Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyre Launch
October 31, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
One of the BMWs was fitted with European made Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, one had a Chinese made version of the same tyre and the third was shod with the RE050A. The SS was also equipped with European sourced Goodyears.
The point was to first notice the difference between the Bridgestones and the Goodyears and secondly, to see if there was any difference between the European and Chinese made variants (the SS was there for fun). Whilst the instructor was giving his speech, I checked all tyres for authenticity, there were no games here, and the RE050As were brand new and up to the correct pressure, just like the Goodyears.
I first jumped in the Bridgestone shod Bimmer, the interesting thing is; the RE050As are a great tyre, so great in fact that the likes of Aston Martin use them as a factory fit. So for Goodyear to come out with a tyre which is supposed to be better, is an achievement worth having an international launch over!
The half-track was rather simple, an easy left hander into a hard right followed by a swooping right and a hair pin right to push the tyres to their maximum potential.
On my first go, the Bridgestone rubber felt strong, apexes where hit, instructors were happy, so, I asked myself, what more can there be? Move on to the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric.
Let’s be fair here, the RE050A has been around for a while, so in car speak, it would be like comparing a 2006 model car to a brand new one. Not that I care, because at the end of the day, you must buy the tyre that best suits your needs and at the moment, that’s the Goodyear.
The difference between the RE050As and the Eagle F1s can be summed up rather easily, grip. Whilst the Bridgestones feel strong, the Eagle F1 Asymmetric is that extra noticeable step above the competition.
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Dear oh dear… Just as bad as Toyota’s ridiculous launches for for new products. What’s the go with the Manpower style doofusses with their shirts off dancing around? I’m sure that would’ve got all the tyre shop blokes excited! Hahaha…
I’ve only heard good things about these tyres, I have the RE050As on my car now, will see how the price compares when I get new tyres in December. How can you tell if they are made in China or Europe? I certainly would want to get the European ones.
Sounds like a great tyre but put the topless dancing promo guys up on the “WHAT WERE THEY THINKING” Wall
How much? I’ve got RE050As runflats on my car, however, they’re pretty exy. $700 per tyre
with the new age of esp,esc,vdc etc,really expensive tyres are now o.e.,or put on my people who really punt their cars hard…which leaves the other 80% of people putting on the ‘monthly special’.falken,hankook anybody!!
I recently got some goodyear eagle f1 tires, they are very expensive but worth every cent, the difference from the older generic brand is light and day, the car is quiter, feels a ton more stable on the roads and very secure in the wet.
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot
Tyre frollocking – The new olympic sport.
I’d be interested to see how these tyres go. I have a set of the GSD3’s and they’re pretty good, but very noisy and they run down quickly. Got a new set in Feb and there’s not much left of them. I did find though that the GSD3’s aren’t as good in the wet as I’d like.
Alborz, what was your cut? Perhaps you should be in marketing.
What bias!?!?
Where was my invitation?
I’ve heard, but don’t know if it is true that with esp and the like, these days that if you don’t have correct size tyre, and type of tyre as indicated by the manufacture that the insurance company can bail on you, is this true?
Golfy, don’t forget, we live in a whole other country….
Pierre, when you have the competitors tyres there to test against on the same cars, it’s not that hard to see the difference, in fact, if you actually read the article, you would notice I do praise the RE050s, they are one of my favourite tyres.
Andrew, insurance companies would need the car to be road worthy and kept to a required level. So having tyres which don’t meet the specifications can indeed void your insurance. Although not many tyre shops will fit tyres which are not going to meet the requirements cause they can get themselves into a lot of trouble too..
andrew,
the things that WILL bother insurance companys are wether you tyres are wider,are increased diameter,and have speed and load ratings less than the tyre placard on the car.but every insurance company’s different…so check with them first.which brand is open slather…
westnastraya, Karl?
Yes mate.
Wait Awhile!
how are you guys telling what variant of eagle f1’s you are running?
Equal rights…………finally!
Gosh thats all jolly interesting, Wonder if all those corolla drivers will be ripping round corners at 0.5km/h faster now.
a little academic for the humdrum of everyday motoring.
Funny how when you experience tread separation at 130km/hr, you get wary of some brands of tyres.
I’m kind of with John of Perth on this one. I learned very early in car ownership not to toucha. No toucha, no change-a. I’ve just replaced the Golf’s original hoops with Michelin Energy XM1s, with a minimum of research and no buggerising around with widths and profiles.
It could just as easily have been Goodyears. I figure that if I go Goodyear or Michelin, very little research is needed in the first place.
Andrew, I figure I might as well throw my 10c in too, for what it’s worth.
The situation you would have with an insurer with respect to a claim dispute resulting from you fitting different tyres – or making any non standard alteration for that matter – is largely dictated by section 28 of the Insurance Contracts Act. The insurer is basically entitled to reduce or deny your claim to the extent that they have been prejudiced by either your non-disclosure or misinformation (ie. if you don’t tell them something or just flagrantly lie.)
If you fit tyres that don’t meet the car’s minimum requirements, thus rendering it unroadworthy, the insurer can then deny your claim completely because they would not have insurer your car in the first place if they knew it was unroadworthy.
More likely however, assuming you fit tyres that are wider than the standard specification but still suitable for the given rim size, the insurer may have charged a slight additional premium if they knew. In this event, they can either demand you pay this additional amount on top of any applicable excess if you lodge a claim, or they can reduce this amount from the amount of the claim they pay out.
Some insurers flat out wouldn’t care either way if you fit 1 size wider tyres etc (providing it remains legal and roadworthy), even if they did know beforehand, and in that event you shouldn’t have any trouble.
Whatever happened to the Michelin Assymetric tyres developed in I think the 60’s. Michelin tyres at that stage were all radial which was just starting to be offered by manufacturers. The assymetric tread patterned tyre I think was offered on Citroen’s which Michelin owned or partly owned at that time.
I bought a set of these tyres size 245/35R19 in April 2009 for a FPV GT BA mk2. They cost over $800 each. Now after 10 months and only 7,000 kms of ordinary driving the near side rear has bubbled and apparently there is nothing I can do but replace it. The Good Year Auto care dealer basically says “tough!” It was suggested that maybe I ran over a pot hot, if that is the case why no bubble on the front. I would suggest that you stick to the Bridgestones and Michelins, the F1 aysemmetrics may be a little better in the handling department but very very extravagant at $800 per 7,000 kilometres.