Michelin Defender 2 vs CrossClimate 2

Out of both these boys here, the Michelin Defender 2 comes in the standard touring all-season category, while the CrossClimate 2 is a grand touring “all-weather” tire. It’s really important to learn these different all-season categories, and you can check them out by visiting my main all-season tire page. But for now, let’s take a deeper look at how these tires compare with each other.

Being a tire engineer, I’ve analyzed each tire’s strengths and weaknesses and here’s the deal. The Michelin CrossClimate 2 takes the lead in dry conditions, with better grip and high-speed stability, and is superior in winter conditions and curved hydroplaning situations too. Plus, it also has slightly better durability due to its 2-ply polyester casing, and thicker steel belts. Though this also causes it to have a heavier weight, which leads to lower fuel efficiency. And that’s where the Michelin Defender 2 comes in, showcasing superior fuel economy and much better overall tread longevity. Plus it also quieter too, exhibiting better road comfort overall.

Sizes Facts

The Michelin Defender 2 comes in 16 to 20″ inches rims, having following specs.

• Speed ratings: H on all sizes. (Learn all about speed ratings here).
• Load ratings: SL and XL
• Tread depth range: 10.5/32″ (on all)
• Weight range: 25 to 32 lbs
• Winter ratings: Only M+S no 3PMSFR.
• Treadwear warranty: 85k miles.

Review Defender 2 in greater detail: https://tiredriver.com/michelin-defender-2-review/

While the Michelin CrossClimate 2 comes in 16 to 22 inches wheels, with following:

• Speed ratings: H and V.
• Load ratings: SL and XL. (What is load rating, actually?)
• Tread depth range: 10.5/32″ (on all)
• Weight range: 25 to 36.5 lbs
• Winter ratings: Yes, all sizes have 3 peak mountain snowflake ratings (3PMSF).
• Treadwear warranty: 60k miles.

Review CrossClimate 2 in greater detail: https://tiredriver.com/michelin-crossclimate-2-review/

Tread Design

The Michelin Defender 2 features a unique and crowded symmetric pattern.

It’s a 5 rib (block column) design, where you get very longitudinally aligned 3 central ribs.

Out of them, the central-most rib, is continuous running, (not broken up by lateral voids, as seen on adjacent ribs).

Though both of them have full depth interlocking sipes, (needed for wet traction).

Together these ribs form four circumferential channels of nearly identical width, each contributing to formidable hydroplaning resistance.

Moving towards the shoulders, the elongated lugs here have more linear voids in between (relatively).

These voids connect seamlessly with the “J” shaped voids (towards sidewalls), providing this tire with superior noise comfort, (I’ll talk about it more in its respective section).

In contrast, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 is totally different, where it exhibits a distinctive, (very well engineered), directional tread pattern.

Its long, sweeping arms interweave with each other, providing epic snow scooping, and water dispersion capabilities.

These lugs are divided up with (slanted) longitudinal slits, separating central area from the shoulders.

Here, the shoulder lugs have the widest of all tread voids, and they come equipped with mere rectilinear siping.

While the lugs in the middle are more crowded up, and feature a combination of linear and interlocking (wave-like) siping pattern, allowing for decent wet traction (particularly in terms of directional grip).

Moreover, these central lugs also carry biters on their edges, (technically called called snow-vices, in the tire world).

They help in biting into all types of snowy terrains, including deep fluffy snow and even ice.

Side Note: I’d like to mention that I’ve included these tires in my top AS tires posts. I mean, the Defender 2 has earned a spot on my list of top standard touring tires with its superb tread longevity. Meanwhile, the CrossClimate 2, with its superior “braking” grip, has made it onto my list of the best grand touring tires.

Dry Traction

Dry traction can be subdivided into grip and handling. Grip is typically evaluated by assessing braking distances and lateral g-forces. Handling, on the other hand, is analyzed through lap times, where steering response plays a crucial role.

In this context, we have a distinct winner.

The Michelin Defender 2 stands out for dry traction, outperforming the CrossClimate 2 in all the factors mentioned above.

Why is this the case? Primarily because it’s a standard touring tire designed with a rubber composition that excels on dry roads.

Conversely, although the CrossClimate 2 is a top performer in braking among other top grand touring options, where in fact, it’s ranked at the very top, it still can’t surpass the Defender 2 in overall dry performance.

The reason lies in its design. The Defender is lighter and features a continuous central rib, contributing to its well-suited rubber composition for dry roads.

The CrossClimate 2, with its softer and heavier build, tends to flex its lugs more. This flexing results in a delay as the lugs return to their original shape, impacting steering feedback.

Additionally, during cornering, as the majority of the tire’s weight shifts towards the shoulders due to centripetal force, its more voided-up directional pattern struggles to provide the ample contact patch and stability that the Defender offers.

For a deeper understanding of the different all-season tire categories and their strengths, consider reading this comprehensive guide: https://tiredriver.com/different-types-of-all-season-tires/

By the way, I recommend watching this video.

Winter Performance

Winter traction is where the Michelin Crossclimate 2 truly shines.

The tire’s V shaped swooping lugs simply offer superior snow/slush/ice scooping abilities, generating far better forward momentum on various types of snowy terrains.

So it makes sense why it’s branded with the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake rating, unlike its counterpart.

The Michelin Defender 2 basically lacks ample biters and, of course, “swooping lugs,” and the tire’s rubber compound also lacks thermal adaptability.

So with freezing temperatures, the sipes and biters on the Defender 2 become stiffer, thereby reducing their biting efficacy.

The key to traction on wet surfaces lies in the tire’s steering and gripping abilities, and its resistance to hydroplaning. Let’s take a closer look at each of these factors.

Wet Performance

In most wet conditions, the ability of tires to rapidly displace water is crucial. This need stems from the nature of water itself: being in-compressible, it must be efficiently removed to prevent it from becoming trapped between the tire tread and the road surface.

Failure to effectively displace water can lead to slippage and, more critically, hydroplaning, which is essentially the tire “floating” on a layer of water.

To address this, tires are designed with grooves, which are essential for the swift expulsion of water.

And here, tires with a directional tread pattern often have an advantage in this regard. Their V-shaped channels are especially effective in directing water outwards from the center towards the shoulders.

Taking the CrossClimate 2 as an example, its design enables it to efficiently channel water away initially. Following this, the sipes (small slits in the tread) play a role in absorbing any remaining water particles left by the grooves.

More sipes generally mean better water displacement, but the compound’s flexibility is equally important. A softer compound allows the sipes to flex more, enhancing their ability to absorb water.

Now, you might wonder about the Michelin Defender 2, which also has numerous sipes. Indeed, it does, but the effectiveness of these sipes is somewhat limited by the tire’s stiffer rubber composition.

This characteristic is a key reason why most standard touring tires, including the Defender 2, may not perform as well as grand touring tires like the CrossClimate 2 in wet conditions. The latter’s combination of design and materials often gives them an edge in handling and safety under wet road conditions.

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Durability

The Michelin Defender 2 being a standard touring tire, is less durable here, which is not a surprise.

Instead of using a typical 2-ply polyester carcass as seen on a majority of grand touring all season tires, it only yields a single ply.

So it offers limited durability here. Though you still get 2 steel belts on top, with a single nylon cap ply.

On the other hand, the grand touring, Michelin CrossClimate 2 has a sturdier construction with 2-ply polyester casing, besides having wider steel belts and a polyamide cap on top.

Fuel Efficiency

Fuel efficiency and tread life, both highly depend on a multitude of factors, including weight, tread composition, and design.

So it makes sense why the Michelin CrossClimate 2, with its heftier build, experiences a decline in fuel efficiency, as that increases rolling resistance.

Basically having a heavier structure with softer tread compound, the tire’s lugs get to face more pressure on them, and they want to stick with the surface (they’re on) with greater force, subsequently increasing fuel consumption.

On the other hand, the Defender 2, which not only weighs less, but also has a more streamlined longitudinal ribs supply you with better fuel economy.

The tire comes with a mere single polyester carcass in its internal construction, so all lugs get to carry less weight pressure on themselves, decreasing rolling resistance and improving fuel efficiency.

Road Vibrations

Just like the noise, both tires also do great when it comes to impact comfort.

On one side the Michelin Defender 2 features internal construction that contains fewer polymer layers, resulting in a slightly spongier tread, that effectively absorbs road irregularities.

Though this does compromise its durability a little, I’ll talk about that in the upcoming sub-topic.

On the other hand, although the Michelin CrossClimate 2 features a stiffer internal build, its outer rubber is just as adept at soaking up the bumps, so you get similar performance from this tire.

Noise Generation

Noise gets generated with air particles hitting the walls of the tread. This air basically enters (for the most part), from the shoulder voids, so that should mean the Crossclimate 2 would be louder.

Though that’s not really the case. It’s on-road noise levels are only slightly greater than Defender.

This is because of the tire’s directional tread pattern, that streamlines air flow. With such a structure, air particles escape the tread without impacting the tread walls too much, while the little noise that does get generated, is handled by it’s more effective pitch sequencing technology.

This technology basically dampens down the noise levels by creating different pitches across the tread, and those varying frequencies cancel out each other.

But yes, overall, the Defender 2 comes out as a quieter option thanks to its packed up shoulders. Its lugs basically have connectors/ridges in between which prevent a lot of air to get inside the tread in the first place, killing noise at the source.

So, What’s The Verdict?

Well simply put, Crossclimate 2 is better in winter, wet, and comfort department.

While Defender 2 takes the lead in dry braking and handling, whilst providing you with the best tread life you’d find in its category.

And yes its lower weight has a lot of benefits too. Where the main ones of course are its superb fuel economy and steering feedback, on dry roads.

Also, what’s your experience with these tires? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!