New Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max

First I've heard of this tire. Sounds good! Goodyear claims that when tested on a 2008 Honda Civic, a 4% gain in fuel economy. Not sure if it would have any sort of winter traction capability ...

 

the Assurance has been one of their top lines of tires, I assume that it is from the same mold (same tread pattern) as the regular Assurance but has a slightly different rubber compound.

 

Interesting. It's a mid-tier tire, unlike the TripleTred which is a premium tier tire. Here are some comparisons:

Fuel Economy: Goodyear says that it should get 4% better highway mpg than the regular mid-tier Assurance tire. I wonder how it would compare to the premium TripleTred.

Treadwear Warranty: 65,000 miles vs 80,000 miles for the TripleTred.

TireRack Price (in 195/60/15 size): $81 vs $98 for the TripleTred.

Available in OEM Size: It's available in the Gen II OEM size of 185/65/15 (unlike the TripleTred, but like the ComforTred).

 

Anyone seen anything comparing this new tire to other tires as far as wet traction, snow traction, ice traction, etc.?

 

Haven't seen a third party review of the new Assurance Fuel Max yet.

But this is how Goodyear itself rates the four Assurance family tires and the OEM Integrity:

Goodyear Tires | Car And Minivan Tires

Goodyear Tires | Car And Minivan Tires | Compare Tires

 

Bummer, they rate the Fuel Max tire with the same snow traction as the Integrity.

 

If I lived in CO or any place with real winter conditions, I'd run "real" snow tires, preferably factory studded like the Nokian's

 

Supposedly, Chevy has chosen the Assurance Fuel Max as the OEM tire for the Volt:

Green Car Congress: Chevy Volt to Run on Goodyear Fuel Max Tires

Also, one of the comments to the article says that the Assurance Fuel Max will eventually replace the regular Assurance.

 

Interesting... 195/60/15 is 1lbs lighter than 185/65/15. This makes the plus sizing to 195mm wide without weight penalty compare to the Integrity OEM size.

 

Tom, are these "mid-tier" and "premium-tier" official designations? If so, what determines a tire's tier?

I am having a wretched time trying to find a replacement tires for my '04. I would really like a lower rolling resistant tire than the original Integrities, but that info is no where to be found. Lots of opinions out there, including on this site, but no hard data that I can find. These Max Fuels at least have a sidewall 51 psi rating. Is anyone running them higher? They also have a 65,000 mile warranty, which is better than the pending Michelin EnergySaver, with no warranty and an expected 35-40,000 mile treadlife.

PA P

 

Those were TireRack's terms, I think based on price and performance. But really, when you think about it, they may as well be Goodyear's terms too, given Goodyear's own performance ratings of its tires.

See: Goodyear Tires | Car And Minivan Tires | Compare Tires

The part I thought interesting was that Goodyear decided to use the new tread compound on its mid-tier Assurance tire. As a fan of the premium-tier Assurance TripleTred, I would have liked it if Goodyear came out with a TripleTred with the same tread compound.

I know what you mean about the lack of real data on rolling resistance of tires. But I'm also pretty confident that the Fuel Max will be among the lowest rolling resistance tires out there.

 

just bought the tire in 195/60/15 at discount tire cary nc

seems like a small mpg hit but i have only driven 30 miles i will post again after trip to fla. running 48/46 but might go to 51/49

so far i like the handling better but will know more once i get on highway and let some semis go by . stock tires were kind of squirly in wind.

kind of wish i had stayed with the 185/65/15 stock size for a better comparison with the integrities. although 195's are only .4 inch wider.

 

Awwwww what a cute baby

 

Anymore info here? Its tire time for me and i'm debating between the Assurance Comorted and the fuel max.

 

You might want to check out the other Fuel Max threads. Here are the results from searching titles for the phrase "Fuel Max":

PriusChat Forums - Search Results

 

I continue to be pleased with our Fuel Max. They are quieter than the Integrities and as they break in I can imagine the rolling resistance will be lower than the Integrities, especially with the higher side wall psi max. I'm running ours in the mid 50's.

PA P

 

A "Premium Tier" choice would be the Nokian WRg2. They should also beat the Integrity junk in MPG (by about 4%), have great traction in bad weather, handle well and are quiet (unlike the older WRs). I just put a set of WRg2s on as my WRs were worn out at 47,000 miles (the WRg2's should last a little longer with their less aggressive tread design). They were $525 installed at a local tire shop (luckily I found one in West Haven, CT that carried Nokians that didn't overcharge for them).

JeffD

ps. It's generally not a good idea to go over the rated sidewall PSI. I am in the habit of running my Prius tires at 42/40 since the first two sets of tires were rated at 44 PSI cold (Integrity and Michelin MXV4+). The Nokians (both WR and WRg2) were/are rated at 51 PSI.

 

I'd go with the Fuel Max. Although the Comfortred will absolutely help ride quality, most who run this tire report a fuel economy loss.

If you have really bad streets where you live, or have to bounce down washboardy gravel roads, then the ComforTred is for you