How do you like your Goodyear Tripletreds?

We bought a set of TripleTreds (195/60-15) last spring for our Prius and have about 7,000 miles on them. I did a lot of research at the time and the TripleTred is the best performing all-season tire out on the market. I think Goodyear has a $50 rebate right now too. The only other tire I considered was the Michelin X-Radial (2nd best in CR ranking), but it's only sold at Sam's Club where I live and would've been more $$$.

Pros: Handling is outstanding. It really makes our Prius sporty. Although the Prius suspension has a healthy dose of sway to it, I can take off-ramps MUCH faster than most cars with these tires. I've pushed them pretty hard and haven't heard a squeal yet. They are noticeably better at tracking straight on the highway than the OEM Integrity. Performance in rain is just as good. You can tell the tread design has a lot of traits from Goodyear's AquaTred. If I had to sum it up, these tires inspire confidence when driving.

Cons: Although Consumer Reports ranked tire noise as being good, I've found that they're louder than the Integrity at low speeds ( < 40 MPH). Treadwear has been OK so far. Like I said, I've been pushing them pretty aggresively since it makes our Prius fun to drive. I haven't rotated them yet and I've noticed the fronts have worn a little more than the rears. Gas mileage is definitely lower. I don't have hard numbers, but I'd say we're taking a 3-4MPG hit on average.

I live in Minnesota and haven't had a chance to try them in the snow. Based on my past experience, all-season tires are "adequate" at best in snow and ice. I don't expect much from the TripleTreds in this regard and just bought a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50s on steel rims. I will probably post a comparison of the two when we get our first snowstorm.

Why did I buy the TripleTreds? They main reason is that I feel the crash protection of our Prius is only OK. The curbweight is relatively light and it gets mostly 4 stars in the NHTSA rankings. I wanted to boost the accident avoidance capability of our Prius to avoid crashes. The best way to do that is getting better performing tires. That is worth paying a few more dollars and getting slightly lower gas mileage. Would I buy another set in the future? Most definitely!

 

I've had my TripleTreds for a couple weeks now. I believe I can safely say that you won't be disappointed and you'll find them a huge improvement over the stock Integritys. That's not to say they're the best tire or best value for you though.

I'm very hesitant to elaborate on my subjective impressions of these tires, given the biases and inherent inaccuracy they would contain. But without any quantitative data it's all I can offer.

I have noticed a large difference in the amount of available grip. With the Integritys, I used to activate the ABS all the time when moderately braking over rough surfaces as the tires lost grip. I also used to frequently activate the traction control when accelerating from a green light when the road was damp. Both of these problems have disappeared with the TripleTreds, though this improvement is hardly unique to the TTs.

I can't comment on the difference in noise level - I don't notice any difference, so they could be slightly louder or quieter.

BTW, I bought the TTs based on CR's tests and TireRack's survey results, and favorable experience with the SUV/Light Truck version of the tire, the Goodyear Fortera TripleTred.