Goodyear Weatherhandlers Tire Review

‍Overview

The changing seasons come with several challenges for drivers, and especially those using passenger vehicles. Drivers have to contend with different conditions as the weather changes, including visibility problems if you are driving on dusty roads in the summer, slipping and sliding on wet roads in the spring, and crossing wildlife during the autumn. Therefore, you will need an all-season tire that helps your vehicle maintain traction and work optimally in different temperatures.

What is an all-season tire?

All-season tires are designed to provide a combination of the benefits offered by both summer and winter tires. As a result, they are usually made from rubber compounds that allow the tire to remain pliable in both hot and cold temperatures. In addition, they come with unique tread designs to allow for maximum traction during the changing seasons. They are ideal for use in mild weather conditions such as mild rain and warm sun.

Since they are designed to handle a variety of driving conditions, they do not perform as well as other tires dedicated to each different season. For instance, they will not have as much grip and traction as summer tires in hot temperatures. In addition, they are not built for extreme winter conditions such as snow and may slip or slide if forced to drive in these conditions.

In spite of their limitations, all –season tyres have several advantages over tyres that are dedicated to specific seasons. Firstly, they are suitable for use on many different types of passenger vehicles, including SUV’s, minivans and sedans. Secondly, they last longer than tires dedicated to specific seasons and can go up to 80,000 miles without requiring a retread. Complex tread patterns also ensure that they have decent traction during light spring and summer rains. Finally, they are effective in low winter temperatures of up to 40 degrees.

Introducing the Goodyear Weatherhandler tire

The Goodyear Weatherhandler is an all season tire designed for use in dry, warm or mildly wet conditions. It differs slightly from all-weather tires which are used in winter conditions such as heavy rain, slush and snow.

Features like circumferential grooves, dual layer steel belts and a bi-directional tread pattern ensure that the Weatherhandler is one of the best all-season tires out there. In addition, Goodyear’s Fuel Max Compound causes low rolling resistance, resulting in lower fuel consumption and saving you up to 2600 miles in fuel costs over the course of the tire’s life.

Features

Goodyear Weatherhandler tires come with several unique features that are designed to give you maximum traction and ensure easy driving during the different seasons. They are designed for use on passenger cars such as Sedans, Crossovers and minivans. The tires have a maximum speed of 130 mph, load index of 94 lbs and UTQG of 580AA.

The Weatherhandler’s special features include:

Goodyear Fuel Max Compound: Goodyear’s Fuel Max compound is a fuel saving technology that ensures 15% longer mileage and 4% more fuel efficiency than regular tires. This technology helps drivers use less fuel per mile and results in a longer tread life for tires.

The Fuel Max Compound is a silica based material that reduces friction between the Weatherhandler’s molecules and provides resistance to abrasion, ultimately resulting in fuel savings and tread longevity.

The compound works on the premise of reducing friction, which has been shown to result in lower fuel consumption. By reducing rolling friction or the resistance that occurs when a tire rolls on a flat surface, the tire consumes less energy and thus requires less fuel to power it. Since tires consume up to 20% of a car’s fuel, reducing the rolling friction will result in significant fuel savings.

Circumferential grooves: The Goodyear Weatherhandler tire has four circumferential grooves designed to maximize traction and ensure an easy and quiet driving experience. Grooves are the sections on a tire’s tread pattern that aid in wet traction as well as assisting in the accelerating and braking functions of a tire.

There are three types of grooves on a tread pattern including: circumferential and lateral grooves and tie bars. Circumferential grooves run parallel to the tire’s tread and perform the important function of allowing liquids like rainwater to run through the tire without affecting traction. They are cut deep into a tire’s tread, making them ideal for all season or winter tires. They are also useful for determining a tire’s tread depth.

Lateral grooves cut across circumferential grooves, creating individual tie blocks that are ideal for accelerating and braking.

Dual layer steel belts: The weather handler comes with dual layer seat belts designed to increase both traction and grip. Tire belts refer to the rubber coated belts of steel, rayon, fibreglass and other materials that are found between tire plies and treads. They perform several important functions including protecting your tire from punctures by enhancing the strength of the side wall.

Bi-directional tread pattern: Tread pattern refers to the arrangement of lateral and circumferential grooves, ribs, tread blocks and sipes in order to help tires meet specific driving conditions. Tread patterns can be asymmetrical, symmetrical and directional.

Asymmetrical tread patterns feature large tread blocks on the outboard of the tire together with smaller independent blocks on the inboard of the tire. They are mainly designed to allow for multidirectional rotation of the tire. The asymmetrical tread on this type of tire increases contact patch while the large lateral treads on the side pump water out of the tire. The small tread blocks on the inside increase the tire’s grip and improve contact. Asymmetrical tires are stronger overall and have great hydroplaning resistance. They are commonly used on all-weather and performance tires.

Symmetrical tread patterns feature continuous ribs or tread blocks arranged in a wavy pattern on the tire’s surface. Both the inboard and outboard of the tire will have the same pattern and they allow for different tire rotations i.e front to back and side to side. Symmetrical tires provide a smooth driving experience and a long tread life. They are usually used on all-season tires. Symmetrical tires are also referred to as multi or bi-directional patterns since they allow the tire to rotate in several different directions.

Directional tread patterns only allow the tire to roll in one direction i.e front to back. They feature lateral grooves pointing towards the centre of the tire in a V shape. These features provide great traction in wet conditions and great hydroplaning resistance at high speeds. They work best on winter and performance tires.

65,000 mile limited warranty: Goodyear offers a 65,000 mile warranty on new Weatherhandler tires purchased directly from their outlet or from authorized dealers. The limited warranty only applies if you are the original owner of the tires and if you are using the tires on the vehicle on which they were originally installed.

The warranty does not apply under certain conditions. These include: if the tires were used in commercial vehicles if the tire’s tread pattern has been altered significantly, and in cases where the owner has not retained the original purchase receipt.

All-season vs. All-weather tires

The Goodyear Weatherhandler tire is an all-season tire designed to work in mild weather conditions such as spring, summer, fall, and early winter. It is not meant to work in extreme conditions such as heavy rain and snow. This tire and other all-season tires perform well in weather conditions where there are no significant changes in temperature.

If you live in an area that experiences wild temperature fluctuations and severe weather like blizzards and snowstorms, you will be better off purchasing all-weather tires. This type of tire is a cross between all-season and winter tires. The main advantage of all-weather tires is that they save you the hassle of having to switch between different sets of tires as the weather changes. They also perform better in slow and sludge, stopping faster and spinning less frequently.