Eagle F1 GS-D3 special

[PGT]

PGT could try all the different GS-D3's and install them on his car, then figure out which he likes best and what has the stiffest sidewall. :lol:

 

It could happen!!!!

 

PGT-

Don't you have a set of these tires?

What do you think about them? How about the problem of sidewall bubbling? Ever seen it, heard of it? How do you like the handling on dry and wet?

 

I've got 215/45/17 F1's on the MINI and had 245/35/18 F1's on the LGT (just sold). They are great and I plan on buying another set for the next wheels I buy.

[mlrtime]

I know nothing about tires, would these be a good upgrade for someone who just drives "spiritedly" but doesn't put a lot of miles on?

 

I assume I'd have to switch these out in the winter to some snow tires?

[PGT]

yes and yes.

[mlrtime]

Guess I'll wait till they drop back to $95, someone bump if you see them.

[rexster]

ehhh...call me crazy, but it's sidewall that bears the load. What do I know?

 

with conventional tires the load is distributed via air pressure. if the load were in fact bore by the sidewalls, getting a flat would be no big deal. some run flats work this way.

 

anyway, the XLs are on my car now and the sidewalls are pretty soft. but they're still a great tire.

[PGT]

umm...yeah. That's common sense. That being said, some tires have a very stiff sidewall...either for response or for load or for both.

[mlrtime]

Just called they said 6-8 weeks before the SR is in stock.

[riscy]

For those of you that did get the $95 price, I'd be interested in verifying that you got the SL rated tires, not the XL rated tires...

 

Well, it looks like two of my tires on the UPS truck for delivery and the other two are still at UPS. Whatever!

 

I'll let you know what shows up (if they'll even deliver without a signature) but I rodered XLs and that's what had better show up

[GuyGanj]

First Place

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3

http://www.caranddriver.com/assets/image/2005/Q4/1102200516315044.jpgAs an all-around high-performance tire, you can't beat this Goodyear. It was the best performer in all three wet-track tests and was very competent in the dry. It generated 0.94 g on the dry skidpad, only 0.01 g off the first-place BFGoodrich and tied with the Yokohama and Hankook.

The Goodyear gripped so well that you might not have been certain the road was wet, and it lost traction in a gentle, predictable manner. It held onto the wet track with 0.82 g of stick, an impressive figure considering the worst tire in that test made only 0.67 g.

The Eagle F1 got a lot of favorable comments. In the wet, Geswein called it "direct"—a way of saying the tire provided clear signals about its contact with the pavement.

There were tires that performed better in the dry, but the Eagle wasn't far off. It was a little less precise than the BFG and Yokohama on a dry track, but not by much. And like the Continental, the Goodyear had a high 280 tread-wear grade. At $145 each, it's $34 cheaper than the most expensive tire here.

One thing to keep in mind about the imprints we carefully obtained is that a tire's contact patch changes dramatically as it is loaded, so these prints are not accurate representations of the amount of rubber that each tire puts on the road while cornering or braking.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 Typical selling price $145

Service designation* 91Y

UTQG tread-wear grade 280

Weight, lb 24.0

 

Dimensions Section width, in** 8.9

Tread depth, 32/in 11

Diameter, in 24.9 * The number, which in the case of these tires ranges from 90 to 94, is the load rating of the tire. The higher the number, the more weight the tire can carry. The letter is the speed rating: "W" for up to 168 mph and "Y" for 186 mph.

** Measured on a 7.5-inch-wide wheel.

OVERALL SCORE

Goodyear: 1050.4

Continental: 1031.9

Yokohama: 1027.0

Michelin: 1018.7

Hankook: 1015.4

Dunlop: 1002.2

Pirelli: 1002.1

Toyo: 999.7

Bridgestone: 993.9

BFGoodrich: 993.0

Kumho: 990.7

Max points

dry performance (x2): 600

wet performance: 300

price: 100

tread wear: 100

total possible: 1100

 

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....ticle_id=10252

[hal9e3]

riscy, you owe me $460!!! Seriously, I replaced my RE92s with Toyo T1Rs back in the summer and have never been happy with them. Hopefully the F1s will be more to my liking. For you T1R fans out there look for a set with ~10K on them coming soon to a Member Classifieds forum near you!

[riscy]

riscy, you owe me $460!!!

Hey, man -- I'm not the dealer, just the connection

 

The good news is that all 4 of my XL tires were waiting for me when I got home tonight!!

 

Boy, the last set of tires I bought was for my 94 Trans Am -- these things are tiny by comparison! I hope they'll hold me for another year or two while I save up for some big 18x8.5 beasts.

 

ANYthing is better than those POS stock tires!!

[RippinRoo]

The good news is that all 4 of my XL tires were waiting for me when I got home tonight!!

 

Excellent news!! Sounds like it's time to give the tirerack a call again... "We ran out of the SLs which were $95, so now we only have XLs for $135..." pshaw!

[hal9e3]

riscy, you owe me $460!!! Seriously, I replaced my RE92s with Toyo T1Rs back in the summer and have never been happy with them. Hopefully the F1s will be more to my liking. For you T1R fans out there look for a set with ~10K on them coming soon to a Member Classifieds forum near you!

 

Ordered on 4/13, TR said they were out of stock until 4/20 but they ended up shipping on 4/14 and arrived on 4/17. Got them put on last week and picked up the car on 4/22. Too early to provide much feedback. They seem a little noisier than the T1Rs. More impressions after they break in. BTW I received the XLs for the $95. I assume they're the XLs anyway - the invoice says XL and the tire says 'Extra Load'. I couldn't find an XL designator anywhere on the tire. Finally, my T1R ad is up in Member Classifieds if anyone's interested.

[riscy]

Ordered on 4/13, TR said they were out of stock until 4/20 but they ended up shipping on 4/14 and arrived on 4/17. Got them put on last week and picked up the car on 4/22. Too early to provide much feedback. They seem a little noisier than the T1Rs. More impressions after they break in. BTW I received the XLs for the $95. I assume they're the XLs anyway - the invoice says XL and the tire says 'Extra Load'. I couldn't find an XL designator anywhere on the tire. Finally, my T1R ad is up in Member Classifieds if anyone's interested.

 

I, too, assumed that the "Extra Load" meant XL!

 

EDIT: Mine are being installed tomorrow, along with a SPEC 3+ clutch. Since they both have a 450 mile break-in period I"ll have to be a good boy for awhile. *sniff*

[hal9e3]

Well, I've had my F1s on for a little while and I must say I'm very impressed. As an example I compared the tires' response when driving into a tight 270 degree plus uphill freeway exit. On the T1Rs as I braked and turned in I could feel the fronts losing traction. Not a sphincter-shrinking loss of traction mind you but enough to to say 'knock that %^$ off'. With the F1s I delayed my braking slightly longer and when I turned in not only was there no loss of traction but the turnin was so sharp I almost went up the inside curbing! WRT wet performance just yesterday I drove quite a ways in a fairly strong downpour and at no time did I feel any hydroplaning or loss of traction. Mind you I (thankfully) didn't have to test the F1's maximum cornering/braking traction but I still felt more secure than I did with the T1Rs. I know the special is over but frankly with both tires selling for about the same price it's no contest - F1s FTW!!!

[riscy]

Ditto for me. I just got back from an 800+ mile trip and these tires are awesome!

 

I had identical experiences/reactions as hal9e3 but I would add one more item: stability is fantasic compared to stock. Dramatically reduces swaing on the interstate and in wind and mouch less pogoing/shimmiing when hitting bumps. Sidewalls are dfinitely stiffer so there's a little more harshness than stock, but the overall effect is much more stabile and responsive.

 

I can't wait 'til they wear out and I can get a set of 235 18s!

[hal9e3]

Good point about the sidewall stiffness. In fact, the dealer that was supposed to do the tire swap on my LGT had to send the car to their other local dealership because they said their tire mounter couldn't handle the stiff sidewalls. They also said RE92s are no problem for them.

[godwhomismike]

I would love to get a set of these.

 

These will be my next set of tires.

[Max Rebo]

I wouldn't touch these tires again if someone paid me. These came stock on my former Golf R32 (225/40-18). Sure, they're fairly sticky and great in the rain, but the sidewall is just way too soft. Completely unacceptable for a hi-performance street tire. Taking turns at just a moderate speed would make the sidewalls roll over. Also, your chances of getting a sidewall bubble are greater. Tons of R32 owners had to deal with sidewall bubbles and/or bent wheels -- tires with an apparent XL load rating as well.

 

FWIW, it could have been a bad batch. It happened to me as well. I ran over a small hole in the road which was not quite big enough to be a pothole, but it was enough to bubble one of my sidewalls. When you see people switch to a different brand or tire model and not experience the same problem again, you have to wonder.

 

My $0.02.

YMMV

 

EDIT: I noticed that some folks here are reporting that the F1s have *stiffer* sidewalls than the stock tires. I'm not sure about RE92's, as I've never driven on them, but the F1s on my old R32 were 100% softer than my stock RE050A tires.

 

I wonder if Goodyear has remedied the sidewall issue? ...

[dark_templer_102]

i've notied that Golf Owners keep compaing about the F1s while mostly everyone else likes them (well some Evo owner's dont) I've heard the F1s Gold owners get are different in some way. One big one i've heard is that they aren't made in Germany but in America. The Eagles i have are made in germany...well the side wall says so

[riscy]

I wonder if Goodyear has remedied the sidewall issue? ...

 

Wow, I gotta think that they have... I am not experienceing much if any rollover. You can definitely feel the stiffness when running over potholes and expansion joints, etc. There is noticably less squat on launches.

 

I've owned 3 series BMWs and 90s model Trans Ams and I would have to say that these F1s are somewhere in between in terms of stiffness.

 

I took a turn coming to work today that, with the stock tires, I would wallow/slide out into the oncoming lane. The F1s stuck like crazy and I was able to hold the line that my gut always told me the car could do.

 

I am extremely happy with them, but hey -- to each his/her own!

[riscy]

i've notied that Golf Owners keep compaing about the F1s while mostly everyone else likes them (well some Evo owner's dont) I've heard the F1s Gold owners get are different in some way. One big one i've heard is that they aren't made in Germany but in America. The Eagles i have are made in germany...well the side wall says so

 

Yeh, there are deinitely a lot of "custom" tires being made for the auto manufacturers out there. They'll have codes in the name of the tire to indicate a specific application (you can find them all over Tire Rack). Could be that's the problem...

[praedet]

I think that people are also actually putting in the recommended psi on the Goodyear's, where as they were't monitoring the RE-92s. That accounts for the comments saying they hold better and are stiffer over bumps..."

 

Ted

[Max Rebo]

Yeh, there are deinitely a lot of "custom" tires being made for the auto manufacturers out there. They'll have codes in the name of the tire to indicate a specific application (you can find them all over Tire Rack). Could be that's the problem...

 

I hadn't thought of this ^^^^^.

 

Maybe the F1 GS-D3 was mad a bit differently for the R32. Even inflated to 40+ psi, the sidewalls still rolled over.

 

If everyone is saying the "aftermarket" version is much better, then perhaps they're worth another look...

 

Until then, I'm running on Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires. Good stuff, I must say.

[hadvw]

Just wanted to thank everyone for posting this! I hit a pothole on Wednesday and blew out both right-side RE-92s (~20K miles on 'em). Wanted new tires, but it's not like money grows on trees - was going to stick with the RE-92s until they wore out.

 

Thanks to this info, was able to get really good tires for $88 - $25 ($100 gift card) = $63. Means that for around $400 installed, I got some really nice tires. Hopefully they'll be ok with chains in the winter if we ever do go to Tahoe..

 

Even if not, these are SO much nicer than the Kumhos that I could have got for $63/tire. 99.5% of my driving is dry or wet, so hopefully these tires rock as much as everyone says they do!

 

HV