Michelin Defender tires made it to 86,050 miles

Purchased a set of Michelin Defender tires at Costco in June 2014.
Had a couple punctures that were repaired at Costco at no charge.
Tires were rotated & balanced at Costco every 5-10K.
Tire pressure was always at 44psi all the way around.
I gave up trying to tell Costco to leave the tire pressure alone. Whatever they would do, I would just go home & inflate everything to 44psi (cold).
Just installed another set of the same tires at Costco. March 2017

TPMS: Early on, once I had set the tire pressure to 44psi I reset the TPMS system via the reset button under the steering wheel. From what I understand it is supposed to light the TPMS light when the tire pressure falls 25% in any tire. Resetting it when all the tires were at 44psi means it should alert me whenever any tire pressure falls 25% (11 pounds). This means my TPMS light alerts me at ~33psi which I like lots!! I have yet to need a tire changed on the side of the road

Even with the Costco rotation the tires were wearing ever-so-slightly uneven. At around 50K, after getting the tires rotated at Costco, I would go home & rearrange the tires according to their tread depth. After measuring the tread depth across each tire I would put the best two tires on the front drive wheels.
Around 70K I just started doing the tire rotation myself keeping the best two on the front axle & the worst two on the rear axle.
NOTE: there would be <1mm of difference between the tires, but this still allowed the tires to continue to wear very evenly.
Winter is the dry weather in S FL, so there has not been much rain the last few months. Had we been going into the rainy season I would have replaced the tires around 75-80K just to be safe.

Happy Motoring

 

Tire noise is very low.
Ride at 44psi is stiff, but not uncomfortable.
But one of my previous vehicles was a MG Midget that I put 80K on.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, Costco does a balance & rotate (I was going for the balance). After they moved the tires around I would measure tread depth & move 2, 3, or all 4 tires if needed. I finally gave up on getting tires balanced & just moved the tires as needed.
I only started placing the tires myself at ~50K, when the tread started getting worn down quite a bit.

I was trying to figure out what pattern Costco uses to rotate their tires but gave up. Often it appeared to be a random pattern.
I shall ask them the next time I go for a rotate/balance (5-7K).

 

OP here - Defender tires are non-directional.

The sidewalls looked great without any sign of micro-cracks. It took <3 years to roll those 86K
No regrets on getting another set of them!

 

OP here - Since I keep the tires at 44psi it doesn't seem to matter if the tires are LRR or not. I did not notice any change from the old Defenders to the new set of Defenders. Around flat FL I'm getting 50-55mpg on most tanks. Much of my driving is around town stop-&-go, 40-45-50mph. At 70+ it will be in the low 40s.
All of this is in ECO mode with AC.
Hauling around a bicycle or 2 on a hitch mount carrier _really_ hits the MPG if the Prius is traveling any faster than ~45mph. The bicycle carrier stays on the Prius _all_ the time.

 

No pics - although they were only <3 years old when I got a new set.

I was measuring the tread depth every 6-8K towards the end so I was looking quite close at the tires regularly. I never noticed any problems in the 3 years I had them.