Goodyear Weatherhandler Fuel Max from Sears

Look them up on Tire Rack.com. They rate and review most tires. I just purchased 4 blizzaks for $70.00 each mounted on 4 aluminum wheels $99.00 each plus $85.00 shipping.

 

I was very happy with the Fuel Max tires on my 08 Prius. Got them at www.tirerack.com however. Is that the total price from Sears or do they charge for mounting, balancing ect.?

 

The Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max in the H speed rating category got "Good" ratings from Consumer Reports for snow traction and ice braking.

The Goodyear Weatherhandler Fuel Max made specifically for Sears has a different tread pattern.

But my guess is that it performs substantially as well as the regular Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max, including on snow and ice.

 

Good catch Boo, I didn't know there was a difference

 

Gee, the salesperson at Sears told me they were exactly the same.....

 

I guess that's why he's working at Sears, and not NASA!

 

Lol. Here are the pics.

Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max:

[IMGLINK]http://s.sears.com/is/image/Sears/09588072000?hei=600&wid=600&op_sharpen=1&qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0[/IMGLINK]

Goodyear Weatherhandler Fuel Max for Sears:

[IMGLINK]http://s.sears.com/is/image/Sears/09588419000?hei=600&wid=600&op_sharpen=1&qlt=90,0&resMode=sharp&op_usm=0.9,0.5,0,0[/IMGLINK]

 

As an aside the Goodyear Viva Authority Fuel Max tire at Walmart also only differ in tread pattern.

 

I would avoid the Weatherhandler Fuel Max...I am not happy with mine at all. The noise is terrible, and they make my Prius ride like a wagon. I originally bought Michelins at Sears that were NOT LRR tires (but I was told they were)...they rode nice and were quiet, but my MPG suffered, so I objected. I got a set of these and objected to the noise and they gave me another set and they're the same. Awful, awful tires.

 

Interesting that they are noisy. Every review I've read claimed they are quiet tires.

The Weather handler seems to be a Sears specific iteration of the Assurance Fuel Max and Viva Authority (WalMart) but that doesn't mean they are the same exact tire. I think Consumer Reports did a test that was comprised of 4 different iterations of the same tire, e.g. Michelin Harmony and all the similar tires from the other tire retailers like WalMart, Sears etc.. They found that the tires were different in each case and performed differently.

 

Goodyear assurance Fuel Max are a excellent tire and quiet and perform very well on ice and snow! But they are only classed as all-weather. I am not sure about the weather Handler or the Viva brand.Hal

 

Will let you guys know soon. http://www.ntb.com/tires/sku-detail/Goodyear-Weather-Handler-Fuel-Max/195-55R16-87V-195-55-16/sku4410088.s?pageName=SLP&skuId=sku4410088
Going to have these installed on Thursday. Was told these were LRR.
Great deal right now buy 2 get 2 free. Will advise as to the noise level when they are installed.

 

Had them for about two years, have around 30K on them. Got four of them mounted/balanced etc. for $312 during a Christmas sale at Sears a couple of years ago.

The tires are decent, the service at Sears was horrible. One of them developed a slow leak late in 2015. Losing about five PSI per week. Tire shop (NOT SEARS) could not find anything, but pulled the leaky tire off the wheel and remounted it -- that has been about two months ago and no more leak. The shop (Les Schwab) did it for free. Nice of them.

Rain traction (get a lot of it in Seattle) is better than average. Cornering is better than average. Noise is "poorish," but not horrible.

Snow and ice, we don't get a lot, but these are not all that great when we do get them. Also tend to lose traction on backcountry mud and gravel roads in the Washington Cascade mountains.

All-in-all a decent choice for the price, but I would not pay over $350-$400 for a set. As I said, I only picked mine up because I got a bargain.

Funny, Sears' Web site says they don't carry them anymore, but they are available from National Tire Battery -- which is -- or was -- part of Sears.

Well, in addition to having horrible service at the Sears Auto Center, Sears' Web site is also pretty poor, so maybe they do have them....

 

Got mine going on at NTB. Found a goodyear sell buy 2 get 2 ..plusofco urse mount balance disposal valve stem etc. but jstu under 350 OTD
gonig to get them install on thurs.

 

They are on now. And my old tires were whipped (2/32) tread left. These have so much better traction, but take that with a grain of salt. because my old tires were so gone ANY tire would have felt like better traction. But have not noticed any more or less noise than the old set.
Did a lot of surface street driving and a fair bit down the interstate. Time will tell, but have to love that 65,000 mile tread wear.

 

I still have a bit of prejudice against these tires because of the crappy service I received from Sears upon installation/purchase. It sure as heck is not my father's Sears.

But, other than that -- for the the price they have been great tires. The way my wife drives, she really wears tires out -- and these already have some 30K on them and look like they will go at least another 15K. Normally she wears out tires -- no matter what mileage warranty they have -- at 25-30K.

 

NTB did not give me much better service. I will not go back unless it is warranty work for free. They are of the option it is better to argue with the customer than explain and make happy

 

Ran the daughter to the barn to help clean stalls. And help the other children with lessons. (guess they like having an EMT there).
Large dirt drive I have had to get a running start at to go up and this time the new shoes just pulled on up.
An another note the traction control is not so annoying anymore. Right after I left NTB I went to the same store parking lot exit that I almost got killed at (this was another post about traction control). I pulled up, waited for the LARGE opening between cars and hit it. The tire barked a couple times but I kept moving. Same thing on the large dirt hill road from the barn. Now this is not a 4x4 goat trail of a road just a dirt/gravel road and a large incline(sidenote: the wifes mazda suv walks right up it). I was curious if the prius would perform better than before the tire swap. Pulled half way up the incline and stopped, left it in D, floored it, she danced a little but the new tires pulled up the hill, and the traction control light never flashed but it did slow the tires down when they spun to fast, but more importantly I kept moving up the hill.
On a side note please check out my new link :

Thank you all for all your help on the site.