Goodyear Assurance Comfortread

[ArmyofOne]

As of 9am this morning, I had a flat. After 31,000 Miles, the Bridgestone Turanza EL-400's from the factory on my 2006 Honda Civic EX were SHOT. They were noisy, bumpy, wobbly, harsh in every way and balder than a babies !Removed!, one was even showing cords.

Goodyear Assurance ComforTread in 205/55/16H...quite possibly the best tire I have ever had, hands down, period. 205/55/16 + quiet/comfortable ride + 80,000 mile tread life + all season capability + reasonable price = Impossible? Not anymore...read on.

Road Noise: There isnt any...I mean I wish i could say i could hear something....but I cant. They are silent as the dead. I would say if my Civic had more sound deadening, it would be purely silent.

Grip Wet: Have not tested cause i have only had the tires since 3pm...but i tested them in a puddle at a light...sure footed (no hydroplaning) and from a stop on the wet they do OK, but my 140HP Civic was able to break them loose in the rain at WOT No problem...but as long as you drive like a normal person in rainy weather, I see no trouble arising.

Grip Dry: Well, once again, these are not a high performance tire. The performance these tires concentrate on is a smooth, quiet comfortable ride (more on that later). On straight line acceleration at WOT in the 140hp 1.8L Auto Civic, I could not break them loose. However, making a right or left turn from a stop accelerating at WOT, I could....thru second gear and into third. Keep in mind, this car was NOT designed for burnouts...but for fuel economy. In the twisties, these tires rule till about 80mph...at which point i didn't have the balls to test them further (fear of tickets in NY). Dry Grip in the twisties is the $h!t

Grip Snow/Ice:Obviously cannot comment till snow and ice comes...but there will be a snow and ice review, rest assured. We get plenty of both up here (14 feet on avg per year!)

Ride Comfort: on a scale of 1 to 10....15045938721906.4 These tires are fantastic. Even in a somewhat lower profile (205/55/16) the ride is comfortable and smooth. No more harsh bumps, vibrations, or bump steer. By having the tires absorb more of the road harshness, it will drastically reduce the number of times I have to have an alignment done due to the pothole filled roads of upstate NY. The Civic's ride is now on par with the accord or higher end cars of its day...what a relief.

Install service: I had my tires installed at my local Goodyear store...and i must say, while the service reps were polite and nice, they ROYALLY *****ED my factory Honda wheels...I'm a little perturbed about that.

205/55/16H Goodyear Assurance ComforTread:

$136x$4

$544-$80 ($20 in store rebate per tire coupon)

$464+$100 ($25 per tire for mt/balance/valve stems)

$564-25% (military discount)

$423+$25 (sales tax)

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Total: $448.xx

Thats out the door, Mounted and Balanced. Apparently I have 2 bent rims that they managed to balance...and they ride just fine so screw it. LOL.

Just for the sake of argument, lets price a set of tires I would have bought instead...the only tires i would consider other than the Assurance line.

Falken Ziex ZE-512 in 205/55/16= $80 per tire

$80x4

$320-$40 ($10 per tire in store rebate coupon)

$280+$100 ($25 per tire mt/balance/valve stems)

$380-%25 (Military Discount)

$295+$25 (sales tax)

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$320.xx Out-the-door for the Falken Ziex ZE-512...a more than capable all season with the quietest/smoothest ride i have ever experienced...only one problem...multiply $320x5=$1,600.xx, because during the lifetime of 1 set of Assurance ComforTreads, I would have to replace the Falken's a minimum of 5x...and thats being generous, I never got more than 15,000 miles out of a set...and my mom is on 83,000 on her ComforTreads in her Camry...and just now needing replacements.

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

All in all, for 80,000 miles of silent tire life and decent all season traction, I wouldnt complain about the $150 per tire retail price...though they can be found for $102 online at Discounttiredirect.com. Unfortunately, I had to search for a wicked retail deal because I was in a bind. I wasn't gonna make my wife drive to work on a donut.

EDIT: One thing I forgot to add...although there is alot of grip in the twisties, during aggressive sharp cornering, be prepared to feel the sidewall of the tire roll over on you. It scared the crap out of me the first time it happened, but I expect it now. these tires are definitely NOT performance oriented, if that's what you are after, the TripleTred would be right up your alley. They have the same tread wear rating (80,000 miles) but a more aggressive, directional tread pattern...they are also noisier (but not by much, i am just that picky) which is why they didn't work for my application on the Civic. what can I say, I'm getting older, and in my old age, road noise is NOT an option i purchase with my new cars. I will however, be putting a set of Tripletreads on the cavalier, if I can find a set for a decent price.

[SW03ES]

Looks great, congrats!

A word of caution. These tires aren't appropriate for most...if any Lexus sedans. They are T rated and don't come any higher than that, which is not enough of a speed rating to for sure maintain the driving dynamic of Lexus sedans that come equipped with V rated tires.

Perfect for the Civic, etc, but not right for a Lexus, BMW, etc.