Assurance CS TripleTred vs. Michelin Latitude Tour

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
31,869
Location
CA
Goodyear has a new tire out, the Assurance CS Tripletred, which is supposed to be their flagship crossover tire:

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/201...truck-tire.html

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=160

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?...Tred+All-Season

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireModel=Latitude+Tour&tireMake=Michelin

For a moderate climate that only has exposure to moderate rain, how do you think the GY Assurance CS Tripletred compare to the Michelin Latitude Tour in terms of performance and handling for a crossover (CRV, Santa Fe, etc)? I am guessing that at this point, few people will have this new GY tire, but owners of the Latitude Tour will be able to comment.

Unlike most premium Michelin tires, the Latitude Tour has not received the warm, fuzzy reviews like most of their other tires, and I am really curious why. Both of these tires are virtually the same price.

Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Unlike most premium Michelin tires, the Latitude Tour has not received the warm, fuzzy reviews like most of their other tires, and I am really curious why. Both of these tires are virtually the same price.


Consumer Reports tested the Latitude Tour and it did well. In fact, it finished right behind the top-scoring Michelin LTX M/S2 and Continental CrossContact LX20.

I suspect the reason that the Latitude Tour line in general hasn't done well is because most of them are OEM tires. The performance of most of these tires (the OEM ones) is going to depend heavily on that OEM and how they spec'd the tire's behavior. I have them in a size that, as far as I can tell, is not OEM on anything (225/65R17 102T). And they're fantastic...at least as good as other Michelins I have. I like them so much, I'm going to put them on our Acura as soon as they introduce this tire in that size (235/65R17) to replace the soon-to-be-discontinued Cross Terrain SUV.
 
Hokiefyd : Dude if you dont do off roading in your Acura, I HIGHLY suggest a set of GY Comforttred Tourings. They are available in the size you are looking for and Goodyear has a rebate upto 160 off a set of 4 till the end of this month with a goodyear card.
 
Just installed new Michelin Latitude Tours on my F150 yesterday. When I get some miles on them, I will be glad to give my $.02 . I took off Michelins also, not sure of the exact model, but they were original tires on my truck, and had nearly 65k on them , with life still left. Just wanted to change them before winter , while I had the $ .
 
Originally Posted By: bourne
Hokiefyd : Dude if you dont do off roading in your Acura, I HIGHLY suggest a set of GY Comforttred Tourings. They are available in the size you are looking for and Goodyear has a rebate upto 160 off a set of 4 till the end of this month with a goodyear card.


Thanks for the tip. It sounds like a good deal. But I've been bummed too often buying tires other than Michelins and I've never had a Michelin that I didn't like, so I tend to stick with what I know here. I'm sure those Goodyears are great tires.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd


I suspect the reason that the Latitude Tour line in general hasn't done well is because most of them are OEM tires. The performance of most of these tires (the OEM ones) is going to depend heavily on that OEM and how they spec'd the tire's behavior. I have them in a size that, as far as I can tell, is not OEM on anything (225/65R17 102T). And they're fantastic...at least as good as other Michelins I have. I like them so much, I'm going to put them on our Acura as soon as they introduce this tire in that size (235/65R17) to replace the soon-to-be-discontinued Cross Terrain SUV.


This is quite true. Per the Michelin site, 235/70R16 is an OE fitment for the Ford Escape, and no "aftermarket" version exists.
 
I've had the Latitude Tours for almost two years on my wife's 07 Frontier and like them very much. I would say they're not great in snow - but if that was a big concern I would have gotten the LTX-M/S2's.

I chose the Latitudes because of Michelin's higher ratings for fuel econ/RR and comfort (10/10) vs the M/S2's (9/9).
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
This is quite true. Per the Michelin site, 235/70R16 is an OE fitment for the Ford Escape, and no "aftermarket" version exists.


Right. For tires like these, it REALLY depends on the size. That's why I suspect that some OEM-spec tires (like the Latitude Tour in many cases) won't get across-the-board good reviews. OEM tires often represent major compromises in traction and/or wear to hit a good rolling resistance number. But there are a number of sizes that don't appear to be OEM-spec tires, and those particular ones seem to perform very well.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: The Critic
This is quite true. Per the Michelin site, 235/70R16 is an OE fitment for the Ford Escape, and no "aftermarket" version exists.


Right. For tires like these, it REALLY depends on the size. That's why I suspect that some OEM-spec tires (like the Latitude Tour in many cases) won't get across-the-board good reviews. OEM tires often represent major compromises in traction and/or wear to hit a good rolling resistance number. But there are a number of sizes that don't appear to be OEM-spec tires, and those particular ones seem to perform very well.


So true! I've been researching on tires for my 2011 Pilot with 245/65R17. Consumer Reports gave the Latitude Tour a full red circle for tread wear. Michelin's tread-wear warranty is a 65k. But tirerack.com has generally bad survey results for this tire!

I filtered out the Honda Pilot results on tirerack and the average life is only ~42k. However, the sample were 03-08 Pilots which came with 235/70R16 and guess what, that's the OE Ford size Latitude Tour! Just from the spec, their tread depth starts at 11/32" instead of 12.5/32". And no one knows whether the compound is identical.

I'm pretty confident if I get the Latitude Tour in 245/65R17, I'll likely get results closer to the CR review than the tirerack reviews!
 
Originally Posted By: SilverGGA
So true! I've been researching on tires for my 2011 Pilot with 245/65R17. Consumer Reports gave the Latitude Tour a full red circle for tread wear. Michelin's tread-wear warranty is a 65k. But tirerack.com has generally bad survey results for this tire!


I just wanted to respond to your first few comments here.

My wife has a Ford Escape with the OE Latitude Tour's. I'd give this tire a 10 out of 10. They are quiet, responsive, predictable, with plenty of grip. A very safe tire that really adds to this small SUV's surprisingly good road manners. Been on several road trips with it, heavily loaded, with no problems to report. 12,000 miles so far and the tread wear is barely measurable. Like I said if you want something solid with good road manners, go with the Latitude Tours. (I would say this about every Michelin tire I've owned)

One other thing I don't understand your comment about Tirerack. Customers gave this tire 4/5 stars. The surveys are green across the board with the exception of deep snow/ice. Ride comfort and dry traction are very highly rated. Are you sure you are looking at the right tire?

Also when comparing tires on Tirerack, consider the total miles reported (in other words, the sample size). The Tour has 5.4 million miles reported. There are several "young" tires in this category with less than 500,000 miles reported. As people accrue miles on their tires they will generally rate them worse and worse.

The Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza is another worthy tire that has been around awhile and is proven. My wife and I put 65,000 miles on a set of these when they first came out and they were impressive.

Good luck with your search.
 
Originally Posted By: stranger706

One other thing I don't understand your comment about Tirerack. Customers gave this tire 4/5 stars. The surveys are green across the board with the exception of deep snow/ice. Ride comfort and dry traction are very highly rated. Are you sure you are looking at the right tire?


The Latitude Tour ranks #7 in its category, which is a really average position. #7 is also below the Alenza, which the Latitude Tour handily beat in CR's review. The CR review ranked it right behind the LTX M/S2 and Continental LX20 EcoPlus.

While the Laitude Tour might be good enough in OE form, the non-OE, replacement versions are actually better. It's great that you liked your OE tires though.

On the other hand, the LTX M/S2 only has 1 OE fitment and it ranks #1 in tirerack.com survey results.

What I and others are trying to say, is that despite bearing the same marketing name, the OE tires are spec'd differently from the replacement tires (for various reasons). The most obvious thing a consumer can spot is tread depth.
 
Last edited:
I can only speak of the Goodyear assurance, and when I installed on my crown vic, I lost 1.5 ~ 2 MPG on average. This is all calculated by hand at the same gas stations in a spreadsheet I keep. I thought something was wrong with my car so I swapped my lincoln tires on it for a few weeks and the mileage returned to normal.

If you read a lot of reviews you will see others mention the same. I cannot comment on the michelin latiude, but I can say I had a bad experiance with another series of michelins dry rotting to the point of failing state inspection at a little over 4 years. Tread was still like new, and they would not warranty it at all.
 
I purchased the Michelin Latitude Tour tires for my Dodge Durango in size 265-60-18 two months ago and have been very happy with them.

Some of you are quoting some outrageous prices as I paid $701.00 total with taxes for all 4 mounted and balanced from Discount tire. That's almost $300.00 less than what they quoted me when I walked in the door, tire prices are very negotiable.
 
Originally Posted By: crj19
I paid $701.00 total with taxes for all 4 mounted and balanced from Discount tire. That's almost $300.00 less than what they quoted me when I walked in the door, tire prices are very negotiable.


That's a good deal less; what was your strategy?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top