Has anybody had both? If so, what do you think of one vs the other? I'm in the market for new tires, but can't spend a lot. I've had Douglas tires before, and it seemed fine, but is the Viva 3 worth the extra cost? I understand there are better tires, but this is my current reality right now. Thanks.
Douglas vs Goodyear Viva 3
- Thread starter AmoryBlaine
- Start date
- Status
I have Goodyear Viva 3 tires on both my Taurus and LEAF. I would not hesitate to buy them again. They are quiet, they did pretty well in the limited snow we had this year and they are smooth running. Time will tell how they hold up and wear but with 6 months of use I am pleased.
I had a Viva that, oddly, had "bead rot" and with plenty of tread left shredded itself upon dismounting.
Douglas catches lots of flack for being a walmart tire but I picked up some used douglasses and they were fine.
Dude, you just missed the DTD President's day sale.
Another will be along in a month or two, but if you need tires now, I'd get the Douglas.
Douglas catches lots of flack for being a walmart tire but I picked up some used douglasses and they were fine.
Dude, you just missed the DTD President's day sale.
Another will be along in a month or two, but if you need tires now, I'd get the Douglas.
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Dude, you just missed the DTD President's day sale.
Another will be along in a month or two, but if you need tires now, I'd get the Douglas.
So did I.
When do they usually have sales? I need some on the elantra.
Dude, you just missed the DTD President's day sale.
Another will be along in a month or two, but if you need tires now, I'd get the Douglas.
So did I.
When do they usually have sales? I need some on the elantra.
MolaKule
Staff member
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/forums/41/1/Tires_&_Wheels
This forum is entitled, ATF, Differential, Trans, Brakes, P/S .
This forum is entitled, ATF, Differential, Trans, Brakes, P/S .
Last edited:
FYI about Goodyear tires:
Several years ago, I purchased a set of Goodyear Wrangler tires for my Jeep. Hey, Goodyear Wranglers and Jeeps go together, right? These tires had a semi-agressive tread. I elected not to have the road hazard guarantee.
After about 20K miles on the tires, there was really bad cracking around the tread, not the sidewall. There was no wear from suspension problems and there was no uneven wear, just really bad cracking on the tread. These tires were properly inflated their whole life. I went back to where they were purchased to have them inspected and was asked if I had road hazard, which I replied that I did not. I was then told that there was NO WAY Goodyear would not stand behind these tires because I had no road hazard on the tires, even after I pointed out that these tires were not coming apart because of any road hazards. I then asked him if he would trust his life with these tires and he said "Oh h*ll, no way!"
While I won't ever have Goodyear or even the lesser quality Douglas tires on my vehicle again, you might simply ask your Goodyear dealer some tire questions before you purchase them.
Several years ago, I purchased a set of Goodyear Wrangler tires for my Jeep. Hey, Goodyear Wranglers and Jeeps go together, right? These tires had a semi-agressive tread. I elected not to have the road hazard guarantee.
After about 20K miles on the tires, there was really bad cracking around the tread, not the sidewall. There was no wear from suspension problems and there was no uneven wear, just really bad cracking on the tread. These tires were properly inflated their whole life. I went back to where they were purchased to have them inspected and was asked if I had road hazard, which I replied that I did not. I was then told that there was NO WAY Goodyear would not stand behind these tires because I had no road hazard on the tires, even after I pointed out that these tires were not coming apart because of any road hazards. I then asked him if he would trust his life with these tires and he said "Oh h*ll, no way!"
While I won't ever have Goodyear or even the lesser quality Douglas tires on my vehicle again, you might simply ask your Goodyear dealer some tire questions before you purchase them.
Based upon several friends remarks who live in Leftafornia they drive pretty hard on the freeways, (while protecting the environment, of course) -- probably not the best place to use Douglas tires. If you do just local driving, it's a different story.
I'm running a set of Douglas tires on my daily driver 92 Cavalier and they have held up great. I bought these used from the junkyard with very good tread back in October of 2013 and have put just a little over 30,000 miles on them. They still have tons of tread but are starting to weather crack a little bit from sitting outside 24/7. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.
Wayne
Wayne
Douglas I had a set 15 years ago on my Ford escort nothing special got around 28 k on the set and Walmart didn't prorate them.
I also have ran Viva 2s date code 1114 and probably the last months of its manufacture and has the same tread pattern as the 3s. I bought them used on Craigslist with about 5k of treadwear per the owner and one set lasted 50 k and the other set is at 60 k and 4/32 remaining that I will rotate to the front in April. First time I ever got a full mileage rating in a tire and both ran quietly and smoothly at the end of their lives.
I also have ran Viva 2s date code 1114 and probably the last months of its manufacture and has the same tread pattern as the 3s. I bought them used on Craigslist with about 5k of treadwear per the owner and one set lasted 50 k and the other set is at 60 k and 4/32 remaining that I will rotate to the front in April. First time I ever got a full mileage rating in a tire and both ran quietly and smoothly at the end of their lives.
The Douglas Xtra Trac 2 (and any other Douglas tire I assume) is hit and miss. Had a brand new set on my mom's 2001 Saturn sl1, they had good traction and tread life was also quite good (the car was t-boned when the tires were 25-30k miles old and they still had good tread). The set on her 2009 Hyundai sonata only lasted for 12k miles (they were all bald, two had busted belts.) I had a half worn pair on the rear of my 1989 f150. They were so bad, I slapped on some 30 year old bias ply trailer tires I found at the junkyard and ran them all summer.
It's pretty sad when this.......
Is better than.......
Is better than.......
Last edited:
Thanks to all who replied regarding my question about Douglas vs Viva 3. I now have a set of Douglas, and am very pleased, the ride is smooth and quiet. It wasn't a decision made lightly, and although price was certainly a factor, less expensive tires could have been purchased. When contacting Kelly Tires via email, asking if I could be directed to any independent reviews, I was unsurprisingly given a brief and canned response that Douglas is a "co brand" of Goodyear, I was then thanked for my interest, and given the link to Walmart. What makes me confident in the Douglas Tire is that it has a DOT Code, meaning it passes the Dept of Transportations safety standards, and that it has "M6" as the first two characters in the DOT code, indicating the tires were made in the Goodyear factory, in Lawton, OK. It is indeed a Goodyear Tire, even if it's at the "low end". Prior to purchasing, I read an article online from 2006 (can't remember the title), outlining that Goodyear had about 60 "off brands", and was planning to cut 10. Supposedly Goodyear made house brands for Big O Tires, and Sears, which is very interesting. Not just Goodyear either, many of the traditional brands do now, which was news to me. The article did point out that the off brand tires from Goodyear are made from technology "several years" old. So if several years is 10 years, for example, the tires I bought this weekend are equivalent to the branded goodyears from 2007. That's pretty good, IMHO, especially for $45 a tire, $12 to mount. In my opinion, I believe it would be wise for consumers to research the "co brand" versions of the traditionally branded tires, and weigh the cost difference to determine if the highest price is worth it. Yes the technology is older, but not much older, yet passes the DOT's safety standards just the same. I would argue that if you were a bad driver on 2007 tires, the 2017 tires won't make much difference in your performance on the road.
There's also a video on YouTube, from Dateline, detailing tire recalls, accidents, and casualties due to faulty tires. The tires were Michelin and Firestone. The point is, all tires will have defects, it's inevitable given the numbers.
There's also a video on YouTube, from Dateline, detailing tire recalls, accidents, and casualties due to faulty tires. The tires were Michelin and Firestone. The point is, all tires will have defects, it's inevitable given the numbers.
Originally Posted By: AmoryBlaine
Thanks to all who replied regarding my question about Douglas vs Viva 3. I now have a set of Douglas, and am very pleased, the ride is smooth and quiet. It wasn't a decision made lightly, and although price was certainly a factor, less expensive tires could have been purchased. When contacting Kelly Tires via email, asking if I could be directed to any independent reviews, I was unsurprisingly given a brief and canned response that Douglas is a "co brand" of Goodyear, I was then thanked for my interest, and given the link to Walmart. What makes me confident in the Douglas Tire is that it has a DOT Code, meaning it passes the Dept of Transportations safety standards, and that it has "M6" as the first two characters in the DOT code, indicating the tires were made in the Goodyear factory, in Lawton, OK. It is indeed a Goodyear Tire, even if it's at the "low end". Prior to purchasing, I read an article online from 2006 (can't remember the title), outlining that Goodyear had about 60 "off brands", and was planning to cut 10. Supposedly Goodyear made house brands for Big O Tires, and Sears, which is very interesting. Not just Goodyear either, many of the traditional brands do now, which was news to me. The article did point out that the off brand tires from Goodyear are made from technology "several years" old. So if several years is 10 years, for example, the tires I bought this weekend are equivalent to the branded goodyears from 2007. That's pretty good, IMHO, especially for $45 a tire, $12 to mount. In my opinion, I believe it would be wise for consumers to research the "co brand" versions of the traditionally branded tires, and weigh the cost difference to determine if the highest price is worth it. Yes the technology is older, but not much older, yet passes the DOT's safety standards just the same. I would argue that if you were a bad driver on 2007 tires, the 2017 tires won't make much difference in your performance on the road.
There's also a video on YouTube, from Dateline, detailing tire recalls, accidents, and casualties due to faulty tires. The tires were Michelin and Firestone. The point is, all tires will have defects, it's inevitable given the numbers.
Very good post that you put a lot of thought in to as well as making what you feel is a sound purchase decision. Generally, Douglas is disliked on this board-for probably the main reason being is that Walmart sells them. Most responses on these tires threads are "canned" and repeated literally 100's of times.
It would probably be a safe bet that Goodyear will not discontinue the Douglas brand-because of the enormous amount that Walmart in all likelihood sells.
Good luck on your tires.
Thanks to all who replied regarding my question about Douglas vs Viva 3. I now have a set of Douglas, and am very pleased, the ride is smooth and quiet. It wasn't a decision made lightly, and although price was certainly a factor, less expensive tires could have been purchased. When contacting Kelly Tires via email, asking if I could be directed to any independent reviews, I was unsurprisingly given a brief and canned response that Douglas is a "co brand" of Goodyear, I was then thanked for my interest, and given the link to Walmart. What makes me confident in the Douglas Tire is that it has a DOT Code, meaning it passes the Dept of Transportations safety standards, and that it has "M6" as the first two characters in the DOT code, indicating the tires were made in the Goodyear factory, in Lawton, OK. It is indeed a Goodyear Tire, even if it's at the "low end". Prior to purchasing, I read an article online from 2006 (can't remember the title), outlining that Goodyear had about 60 "off brands", and was planning to cut 10. Supposedly Goodyear made house brands for Big O Tires, and Sears, which is very interesting. Not just Goodyear either, many of the traditional brands do now, which was news to me. The article did point out that the off brand tires from Goodyear are made from technology "several years" old. So if several years is 10 years, for example, the tires I bought this weekend are equivalent to the branded goodyears from 2007. That's pretty good, IMHO, especially for $45 a tire, $12 to mount. In my opinion, I believe it would be wise for consumers to research the "co brand" versions of the traditionally branded tires, and weigh the cost difference to determine if the highest price is worth it. Yes the technology is older, but not much older, yet passes the DOT's safety standards just the same. I would argue that if you were a bad driver on 2007 tires, the 2017 tires won't make much difference in your performance on the road.
There's also a video on YouTube, from Dateline, detailing tire recalls, accidents, and casualties due to faulty tires. The tires were Michelin and Firestone. The point is, all tires will have defects, it's inevitable given the numbers.
Very good post that you put a lot of thought in to as well as making what you feel is a sound purchase decision. Generally, Douglas is disliked on this board-for probably the main reason being is that Walmart sells them. Most responses on these tires threads are "canned" and repeated literally 100's of times.
It would probably be a safe bet that Goodyear will not discontinue the Douglas brand-because of the enormous amount that Walmart in all likelihood sells.
Good luck on your tires.
Originally Posted By: ron350
AmoryBlaine please report back and let us know how the Douglas tires perform on wet roads.
The set of Douglas 205/65-15 tires on my Toyota Pickup do just fine. Been in some heavy rain a few times already, and I feel safe with them. I have a manual five speed transmission, and have not had a tire spin on wet roads when taking off in first gear normally. Will buy them again when this set wears out as long as the price is reasonable, and they are still made in the USA like my set is.
AmoryBlaine please report back and let us know how the Douglas tires perform on wet roads.
The set of Douglas 205/65-15 tires on my Toyota Pickup do just fine. Been in some heavy rain a few times already, and I feel safe with them. I have a manual five speed transmission, and have not had a tire spin on wet roads when taking off in first gear normally. Will buy them again when this set wears out as long as the price is reasonable, and they are still made in the USA like my set is.
- Status
Similar threads
