11/05 consumer reports - dissing the comfortred

[konakahuna]

ok, now i'm really confused. i had all but decided to replace the stock integrity tires with goodyear comfortreds because so many people on this board favor them. then the latest consumer reports comes out and turns my decision inside out.

1) the comfortred got a low mark of "fair" in both dry and wet braking while its brother, the tripletred, got excellent or good scores nearly across the board. are these tires, both assurance brand, really THAT different in performance?

2) the one weakness of the michelin hydroedge was in the hydroplaning category where it received only a "good" rating... yet owners rave about its stability in water. does that make any sense?

3) the #2 tire was a michelin X-radial sold only at shopping clubs. has anyone had any experience with these?

4) the #3 tire was a "hankook mileage plus". has anyone ever heard of this tire? owned one???


the article itself was incredibly brief with little in the way of explanation on methodology or testing details. for instance, they rate the X-radial as "excellent" in rolling resistance...but never say what they means, how it was tested, or how much real-world difference exists between the ratings.

for a publication i usually trust, it seems a very slipshod report to me.

[200Volts]

I would go to Tire Rack (a sponsor). They let consumers (usually in the thousands) rate the tires. Plus you can read comments by the consumers.

My opinion is the Integrity is the worst tire on the market today, so even a "fair" rating for another tire would be much better then the Integrity. Wet, dry, snow, damp it doesn't matter. OK, they have low rolling resistance-but so does a marble.
If you want a performance tire with a very firm ride try the Bridgestone RE950 (about $70 at dealers with mount/bal).

[flareak]

usually when you go for comfort you decrease performance b/c the air pressure effects both laterally and vertically

[Bill Merchant]

I saw that report too. I have ComforTred tires and really like them. No question on superiority to the Integrity tires. Since I haven't run the TripleTred I don't know, but I haven't experienced any wet-weather problems with the ConforTred.

I had Michelin X tires that I bought at Costco on my Camry. When I decided to ditch the Integrity tires I called Costco and they didn't have any tires in the OEM size, which is why I went with the ComforTred tires.

I had problems with the Integrity tires within five miles (road noise), so I'll tell you if I have problems with the ComforTred tires in another 30,000 miles...

NO idea about the Hankook tire.

[LuckyP]

I have the Goodyear Triple Tread and performance is great in dry and wet weather. Haven't had any snow yet so can't comment there. I average about 40 - 45 mpg with 40 PSI in the tires.

I drove a rental Prius before I bought mine and the Integrity tires are terrible in wet weather.

[c4]

Before the board went down, I posted about this very topic.. The review results are so inconsistent with all the other tests I've seen and from my own personal experience- eg, the hydroplaning resistance of the Michelin Hydroedge- it's the *best* tire I've ever driven in terms of hydroplaning resistance, and I had the Hankook Mileage Plus 725 on another vehicle and they were a real piece of crap- absolute worst tire ever- horrible traction and handling in any conditions, verging on dangerous when wet. They wore poorly, and were very noisy, with a really rough ride to boot.. I replaced those with a set of Harmonies that were night and day difference..

Now on the other side of the coin, even though the CR review is somewhat inconsistent, I put even less stock in the tirerack.com user "reviews" for the very reason that they are just user anecdotes and not based on any type of repeatable test regime- For the tirerack reviews, read the text comments with a grain of salt, and completely ignore the "scores", which are not comparison based, but "mean opinion" (ie, a "10" score for a particular tire does not mean that it is actually a better tire than another brand/model with a lower score; all it means is that more people had a good experience with that tire, they may not have tried the other tire at all and therefore there's no basis for comparison.. In other words, the scores are really just "popularity scores").. The other tirerack.com test track comparison reviews on the other hand are much more valuable, but unfortunately, they only compare a limited selection of tires..

In any case, the CR reports haven't changed my opinion about the Hydroedge, and in terms of winter tires, I've actually decided to go with the Michelin X-Ice vs. the Nokian RSi.. The CR reports did have some influence, but it was basically just reinforcement of the tests done by the "Motor" magazine in Norway, which rated the Nokian RSi and the X-Ice virtually identically in all performance categories.. The top studless in that test was the Conti Viking Contact 3, followed by the Gislaved Soft Frost, and then the Nokian RSi and the Michelin X-Ice.. I was also able to see the X-Ice at the tire store and feel the sidewalls (they are much stiffer than any of the other snow tires carried by the store) and examine the tread. But the main reason was that I wanted to stay with a 175 width for better snow performance for my Classic Prius and the X-ice is available in a 175/70R14 that is 84 load rated (same load rating as the XL rated OEM, but a slightly taller profile (still within 4% though)), whereas this size is not available in the RSi and the OEM size is not available in the proper load rating, so I'd have to go with a wider tire and give up snow performance as well as MPG..

[gaulfinger]

I love Tire Rack's web site and I am a very pleased customer. I replaced my Integrity's there... but the consumer ratings needs to be read with a grain of salt. I found the 'cheap' tires like Korean brands Kumho and Hankook were very higly rated, yet premium tires, especially those typically OEM'd on luxury cars, were more critically rated. I think the expectations of different market segments reflect in the numbers as well as the performance expectations of the tires themselves.

T/R also lets you read actual comments from people who rated the tires. Note how frequently an entry-level buyer (Corolla) will laud a tire, the Camry owner will like it, but the ES300 owner lambast it... Reading these reviews can help qualify where these tires fit relative to your own priorities.

Take a look at the road tests that Tire Rack themselves did for some models. They are head to head within the test and are probably a little closer to "level" comparing tires from differnt test batches. These numbers can be much more meaningful in deciding between tires. Comparing within a market segment (ie grand touring) for user comments vs. actual measured tests, you may be able to put the various user scores more in perspective and extrapolate how a market segment subjectively marks relative players.

I went off the beaten path and chose an extreme performance tire, the Continental SportContact2 on a 16 inch rim. It is a knockout for wet and dry traction, has decent ride and acceptable noise (at least to me). And despite its inch wider profile, thye have not impacted my mpg, still averaging ~46mpg. Conti does a good LRR... The Integrity is NOT a true LRR tire.

If you want a top-rated LRR that fits the 15" rim, has excellent ride and noise characteristics, keeps the weight down (a big problem with TripleTred--it's heavy), and still improves wet handling over the Integrity, the ContiTouringcontact CH95 does very well. My last car's economy swung 10% between these Conti's and the set of Bridgestones that replaced them...

Hope this helps,
Gary

[onerpm]

Originally posted by konakahuna@Oct 11 2005, 05:23 PM
ok, now i'm really confused. i had all but decided to replace the stock integrity tires with goodyear comfortreds because so many people on this board favor them. then the latest consumer reports comes out and turns my decision inside out.

Twenty years ago, a buddy of mine played in an LPGA pro-am, because his company was a sponsor. He asked me to caddy for him. It was a blast; his pro/partner was a rookie (absolutely gorgeous, sweet woman) who did not stay on the tour after that year. Her husband was her caddy.

At one point during the round, my friend asked me the yardage to the pin, and I said 160 (or whatever) based of course upon the nearest sprinklerhead marking and my estimate off of that. Then, his pro/partner's caddy said something like "actually, it's 163."

Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd behind the ropes, exclaiming: "go with the pro caddy!" Pretty hilarious, although I seem to recall I was a touch miffed at the time.

This is a true story, and we still use that phrase in various situations. My advice to you relating to board opinions vs. consumer reports opinions is the same. (With no offense intended toward any posters, as the more information available, the better!)

rob

[Whitey]

Originally posted by konakahuna@Oct 11 2005, 05:23 PM

3) the #2 tire was a michelin X-radial sold only at shopping clubs. has anyone had any experience with these?

[snapback]139649[/snapback]

I did some work recently for a premium tire manufacturer & found out that these "shopping clubs" or discount stores have contracts that beat the prices down so much that these manufacturers are forced to open facilities in low-wage countries. While my contact couldn't confirm if these facilities manufacture to the same stringent standards that existing facilities meet, his statement lead me to believe that these tires don't offer the same quality (because he would not buy one).

In addition to material quality, what sets premium companies apart from the competition is the specifications their facilities can meet for exactness in tire dimensions. Every tire is nearly the same size. If you go discount or purchase a non-premium tire, the dimensions amongst all 4 tires will be off by a slight amount. This leads to decreased handling performance, efficiency, tire wear, and balance issues.

While most people will not need the top-of-the-line performance offered by premium tires, I did want to chime in with this bit of knowledge so that everyone here can be a more informed consumer.

[mikepaul]

Not thrilled with the treadlife rating, but I do expect to replace the tires again before I replace the car...