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Last updated 8/05/2024 - Originally published 8/05/2024
Written by SimpleTire
Ever since pneumatic tires were invented well over a century ago, the worry in the back of every driver’s mind has been tire failure. A blowout or failed tire at highway speed can be stressful at best and disastrous at worst, not to mention leaving a driver with a ruined, shredded tire that can’t be repaired, along with the hassle of putting the vehicle on a jack by the side of the highway and mounting the spare to get on one’s way again.
One of the biggest innovations in the tire world in the last 20 or so years has been the advent of the run-flat tire. Run-flat tires feature a reinforced sidewall or other internal structures that can support the vehicle’s entire weight in the event of a tire failure. That means a driver can go up to another 50 miles at up to 50 mph even after a complete loss of inflation pressure without overheating the tire or causing further tire damage. That’s all without any significant changes in ride quality, noise levels, handling, or road manners, and the Bridgestone DriveGuard family of tires comes complete with several innovations, advanced features, and high quality, one such technology being NanoProTech that creates the stiff, heat-resistant material used here. This Bridgestone series is all about confidence and peace of mind for drivers, and it makes even more sense when you remember that more and more automakers are no longer including a spare tire with new vehicles. While a high-tech cooling fin design and reinforced sidewall rubber enable the tires to redistribute friction and heat caused by a puncture, Bridgestone offers drivers a 90-day Buy and Try guarantee. Let’s take a look at what each of the Bridgestone DriveGuard family of tires brings to the game:
Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus
The DriveGuard Plus from Bridgestone is their Grand Touring entry in the DriveGuard series of run-flat tires. The DriveGuard Plus features an asymmetric all-season tread that’s optimized for wet, dry or light wintry conditions; the inboard side of the tread is tuned to reduce road noise, vibrations, and harshness for a quiet and forgiving ride for passengers and drivers. Open shoulder slots and full-depth main grooves work as a system to resist hydroplaning by draining and rerouting standing water away from the tire’s tread footprint, and an optimized contact patch puts more rubber in contact with the road for enhanced handling, braking and wear properties. Full-depth 3D sipes are useful for strong dry and wet traction as well as longer wear. Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus receives a 65,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty. SimpleTire’s SimpleScore ratings for the Bridgestone DriveGuard Plus are quite strong, with a 9.6 for traction, 9.6 for handling, 9.3 for longevity, and an overall average SimpleScore of 9.5.
Bridgestone DriveGuard
The DriveGuard is Bridgestone’s all-season entry in the DriveGuard family, with a silica-enhanced tread formulation that’s designed for long, even wear and dependable traction in wet weather. Its all-season tread includes circumferential and angled grooves to resist hydroplaning and a strategically-placed system of carefully-engineered sipes to multiply the tread’s surface area for traction in wet or wintry conditions. Internal construction of the DriveGuard includes a rayon cord casing topped by twin steel belts and a spiral wound nylon cap ply, and of course it features the exclusive DriveGuard technology of the Nano Pro-Tech Sidewall compound, reinforced in case of tire failure. Bridgestone’s Cooling Fins help to disperse heat buildup and bridge run-flat design with lighter-weight construction and zero compromise in ride quality or handling. Bridgestone DriveGuard is covered by Bridgestone with a 60,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty for H-, T- and V-rated sizes and a 50,000 mile warranty for W-rated sizes. SimpleTire’s SimpleScore ratings for the DriveGuard are 9.2 for traction, 9.2 for handling, and 8.3 for longevity, with an overall average SimpleScore of 8.9.