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Head-to-head Updated May 2026

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT vs Michelin Defender T+H — Compared (May 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

Tire A Goodyear

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT

Premium Touring All Season tire

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
86/100
30 owner reviews
Dry
91
Wet
85
Snow
84
Comfort
90
Noise
91
Treadwear
87
Handling
70

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B Michelin

Michelin Defender T+H

Premium Touring All Season tire

Michelin Defender T+H tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
82/100
Owner ratings
Dry
94
Wet
91
Snow
76
Comfort
89
Noise
87
Treadwear
90
Handling
92

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Michelin Defender T+H — better handling, wet and dry. Pick the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT if snow and noise matter most to you.
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Category breakdown

7 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Defender T+H leads by 3
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
91
B — Michelin Defender T+H
94
Why this score
SourceWrangler Fortitude HTDefender T+H
Tire Rack owners 75 92
Tyre Reviews owners 80 –

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Defender T+H leads by 6
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
85
B — Michelin Defender T+H
91
Why this score
SourceWrangler Fortitude HTDefender T+H
Tire Rack owners 60 88
Tyre Reviews owners 63 –

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Wrangler Fortitude HT leads by 8
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
84
B — Michelin Defender T+H
76
Why this score
SourceWrangler Fortitude HTDefender T+H
Tire Rack owners 83 73
Tyre Reviews owners 85 –

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Wrangler Fortitude HT leads by 1
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
90
B — Michelin Defender T+H
89
Why this score
SourceWrangler Fortitude HTDefender T+H
Tire Rack owners 58 88
Tyre Reviews owners 93 –

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Wrangler Fortitude HT leads by 4
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
91
B — Michelin Defender T+H
87

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Defender T+H leads by 3
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
87
B — Michelin Defender T+H
90
Why this score
SourceWrangler Fortitude HTDefender T+H
Tire Rack owners 83 88
Tyre Reviews owners 70 –

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Defender T+H leads by 22
A — Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
70
B — Michelin Defender T+H
92
Why this score
SourceWrangler Fortitude HTDefender T+H
Tyre Reviews owners 70 –

Scores at a glance

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT vs Michelin Defender T+H: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryGoodyear Wrangler Fortitude HTMichelin Defender T+H
Relative Score 86 89
Dry 91 94
Wet 85 91
Snow 84 76
Comfort 90 89
Noise 91 87
Treadwear 87 90
Handling 70 92

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT

The Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude H/T is generally regarded as a comfortable, quiet, and long-lasting highway tire, making it a popular choice for daily commuting and light-duty truck use. While users frequently praise its smooth ride and fuel efficiency, it is widely considered unsuitable for off-road conditions, snow, or ice, where traction performance is notably lacking.

Pros

  • Excellent tread life and durability
  • Quiet and smooth highway ride quality
  • Improved fuel economy compared to all-terrain alternatives
  • Strong value proposition for factory-replacement needs

Cons

  • Poor traction in snow, ice, and heavy rain
  • Inadequate performance for off-road or mud environments
  • Reports of vibration and balancing issues in some units
  • Mediocre dry pavement grip under acceleration

Observations

  • Owners of full-size trucks like the Chevrolet Silverado Z71 noted that while the tire excels on pavement, it is ill-suited for the off-road capabilities expected of the Z71 trim.
  • Some users reported uneven tread wear on larger SUVs like the Ford Expedition, even when maintaining proper inflation pressures.
Tire B Michelin Defender T+H

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT B · Michelin Defender T+H
CategoryPremium Touring All Season tirePremium Touring All Season tire
Vehicle typeSUV and 4x4SUV and 4x4
Sizes available7—
Rim diameters16″ – 18″—
Tread depth10 - 15/32″—
UTQG680 A B—
SidewallBlack Side Wall - Vertical Serrated Band—
Max pressure50 - 83 psi—
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Goodyear

Michelin

Winner: Michelin Defender T+H — better handling, wet and dry. Pick the Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT if snow and noise matter most to you.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Defender T+H scores 92 vs 70 on handling.

Pick tire A You drive through snowy winters

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT scores 84 vs 76 on snow.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Defender T+H scores 91 vs 85 on wet.

Pick tire A You want a quieter cabin

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT scores 91 vs 87 on noise.

Tire A · Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT
Tire B · Michelin Defender T+H

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.