Rain, Ice and Snow. The Verdict Is In for Goodyear's TripleTreds.
Written: Jan 12 '07 (Updated Sep 26 '07)
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Pros: Very good treadwear, perform every bit as good as advertised, and then some.
Cons: They don't last forever. Seriously, I have nothing bad to say about these tires...
The Bottom Line: If you buy them you will join the club of happy TripleTred drivers, if you don't, you may be in a ditch this winter regretting it.
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| boogacow's Full Review: Goodyear Assurance TripleTred Tire |
Hello again fellow Epinionators, your loyal reporter Boogacow has been at it again, and has a fresh report for you about the GoodYear Assurance TripleTred snow, ice, and water tires.
Snow Ice and Water, well what the heck is left? Moondust?
Inclusive product descriptions aside, the marketing department at GoodYear didn't have to lie awake with a guilty conscience at night for trumpeting the prowess of these tires. They are everything I expected them to be.
Now to qualify that statement, let me convey what I actually expected.
I expected, for my $600, tires that would enable me to maintain control of my car in very snowy, very icy, and very wet conditions. A no-brainer eh? I guess since I actually received more than that, my expectations were actually exceeded.
When I first read reviews for these tires, I also checked out the Michelin X-Ice. After purchasing the GoodYears, and reading further reviews of the X-Ice, and seeing them in person, I am glad I didn't. I simply can't imagine them being any better than these TripleTreds, they are that good.
Now, before I go any further, let me say that these tires were mounted on a one year old Subaru Forester, and the AWD has unarguably accented their performance. SO don't compare this to say, a Chevy Malibu, as it is apples to oranges.
Supposedly these tires have three kinds of treads and rubber compounds. The outside edges being harder rubber with bigger blocks for good dry weather roadhandling. The inside solid ridge siped and made of soft rubber impregnated with volcanic sand for ice. And the inside edges sculpted and made of a medium compound to direct water away from the center for rain. (Remember the old AquaTred commercials? Ya, I always thought those were cool tires...)
Ok, all that said, I can absolutely tell the difference between these tires and the Yokohamas I had mounted before. While still making some road noise (not too bad though), they are waaaay quieter than the Yokos. In addition, even dry pavement, and loose dirt traction were immediately and noticeably better with the TripleTreds.
I have now driven this car through Seattle "downpours", they cut through puddles like a knife, hydroplaning is a word found in the dictionary to me now. In a blizzard in the MidWest, see this review for a story you may not soon forget. And now a Canadian Blizzard, (legendary to be sure). Not to mention approximately 10,000 miles of dry-weather driving, and they have stuck me to the road like GLUE.
Like I said, I am sure the AWD has something to do with it, but still, I can tell these tires are killer. I have jammed the brakes on black ice and glare ice and stopped almost as if it were dry. Traction? Havn't been without it since I got them.
The only times I have had anything less than perfect traction were in large amounts of slushy snow, they show a tiny bit of weakness there. Overall however, these are some serious tires, they perform dry like some Nitto low-pros.
And somehow after 10k miles of heavy driving and towing use, they are barely showing wear. I think they will be lasting a while.
To gain an even better idea of what these tires can do, I recommend to refer to the above hyperlink. Otherwise I urge you to drop the coin on these if you ever deal with wet or snowy weather. These tires fall into the buy-it-now-unless-you-are-absolutely-brain-dead category for sure.
Bottom line, with these tires on my Subaru, I have had PERFECT control in situations that left other cars helpless and stuck. That's the idea though isn't it?
Hope this info helps you ;)
***Update***
These tires are still wearing beautifully and performing extremely well. I must make one note though, in the Canadian sub-arctic conditions I am currently in, these tires lose a bit of their ice traction, hardly noticeable but it's there. I suspect it is because in these temperatures (-30 F) the rubber gets a bit hard. This wouldn't be such a problem with a pure ice tire, but in this case it's acceptable to me since they still perform excellently and the tradeoff is a longer treadlife. Not a deal-breaker by any means, just be aware of this if you are in extreme cold climates.
***Update***
Another five thousand miles and these tires are performing beautifully. Wonderful wet weather traction in a massive thunderstorm had me praising GoodYear again this week. In my Subaru with these tires I had fun making a drive that was crippling the other cars around me, due to wet streets and large puddles. I can also say that these are the best wearing tires I have ever owned, a friend who checked them out a year ago commented on a recent visit that he couldn't see the difference from when they were new. Still a top pick for me!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 600
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Epinions.com ID:
boogacow
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Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 1 member
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Your average 20 something consumer.
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