Winter Driving - 2004 Forester

[Grolch]

Here's an update on Goodyear Triple Tread Tires for Winter driving. We just
went through the wettest and now the snowiest November on record here on
Vancouver Island. All I can say is I am glad I drive a Subaru (5sp with Posi
rear end) and I am even happier that I put the Triple Treads on. Hard pack,
Deep unplowed, Slush ruts and pooled water all over. Simply the best all
around tire I have ever driven. Anybody with a Forester should dump the
Geolandars and get real tires. You won't be sorry.

Grolsch

 

[KLS]

Here's an update on Goodyear Triple Tread Tires for Winter driving. We just
went through the wettest and now the snowiest November on record here on
Vancouver Island. All I can say is I am glad I drive a Subaru (5sp with Posi
rear end) and I am even happier that I put the Triple Treads on. Hard pack,
Deep unplowed, Slush ruts and pooled water all over. Simply the best all
around tire I have ever driven. Anybody with a Forester should dump the
Geolandars and get real tires. You won't be sorry.

Thanks for this review; how many miles have you put on these tires so
far? I'm really interested in knowing how they perform after 20k and
30k miles. We'll have to change out our tires next winter, I think,
and I'm considering these.

 

[Grolch]

I got rid of the Geolandars at 17,000km (10,500miles). I now have 59,000km
on the vehicle so 42,000km on the TripleTreads (2 winters). I am finding no
descernible difference from last winter to now. Note that "coast" snow is
often slipperier than the really cold stuff in the interior. The wear rating
on the Goodyears is 840 (I'm pretty sure) while the wear rating on the
Geolandars is 420 or some such low number. The Traction rating on the
Goodyears is A while the Geolandars is B. There really is no comparison. I
cannot understand why Subaru would continue to put such a poor performing
tire on anything. IMO, only the sophisticated AWD system keeps their
decision from being a total disaster.

Consumers Reports and TireRack.com both report the TripleTreads as the Top
All Season tire.

Grolsch

 

[KLS]

Very nice to know you got such good performance at 26k miles! I'm
sold!

 

[Sheldon]

Here's an update on Goodyear Triple Tread Tires for Winter driving. We
just went through the wettest and now the snowiest November on record here
on Vancouver Island. All I can say is I am glad I drive a Subaru (5sp with
Posi rear end) and I am even happier that I put the Triple Treads on. Hard
pack, Deep unplowed, Slush ruts and pooled water all over. Simply the best
all around tire I have ever driven. Anybody with a Forester should dump
the Geolandars and get real tires. You won't be sorry.

Grolsch

How do you rate them on ice?

 

[Theodrake]

I got rid of the Geolandars at 17,000km (10,500miles). I now have 59,000km
on the vehicle so 42,000km on the TripleTreads (2 winters). I am finding no
descernible difference from last winter to now. Note that "coast" snow is
often slipperier than the really cold stuff in the interior. The wear rating
on the Goodyears is 840 (I'm pretty sure) while the wear rating on the
Geolandars is 420 or some such low number. The Traction rating on the
Goodyears is A while the Geolandars is B. There really is no comparison. I
cannot understand why Subaru would continue to put such a poor performing
tire on anything. IMO, only the sophisticated AWD system keeps their
decision from being a total disaster.

Consumers Reports and TireRack.com both report the TripleTreads as the Top
All Season tire.

Grolsch

Consumer Reports list Triple Treads as a recommended only if long tread
wear is important. Otherwise they rated it 12th. The Dunlop SP Sport
5000 got top rating in the H-rated tires.

 

[Theodrake]

Consumers Reports and TireRack.com both report the TripleTreads as the Top
All Season tire.

CR says only if icy roads are NOT a consideration the go with the
TripleTreads.

 

[Grolch]

CR says only if icy roads are NOT a consideration the go with the
TripleTreads.

I would agree that if icy roads are your PRIME concern then go for a true
ice tire or studs. For me, I drive all manner of highway and backroads in
coastal weather. That can mean many things including mountain passes, heavy
rain, snow, slush, gravel and so on. In my opinion these are the best all
around tire I have yet driven. I had a set of Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice tires
on a 90 Legacy. They were very good on icy surfaces but really poor in wet
braking. They felt sloppy too and changed radically after about 10,000km.
The Triple Treads don't feel sloppy at all and actually feel more like a
performance tire. Cornering is awsome as is wet and dry braking.

Grolsch

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Here's an update on Goodyear Triple Tread Tires for Winter driving. We just
went through the wettest and now the snowiest November on record here on
Vancouver Island. All I can say is I am glad I drive a Subaru (5sp with Posi
rear end) and I am even happier that I put the Triple Treads on. Hard pack,
Deep unplowed, Slush ruts and pooled water all over. Simply the best all
around tire I have ever driven. Anybody with a Forester should dump the
Geolandars and get real tires. You won't be sorry.

Hey, so you guys in BC finally got a chance to try out your AWD, right?
We're having a bit of BC weather here in Montreal and Ottawa at the
moment. Of course it looks like you guys are having our weather instead.

How superior do you feel in your Subie vs. your neighbours?

Yousuf Khan

 

[Yousuf Khan]

Here's an update on Goodyear Triple Tread Tires for Winter driving. We just
went through the wettest and now the snowiest November on record here on
Vancouver Island. All I can say is I am glad I drive a Subaru (5sp with Posi
rear end) and I am even happier that I put the Triple Treads on. Hard pack,
Deep unplowed, Slush ruts and pooled water all over. Simply the best all
around tire I have ever driven. Anybody with a Forester should dump the
Geolandars and get real tires. You won't be sorry.

My Outback originally came with Nokian Hakkapeliitta NRW's. Those were
just amazing all-season tires on snow. But of course there's not much in
the all season variety that's any good on ice. They're kind of expensive
though. When they wore out, I replaced them with Canadian Tire
Motomaster LR's. With the Motomasters, you can take them into any
Canadian Tire and get free wheel rotations and tire patching if you have
a puncture.

Here's the Nokian description:

Nokian Hakkapeliitta NRW All-Weather Tires from Tire Factory
http://www.tirefactory.net/NRW.htm

Yousuf Khan

 

[Ed]

Consumer Reports list Triple Treads as a recommended only if long tread
wear is important. Otherwise they rated it 12th. The Dunlop SP Sport
5000 got top rating in the H-rated tires.

I thought I canceled this post. Anyway. I was looking at the H-rated
tires and not the "normal", and yes on that list the Triple Treads are
rate #1.

 

[Mike]

I'd put Michelin Hydroedge on my 03 Forester and got 80000km on them. They
are pretty good on snow. Excellent on wet road. But they are quite
expensive. Recently I put 4 Triple Tread tires on my other oddyssey. They
look good and I feel it sticks like glue on the road. Excellent tires. I
will have them install on my Subie later on.