Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's

[amped]

I've done business with the same local tire dealer for 15 years. They carry Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokohama and a few other lines. They always beat TireRack and Costco prices and give generous trade-in credit.

After talking with both TireRack and my dealer, I was steered (pun intended) toward the TripleTred. It's a new design that debuted last February and, according to them, represents a generational improvement over the Michelin HydroEdge with a quieter ride and better snow performance.

I've only driven ~100 miles on dry asphalt in gusting cross-winds, so am no authority. I can say they are very smooth and quiet, better than expected for an 80,000 mile tire. However, although the tire is HR rated, the sidewall has some flex that allows a bit of motion in crosswinds. Not alarming at all, much better than the Integrity's, and I tested in the Columbia River Gorge with winds 25 gusting 45. They're good, but if you want ultimate crosswind resistance, then I recommend the tire I used on my last '04, the Bridgestone Potenza RE-950 in 195/60-15 size.

The indicated fuel consumption displayed hasn't changed with the TT's, so there's hope that it won't be impacted much. The Potenzas took a 20% toll on economy, but wow did they handle anything but moderate snow.

Here's a link to the TireRack survey of similar tires. You can see that the TT is rated slightly higher than the HydroEdge, although with a much smaller sample size.

TireRack Survey

I think either would be fine. The dealer was pretty excited about the TT's, though, and said customer complaints are nearly non-existent compared to the HydroEdge that gets some noise and balance complaints.

The TT is about $8 per tire less than the HE, not a factor for me. What became the deal clincher is the Goodyear $50 rebate that started today and runs until 11/27.

Goodyear $50 Rebate

So, net cost with trade-in, including free road hazard replacement (not repair) certificates, mount & balance, free lifetime rotation and balance, blah-blah, was $184 at America's Tire Company. Not bad, not bad at all, and now I'm (almost) looking forward to rainy and snowy days.

[ryogajyc]

Are you using the stock rims? I've not purchased tires before, so my understanding of fit and requirements is rather limited. From what I gather on TireRack, the 195/60-15 TTs are 6.0" tires, but they can fit on rims 5.5-7" which include the 5.5" stock rims for the 2004 Prius.

Is it safe/ok to do this? Are there any disadvantages (and possibly advantages) to using tires where the measured rim width does not match? What tire pressure are you running them at?

Sorry for pestering you with questions, but it seems like the TTs are an excellent choice for the Prius. I'm a bit wary that they don't make a 185/65-15 version (hopefully they will soon). In case they never do, I would like to get an idea of what it takes to get a set of TTs on my car eventually. Thanks.

[john1701a]

We really, really need to define what "snow performance" means.

I can quickly recite three very difference situations on snow...

- ACCELERATING

- TURNING

- STOPPING

The TripleTred appear as though they'd score the highest in ACCELERATION, due to having the largest amount of angled tread.

The HydroEdge appear as though they'd score the highest in TURNING, due to having the 2 deep, wide, continuous linear treads.

As for STOPPING, that's anyone's guess. Neither appears to have an obvious advantage.

[amped]

ryo, stock rim width is 6", a perfect match for the 195/60's and the rim used for TireRack data. I'm running 38ff/35rr on stock rims, but will be upping pressures to improve handling. I might have to live with the limitations and compromises of a non-performance rated tire, but hope to find the sweet spot. I have a lot of headroom, max inflation pressure is 44 psi.

John, the TireRack snow performance definition is effectively the same as yours. From their site:

Snow Traction
Rates snow traction when accelerating, braking and cornering.

No numbers given, but the sales rep runs the TT's on his BMW 325i as Winter snow tires as said they do almost as well as dedicated snows. He said customer feedback for snow performance runs well ahead of HydroEdge feedback as shown in the data. He said the volcanic ash and glass fibers embedded in the center really works with snow and even ice traction.

Hmm, maybe sell Mt. St. Helen's ash to Michelin now

Goodyear Assurance Flash Site

[daniel]

I presume that the Tire Rack survey linked above gives averages of user responses, not test results. In which case, the difference between the TT and the HE seems insignificant. Comments?

[orlans108]

I too am thinking seriously about the TripleTred .... The Rev's on the TripleTred 195/60/15 is 833 .... 185/65/15 (stock) is 824. My chart said that when going 60mph the TripleTred will read 59.4. Does this matter at all?

Also will the wider size of the TripleTred impact MPG more than say going with the Hydroedge 185/65/15?

What do you think about changing the wheels while changing the tires. Does anyone know the weight of a stock Prius rim?

Thanks
Daniel

[amped]

daniel, like I wrote above, I think either would be fine and a great improvement over the Integrity's that have such a soft sidewall that I consider them borderline unsafe in emergency transitions.

orlans, I can't imagine that small of a difference having an effect on any of the Prius systems or driving dynamics. Speedo and odometer will be very slightly off, but that's all that comes to mind.

Impossible to say whether mileage would change when comparing a wider TripleTred to a narrower HydroEdge. But when comparing the same type, I'd guess the wider tire could possibly get lower economy due to a wider contact patch probably having higher rolling resistance and greater tire weight.

I don't know the weight of a stock Prius rim, but Tire Rack most likely does. I think it would be beneficial to change to a lighter but no larger wheel to return closer to stock wheel/tire weight. The TripleTred in 195/60 size is around six pounds heavier than the stock Integrity. The HydroEdge is three pounds heavier. That's quite a bit for either, although you'd have to be sensitive to notice the slower acceleration partially offset by the lower effective final drive ratio. If I were keeping the car, I might investigate a lighter forged wheel, but I like the stock wheel looks with the heavy plastic trim ring removed.

Oh, I went straight up to 44ff/42rr now. The tracking improved further, and the car feels much more stable in high speed transitions in my imaginary slalom course. Tracking is completely acceptable now. I think the increased pressure helped even more than the "stability" alignment with toe-in. Even at 44 psi, the max pressure, ride is still very good, the tire is nearly silent, and no unusual chassis resonances were excited. There is a slight impact jolt over the biggest pavement breaks, but nothing objectionable at all. I'm still waiting for a good downpour to test wet grip (Oregon...soon) and am pumped about everything I've read and heard about the excellent snow and ice performance. I saw no difference in fuel economy between the Integrity's and the oversized TripleTreds. Both show 41.5 mpg at 70 mph into a stiff, gusting head/crosswind. So far, so good, and when the car is more broken in and the brakes fully bedded, I'll try emergency braking and ABS engagement.

[daniel]

Orlans, for what it's worth, my odometer, with the OEM tires at 42/40, reads about 1% off. I figure that's probably within specs.

Amped, thanks for the additional thoughts.

I've decided to get the HydroEdge tires. I'll have to wait a week though, because the tire store had to special-order them. Maybe a different store would have them in stock, but I've dealt with this place for 25 years and I'm happy with them.

[rflagg]

Question from a non-car guy who is now a car guy because of this wonderful vehicle:

Why are a good deal of you getting new tires? Are your current tires already worn down that bad, or are you just looking for good winter tires?

On an aside, braking (except hard) on snow/ice on this car is irrelevant in regards to tires because of regen. braking, right?

-m.

[jfschultz]

Question from a non-car guy who is now a car guy because of this wonderful vehicle:

Why are a good deal of you getting new tires? Are your current tires already worn down that bad, or are you just looking for good winter tires?

On an aside, braking (except hard) on snow/ice on this car is irrelevant in regards to tires because of regen. braking, right?

-m.

As I indicated in the "Replaced the Tires - from hydroplane to HyrdoEdge" thread (http://priuschat.com/forums/replaced...es-vt5152.html), my wife and I encountered a scary situation that destroyed our confidence in the safety of OEM tires in wet weather at highway speed.

The tires only had about 5000 miles and lots of wear left. But the Goodyear Integrity are their bottom of the line. The Michelin HydroEdge and the Goodyear TripleTread are the top of the line all season tires.