Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Reviews - Page 4

I bought there tyres after experiencing a bad winter in Dublin during 2010, which brought the city to a stand still after heavy falls of snow.

I did a lot of research and found these to be the best for Irish conditions - a tyre that would handle the wet, that should wear well and that I could leave on during the wet summer months if I choose.

I bought the tyres mainly as I was moving out of the city and into the country.
I would be driving mainly open rough country roads with sharp bends with that would be prone to frost and ice under clear skies in the winter. As my BMW is rear wheel drive - it would be a recipe for disaster without good tyres.

In short - The 4 Season Vectors are fantastic tyres!

Drove them last winter on ice white roads and while I did not get to test them under snow, they held their ground on frost and ice and enabled me to get to work albeit it at a slow and careful speed, that without I would not have managed otherwise.

Also far superior to any tyres I have experienced before in normal wet conditions. I replaced my 'Summer tyres' again late this September with the Vector 4 seasons which I had stored. Perhaps a little early for winter but - this was due to my summer tyres being horrendous in the wet, (as we don't really experience Summer in Ireland) the change was instantly recognisable and led to a more comfortable confident driving experience.

As regards wear, I feel its still too early to report as I have only used them through one winter season so far and had them stored for the summer, however they still appear as new.

I will be buying these tyres again, without doubt.

Used these tyres on my previous car (175/65/r14) and really liked them, so bought them again for the new car (195/65/r15).

The tyres will have a longer braking distance in summer compared to summer tyres, and it will have longer braking distance in winter compared to winter tyres... But it makes a better tyre to use in winter the any summer tyre, and it makes a better tyre in summer then any winter tyre! So if you don't like to change tyres twice a year these are the best tyres to keep using whole year. Apart from a bit longer braking distance these tyres have a lot of qualities to offer.

Positives;

-Grip.
It is so good! Never experienced a slipping wheel so far, I enjoy using the tyres because they give a very safe feeling. Drives curves very steady on dry, maybe even more steady on wet roads. On snow or slippery roads I didn't have to care about slipping either. Brakes much, much better then a summer tyre in the cold. It has more grip on snow then any cheap winter tyre too.

-Comfort.
Wow! More comfortable then Michelins. Maybe because of the softer compound. Small cracks in the road or tram tracks: you almost don't feel them and the steering is not influenced by them. These tyres absorb a lot, it feels like driving another car after changing to the vector 4seasons. For me the combination of the comfort and the grip is the reason to go for this tyre.

-Sound.
They are rather quiet when you think of the amount of grip they offer. On very hot summer days they will produce more then average sound when making curves.

-Wear.
Seems to be very good but I didn't drive more then 7000 km so I can't confirm. Don't see much wear though.

Negatives;

-Breaking distances.
The softer compound makes the braking distance a bit longer according to the reviews and tests. This is always measured by emergency braking at high speed, and it is only a matter of a few meters in that case. I don't drive like crazy and keep my distance anyway so don't consider this to be a problem. In daily use the breaking is just fine, and will be better compared to breaking with the wrong tyre in the wrong season.

If you want a reliable tyre for all conditions without changing, this is a very good one.

After taking advice I went for the 4Seasons and I've got to say it's the best move I've made in a long, long time! I got a pair 2nd hand with almost as new tread, a new tyre at 1/2 price and the last tyre at full price. Yes, they're expensive but my oh my what a difference!

The tyres themselves feel soft (to the touch) compared to the others. They're very comfortable and so, so quiet. I've rediscovered the handling I remembered when I first bought the car and driving through country lanes at full tilt in 3rd gear is an absolute blast. In the open its pure bliss! The tram-lining problems I once had have now gone.

If I had a 'criticism' I would say the tread is a little chunky for a car that is as slick as the E46. I would also say that the new tyres have introduced just a touch of oversteer. That aside, excellent.

I haven't tested them in the wet as yet and I can't report on the wear at this time.

Last August I replaced my front Michelin energy saver tyres with these, leaving the back which were probably about 1/3 worn.
The previous November my michelins were nearly new and I managed to get along country roads while grounding most of the way at a slow but controlled speed, as good as it seemed to be I was looking to improve things so with some research settled on the goodyears for their snow performance.
In the snow I've been able to take the snow covered lane plenty of times to get past people struggling, while following one of the usual hatchbacks with summer tyres at less than 5mph down a hill they braked and slid a meter, I just stopped, when there was room and an opportunity a bit further on I passed them without any trouble.
The Goodyears are slightly noisier but not to the extent of recieving any comments, They do seem slightly more comfortable on the other hand though.
My average mpg has become more sensitive to my driving than was the case with the Michelins - but while driving steady not much different.
Rainwise I've been quite impressed, it's like driving with the michelins in the dry/ slightly moist, more resistant to aquaplaning too.
As for the occasional hot days, they arent suited for it but are pretty acceptable to the extent of reduced understeer, tbh, the only thing that seems a downgrade from the previous tyres is when going into a turn, maybe a little toe in would sort it out.
Come my next tyre change I'll probably be buying them again

Back in August 2011 I started researching a new set of all-season, winter-rated tyres for my wife's DSG equipped VW Golf Tsi. We decided that having a set of summer and a set of winter tyres didn't fit our requirements and would be too much hassle. Having suffered for years getting stuck in the snow and having to walk over half-a-mile back to our hilltop village, enough was enough.

After 2 months of reading various magazine reviews plus my own internet research I had it narrowed down to 3 options: Vredestein Quatrac 3, Hankook Optimo 4s or Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons. Following reading numerous tests we decided the Goodyear's suited our needs best.

The internet price per 205/55/16 tyre in August was £90 (same as the factory-fitted Michelin Primacy's) but by the time I ordered all 4 tyres in October the price had crept up to £101 per tyre.

We had the Goodyear's fitted locally for £10 each at the start of November and following this my wife reports that the ride is smooth and absorbent with lower noise levels than the previous Michelin's. Travelling on wet roads through standing water the Goodyear's are significantly more resistant to aquaplaning and offer noticeably more grip in the corners on cold, wet fast A-roads and motorways.

She's tried the Goodyear's on a previous dusting of snow without any problems but the real challenge was during the snow dump on Feb' 4th 2012.

After a trip out shopping it started to snow but rather than go home to Bury, Lancashire we headed for the A59 North Yorkshire to go to a pub for a relaxing meal to allow the snow to accumulate. As the afternoon progressed we returned to Bury where there was now 2-3 inches of snow on the towns' roads. Growing in confidence we felt ready for the challenge of getting back to our hilltop village on untreated roads and along the way we would perform a few tests, too.

We started the climb up the hill on 2-3 inches of snow and soon met our 1st victim: a bus performing a 3-point turn and heading back down. Waiting for the bus to get out of the way we realised this would be our 1st hill start on packed snow and the grade was about 1 in 5. Once the bus left my wife hit the accelerator and the car shuffled slightly, but quickly gained traction and we were off – no problem.

Further round the corner the road steepens and then crosses a bridge where there was 4-5 inches of fresh snow – nobody had gotten this far up and it's now about 1 in 4 incline. We purposely stopped on the bridge and attempted another hill start but this time the intention was to accelerate as hard as possible. The traction control light flickered as the tyres searched for grip but we were off and got up to 25mph from a standstill in no time at all at which point we ran out of bravery on the narrow road.

Emergency stops are dealt with just as easily: the car stops very quickly in a straight line with no drama at all, even when heading down steep roads. It was a real eye-opener just how quickly the car was able to stop on fresh snow from 25mph. The only concern we would have doing this is possibly being followed by someone who will likely be on ‘summer' tyres – there is no way they would be able to avoid crashing into us such is the grip generated by the Goodyear tyres.

Near the top of the hill, before going to our house, we drove into a large pub car park that is also on a quite a severe slope when covered in snow. Nobody drives too far into this car park in the snow as there would be no chance of recovering your car easily. But this didn't put us off – we drove in at about 10-15mph and applied the amount of steering lock we would expect to use on a dry day to exit at the top end of the car park. Amazingly, the tyres gripped and tracked the route we were hoping to stick to without needing to apply any more steering lock - no skidding or scrabbling for grip.

Bottom line: we wanted some truly all-season tyres that wouldn't leave us stranded following a decent snowfall and that would give us total confidence to venture out in such conditions as well as being great in the wet and the dry – we can confirm these tyres are fantastic.

Some might say that all-season, winter-rated (3 peaks mountain snowflake on sidewall) tyres are a compromise; 90% grip of decent winter tyre in the snow and 90% grip of a decent summer tyre in warm weather but we feel these tyres are worth it for our needs. After all, we've not been left stranded in the snow (the main point of buying them) and neither of us drive like Ayrton Senna in the summer so this so-called ‘compromise' won't even be noticed.

Given the Goodyears' cost the same as the factory-fitted Michelin's (£90), don't need changing every 6 months like full winter tyres, no need to buy a 2nd set of steel wheels to mount the tyres, they likely won't leave you stuck in the snow, are confidence-inspiring in the cold and wet and will be prove more than good enough come the summer, I just don't see the point of buying ‘summer' tyres again.

My wife was skeptical after the Goodyear's were fitted – I mean, how could a different set of tyres not have her slithering to a stop on snow like the Michelin's near home and end up her having to walk it? Well, she drives the Golf all the time and drove the car in all the conditions / tests written above (hill starts, cornering and emergency stops on 6 inches of snow) and she says she never wants summer-rubber again and has insisted on another set of Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons when these wear out – praise indeed.