There are lots of replaceable parts on our vehicles and one of the most often being replaced are tires because they will apparently wear off and put the driver in danger if pushed too far. For those who are not fond of changing tire every season, Cooper CS5 Vs Michelin Defender are two nice option to consider having installed in your car’s wheels. These all season tires are reliable but before shopping, see below if one of them is actually a better choice.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- When to Replace Tire
- Which Tire to Choose
- What are Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender
- How are the Compound and Tread Design of Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender
- How are the Performance of Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender
- Are Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender Fuel Efficient
- Cooper CS5 Vs Michelin Defender
Contents
- 1 Changing Tire
- 2 Tire Types
- 3 About Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender
- 4 Cooper CS5 Compound and Tread Design
- 5 Michelin Defender Compound and Tread Design
- 6 Cooper CS5 Performance
- 7 Michelin Defender Performance
- 8 Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender Fuel Consumption
- 9 Cooper CS5 vs Michelin Defender
- 10 Conclusion
Changing Tire
Everybody is talking about vehicle’s safety and this is important to make sure we are paying attention about how we ride or drive on the road and off the road. No matter if it is driving your kids to school or spending the weekend off-roading with your pals, vehicle conditions plays a huge role in ensuring we are coming back home safely. Besides routine care, changing the tire every certain times is also necessary to keep everybody safe because it affect how your vehicle performs out there.
Some of us may only realize that the tire needs to be replaced once seeing how smooth their surface has becomes and this can be dangerous for the driver, passenger and other people. For a general inspection and determining whether it is the time to change the tire, we can easily use the Lincoln penny to check the tire depth. Put one in between the tread and see if the top of its head is obscured then the tire’s ability to grip on the road is reduced as well.
Tire Types
If you have checked the tire and see the initial sign of tire replacement, now is the time to see what the market has to offer because there are lots of options when it comes to tire types. Many of them are made for certain purposes but there are also those made for a general applications, depending on where you will be driving at. The most common tire type is all season and as the name suggests, they are designed to handle all months throughout the years.
The next common tire type is all terrain and this is the one usually comes with your SUV or truck because it is made to handle both smooth road and a little bit of adventures out there. Comparing the two they are similarly build to provide convenience for the users but still clearly differentiated by the vehicle application or where they will be used at. In short if you spend the weekend off-roading then all terrain is the ideal option and vice versa.
| Cooper CS5 | Michelin Defender | |
|---|---|---|
  |   |
|
| Product Dimensions | 25.5 x 25.5 x 8.2 inches | 23 x 8 x 23 inches |
| Item Weight | 22 pounds | 23 pounds |
| Best Offer | click here | click here |
Besides these two, there are various tire types such as mud terrain, snow tire, and summer tire or performance tire. All of them are made for certain application for example the performance tire like Falken Azenis FK510 Vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport are made for sport cars or those who want to get the best performance on smooth road. On the other hand those who plays with mud and drive on loose surface will surely use mud terrain or MT.
About Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender
For those who are not planning to drive off-road or don’t own the type of vehicle used to handle the terrain, the best option is an all season tire because they are going to last all year round since we don’t need to replace them when nearing winter or summer when snow or rain are mostly happening. Depending on where you live however, they are ideally designed for those who live in mild places or if there is no heavy snow when in winter.
All season tire are widely available and chances all tire manufacturers carry several options in their catalogue that you can always count on. Among those many brands, cooper and Michelin are two of the best choices because they are well known when it comes to tire quality, moreover, they have been in the game for so long thus they understand market’s demand as well as the technology needed to provide a reliable products.
If you are driving coupes, family sedans, small crossover, or minivans, Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender are two ideal models to go. These tires are designed to be used by such vehicles and promising a good performance across the spectrum with comfort as one of their best points. These are all season tires to fit on your vehicle’s and drive anytime despite the changing seasons, making them a very convenient option for anyone who live in a place where the winter is still friendly.
Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender are among the new addition from each family and they surely built to deliver a very much reliable performance with new materials and design. As for Defender, the one we are mentioning in this article today is the T+H version because there is also LTX from the family but the latter is meant for different vehicle which is crafted more for light-truck or pickup and sport utility vehicles.
Cooper CS5 Compound and Tread Design
Let’s see what kind of compound used in these tires and starting with Cooper CS5, this tire is made with a coupled silica compound molded into an asymmetric pattern as you can see on the sample picture above. The Stabiledge Performance is claimed to reduce the flex inherent to independent tread block since it interlocks the tread elements to deliver the best performance when cornering at high speed as well as improve its stability and responsiveness while the broad outboard has less void for lateral traction.
In addition, the center ribs and inboard shoulder is featured with higher sipe density and more open space to help with wet traction and hydroplaning resistance. The full-depth 3D Micro-Gauge siping throughout the footprint is here to create biting edges required to better its grip in low-friction surfaces. As for the internal construction, Cooper CS5 is made with a high-turn up, single polyester casing beneath two high-strength, steel belts while a spirally wound nylon reinforcement is used to increase the handling responsiveness.
Michelin Defender Compound and Tread Design
Moving to Defender from Michelin, this tire is using a new compound, the same to the one being used in the popular Defender LTX M/S tire. It has asymmetric pattern and designed to make the tire run smoothly as well as quietly while using the company’s IntelliSipe technology which is constructed with zigzag sipes that interlock below the surface and meant to increase its block rigidity but also optimizing the tire’s contact with road’s surface. The high silica content makes the tire has a better wet traction than its predecessor.
Additionally the lateral notches and circumferential grooves will channel water away from the footprint effectively to make sure there is very low chance of hydroplaning while the independent tread blocks with zigzag sipes will work together to create the biting edges, making sure there is enough biting edges to provide traction on slippery surfaces such as in winter. Inside the tire, Defender has two wide steel belts to reinforce the single ply of polyamide for better tread and improves steering response as well as longer tire life.
Cooper CS5 Performance
No matter how good the tire is built, the most important part is always the performance and in this side, CS5 probably generate a very surprising result because it is actually very soft and what’s not very nice about it is somehow it reach to the point where the tire feels unsteady, making the vehicle doesn’t have the effect of settling or planting on the road. It also means the impacts are never harsh and there is certainly some volume to its noise.
What you may want to consider is how Cooper CS5 produce some delay between the input and response despite being claimed to be designed to improve this part and it happens in both small and large input. This is not a good sign of good handling or performance because now the steering becomes hard to predict.
Michelin Defender Performance
On the other hand, Michelin Defender is not suffering from the same issue because this tire has the engaging responsive we always look forward in a new set with a characteristic for those who are driving a bit more sporty. The steering is very responsive and immediately off-center while effort builds nicely as you put more inputs. Noise level is acceptably low and slightly increased on coarser roads but the ride quality is still firm and controlled. But, sometimes the fast response may overpower the rear especially with big inputs.
Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender Fuel Consumption
The last but not least point we want to talk about these all season tires is their fuel economy because some people do pay attention on how their new sets affect the fuel since it will cause some cost addition or reduction in the future. Cooper CS5 and Michelin Defender are not the most economic tires out there but the latter sure closer because it consumes 501.7 gallons per 15.000 miles compared to 506.8 for the same time and distance.
Cooper CS5 vs Michelin Defender
All season tire like CS5 and Defender are convenient for all year round but comparing the two, performance wise Defender is a better tire because this tire provide predictable steering and gives the feeling of actually gripping on the road as well as very fast response for those who drive more sportily. Additionally, it reduce fuel consumption compared to CS5 but not yet the best in fuel efficiency.
Conclusion
You can pick whichever tire for the vehicle but make sure to fit the application and, in this comparison, we highly recommend Michelin Defender because it is overall a better tire, stable and very responsive.