Initial Review: Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max

[sciphi]

The Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max LRR tires came OEM on my Cruze in 215/55-17. I've driven a mix of city and highway with them, and have some impressions to report after 130 miles:

Noise: these are fairly quiet at highway speeds, with just a quiet tire noise on most roads.

Handling: No complaints so far. With the 41 PSI front/39 PSI rear the dealer set them to, they have provided adequate levels of grip for some spirited driving. They track fairly well on all road surfaces. High-performance these aren't, but that's not their mission.

Ride: They ride a little stiffly since they're new. I'm expecting this to soften up as miles get accumulated.

Other: These just keep on rolling and rolling and rolling. Lift off the gas, and these will maintain speed very nicely.

No rain is in the forecast, so I don't know how they do in wet weather. Snow performance isn't a concern since I'm getting winter tires.

Overall, they're a competent tire, at least in the few hours I've driven on them.

 

[walk23]

I have these tires 215/65/16 on my Toyota Matrix and they are an improvement over the GOODYEAR Comfort Treds from before. Have them on for about 10 K and really are impressed with the improved quietness.

 

[eljefino]

What's the initial tread depth and wear rating?

 

[Rand]

most of the complaints I've seen about those are about the traction going away at 1/2 worn

 

[sciphi]

Initial tread depth is 10/32". Wear is 580. This size has A for temperature and A for traction.

Good to know that they lose grip about halfway through their life.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
The Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max LRR tires came OEM on my Cruze in 215/55-17. I've driven a mix of city and highway with them, and have some impressions to report after 130 miles:.......


My first comment is that I hope everyone realizes that OE tires are designed to the vehicle manufacturer's spec - not the tire manufacturer's specs! That means there could be considerable differences between what comes on the Cruze and what you buy in other sizes. Personally, I would not take this review to mean anything at all about what the rest of the line is like. - Sorry!

Originally Posted By: sciphi
.....With the 41 PSI front/39 PSI rear the dealer set them to..............


GM specs 35 psi front and rear.

Originally Posted By: sciphi
.......They track fairly well on all road surfaces......


That might be due to the increased inflation pressure.

Originally Posted By: sciphi
........Ride: They ride a little stiffly since they're new..........


This is no doubt from the increased inflation pressure.

Originally Posted By: sciphi
.......Other: These just keep on rolling and rolling and rolling. Lift off the gas, and these will maintain speed very nicely........


Some of this is due to the increased inflation pressure, but please do not think that these tires are unique. Most OE tires have good RR - and they get that by sacrificing treadwear and / or traction (espcially wet traction). You'll hear a lot of complaints about those 2 properties on OE tires.

But GM is pretty good at setting the specs to prevent those types of complaints.

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Initial tread depth is 10/32". Wear is 580. This size has A for temperature and A for traction.....


I think you'll find that the tire on the Cruze is a 500AA.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Initial tread depth is 10/32". Wear is 580. This size has A for temperature and A for traction.....


I think you'll find that the tire on the Cruze is a 500AA.




Just looked, the tires on my Cruze are indeed 580 treadwear, A temperature, A traction. I hope that means they're just off-the-shelf tires, not a GM special. Not holding my breath on that, however.

I'll see how these do in the wet. This car hasn't seen rain yet. So far these tires are pretty good overall, especially for OEM tires.

 

[Stu_Rock]

If they have a "TPC spec" on the sidewall, they are made specifically for GM.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: sciphi
Initial tread depth is 10/32". Wear is 580. This size has A for temperature and A for traction.....

I think you'll find that the tire on the Cruze is a 500AA.

Just looked, the tires on my Cruze are indeed 580 treadwear, A temperature, A traction......


Are you sure about that? Tire Rack lists the V rated tire as having the 580 and the H rated tire with 500 - and Tire Guides say the Cruze comes with the H!

Originally Posted By: sciphi
.... I hope that means they're just off-the-shelf tires, not a GM special. Not holding my breath on that, however.....


I can guarrantee their a GM special.

I did a quick survey a few months ago, and the concensus was that GM - or any vehicle manufacturer - has NEVER used an "off-the-shelf" tire.

 

[sciphi]

Most definitely a 580.

They do say TPC spec on the sidewall. So far, for GM-specific tires, I've been mildly impressed with how they grip, at least on dry roads.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
...

.....Most definitely a 580........

Thanks for the photos. Are the tires H or V rated? Put a different way, are the Tire Rack specs wrong or is Tire Guides wrong?

Originally Posted By: sciphi
.......They do say TPC spec on the sidewall. So far, for GM-specific tires, I've been mildly impressed with how they grip, at least on dry roads.


My experience is the GM spec'd tires are generally pretty good for wear and grip - at leasrt compared to other vehicle manufacturers. However, they aren't as good as what you can get through a tire dealer.

 

[sciphi]

They are V rated. It appears that Tire Guides is wrong, and TireRack has the correct specifications.

With the two caveats of having not driven these in the wet and an unknown treadlife, I'd get these again.

 

[CapriRacer]

sciphi,

Thanks for clearing that up.

Oh and one nit-picky item. When you put in your vehicle in Tire Rack's "Shop by Vehicle", they also bring up the H rated tire.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
sciphi,

Thanks for clearing that up.

Oh and one nit-picky item. When you put in your vehicle in Tire Rack's "Shop by Vehicle", they also bring up the H rated tire.


Fuel Max for 2011 Cruze Eco

It's not doing it for me. It's bringing up the V-rated Fuel Maxes. TireRack doesn't have the 2012 vehicle guides out yet, so that's to a 2011 which uses the same tire.

I don't know why TireRack would do one thing for you, and another for me...

 

[leeharvey418]

When I look up OE tires for a 2011 Cruze Eco, Tire Rack gives me the 215/55R17 93H 500 A A tire. Expanding the search to all Goodyear tires shows both that and the 215/55R17 94V 580 A A version.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
sciphi,

Thanks for clearing that up.

Oh and one nit-picky item. When you put in your vehicle in Tire Rack's "Shop by Vehicle", they also bring up the H rated tire.


Fuel Max for 2011 Cruze Eco

It's not doing it for me. It's bringing up the V-rated Fuel Maxes. TireRack doesn't have the 2012 vehicle guides out yet, so that's to a 2011 which uses the same tire.

I don't know why TireRack would do one thing for you, and another for me...

If you look up a 2011 Cruze with the Eco trim, and click "View original equipment tires", it shows only the 500/A/A H-rated version. It does for me.

Here is a direct link to the 2011 Cruze Eco search results page

 

[sciphi]

Ahh! I'm not having it show the OE tires, I'm having it show "All tires"! That's where the confusion lies, as I never thought to click on "Show OE Tires". That, and the tires on my car definitely are the 580/A/A V-rated version, albeit made to GM specs.

Thanks, Hokiefyd!

 

[AstroTurf]

Maybe not OEM specs, But perhaps your local dealer installed them?

Jim

 

[leeharvey418]

Maybe the 94V 580 A A version is factory equipment on another GM application (thus explaining why they have the 'TPC Spec') and they were installed at Lordstown under a temporary deviation when there was a shortage of the regular OE tire on the Cruze.

Just throwing out pure conjecture and speculation here...

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: leeharvey418
Maybe the 94V 580 A A version is factory equipment on another GM application (thus explaining why they have the 'TPC Spec') and they were installed at Lordstown under a temporary deviation when there was a shortage of the regular OE tire on the Cruze.

Just throwing out pure conjecture and speculation here...


Sounds quite plausible.