Each tire here has distinct advantages, where the Bridgestone WeatherPeak excels in performance and handling, especially in adverse conditions, while the Turanza QuietTrack leads in longevity and noise reduction, making it a top choice in grand touring tires.
Table of Contents
Key Takeaway
So overall the Bridgestone WeatherPeak (review) is better at:
- Dry and wet surface grip due to its unique void design and lighter weight.
- Handling, particularly in steering responsiveness and cornering performance.
- Winter performance, with its thermally adaptive compound.
- Hydroplaning resistance, thanks to its efficient water displacement design.
Whereas the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack (review) is pretty great in terms of:
- Tread longevity, owing to its durable construction and optimized contact patch.
- Noise comfort, with its QUIETTRACK technology.
- Snow traction, thanks to its ability to form snow-to-snow contact.
Info on Sizes
| Feature | Bridgestone QuietTrack | Bridgestone WeatherPeak |
|---|---|---|
| Wheel Size | 15 to 20 inches | 15 to 20 inches |
| Speed Ratings | H and V only | T, H, and V |
| Load Ratings | SL and XL | SL and XL |
| Tread Depth | 9 to 10/32″ | 10/32″ on all |
| Weight Range | 19 to 33 lbs | 17 to 30 lbs |
| Warranty | 80k miles | 70k miles |
| UTQG Rating | 800 A A | 700 A A |
| Winter Ratings | Only M+S | Both M+S and 3PMSF |
Tread Longevity
Three critical factors influence the longevity of tire tread: tread depth, compound composition, and total construction weight.
And here the Turanza QuietTrack notably surpasses its little brother, offering much longer tread life. In fact I rated this tire as the best here, when it comes to top grand touring tires. See for yourself here: https://tiredriver.com/best-grand-touring-all-season-tires/
So what makes Turanza so good here? Well this is attributed to its durable construction, where it utilizes compounds that are tougher and more “heat-resistant”. While I can’t disclose the exact composition the tire offers, let’s just say, it contains a higher concentration of carbon black, serving as a reinforcing filler.
Moreover, the tire’s design includes a single-layer polyester casing, which reduces the weight exerted on the tire’s lugs during road contact, consequently lowering wear. This means the rubber experiences less pressure against the ground, compared to other models.
And yes speaking of weight, its contact patch is also very much optimized, which basically allows its weight to be spread out across its tread more evenly. Meaning, its not that prone to different kinds of weird wear patterns too.
In contrast, the Bridgestone WeatherPeak sacrifices some tread life for enhanced snow traction, particularly.
I mean although it features thermally adaptive rubber that keeps its lugs flexible in cold conditions, this pliability also makes the rubber more susceptible to quicker wear.
But yes, its performance is not that bad (for a all-weather tire, that is). That’s why it only comes with 10k less miles warranty in comparison here.
Dry Performance
A tire’s performance over dry surfaces is chiefly governed by its acceleration, braking capacity, cornering techniques, and steering reaction. Let’s analyze these aspects separately.
Directional Grip
The effectiveness of a tire’s directional grip hinges on several critical factors. These include the tread composition, the amount of rubber in contact with the road surface, tire weight, and rolling resistance. Taking these into account, the Bridgestone WeatherPeak stands out as a superior choice.
Despite having a significant number of voids, which might seem to reduce the contact patch, the WeatherPeak’s design actually enhances grip. This is due to the voids functioning as in-groove notches.
And since they vary in angle from rib to rib, they further add to the overall traction too (and not just directional grip).
Additionally, the tire is comparatively lighter too. And this reduced weight results in lower momentum inertia when the tire is in motion, especially at high speeds. Consequently, it is easier to bring the vehicle to a stop.
In contrast, the Turanza QuietTrack, while not quite at the same level, still performs impressively. I mean despite its relatively a lot more aggressive tread pattern, it only falls short here by a very small margin (only less than half of a feet on averaged 60 to 0 mph tests).
Overall Handling
Cornering performance is primarily influenced by two factors: the tire’s lateral grip and its steering responsiveness.
Now, both the tires in question here, deliver comparably strong lateral grip, as evidenced by them showing almost similar lateral G-forces, on my conducted tests.
However, a noticeable difference emerges in steering feedback, with the WeatherPeak demonstrating superior performance. And so it provides a whole second faster dry handling times (on average) on lap tests.
But why QuietTrack’s steering response is lagging relatively? Well this is because of the tire’s greater weight.
This added weight places more strain on the tire lugs as they flex against the road surface. And this increased stress impacts the tire’s ability to balance oversteering and understeering effectively, resulting in a delayed output to steering inputs.
Wet Traction
A tire’s performance in wet conditions is largely dependent on its ability to efficiently displace water from the tread, a function primarily managed by its sipes and grooves. Let me explain why.
So grooves are responsible for removing the majority of the water, while sipes, or small slits in the tread, play a crucial role in removing residual water by creating vacuum zones. The effectiveness of these sipes is greatly influenced by their flexibility, which is necessary for generating suction.
In this context, the Bridgestone WeatherPeak takes the lead, literally, as it showcases 2-second faster handling times in my lap tests (on average).
This superior performance of this all-weather tire, is attributed to its densely packed sipes, designed to maintain flexibility even under the stress of intense cornering.
And this flexibility is further supported by the tire’s softer tread composition, enhancing both wet traction and steering response.
On the flip side, the Turanza QuietTrack lags slightly behind and it makes sense too as its design predominantly features linear sipes, which are less efficient at creating suction.
I mean, combined with a more rigid rubber blend, this results in reduced sipe flexibility, subsequently affecting its overall performance in wet conditions.
Aquaplaning Resistance
Hydroplaning, or aquaplaning, occurs when a tire is unable to effectively displace water from its main grooves, leading to a loss of traction as the tire skims/floats over the water’s surface.
So in a way, hydroplaning is the synonym of floating, in the tire world.
While most tires are designed with grooves to channel water away (except for specialized tires like those used in Formula One), the effectiveness of this feature isn’t just about the presence of grooves; it’s about the efficiency and speed at which the water is expelled.
This is where the concept of “float speeds” comes in, indicating the velocity at which a tire can travel over water without hydroplaning.
Now the Bridgestone WeatherPeak demonstrates exceptional performance in this regard.
This is because its design incorporates well-spaced lugs and clear channels for water to flow, both straight through and to the sides, allowing for rapid and efficient water displacement.
Additionally, the composition of the WeatherPeak plays a role in its hydroplaning resistance. Its relatively more flexible tread compound creates a greater negative pressure, pushing out more water quicker.
Winter Performance
In winter conditions, while the Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack is an appreciable performer, it falls short when compared to all weather tires.
I mean sure it offers adequate traction on snow (saying this from my conducted tests), but it tends to understeer, particularly on ice, where its front wheels struggle to maintain grip.
Conversely, the WeatherPeak stands out as one of my top choices in its grand touring all-season category for winter performance.
This tire, distinguished by its 3-peak mountain snowflake rating, excels in traction, especially in colder temperatures where its thermally adaptive rubber compound ensures that its rubber and biters could remain flexible even when temperatures drop below 7°C (44.6°F) unlike the QuietTrack.
Moreover, WeatherPeak’s more robust longitudinal and lateral slits are engineered for optimal snow-to-snow contact. While its more pronounced slanted voids are adept at scooping and ejecting snow, thereby enhancing acceleration in snowy roads too.
Overall Ride Comfort
The comfort of a ride is deeply connected to a tire’s capacity to mitigate road bumps and minimize noise. Let’s explore these aspects one by one.
Road Smoothness
Road smoothness depends on tire’s ability to cushion road bumps effectively. This means you need just the kind of internal and outer construction for optimal performance here.
Therefore, the Bridgestone WeatherPeak, with its more pliable rubber composition, excels in offering a more comfortable ride.
From my subjective testing, it effectively absorbs the jolts from road anomalies like potholes and cracks, coming out with relatively greater comfort scores, by significantly reducing vibrations caused by uneven road surfaces.
In contrast, the Turanza QuietTrack, constructed with harder rubber and reinforced with stiffer nylon cap plies, is less effective in cushioning bumps. Though it does offer a quieter ride, no doubt about that. See below.
Noise Comfort
In terms of noise production, the Bridgestone WeatherPeak tends to be somewhat noisier compared to its counterpart. And the root of this extra noise primarily lies in the tire’s tread pattern. Let me explain.
So majority of noise is casused by air. I mean as the tire rolls, air gets compressed in and out of the tire, primarily through shoulder voids, and cause a lot of different kinds of unwanted sounds included in-groove resonance (echoing).
And in case of WeatherPeak, this results in a distinct, albeit faint, high-frequency sound accompanied by a low hum.
Now sure, this noise level is generally low, it becomes more noticeable when compared to its competitor.
On the other hand, the Bridgestone Turanza, equipped with QUIETTRACK technology, employs a variable pitch tread and special polymers, which contribute to a significantly quieter ride.
The variable pitch design allows air particles to interact with varying sections of the tread, generating different sound frequencies that effectively cancel each other out.
Additionally, the embedded polymers help to absorb these sound waves, greatly diminishing resonance within the tread.
Summing It All Up
Ultimately, it’s challenging to declare a definitive winner, as each tire shines in different performance aspects.
The WeatherPeak demonstrates superior grip and handling on both dry and wet surfaces, owing to its unique void design, lighter weight, and sipe flexibility.
This tire excels in hydroplaning resistance and winter performance, featuring a thermally adaptive rubber compound and a design optimized for snow traction.
On the other hand, the Turanza while slightly inferior in grip and handling due to its heavier weight and less flexible sipes, stands out in tread longevity and noise comfort, attributed to its durable construction and QUIETTRACK technology.
But yes, it lacks to Bridgestone’s tire in terms of impact comfort performance.
