Ok, I know a lot of tire posts have been around. I have read them. I've read the new posts, the old posts, countless reviews on tirerack, discount tire, other tire sites. I have read the long posts by Hib on here. It seems like everything contradicts itself. I don't get it.

One person says they're much quieter then their old tires, and the next person says they're crazy loud (and I have the OEM firestones, are they loud? are they quiet? I don't even know). One person says tread lasts a long time, next says it wore fast, one says great in snow, next says bad in snow. So aggravating.

So for anything that would like to help....

My driving style. I just have a 2LT so it is pretty mild. I like to take a corner fast here and there but nothing that big. Short commute most of the time and then long drives about once a month.

Tripletreds - looks like a lot of people have them, these are what i am looking at based on that and reviews (many flip flop reviews though). Saw a few things that they get a flat spot a bit in the col that'll smooth out as you ride? My work is less then 5 miles away along with most anything else, so do I get a bumpy ride in the cold all the time then? Also when adding to a cart it said they would be more harsh tehn the firestones.

Eagle GTs - also been looking at these. Anyone riding them.

Continental extreme contact DWS - was just looking at these, looked nice too. bit cheaper too. good (but few) reviews on tirerack good reviews on discount. anyone riding them? Starting to lean towards these a bit as i read up on them. But like i said i have no idea what i am doing.

Anything else. What happens if i get them and I don't like them? I don't buy tires a lot so i am a bit in the dark on it all. So if i don't like them, then what. They probably got rid of my told tires already, so now i am stuck finding a new pair asap? How do they fill up the wheel well compared to the firestones?

Also, i want to get it all taken care of soon. Going on a ski trip in a month, 8 hour drive into Michigan and I know there will be a blizzard if i don't get new tires...

 

All nice choices. All of which use "segmented mold technology". What that means is, the tires are more uniform out of the mold, and the sipes are generally full depth ,versus 5/32 depth on old "clam-shell" technology. As far as I know; the Tripletread and GT are not OE from any automotive manufacturer, the Conti is OE on BMW. Although I've run on Goodyear for quite some time; I would choose the Conti because of its reputation with higher end cars. All the years I spent in the "biz", I replaced more Triple treads for abnormal wear than I did the Conti. Another impressive tire maker recently hitting the passenger tire market is Hankook.

 

I use the tripples in winter on the HHR and year round on the GTP.

No wear issues on either, never heard of the flat spot issue. Got over 50,000 miles on the first set on the GTP with hard driving. Note they were not even to the indicators when I changed them.

As for the snow they work fine. I just came home Thursday in 6-7 inches of snow. The snow was the kind that was very slick on the roads. I never had an issue with the tires in this storm or any others. The wife who will also complain on tires in the snow has never said a work on hers and never got stuck in her GTP.

As with everything on the web you toss out the best and the worst reviews and you get to the truth. Many people leave out many details also other companies are know to post negitive or positive revirew on some web sites.

The The Triples have been used only on a few cars as OE. I have seen them on the Ford Flex. Not seeing them OE is a good sign they are not comprimised too much for cost and traction for OE standards. Often your best tires or never going to be OE as Tire companies cheepen them or engineer them to meet standards below what many tires can do. Often to make them quieter they will make a tread that just does not have better grip and often MFG want OE tires cheap so they will not be of better quality in all cases.

I do have a friend with the new GT on his Cobalt SS. He loves them. He also is not a skilled winter driver and gets around fine. With a year of wear on them they still look good. I am watching what he gets out of them and may use them on my summer wheels on the SS when the time comes to change.

Note too we also have used Triple Treads on other cars in the family and so far no one has ever had an issue of any kind. My mom had them on her Buick and inlaws on their DTS. For an all season tires they never presented an issue of any kind that would prevent us from buying them again. I could not say the same on some of Goodyears older tires they replaced.

One note I used to work with Goodyear, FIrestone/Bridgestone, BF Goodrich, Hankook, Michellin, Uniroyal and Hoosier. I was lucky enough to deal with many tire engineers from each company. THey did teach me alot about tires. THe one thing to know is that the newest tires from each often will provide the best service and performance just as like with the new cars. You buy an old tires like a Goodyear RSA that has not been redesigned and you will often get a old tire technology.

A good example is the new Eagle GT. THe name is the same but the tire is all new as of last year and a much better tire. So just don't judge a tire by name either.

Anyway with the Triple Tread I can say with first hand use I have not seen issues and liked them enough to replace them with the same. Note they did out last the Comp TA VR that came on the GTP. We only saw 24K miles on them.

 

thanks for the help so far guys, all great info. Going to discount tire tonight or tomrorow so i'll have to figure out something soon.

Hyper - how is the road noise on the tripletreds?

 

Must not be bad as I have never noticed noise as an issue in any of the four cars I have driven with them.

The radio is always on and other noises have been heard but not do much the tires.

Note Gooyear must have gotten something right since Michelin and others have tried to copy tem. This is often the best form of flttery in the tire industry.

 

Take your best online price there... if they're like our local disount tire, they will match it.

 

We just put those Contis on my girlfriends BMW. They replaced a Conti touring model. I've driven it a fair bit in some different conditions, including some fresh icy snow. I think they are very respectable all round tires. From the description of your driving style I think you would be pleased with these. They have a good tread wear rating as well. Her car is all wheel drive which certainly helps. Nothing really is a substitute for snows if you drive in that a lot. I just put a set on my car because the stock tires are useless even with fresh tread, took me 3 tries to get up my girfriend's not that steep road the other night in 2 inches of snow.
The Tripletreads were one of the top recommended tires in Consumer Reports. The GT's I think may be more performance oriented and thus much less tread life. Just a few thoughts right/wrong/accurate or not.

 

already got that printed out. ha. In a diff thread someone mentioned treadepot.com. Best prices I have seen. I plan on going in and seeing what kind of a deal they would like to give me, maybe see if i can get installation taken off or discounted, and then bring up the price match after that is agreed upon.

Otherwise i'll order them online and bring them in, and all they get is my $60 for installation...

 

Thanks for the info. All great to hear. very torn between the two. would end up about $100 less with the continentals, after goodyear rebates and everything. Still around 600-700 total.

I couldn't believe how much cheaper the triple treds were for the 16" hhr tire. almost $50 less each, it all adds up....

 

Been reading up on a lot of stuff while i ate lunch today. Leaning towards the Contis. Tirerack did both a summer and a winter test with this tire and it performed really well. Best out of the 4 tested for the winter. Really wish they would have had the tripletreds in the test too, that would have helped a lot.

Plus at $100 less, and discount as a $50 rebate going as well. It is on instocks, and i know they will have to order them, so I don't know how my receipt will have to show if they were instock or not, would be awesome to get that off too.