Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(amped\";p=\"52440)</div>

You gave the tire guys a box of day-old muffins? Come on, Amped! The least you could have done was give them fresh muffins. When I volunteered at the homeless shelter we got mountains of day-old bread products. They look fine but they taste awful.

 

after having on the goodyear TT now for a few miles...so slips, no slides, no errors...mileage seems to be about the same...and the footprint is sooo much better...

 

Re: Installed Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's Today

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy\";p=\"52945)</div>

The stock Goodyear Integritys are M&S rated, so they're considered "snow" tires too.

You must drive on different roads than I do. I've been going to Tahoe in the winter on I-80 and US-50 for twenty years, and I've only ever seen R2 conditions (chains required except for 4WD with snow tires).[/b][/quote]

I thought the M+S rating was no longer allowed as a snow tire? That is, to be qualified as a true "snow' tire under RMA/CMA, the tire must have that "snowflake" emblem on the sidewall in addition to M+S.

It's very confusing to see a skimpy all-season tire labeled M+S, when it's obvious you'd get stuck in 2 inches of snow. Professionals appear to achknowledge this confusion:

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/severe.jsp

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/c...ires/index.html

 

Re: Installed Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's Today

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"52993)</div>

Since the original poster and I were discussing road conditions in California, I was using the California Highway Patrol's definition of a snow tire:

Link to CHP FAQ

I have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Do I have to carry / use chains? What do the "R" ratings which are associated with chain requirements mean?

"R" ratings on snowy roads indicate chain requirements for various conditions. Some vehicles may not be required to use chains under all conditions, but all vehicles must carry chains. Most vehicles come equipped with snow tires. Look for M+S (mud and snow), All Season, or All Terrain, on the side of the tire.

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

priuisenvy, I thought I checked for the M+S on the Goodyear Integritys, but did not find them. Maybe I didn't. I tried to verify it on TireRack's larger view of the Integritys, but no luck. I have a feeling you are right, but I'm still gonna verify it for my own sanity's sake.

I have only been to Lake Tahoe once. I usually go to Mammoth Lakes, where the roads are usually clear and the worst I have seen are R1 conditions. My sampling size may be small enough such that I'm wrong about R1 being about as bad as it gets. Regardless, I intend to be prepared with tire chains.

amped, thanks. =) It actually rained relatively heavily (for LA) today, and I noticed that I did not have any hydroplaning issues that I had with the Integritys. So far they seem quieter, but I haven't had a whole lot use on them yet. They seemed a bit quieter on the grooved highway of the 118, but I'll have to try again on a dry day for a more accurate comparison. I set them to 42/40, but I absent-mindedly did it right after getting home, so they might be a bit lower when completely cold. Is it really a good idea to get them re-tightened at 1000 miles? I'm always curious when I have work done on my car, so I watched them put on my tires. They used a Hunter 9000 balancing machine (a friend told me the Hunter 9700 is the high-end machine that performance-oriented people want used in balancing their tires). They impact torqued the tires while my Prius was still raised, but then hand-torqued the wheels on after lowering my Prius. They did follow the criss-cross pattern, which I had only recently learned about recently. I wonder if I have been putting myself in any danger by not doing that on my old car.

jayman, I guess I should have put quotes around my use of the phrase "snow" tire. I was trying to get at what you were saying when I said according to "CA DOT". It seems that M+S is a pretty weak definition, but presumably it is adequate to handle R1 conditions since they have made it the requirement (which I'm hoping was well-thought out and included a bit of conservative margin). I would only consider the mountain snowflake marked tires, true snow tires.

Does anyone know where I can find the American Society for Testing and Materials traction tests results for any particular tire? I'm kind of curious on the specs of the TTs now. I know they do not have the mountain snow flake, which means that their snow traction is below 110, but I'd like to get an idea of where it is. From pictures of snow tires, it looks like they basically have thick deep channels in the tires compared to other tires.

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

8)








Regatta 2
Warranty: Mileage 75,000
Sidewall: B06
Service Description: 86T


Dry Traction 8
Wet Traction 8
Snow Traction 8
Ride Comfort 8
Quiet Ride 9

Passenger Tire
Integrity
Warranty: Mileage 50,000
Sidewall: B03
Service Description: 86S

Dry Traction 7
Wet Traction 6
Snow Traction 7
Ride Comfort 8
Quiet Ride 8

Passenger Tire
Assurance ComforTred
Warranty: Mileage 80,000
Sidewall: VSB
Service Description: 86T

Dry Traction 9
Wet Traction 9
Snow Traction 9
Ride Comfort 10
Quiet Ride 10

http://www.goodyear.com/

I just wonder if any one has tried the Assurance CT's vr TT's?

Ben

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(amped\";p=\"52988)</div>

Okay. The stuff we used to get was called "day old" but was actually much older. It was after they could not sell it any more. Adequate when you're trying to feed 70 people out of a kitchen designed to feed 12, but doughnuts have never looked appetizing to me since.

(Sorry for going so far off topic.)

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

Removeum: As far as this issue of tires, I would never depend on the manufacturer to tell you how their tires rate. As far as they're concerned, ALL of their tires are good. At least Goodyear appears to think so.

Firestone thought so too, until they had their a** sued by surviving family members. I would much rather trust independent reviews like TireRack, especially their customer comments.

Ryogajyc: As far as using an impact gun to put the nuts on, I would only allow this if they used a Torque Stick www.torquestick.com. It's fine to mount the wheel to the flange, but I still prefer using a good torque wrench in the proper pattern to achieve the final torque. I've had issues with warped rotors and snapped bolts in the past by grease monkeys using the impact gun.

Ryogajyc: As far as tire quality ratings, I discovered something disturbing when I looked it up at Tire Rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/gen...eneral/utqg.jsp

The DOT/NHTSA does NOT conduct the test, but has the tire maker conduct the test. So what the h***, the traction rating of AA or A or B could mean anything. If you're way better at reading Bureaucratic Bulls*** than I am, try reading:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/ruling...inal/Index.html

Remember: Advil for cramps, Excedrin for migraines, Imodium G for gut-wrenching nausea! Bleah! ukeright:

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

removeum, thanks, but I agree with jayman on that. Those numbers are comparison values made by the tire company and are probably only relevant within any tire type group, much less between tire companies. For example, I doubt comparing the snow traction ratings between a snow tire and an all-season would be valid. The all-season definitely does not qualify for the snowflake mountain snow traction rating, while the snow tire would almost certainly have to. Both of them could have a snow traction of "10". An example, would be the Goodyear comparison data for the TTs, which are actually missing from your list. To back up my assertion, from the Goodyear website FAQ:
[hr:d5682680d6]Where can I get specific technical information or testing data about a Goodyear tire?
All engineering data available to the public is provided on the respective product information brochure made available at the retail outlets or on the Goodyear website. Most technical or test data is considered proprietary and not available to the public. In some cases, some information may be shared but these inquires must be made in writing and mailed specifically to our Technical Center for review.
[hr:d5682680d6]

jayman, you said:
[hr:d5682680d6]Ryogajyc: As far as tire quality ratings, I discovered something disturbing when I looked it up at Tire Rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/gen...eneral/utqg.jsp

The DOT/NHTSA does NOT conduct the test, but has the tire maker conduct the test. So what the h***, the traction rating of AA or A or B could mean anything.[hr:d5682680d6]

Not exactly, from that link you provided:
[hr:d5682680d6]When looking at UTQG ratings it is important to realize that the Department of Transportation does not conduct the tests. The grades are assigned by the tire manufacturers based on their test results or those conducted by an independent testing company they have hired.
[hr:d5682680d6]The tire company hires an independent company to do the test. If the independent company has a single tire company as its sole customer, I could see potential problems. If the independent company has multiple tire company clients, chances are it is reasonably fair.

Also, the traction rating you mentioned is for a wet skid test. I doubt this is the same test they use for determining snow traction, and hence the snowflake mountain symbol. I think I need the American Society for Testing and Materials traction tests results for that. It may be what I want is proprietary and unavailable to me. I suppose I could try writing to Goodyear, but my guess is that they could easily refuse me the info.

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

<<based on their test results OR those conducted by an independent testing company they have hired>>

The way I read it, the tire maker can do the testing in-house OR contract it out. Still sounds very subjective. I already have a migraine from trying to read that DOT/NHTSA thing about tire testing, but here is a weird fact I dug up:

The tire maker is allowed to rotate tires every 800 miles!

:roll:

Well then, why the h*** wouldn't the tire last a long time if it gets rotated every 800 miles. That is about every two weeks by my driving. They only run the wear test for 7,200 miles.

Don't get me started on that "M+S" thing either. It's pure bulls***, it doesn't mean anything. I guess the tire makers aren't outright lying their a** off, just engaging in a little bit of "puffery." Caveat Emptor!

Which is why I think the Snowflake stamp is really a good step in the right direction. They actually specify a certain minimum snow/ice traction, though I would still prefer looking at a truly independent test like at Tire Rack.

If you don't know, Tire Rack rents an indoor rink and they put different snow tires on identical cars or SUV's. They then measure acceleration from a dead stop, braking distance, and cornering ability.

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

Oops, a bit of inadvertant pot calling the kettle black. After reading that section, I assummed you had missed the independent test part, but it was me who missed the big "OR".

The rotating every 800 miles seems a bit too much. I would say make the test 10000 miles and allow one rotation at 5000 miles.

I have a less pessimistic view about the M+S thing. From what I've read (can't remember where, sorry), the M+S was an old standard which was valid when bias-ply tires were the norm. When radials came out, their superior traction abilities pretty much made every radial tire meet the old M+S requirement. From that, it seems that M+S is merely an old requirement, which probably has been used inappropriately by marketing teams. They probably offer adequate traction in certain conditions (i.e. R1 according to CA DOT). They aren't snow tires, or at least by modern definitions.

I didn't notice these TireRack snow traction test results anywhere. Can you point them out to me?

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

No problem. That's why I hate teeny-tiny fine print, as a tire manufacturer can claim all of their tires are just wonderful in all weather conditions, then you notice the asterisk. You can tell an entire team of lawyers were involved, can't you?

You can look up the Tire Rack test results at:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testSearch.jsp

Here in Canada, the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corp) has a consumer affairs show called "Marketplace." Marketplace took on the issue of winter and tires about 5 years ago. They even travelled to Sweden to tape the Swedish government testing all season, regular winter, and studded winter tires on a glare ice test track.

The Swedes apparently have a law requiring studded tires in winter.

You can find the show comments at:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/c...ires/index.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/c...res/skinny.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/c...s/tirestud.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/c.../tiretests.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/c...res/update.html

http://www.cbc.ca/story/news/national/2004...ires040129.html

Hope this helps. I know the data can be intimidating, certainly trying to find it sure as h*** is! I suppose folks think I'm a wee bit eccentric what with my fanatical love of winter tires.

Oh well, I've been called a lot worse things than "eccentric" and it usually rhymes with "duck shoe."

 

Re: Installs & Reviews of Goodyear Assurance TripleTred'

I stumbled upon a couple web pages that may be of interest to those that require real snow tires (as opposed to people like me that just need something that will get us to the ski resort on the weekend, but don't live in an area where it snows)

Winter Tire Information

Certified Snow Tire List

 

Couldn't help but notice that at least 2, 1 Cooper and 1 Goodyear, M+S labeled tires made the Canadian list of certified snow tires. Perhaps might allow Jayman to lighten up just a little.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jchu\";p=\"53903)</div>

The Cooper Discoverer M+S is a dual-rated M+S and "Snowflake" winter tire for LD and some HD pickup trucks and SUV's. It has a special siped winter tread compound and will also accept studs. You can find more information at www.coopertire.com . It appears to be a good truck winter tire. I'll try them on my old Ford F-150 this winter as the current snow tires are +10 years old and getting worn.

The Goodyear Eagle M+S tire is made for the Chevy Corvette and is available in Run Flat. According to the Goodyear web site, that tire is a "winter companion for Eagle performance radials." They make no mention of the new RMA "Snowflake" but the advertising DOES state it's for winter only.

I'll lighten up once my winter tires arrive so I can at least drive up an icy parking ramp. It's also getting old creeping away at a green light with my foot flat on the floor and the VSC icon on. I just know I'm going to get rear-ended if this keeps up.

 

Re: Installed Goodyear Assurance TripleTred's Today

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ryogajyc\";p=\"52942)</div>

Wheel nut torque generally has a tolerance of +/- 10 ft-lbs. Some are rated +/- 5 ft-lbs. If the torque is too low, the nut will loosen over time and you could lose a wheel. If the torque is too high the main consequence is that you may distort the brake rotor and/or bearing flange, which will result in the development of brake pulsation over time. Of course if you really over tighten the nut you could fracture the wheel or break the stud. 76 ft-lbs is fine.