Goodyear ComforTred WW's on the Town and Country

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Dad is an old whitewall guy. He always has been, and he always will be.

When he and Mom bought the T&C Touring-L, he assumed those whitewall days were over. He'd never seen a T&C with whitewalls before.

I did some homework, and found that a P225/60R16 is veeerrryyy close in dimension to the stock P215/65R16, plus there's a lot more choices available in the P225 size.

We'd had a set of P225/60R16 Assurance ComforTreds on a '99 Park Avenue, and were very pleased with them. Quiet, excellent ride, good traction.... tolerant of 15,000 mile rotations.... (*yikes*)

So..... why not buy another set? The tires were $101 each at Discount Tire Direct, minus the $100 rebate on 4 over Mother's Day weekend, minus a $60 Goodyear rebate... plus $60 for installation at Dad's mechanic's shop. Not bad for $304, on the road.

The van steers a little more "flatfooted" with the 60 series ComforTreds, but I think a lot of that is due to the fact that the shoulders on the old Turdranzas were all worn down. The new tires are so quiet on the pavement, that you can hear the transmission shift when rolling up to stoplights.

Dad seems to think that the steering requires more small corrections, but I'd say that is due to the fact that there's a lot more tread on the road, and he's feeling what I'd call "tread squirm". The old Turdranzas didn't have a whole lot of tread left.

The van itself is one of thousands in silver. However, it is a little more unique with factory running boards, and now it is really unique with the whitewalls.

Yep.... it's definitely a "old folks" ride...
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These are the original Assurance ComforTred, not the newer ComforTred Touring I assume?

I have been through two sets of ComforTred Touring, and while they have been the quietest tire I have ever owned, and probably the most comfortable in terms of ride, they have been awful when it comes to balance. They are tough to get perfectly balanced and easily transmit steering wheel shake. My first set were replaced under warranty when even a match-mount road force balance couldn't fix them. New set is much much better but I still detect the faintest of steering wheel shake. I was a big Goodyear fan, I'm in northern Ohio (near Akron), but these have turned me off.
 
Looks nice with the whitewall, thanks for sharing. Vans are top heavy which puts additional load on the sidewalls cornering. Performance tires have stronger sidewalls. The comfortread is not a performance tire, its a soft ride tire. On that van the sidewalls will tend to roll, which will cause some wear on the outsides. Will also give a loose feel. Those vans are well insulated from the street, give a really soft ride no matter what you put on them. So if the wear is excessive, a stiffer performance tire may help with the loose feel without compromising the smooth ride.
 
Yes, these are the original version, and not the newer Touring version.

We didn't have any noticeable balance issues with the first set on the Park Avenue. The tires were even tolerant of 15,000 mile rotations... which was my fault. Heck, I don't even think I had the set on the Park Avenue re-balanced more than once in over 50,000 miles.

Even though these tires cannot be found on the Goodyear website, they are still in production in this size. This set is fresh, manufactured in late April of this year, 2012... at the Goodyear plant in Lawton, Oklahoma.
 
Also, these tires are rated up to 44psi. I'm starting at 38psi cold, and will monitor how they handle.

The minivan had been hard on the OE Turdranzas as well. The edges of the tread were pretty much gone, inside and outside. However, I don't know how well that the original owner maintained proper air pressure in them, or what pressure that he kept them at for the first 30,000 miles.

The original owner also had the Turdranzas siped, which also led to a lot of the road noise. I'm not sure what would lead someone to have tires siped in the 21st century.
 
My problems with the Touring version aren't limited to my car. I have them on the Rendezvous. My cousin, based on my initial review, put them on his Quest, and he has the same symptoms. I thought the original had been discontinued completely. If these get really bad, I will either ask for the old ComforTreds or demand Michelins.
 
I run 35psi in my comfortreds for summer and in winter switch it to 36/35 front/rear . I have tried higher, but found no noticeable gains in performance and the ride got a bit jittery. Also for some reason if your psi is too high, you notice a slight loss in wet traction. It took me a while to find the sweet spot but seems like this is it. Love the tires, grippy enough to play and quiet enough on long distance trips. These are on my 3.2TL btw, 205/60R16. The whitewalls look pretty nice and unique on the van !
 
Originally Posted By: bxd20
These are the original Assurance ComforTred, not the newer ComforTred Touring I assume?

I have been through two sets of ComforTred Touring, and while they have been the quietest tire I have ever owned, and probably the most comfortable in terms of ride, they have been awful when it comes to balance. They are tough to get perfectly balanced and easily transmit steering wheel shake. My first set were replaced under warranty when even a match-mount road force balance couldn't fix them. New set is much much better but I still detect the faintest of steering wheel shake. I was a big Goodyear fan, I'm in northern Ohio (near Akron), but these have turned me off.


I have the G/Y ACT's (non-touring) on my wifes Lexus RX-300(225-70-16) and they are quiet/smooth w/decent snow traction compared to the OE INTEGRITYs(what isn't?). The ACTs don't handle any better than the INTEGs. But, in 4 years, I've had'em balanced 4X.

I have had more G/Y tires in the last 40 yrs than any 2 or 3 brands combined and even had G/Y's on 4 vehicles at once. But, I always have issues with G/Y tires including balance, broken belts, radial pull, uneven treadwear, more than other tires. And I keep saying that..."I'll never buy'em again"! But, I do!
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I have the G/Y ACT's (non-touring) on my wifes Lexus RX-300(225-70-16) and they are quiet/smooth w/decent snow traction compared to the OE INTEGRITYs(what isn't?). The ACTs don't handle any better than the INTEGs. But, in 4 years, I've had'em balanced 4X.

I have had more G/Y tires in the last 40 yrs than any 2 or 3 brands combined and even had G/Y's on 4 vehicles at once. But, I always have issues with G/Y tires including balance, broken belts, radial pull, uneven treadwear, more than other tires. And I keep saying that..."I'll never buy'em again"! But, I do!

You bought GY again and again because of good deals ?
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Originally Posted By: bxd20
These are the original Assurance ComforTred, not the newer ComforTred Touring I assume?

I have been through two sets of ComforTred Touring, and while they have been the quietest tire I have ever owned, and probably the most comfortable in terms of ride, they have been awful when it comes to balance. They are tough to get perfectly balanced and easily transmit steering wheel shake. My first set were replaced under warranty when even a match-mount road force balance couldn't fix them. New set is much much better but I still detect the faintest of steering wheel shake. I was a big Goodyear fan, I'm in northern Ohio (near Akron), but these have turned me off.


I have the G/Y ACT's (non-touring) on my wifes Lexus RX-300(225-70-16) and they are quiet/smooth w/decent snow traction compared to the OE INTEGRITYs(what isn't?). The ACTs don't handle any better than the INTEGs. But, in 4 years, I've had'em balanced 4X.

I have had more G/Y tires in the last 40 yrs than any 2 or 3 brands combined and even had G/Y's on 4 vehicles at once. But, I always have issues with G/Y tires including balance, broken belts, radial pull, uneven treadwear, more than other tires. And I keep saying that..."I'll never buy'em again"! But, I do!



4 rebalances in 4 years?? Yikes.

I've had similar issues with Eagle RS-A's. Integrity's too.

I'm done with Goodyear. The Michelins on my GTO are worn down to 1-2/32"... and during their whole life I never had to re-balance them. They are also much lower profile, much stiffer sidewalls hence inherently more prone to vibration. I got through the whole life of these Michelins without a rebalance, and just as importantly, the treadwear is even across the tire. Considering how I drive the GTO, this is amazing to me.

Sorry if I sound like a Michelin commercial, but based on my experiences, those of my family, and talking to two independent tire shop owners that sell all brands, I have come to the conclusion that Goodyears are "tier 2" and Michelin is still cream of the crop for those of us that demand the tightest manufacturing standards.

I always prefer to support the home team, so this is a tough pill to swallow for me.
 
I'd let them break in for 1000miles then re-evaluate the tires.

you might also try +2 or +4 psi
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I have the G/Y ACT's (non-touring) on my wifes Lexus RX-300(225-70-16) and they are quiet/smooth w/decent snow traction compared to the OE INTEGRITYs(what isn't?). The ACTs don't handle any better than the INTEGs. But, in 4 years, I've had'em balanced 4X.

I have had more G/Y tires in the last 40 yrs than any 2 or 3 brands combined and even had G/Y's on 4 vehicles at once. But, I always have issues with G/Y tires including balance, broken belts, radial pull, uneven treadwear, more than other tires. And I keep saying that..."I'll never buy'em again"! But, I do!

You bought GY again and again because of good deals ?


Well yes, some were very good deals. OTOH, I'm speaking of ~40 years and there was a time I just didn't know better and thought I was getting the best/better tires, or believing in their brand. Other times G/Y came on vehicles that I purchaced new, or were the best deal in a tire/wheel pkg. And also, I would move to other brands to try something different(mostly priveat label tires) and then, move back to G/Y.

I purchaced G/Y's from places such as SAM's Club or large tire warehouses where they stock quite a few G/Y and Michelin seemed way beyond my price range considering I had several vehicles to put tires on(not knowing the difference in quality). And there was a time that I just didn't know much about tires.

Today, I know more and do research. I don't really need Michelin tires either, just tires in the top 5 at much better prices(when I happen to be ready for tires). I always seem to miss those good Michelin deals. I have only owned Michelin tires on vehicles that came with'em.

[Back to G/Y] And, I always loved the look of G/Y's tires. I love the sidewalls design and tread pattern along with their beefy look in my specific sizes. And previously, the RWL/OWL sidewalls.

The G/Y Assurance Comfort Tread is thus far, the best G/Y tire I have ever had(4 yrs now) and we do like the ACTs on this particular Lexus but, as mantioned, they need balancing ~ once/year. And they ACTs were a good deal at that time too.

The ACT's track straight, haven't yet experienced belt seperation, haven't become loud yet and don't have any radial pull so(NONE), I can have'em balanced now & again FREE at the place of installation.

I hope that wasn't too much info
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Drive safe!

CB
 
From my experience with various brands over the years, sometimes it may initially cost more when I bought the tires, but the more expensive tires may last substantially longer, so the cost per mile is actually less.

One example: Michelin Harmony on my LS400 lasted more than 100k miles, while other brands didn't last for more than 40-45k miles. Harmony costs about 25-30% more, but per mile is way less.

Currently I have Yoko AVID Touring-S on LS400, because I may not keep this car for more than 2-3 years or 20-25k miles.
 
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