When Jody Devere, the President of AskPatty.com (the premier automotive site for women) called and asked if I wanted to go to Akron, Ohio in July to review Goodyear’s new Assurance TripleTred All-Season tire I told her I would love to, and did my happy dance around the shop! Now you may be asking yourself, why would anyone get so excited to go to Akron, Ohio in July to check out a new tire. Well, the simple answer is that I love anything car related, especially tires.
I sincerely feel that tires are one of the most important parts of your vehicle. They determine if your car can safely stop, start, turn and swerve. Think about this, you can be driving a car with a fresh tune-up, new brakes, four wheel drive, traction control, and every other automotive widget known to mankind, but if your tires are worn out, you could easily get into an accident. Please Remember: tires are the only part of your car that actually touch the road.
Even if you are driving an older, high mileage vehicle, I feel it’s so important to invest in good tires. Yes, I know tires are painfully expensive, but you and your family are worth every penny! That is why it’s important to make sure you pick out the right tire to meet your tire needs. Here are the five features I feel are the most important to think about when picking out your tires:
- Tread Life: How long a set of tires should last.
- Wet Weather Requirements: How much rain does your area receive?
- Speed Rating: The faster a tire will go, the more expensive it is, and the faster it will wear out. The average speed rating is H-speed, which is good for 130 mph. Seriously, will you ever drive that fast?
- Ride Quality: Low profile tires may look really cool, but can be harsh over bumps and potholes.
- Noise: You won’t notice tire noise in city driving, but if you drive the by-ways and high-ways at a regular basis, then a quiet tire can make a big difference to your driving pleasure.
I started my Goodyear Tire adventure touring one of their tire factories. Can I just say “Amazing!” The first tires were invented back in the 1800s. Modern tires each have its own unique recipe with a lot of strange ingredients that are kept very secret. We were shown a table with a least 30 different ingredients that went into making one tire.
We were then taken to the Goodyear test track. There were six identical Toyota Camry’s with the new Assurance TripleTred All-Season Tires on them, and six more Camry’s with a set of comparable competitor’s tires on them. We were given our own instructor to teach us how to drive through the twists and turns, and through the watered down part of the track that simulated very wet road conditions.
It was very exciting, scary and counter-intuitive driving this course. We were instructed to drive very fast through the watered downed pavement, and not to slow down while making a very sharp left turn. The first time through the course I my heart was pounding, I broke out in a sweat and knocked over every orange cone on the track. By my last time around I felt confident and zoomed on through like an expert getting a high five from my Instructor for making it through the course – no cones down!
Granted we were putting these tires through extreme conditions, but I was amazed how well the tires gripped the road. Just goes to show how a quality tread for the right road conditions makes all the difference to having your vehicle stay on the road.
The icing on the cake…. we were taken to the Good Year Airfield and given a ride in The Good Year Blimp. Yes, it was amazing, fun and exciting. Riding a blimp was on my bucket list and I have crossed it off and now am ready to take a ride in a glider plane :).
Even if you are driving an older, high mileage vehicle, I feel it’s so important to invest in good tires. Yes, I know tires are painfully expensive, but you and your family are worth every penny! That is why it’s important to make sure you pick out the right tire to meet your tire needs. Here are the top features I really like about the Goodyear TripleTred All-Season Tire:
- Tread Life: These tires come with a treadlife limited national warranty up to 80,000 miles. For the average driver who puts on 15,000 miles per year that equals about five years as long as the tires are rotated on a regular basis. I also really like Goodyear’s 30-Day Pledge where drivers have up to 30 days to test drive the new Assurance TripleTred All-Season. If they’re not 100% satisfied, they can exchange them for a different set of Goodyear tires. They also have a Free Roadside Assistance Program.
- Wet Weather Requirements: The TripleTred tire was made for wet roads. It has these special water zones and tread pattern that helps to quickly evacuate water. In the middle of the tire there is a an ice zone with numerous biting edges made with volcanic sand and glass to keep them sticking to icy, snowy roads. And what makes this tire truly unique is the ‘Evolving Traction Grooves’. There are 100 standard sipes on each tire that widen into traction grooves as the tire’s tread wears down. That way it can continue to provide great traction as it wears.
- Speed Rating: This tire comes in 22 sizes and in a T, H & V rated tire to fit most popular passenger cars.
- Ride Quality: it offers a really smooth and comfortable ride.
- Noise: I can’t really comment on the noise. The test track was so exciting and challenging that my focus was on driving and not listening for tire noise.
In Vermont you need to pick out a good winter tire for Nov. through March, and then you also need to pick out a good all-season tire for April through Oct. The all-season tire needs to be good for driving on rain soaked roads and be able to handle any early or late snow that you get surprised from. You and your family’s safety will be determined by this decision.
Regardless what brand tire you have on your car, remember to keep them inflated properly, get them rotated according to your owner’s manual, and replace them if the tread has worn down below about an 1/8th inch. An easy way to check is to put a penny in the tread, if you can start to see the top of the Lincoln’s head, the tires are worn out and need to be replaced ASAP!