Tire test by Car & Driver

[LT4man]

This month's issue of Car and Driver has a big comparo between the 06 ZO6 and the Viper. Guess who wins? Like there was any doubt!

Actually that is not the reason of this post. In the same issue is a comparison test of high-performance tires. Very good and thorough testing.

Did not surprise me at all. I have been using F1 GS D3's for over two years. Nice to see someone agree with me! :L

Save The Wave!

 

[Randy Eads]

Tires are on my agenda for my winter "fiddling" this year ..... How many miles are you getting outta your F-1's??

 

[ßill]

I put the F1 GS D3's on mine in July, I love them. They really stick, both wet and dry and they look COOL. I can't comment on ware yet, still look good.

 

[LT4man]

Tires are on my agenda for my winter "fiddling" this year ..... How many miles are you getting outta your F-1's??

I have over 10,000 miles on them. They still look brand new. People constantly ask me if I had them custom made! I am not kidding. The appearance of the tread is so aggressive and bold.

Goodyear had a website devoted to only the F1 tires. I am not sure if it is still up.

Save The Wave!

 

[JRMaroon]

How many miles are you getting outta your F-1's??

Only 6K miles on mine but they also look brand new. No kidding.
They look great and handle better. Not that I'm ever near the limit but I feel they talk to me better than the original equipment GSC's did. That is all I can compare them to but if you look at some of my past posts, I probably sound like a Goodyear rep when talking about these tires.

Jeff

 

[LT4man]

The article mentioned that while they were testing the wet traction, the drivers had a tendency to forget they were on wet roads. I feel the same about mine. They stick incredibly well on wet roads. I drive my Vette all the time, so, yes, I do drive it in the rain. Sticks like nothing else!

Save The Wave!

 

[Chris Kennedy]

One of the reasons I stopped subscribing to many of the auto magazines was because of "tests" like this one in Car and Driver. I read through it at a drug store last night, and it simply consisted of driving around Tire Rack's three-tenths of a mile track with sprinklers for the wet weather test. A real test would have been on real roads, with potholes and other imperfections, and real rain, complete with suddenly comming upon standing water a few inches deep, etc. I wonder if Tire Rack donated the tires, track and test vehicle to get some free advertising----for those of you who haven't seen it, there is a multi-page TireRack ad spread right in the middle of the article. Hmmmm....what a coincidence. Perhaps the test results were accurate under "controlled conditions", but when was the last time you controlled the weather, roads and other conditions of the world in which you drive?

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[Achilles]

It's only a test w/ driver's opinions. Like how often do you see a car accelerate into a concrete barrier like they do in crash tests?

They have to work off something. There is no perfect weather condition to please everyones geographic location. I'm sure it wasn't feasable for them to chase down a rain storm that met the criteria of the national average.

I respect your opinion Chris, but try not to take things so seriously.

 

[Chris Kennedy]

It's only a test w/ driver's opinions. Like how often do you see a car accelerate into a concrete barrier like they do in crash tests?

They have to work off something. There is no perfect weather condition to please everyones geographic location. I'm sure it wasn't feasable for them to chase down a rain storm that met the criteria of the national average.

I respect your opinion Chris, but try not to take things so seriously.

One way to structure a test would be to have an open road test and a track session. You're right about the difficulty of doing the "wet" test, although it could be conducted as was done, here, if there were no rain otherwise. You live in California (I used to--trying to get back to San Diego), and I know lots of good and pretty deserted roads which could be used for the open road part. Willow Springs could be used for the track test. All this is much better than just using TireRack's little 3/10ths of a mile track for everything----Car and Driver should be able to do better than that (although, maybe not, that's why I stopped reading them long ago). I mean, you know, it's sort of sad when you think how piddling a "test" they came up with given the expense of these tires.

Cheers,

/s/ Chris kennedy

 

[Achilles]

Willow Springs could be used for the track test. All this is much better than just using TireRack's little 3/10ths of a mile track for everything----Car and Driver should be able to do better than that (although, maybe not, that's why I stopped reading them long ago). I mean, you know, it's sort of sad when you think how piddling a "test" they came up with given the expense of these tires.

Cheers,

/s/ Chris kennedy

I agree, they could do more. I'm sure it all boils down to one thing...Money! IMHO, all road tests are like politicians, no matter what you do, you can't please everyone. I still like to read what they have to say, then I make up my own mind.

BTW, I live just a few minutes from Willow Springs.

 

[Moonunit 451]

One way to structure a test would be to have an open road test and a track session. You're right about the difficulty of doing the "wet" test, although it could be conducted as was done, here, if there were no rain otherwise. You live in California (I used to--trying to get back to San Diego), and I know lots of good and pretty deserted roads which could be used for the open road part. Willow Springs could be used for the track test. All this is much better than just using TireRack's little 3/10ths of a mile track for everything----Car and Driver should be able to do better than that (although, maybe not, that's why I stopped reading them long ago). I mean, you know, it's sort of sad when you think how piddling a "test" they came up with given the expense of these tires.

Cheers,

/s/ Chris kennedy

I don't read these magazines either. I bought mine on recomendations of friends, and I haven't been dissapointed

I installed them, 285's front and 315's rear in July 2004 brand new for the Pony Express 130, drove em on the run at 130 mph and sustained speeds in the 100 to 120 in very heavy rain on the run. These tires are absolutely awsome in the rain! I live in Oregon and my car is a daily driver, I see a lot of rain, and even after close to 20,000 mi. (and the rears are pretty shot, even though they still look OK) they are great in the rain. The fronts are still almost like new.

Additionally, I drove the car HARD, it's most grueling beating, on the road track at PIR this summer. The tires handled quite predictably and held the track pretty well. If I'd have put race tires on I surely would have held better and improved my times, but I probly would have blown my motor too. I need a baffled oil pan before I try that one again, my oil pressures were getting dangerously low on the final hard corner and all the way down the front straightaway :crazy Running 130-140 sustained was a cakewalk compared to the beating my baby took that day on the track!

 

[tlong]

F-1 GY

I have a 2.5 year 'trial' going on this brand. They are as hyped by Hib and Tire Rack and all the people here who have shod their ride with these.

My rears are gone after 25k. That's the only downside but my fault with the right peddle. The real value is in the traction. The way they vacuum the car to the road in the rain is a strange feeling. It would be hard to hydroplane these which is the concern with wide tires on a light car. Dry roads are a quiet, confident experience.

JRMaroon is picky. I said I loved them to him and all here. I still say they are the best tires for our cars at a relatively good price. We are not brainwashed masses that drank the Goodyear punch, Chris. In this case you don't pay for the name my friend. Trust yer buds!

 

[Chris Kennedy]

I have a 2.5 year 'trial' going on this brand. They are as hyped by Hib and Tire Rack and all the people here who have shod their ride with these.

My rears are gone after 25k. That's the only downside but my fault with the right peddle. The real value is in the traction. The way they vacuum the car to the road in the rain is a strange feeling. It would be hard to hydroplane these which is the concern with wide tires on a light car. Dry roads are a quiet, confident experience.

JRMaroon is picky. I said I loved them to him and all here. I still say they are the best tires for our cars at a relatively good price. We are not brainwashed masses that drank the Goodyear punch, Chris. In this case you don't pay for the name my friend. Trust yer buds!

Thanks! I've heard other good comments about these tires in the rain. Here in Houston, the problem is that we can get quick and torrential downpours and everything is flat and the roads don't drain well. So this is important and a sprinkler test on a short and smooth test track is pretty meaningless, and even the dry part of the test was pretty lame. Goodyear is sort of an odd brand, too. Some of their tires have been great, others are definately not, and I can't discern a pattern (e.g., the more a tire costs the better it is, etc.). Weird. Anyhow, these are definately a possibility when the time comes. Like many of us I enjoy looking at tires, reading tests etc. There are so many brands available today, too. I am thinking of contacting Tire Rack and suggesting they stock more of these brands. One I have been looking at is the Nitto 555.

/s/ Chris Kennedy

 

[MBDiagMan]

One of the reasons I stopped subscribing to many of the auto magazines was because of "tests" like this one in Car and Driver. I read through it at a drug store last night, and it simply consisted of driving around Tire Rack's three-tenths of a mile track with sprinklers for the wet weather test. A real test would have been on real roads, with potholes and other imperfections, and real rain, complete with suddenly comming upon standing water a few inches deep, etc. I wonder if Tire Rack donated the tires, track and test vehicle to get some free advertising----for those of you who haven't seen it, there is a multi-page TireRack ad spread right in the middle of the article. Hmmmm....what a coincidence. Perhaps the test results were accurate under "controlled conditions", but when was the last time you controlled the weather, roads and other conditions of the world in which you drive?

/s/ Chris Kennedy

I agree. All you have to do is follow the money. Where do such publications make their money, from subscription prices? No, they make their money from advertisers. It probably would not be good for your advertisers if you slam their product. In fact if your ethics allow you to do so, you can make more money by hyping their product whether it is any good or not.

 

[Black Bart]

I stopped reading C&D years ago and after reading that test It proves I was right. In that test they graded on price and wear.. Does anyone who buys a maximum performance tire really care about price and wear. If they do they should buy something other than a Max.performance tire. As far as goodyear goes About 15 years ago I bought them for one of my trucks and one was shaped like a football. When I tried to get goodyear to do something about it they said the problem was that I had it on a FORD and their tires would do that every time that you put them on a FORD.In the last 15 years my fleet has grown to the point that I now spend an enormous amount on tires but I would run them on the rims before I would buy a goodyear tire

 

[Dean Barker]

I have never been a GoodYear fan, but I bought a set last year for the the Corvette. Looking back, I think this is the first GoodYear tire that I have ever bought! I do like them even though I don't drive my car very hard.

 

[JEFNLSA]

Just put a set of 4 - 285/40/17'S (D3's) on mine. With all the hoopla, and the fact that I needed new tread, I just had to give them a shot.

Verdict....Love 'em!

Got rid of the spare tire/carrier at the same time. The look from the rear is BADA$$!

Will post some pics soon...

Jeff

 

[Louis Bartay]

In the past 7 years I have tried a lot different tires for both of our cars and the Michelin Pilot Sports had the best traction but they went bald faster than the
Good Years. The old Dunlop SP8000 was the best tire for the money until about 10,000 miles, plenty of tread but they were hard as a rock after so many heat cycles, soft uncured tires harden up at different rates. Try buying 275 front and 315 rear on my wifes TA and 255 and 285 for my Vette, both are daily drivers.We love our cars but I should buy stock in the tire companies.

 

[Redbob]

One of the reasons I stopped subscribing to many of the auto magazines was because of "tests" like this one in Car and Driver. ...it simply consisted of driving around Tire Rack's three-tenths of a mile track with sprinklers for the wet weather test. ...I wonder if Tire Rack donated the tires, track and test vehicle to get some free advertising----for those of you who haven't seen it, there is a multi-page TireRack ad spread right in the middle of the article. Hmmmm....what a coincidence.
/s/ Chris Kennedy

Sorta like the old radar detector "tests" C&D used to run, where "Escort" always took top honors.
Carp & Drivel never mentioned that their editor Patrick Bedard was racing a car totally sponsored by Escort, did they?

 

[Louis Bartay]

Hey redbob

I live in Ft. Worth, Texas and work in Dallas, where are you located as I am not sure where your city is. If you were close I would always like to meeta Corvette member. Lunch is on me and the wife if you are ever in our city.
Merry Christmas
Louis Bartay