Any experience with TripleTreads and ice?

[Sheldon]

I'd love to put "one" set of tires on my Outback that I can use year round.
I live at a ski resort and have to deal with icy roads about 6 months out of
the year, and I'm wondering if the Goodyear TripleTreads will be good
enough. Using Blizzaks right now.

Thanks.

Sheldon

 

[y_p_w]

I'd love to put "one" set of tires on my Outback that I can use year round.
I live at a ski resort and have to deal with icy roads about 6 months out of
the year, and I'm wondering if the Goodyear TripleTreads will be good
enough. Using Blizzaks right now.

Which Blizzak model?

The Tire Rack did a test of several tires at an ice rink.
The Bridgestone RE960AS did pretty well compared to a
Blizzak LM-25, but not as well as the Blizzak REVO 1.
I suspect the real winter tire should do considerably
better in the snow though.

So what's the problem? Do the real winter tires feel
really squishy when it's dry?

 

[seanwilliams58]

Hi Sheldon --

I'm with Goodyear -- please check out TireRack.com and look at the
discussion boards there. We've seen many posts from Outback owners
there about their experiences with Goodyear Assurance with TripleTred
Technology. On a personal note, I live in Northeastern Ohio and have
Assurance TT on my Honda Accord; my wife's Honda Element has the
Fortera with TripleTred Technology. Both have behaved exceptionally
well for us.

But, I encourage you to take a minutes on TireRack -- it's a terrific
resource, and our customers can tell our story much more effectively
than we can!
Best of luck,
Sean Williams

 

[Ron]

Well, TripleTread can't compare to Blizzak which is a winter tire whereas
TripleTread is all season. If you really care about winter driving. Keep
the Blizzak. You might have to change your driving habit in winter if you
switch to TripleTread. But as a thumb or rule, always drive slowly and
cautiously even you got snow tires. Any tire will lost control on icy
road. A winter tire just help you dig through heavy snow easier than other
tires. More grip on snow in other words.

I have Hydroedge on my 03 Forester and they perform good. I recently put
TripleTread on my other van and I can feel they glue to the ground. Good
look also. Nice tire. But again won't match snow tire. I put all-season
tire because I don't want the hassle of changing tire twice a year. These
best all-season got me through winter no problem if I drive carefully.

 

[y_p_w]

Well, TripleTread can't compare to Blizzak which is a winter tire whereas
TripleTread is all season. If you really care about winter driving. Keep
the Blizzak. You might have to change your driving habit in winter if you
switch to TripleTread. But as a thumb or rule, always drive slowly and
cautiously even you got snow tires. Any tire will lost control on icy
road. A winter tire just help you dig through heavy snow easier than other
tires. More grip on snow in other words.

Generally it's supposed to be a softer rubber so that it remains
pliable in cold climates, large tread blocks to dig through snow,
and heavy siping to "bite" on ice and snow.

I have Hydroedge on my 03 Forester and they perform good. I recently put
TripleTread on my other van and I can feel they glue to the ground. Good
look also. Nice tire. But again won't match snow tire. I put all-season
tire because I don't want the hassle of changing tire twice a year. These
best all-season got me through winter no problem if I drive carefully.

The one "all-season" tire that seems to get rave reviews is the
Nokian WR. Nokian markets it as an all-season in North America,
but it meets the RMA's "severe snow conditions" rating and has the
"snowflake on a mountain" symbol. There are plenty of reports that
they've lasted 50K miles. They're pricey and supposedly don't have
the same feel as typical all-season performance tires, but they do
seem to last longer than typical winter tires. I suppose there's no
reason someone couldn't just use them as dedicated winter tires,
with the benefit that they actually have a treadwear rating. The
biggest drawback seems to be the rarity of Nokian Tire dealers in
the US.

<http://www.nokiantires.com/en/tire_wr.aspx>

 

[John Rethorst]

I have Hydroedge on my 03 Forester and they perform good. I recently put
How would you compare the Tripletread and Hydroedge?

 

[j]

I'd love to put "one" set of tires on my Outback that I can use year round.
I live at a ski resort and have to deal with icy roads about 6 months out of
the year, and I'm wondering if the Goodyear TripleTreads will be good
enough. Using Blizzaks right now.

Thanks.

Sheldon

Hey Sheldon,

I put a set of Triple Tread's on my Baja a few months ago, for year
round driving. I live in a resort town in Utah, and can identify with
your needs. The Triple Tread's are AWESOME. They are an infinite
improvement over the stock potenza's. Oh my my god the potenza's
sucked! I have felt very comfortable, in all conditions, rolling on
the Triple Tread's. They've been excellent on ice, in snow, changing
lanes on the highway across big slush piles, power slides in the Deer
Valley parking lots, everything.

But, seriously, the Triple Tread's are and excellent tire for
reasonable driving during icy/snowy conditions, and a stellar tire for
all other conditions.

I love the Triple Tread's. I'm so happy I spent the money on them.

Good luck.

 

[j]

How would you compare the Tripletread and Hydroedge?

I've got Triple Tread's on my Baja and Hydroedge's on my wife's Altima.
They are both excellent tires, but the tread pattern on the Hydroedge
seems more suited to non-winter conditions. I can't give a true apples
to apples comparison as I put dedicated snow's on my wife's car, but I
think the Triple Tread accels in being more versatile in terms of
inclement weather.

 

[John Rethorst]

I've got Triple Tread's on my Baja and Hydroedge's on my wife's Altima.
They are both excellent tires, but the tread pattern on the Hydroedge
seems more suited to non-winter conditions. I can't give a true apples
to apples comparison as I put dedicated snow's on my wife's car, but I
think the Triple Tread accels in being more versatile in terms of
inclement weather.

Thanks.

 

[Nick]

The Hydroedge are good tires. They are more expensive but last longer.
However, I feel like the TripleTread are better set. Not sure if they are
new or not. I can feel it has more grip than the old Hydroedge. I love the
tire pattern too. They are aggressive. TripleTread has less mileage rating
but cheaper. I think I'll get a set of that on my Forester later also.

 

[y_p_w]

The Hydroedge are good tires. They are more expensive but last longer.
However, I feel like the TripleTread are better set. Not sure if they
are new or not. I can feel it has more grip than the old Hydroedge. I
love the tire pattern too. They are aggressive. TripleTread has less
mileage rating but cheaper. I think I'll get a set of that on my
Forester later also.

Maybe it's probably just my own tastes, but I probably
wouldn't be inclined towards something like the HydroEdge
or the TripleTred (note the spelling). Even for a family
station wagon, I would tend towards a tire in a higher
performance category, like the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S
or the Bridgestone Potenza G009. I'm quite happy with
the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS for my WRX.

I would probably trade off some treadwear with a better
temperature rating and dry handling.

 

[j]

The Hydroedge are good tires. They are more expensive but last longer.
However, I feel like the TripleTread are better set. Not sure if they are
new or not. I can feel it has more grip than the old Hydroedge. I love the
tire pattern too. They are aggressive. TripleTread has less mileage rating
but cheaper. I think I'll get a set of that on my Forester later also.

I think that the Assuarance TripleTred and the Hydroedge are actually
about the same price, and they both have 80,000 mile warranty.

 

[j]

Maybe it's probably just my own tastes, but I probably
wouldn't be inclined towards something like the HydroEdge
or the TripleTred (note the spelling). Even for a family
station wagon, I would tend towards a tire in a higher
performance category, like the Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S
or the Bridgestone Potenza G009. I'm quite happy with
the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS for my WRX.

I would probably trade off some treadwear with a better
temperature rating and dry handling.

A lot of people would probably do the same, but the OP was asking about
the TripleTred (spelling noted) and ICE.

 

[y_p_w]

A lot of people would probably do the same, but the OP
was asking about the TripleTred (spelling noted) and ICE.

I know. Just expanding the discussion. I don't know
how well the TripleTred does on ice, but I suspect it's
nowhere near the level of whatever Blizzak tire the OP
was using. Tire Rack performed a test of several
Bridgestone tires on ice, and here are the results.
There's a lot more to winter conditions than just ice,
but it's still interesting.

<http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=80>

And expanding the discussion even further......

I like reading Tire Rack user reviews, but their number
rating system is a joke because there's really no common
point of comparison. How the heck does the TripleTred
get an average 9.3 dry traction rating, which is higher
than the 9.2 for the Bridgestone Potenza S-02.

 

[Rebecca B.]

There is a tire review in the November 2006 issue of consumer reports.
I haven't read it, but someone in this or another forum mentioned it.
I think TripleTreds might be in there.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

A lot of people would probably do the same, but the OP was asking about
the TripleTred (spelling noted) and ICE.

I've read the center section of rubber on the TT (note abbreviation <g>)
is pumice impregnated rubber. Still, ice is ice. If you encouter it VERY
often, get some spike spyders http://www.spikes-spiders.com/


Carl

 

[j]

I know. Just expanding the discussion. I don't know
how well the TripleTred does on ice, but I suspect it's
nowhere near the level of whatever Blizzak tire the OP
was using. Tire Rack performed a test of several
Bridgestone tires on ice, and here are the results.
There's a lot more to winter conditions than just ice,
but it's still interesting.

<http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=80>

And expanding the discussion even further......

I like reading Tire Rack user reviews, but their number
rating system is a joke because there's really no common
point of comparison. How the heck does the TripleTred
get an average 9.3 dry traction rating, which is higher
than the 9.2 for the Bridgestone Potenza S-02.

Yeah, I like reading the reviews on Tire Rack too. I found them very
helpful in making the decision to buy the TT's. I can't emphasize
enough how awesome these tires are...really. They are just phenomenal
tires in all conditions. It amazes me how well they grab on ice. They
are just a night and day difference when compared to the stock
potenza's.

It seems to me that on our Subaru's, we shouldn't really need a
dedicated snow (Blizzak), unless we are dealing with poor road
maintenance/heavy snow, or unless it's our wife's/girlfriend's car.
With the TT's, I think that the idea of a dedicated snow is uneccessary.

 

[y_p_w]

Yeah, I like reading the reviews on Tire Rack too. I found them very
helpful in making the decision to buy the TT's. I can't emphasize
enough how awesome these tires are...really. They are just phenomenal
tires in all conditions. It amazes me how well they grab on ice. They
are just a night and day difference when compared to the stock
potenza's.

It seems to me that on our Subaru's, we shouldn't really need a
dedicated snow (Blizzak), unless we are dealing with poor road
maintenance/heavy snow, or unless it's our wife's/girlfriend's car.
With the TT's, I think that the idea of a dedicated snow is uneccessary.

However - I don't think there's any one tire out there that's going
to meet everyone's needs, even among the Subaru crowd. The boy
racer WRXs and the newer high-powered turbo models will call for
at least V speed rated rubber unless it's a dedicated winter tire.
Certainly some people like the ridiculous treadwear from the
TripleTreds, but I'd be put off by the H speed-rating and B
temperature rating.

Personally - I rather like to get 30-40K miles out of my tires, and
try the latest tires when they comes out in a few years.

So - I'm going to be taking my WRX with the Potenza RE960AS
Pole Position to the Sierras next week. I'll give a report on how
they do in the snow and ice when I get back.

 

[Body Roll]

I like reading Tire Rack user reviews, but their number
rating system is a joke because there's really no common
point of comparison. How the heck does the TripleTred
get an average 9.3 dry traction rating, which is higher
than the 9.2 for the Bridgestone Potenza S-02.

I think you shouln't compare between groups: what is group traction for
an owner
of tripletreds is a joke for a guy who owns ContiExtremes.
Look for charts per group. Though there is room for cheating there
also:
RE950 is artificially placed in HP A/S category while ContiExtremes are
in UHP and were run against S.4s and RE960A/S in a recent comparo.
Looks like I'll have to shell my $$$ out to Bridgerock company since
960s
seem to outperform anything else and are close to the perf of
performance winters
on ice :-((((

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS

 

[y_p_w]

I think you shouln't compare between groups: what is group
traction for an owner of tripletreds is a joke for a guy who
owns ContiExtremes. Look for charts per group. Though
there is room for cheating there also:
RE950 is artificially placed in HP A/S category while
ContiExtremes are in UHP and were run against S.4s and
RE960A/S in a recent comparo. Looks like I'll have to shell
my $$$ out to Bridgerock company since 960s seem to
outperform anything else and are close to the perf of
performance winters on ice :-((((

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS

I guess part of the problem is the artificial performance
categories. The TripleTreds are only in the T and H speed
rated categories depending on size. The "performance" tires
are often start at an H speed-rating up to V/Z/W speed-ratings
for larger sizes. There's a slight amount of overlap where
the TripleTred might come in the same speed-rating as
"high performance" radials of the same size.

I'm not really trying to sell anyone on a particular tire. I'm
just saying there are options out there. I hear all these glowing
reviews of the TripleTred, which seem like over the top praise
for a high-end family car radial. I've seen Michelin Pilot A/S
on Outbacks, so some are willing to try something on the pricey
side. For some people, the TripleTred may be the best tire
they've ever tried. For others, it might be a significant step
down from the sticky mega-buck low-profile summer tires
they've used on sports cars/sedans.

I've also noticed the trend that the review numbers tend to
go down as more owners of the tire have lived with them
and given their input. I recall the reviews of the Conti
ExtremeContact were absolutely glowing for a year after
they came out, but the ratings started to fall as more owners
wrote reviews. I was originally sold on the Pirelli P Zero Nero
M+S, but have been disappointed after the inner shoulders
wore down prematurely. It was a great tire in the dry and
wet, but I didn't think it was that capable a snow tire. It's
probably the least siped all-season tire I've ever seen.

I still haven't gotten down to trying out the RE960AS in the
snow. I was going to head for the Sierras today, but a cold
has forced me to stay home until I feel better.