Goodyear UltraGrip Tires

Winter driving in snow and ice puts a unique set of stresses and demands on tires (and drivers), and in most cases, all-season tires will fall short of being able to get the job done dependably. While all-season tires are designed for year-round traction (at least on paper), unless they have the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, they usually will not be able to deliver the kind of control, braking and traction that you need to safely navigate deep snow, slush and ice on the roads. That’s where purpose-built winter tires come in.

Vehicles have come a long way in the last 30 years, and winter tires have been evolving right alongside them. Today’s winter tires are a long way from the heavy, clunky, noisy “snow tires” or “mud grips” that were on your dad’s Ford wagon in the 70s – today’s winter tires like the Goodyear UltraGrip family are designed for the kind of handling, road manners, braking and ride quality you’d expect from all-season or Grand Touring tires, but with confident grip in some of the worst winter road conditions. Goodyear’s UltraGrip tires are actually the tire of choice for confident winter traction and handling on many law enforcement vehicles, an application where the bar is set quite high for performance.

With advanced tread compound chemistry, next-generation tread design features, durable internal construction and state-of-the-art materials, Goodyear’s UltraGrip tires are the gold standard for performance, quality and value in winter tires. UltraGrip tires have the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service.

Let’s get a look at what the Goodyear UltraGrip tire family has to offer:

Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance

Designed for SUVs and crossovers, the Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance starts off with an advanced tread compound that blends silica, carbon black and polymers for flexibility and dependable grip in subfreezing conditions. Its tread features a directional design with sweeping grooves and subgrooves that resist hydroplaning on wet or slushy roads by quickly routing water away from the tire’s contact patch. Road noise is kept to a minimum with a tread design that’s randomized and computer-tuned to neutralize certain frequencies and overtones

A dense network of sipes multiplies the tire’s contact area and traction by adding hundreds of hair-thin biting edges that slice through snow and slush with ease. Like all winter tires, the tread compound of the Goodyear Ultra Grip 8 Performance is softer for traction in cold weather but will wear quickly on warmer days. Goodyear advises against using the Ultra Grip 8 Performance if temperatures are above 40-45 degrees F.

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3 is a winter tire designed for sedans, coupes, minivans and crossovers and employs Goodyear’s v-TRED design package, a system of directional arrow-shaped grooves and sipes that divert water and slush away from the tire’s contact patch for reliable grip and resistance to hydroplaning. Its high-performance winter tread compound is designed for easy control and excellent traction in subfreezing weather, and the high-blade density of its network of sipes gives the Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3 a real leg up when dealing with snow and slush on the roads. Reinforced shoulder blocks give the Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3 excellent cornering stability and braking performance, and its built-in rim flange helps protect wheels and sidewalls against curb scuffs and abrasions. Like all winter tires, the tread compound of the Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3 is softer for traction in cold weather, but will wear quickly on warmer days. Goodyear advises against using the Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3 if temperatures are above 40-45 degrees F.

Other Goodyear Ultra Grip tires

In addition to the above tires, the Goodyear UltraGrip family of tires also includes the:

• Eagle Ultra Grip GW-2: Directional tread features strategically-angled sipes and special tread block geometry for consistent control, acceleration, handling and braking on snowy pavement
• Ultra Grip 9+: WeatherGrip technology combines a directional tread pattern for aggressive traction and Goodyear’s high-elasticity winter tread compound for improved durability and longer mileage
• Ultra Grip Performance+ SUV: Features include a rim protector flange to guard sidewall and wheel against curb damage and scuffs, and Traction Protect Technology that transmits braking forces to the tread faster for shorter braking distances
• Ultra Grip Performance+: Features WeatherGrip technology, Traction Protect package from the Ultra Grip Performance+ SUV, rim protector and directional tread with innovative crosshatch design in center tread blocks
• Ultra Grip+ SUV: Features rim protector, WeatherGrip technology, directional tread pattern, optimized rubber compound, and is 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake certified for severe winter service
• Ultra Grip Performance SUV Gen-1: Directional tread pattern with interlocking sipe design and hydrodynamic grooves, including circumferential grooves that evacuate water from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning, block activators for enhanced grip on ice, and built-in tread wear indicators show the level of wear and tear on the tire.
• Ultra Grip Performance+ SCT: Directional tread with innovative crosshatch grooves, Traction Protect package, Weather Grip technology for tread design and rubber formulation, built-in rim protector flange, 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service
• Ultra Grip Performance Gen-1 ROF: Block activators designed for enhanced grip on ice and snow, tread wear indicators molded into tread, interlocking sipes for snow traction, directional tread with hydrodynamic grooves and Run-On-Flat design that allows a driver to go up to another 50 miles at 50 mph even in the event of complete loss of inflation pressure
• Ultra Grip Performance Gen-1: Block activators designed for enhanced grip on ice and snow, tread wear indicators molded into tread, interlocking sipes for snow traction, directional tread with hydrodynamic grooves