punctures, and cuts. The WeatherReady tire simply is not designed for off-roading, so it’s better to avoid anything besides a gravel road or a mildly muddy field.
The Michelin Defender tire is more or less the same, yet they do offer more protective qualities which makes them a tad bit better. Even so, neither of these are capable of anything more than light off-roading at a slow pace.
Winner: Michelin Defender
Treadwear: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady comes with the Goodyear 3D technology that ensures optimal traction even when the tires start wearing at a faster pace. Furthermore, these tires are constructed out of premium soy components that maximize the expected lifespan of the treads.
On the other hand, the IntelliSlipe technology found on the Michelin Defender tire is also beneficial when it comes to treadwear as it effectively slows it down. According to available data online, the Defenders are able to last around 10% longer than Goodyear’s WeatherReady tires.
Winner: Michelin Defender
Snow And Ice: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
Both the Goodyears and the Michelins are excellent snow tires because they come with a variety of different solutions that maximize snow traction. There are quite a few tests that concluded the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tires are able to withstand extremely low and extremely high temperatures without any issues.
On the other hand, the Michelin Defender tires did not fare all that well because most tests have shown that the tire sidewalls on the Defender tires are a little on the softer side which increases comfort, yet it makes snow traction more of an issue.
Winner: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
Comfort: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
These tires are designed with all-season duties in mind which means that they need to be quiet, comfortable, and easy to live with, no matter the season. The Goodyear tires benefit from tread lock technology which also works well when it comes to overall comfort and noise.
However, the Michelin Defender series offers a more comfortable ride with even lower levels of noise which makes them win this test, but only by a little much. It’s safe to say that the comfort differences between these two are so small that they are only noticeable if you drive them back to back.
Winner: Michelin Defender
Warranty: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
The Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tires come with a 60,000-mile tread life warranty while the Michelin Defender tires come with a 70,000-mile tread life warranty. This perfectly coincides with the fact that the Michelins are likely going to last a little bit longer anyway.
However, there are many things that go into how long a tire might last which means that the way you drive your car and the way you maintain your tires is likely to play a bigger role than the aforementioned data. Either way, the 10,000-mile warranty bonus the Michelins offer do give them a slight edge over the Goodyears.
Winner: Michelin Defender
Price: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Vs Michelin Defender
At the moment of writing this article, the starting price of the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tire is $174.99 at Walmart’s website for the 215/55/R17 size while the Michelin Defender T+H costs $169.99 for the very same tire size. This means that both of these are almost identical and there is likely a chance you can get both of these for an even lower price.
Winner: Michelin Defender
Why Should I Pick Michelin Defender Tires Over Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Tires?
- They are better off-road due to a more durable design
- They offer a longer-lasting tread
- They are more comfortable and quieter
- Longer warranty coverage
Why Should I Pick Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady Tires Over Michelin Defender Tires?
- They offer better traction in the dry
- They offer better traction in the wet
- They offer better traction in the snow
- Eco-friendly design
Wrap Up
Buying the right set of tires for your car, your needs and the environment you mostly tend to drive your car in is a relatively difficult task. Goodyear and Michelin tires are indeed a good start as these two brands are known for their industry-leading tires, especially when it comes to all-season tires.
The differences between the Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady tires and the Michelin Defender tires are mostly marginal, so it’s safe to say that many of these categories are too close for the differences to even matter.
No matter which one of these you end up going for, you are not going to be disappointed as both Goodyear and Michelin make some of the best tires the world has ever seen.
3 Comments
Thanks for all the great info and the side by side comparison format
These tires provide good snow grip. Maxlife has decent traction and cornering. Satisfying and safe for winter, except heavy snow. Defender2 has okay traction but struggles in corners.
This review is very much appreciated! Thanks!