Now I'm testing the Assurance TripleTred
11-05-2009, 07:32 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: 08-06-2008
Location: Grand Haven, MI
Posts: 1,761
Hib, I love these write-ups with "plain talk" explanations for those of us who may not be tire engineers. I learn a lot from them, keep up the good work!!
Ground pumice in the rubber compound sounds like a great idea for ice, I wonder if any of the dedicated snow/ice tires use it?
Ground pumice in the rubber compound sounds like a great idea for ice, I wonder if any of the dedicated snow/ice tires use it?
11-05-2009, 09:41 AM
#12
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Thread Starter
Join Date: 08-29-2007
Location: CenCoast California
Posts: 256
Hib, I love these write-ups with "plain talk" explanations for those of us who may not be tire engineers. I learn a lot from them, keep up the good work!!
Ground pumice in the rubber compound sounds like a great idea for ice, I wonder if any of the dedicated snow/ice tires use it?
Ground pumice in the rubber compound sounds like a great idea for ice, I wonder if any of the dedicated snow/ice tires use it?
I know GY's winter tires use silica. I believe some of Bridgestone's "Blizzak" line uses it, as well.
11-05-2009, 11:27 PM
#13
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Join Date: 07-13-2008
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 480
12-31-2009, 03:59 PM
#15
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Join Date: 07-05-2008
Location: Akron Ohio
Posts: 5,464
Note I am using these tires for my winter wheels. They have excellent wet traction and very good snow traction.
Note I am using them on a SS in a 16" size. The turn in is less and the overall dry grip is less. These are not performance tires. They are only a upgrade over the comfort treads.
The Comfort Treads are more for better ride and the Triple Treads are will give a little more in performance but are short of the Eagle series. If you want more performance go with an Eagle series tire.
Goodyear also offeres the Assurance Response Edge which is a touring tires and the Assurance Fuel Max that increases mileage. It is OE on the Prius and will also be OE on
the Volt.
The key in buying these and any tire in the larger size is to watch the speed rating. If it is speed rated it could add $80 or more to the price of the tire.
Since I do not do much driving over 100 MPH in the snow I went with the lower speed rating on my winter tires. I did the same on my GTP that we have used these same tires on.
The first set on my GTP went over 50K miles when the OE Comp TA's only went 24 K.
I had these tires now for over 4 winters in the Great Lakes snow belt and have found no cause to not recomend these tires.
Keep them inflated properly and rotated they will give you a good life span and great performance.
If you want more a performance tire look to the Assurance Response Edge or the new Eagle GT. Both are priced well and both will add more dry performance while still holding good winter and rain performance.
Also watch for goodyears rebates. It could save you $40-$50 on a set of tires. As expensive as tires are every little bit helps.
As for the Visiual inspection that is funny they look at all the tires. The truth is tires are hand built and people are well involved from start to end. THat is part of the cost problem. They just don't inject rubber into mold. Before a tire is molded it has to be hand built. My Grandfather spent 30 years doing this.
Also note they also X Ray the tires to make sure they were constructed properly. X Ray works a little better than just looking them over.
The high cost with speed rated tires often lies in some of the materials used but also the fact they reject more of them since they do not sell them unless they show to be perfect. Also the Rubber on the speed ratings of V and Z tend to be softer and wear faster.
Unless you drive high speeds for many miles don't waste your money. Buy the lesser speed rating and get more miles of wear for less money.
I don't work for the tire companies but have family and friends who do. I also worked for a comany that did work for BFG, Firestone, Handkook, General and Goodyear. I was lucky to work with engineers on many concept tires and they taught me a thing or two.
Living in Akron is not all that great but you do learn a thing or two about tires here like it or not. LOL!
Note most people here that work for the tire companies will buy from the Tire Rack if they don't get them for free.
Note I am using them on a SS in a 16" size. The turn in is less and the overall dry grip is less. These are not performance tires. They are only a upgrade over the comfort treads.
The Comfort Treads are more for better ride and the Triple Treads are will give a little more in performance but are short of the Eagle series. If you want more performance go with an Eagle series tire.
Goodyear also offeres the Assurance Response Edge which is a touring tires and the Assurance Fuel Max that increases mileage. It is OE on the Prius and will also be OE on
the Volt.
The key in buying these and any tire in the larger size is to watch the speed rating. If it is speed rated it could add $80 or more to the price of the tire.
Since I do not do much driving over 100 MPH in the snow I went with the lower speed rating on my winter tires. I did the same on my GTP that we have used these same tires on.
The first set on my GTP went over 50K miles when the OE Comp TA's only went 24 K.
I had these tires now for over 4 winters in the Great Lakes snow belt and have found no cause to not recomend these tires.
Keep them inflated properly and rotated they will give you a good life span and great performance.
If you want more a performance tire look to the Assurance Response Edge or the new Eagle GT. Both are priced well and both will add more dry performance while still holding good winter and rain performance.
Also watch for goodyears rebates. It could save you $40-$50 on a set of tires. As expensive as tires are every little bit helps.
As for the Visiual inspection that is funny they look at all the tires. The truth is tires are hand built and people are well involved from start to end. THat is part of the cost problem. They just don't inject rubber into mold. Before a tire is molded it has to be hand built. My Grandfather spent 30 years doing this.
Also note they also X Ray the tires to make sure they were constructed properly. X Ray works a little better than just looking them over.
The high cost with speed rated tires often lies in some of the materials used but also the fact they reject more of them since they do not sell them unless they show to be perfect. Also the Rubber on the speed ratings of V and Z tend to be softer and wear faster.
Unless you drive high speeds for many miles don't waste your money. Buy the lesser speed rating and get more miles of wear for less money.
I don't work for the tire companies but have family and friends who do. I also worked for a comany that did work for BFG, Firestone, Handkook, General and Goodyear. I was lucky to work with engineers on many concept tires and they taught me a thing or two.
Living in Akron is not all that great but you do learn a thing or two about tires here like it or not. LOL!
Note most people here that work for the tire companies will buy from the Tire Rack if they don't get them for free.
04-02-2010, 07:33 PM
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: 02-09-2009
Location: Downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida
Posts: 3,169
05-08-2010, 11:10 PM
#18
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 08-29-2007
Location: CenCoast California
Posts: 256
It's been a while since I've checked-in with this thread.
I have about 8000 miles on my set of Goodyear Assurance Triple-Treds and I rotated them this week. In the process I also checked tread depth and there's been very little wear. My guess is these tires are going to go 40,000+ miles.
So far the these tires have done very well. We had a fairly wet winter here in California and their wet traction has lived up to Goodyear's claims...it's quite good. Also, they are quieter than even the F1 ASes I had on the truck before.
They're not quite the dry traction tire at the handing limit that was the F1 AS but, considering the majority of the driving done with our HHR is not at the limit, the Assurance is really a better chocie.
I have about 8000 miles on my set of Goodyear Assurance Triple-Treds and I rotated them this week. In the process I also checked tread depth and there's been very little wear. My guess is these tires are going to go 40,000+ miles.
So far the these tires have done very well. We had a fairly wet winter here in California and their wet traction has lived up to Goodyear's claims...it's quite good. Also, they are quieter than even the F1 ASes I had on the truck before.
They're not quite the dry traction tire at the handing limit that was the F1 AS but, considering the majority of the driving done with our HHR is not at the limit, the Assurance is really a better chocie.
