Goodyear Eagle GTs

[CreepyPT]

Was wondering if anyone had any personal experience with these.
I'm considering repalcing my original tires with them, even though I hate the Badyears that were OEM. Since I'm getting them through work, our tech manager promised me that if I have any problems at all he'll make sure they are taken care of for me. So if I get a bad tire, or set of tires, he'll make sure they are replaced right away.
So, any thoughts?

[808]

My friend's friend tried them before and said they were "shitty." Now I don't know the full details of why he claimed that but they're into racing as far as I know.

[CreepyPT]

The biggest problem with tire reviews I've found is that you find a bunch of both sides, good and bad. A lot of it is what people expect from the tires,a nd what they get. From what I've read, if your friend's friend was racing, they probably weren't up to par for that, but I've read reviews from track racers that said they wanted tires that were all season, and ran well on a track too, and that they did well for it, especially for the price. Most of the complaints seemed to be noise, balance, snow traction...
If I get a set in better shape than the oem, that drive at least as well, I'll be happy. I really want Michelins, but they are much more pricey. Plus I drive, according to tire rack, "spiritedly", and all season performance tires seem to fit my bill.
My only real concern is warped/bad/defective issues. Since I'll by them where I work, I don;t expect to be screwed on it if I get a bad tire, or set. I'll definately be checking the date stamp on the tires before they are mounted.

[quicksilverdon]

Originally Posted by CreepyPT

I really want Michelins, but they are much more pricey.

What size? 15, 16 or 17"? In 17, you're right, but for 16, I got Michelin Hydroedge for less than Good-for-a-years - not that I would have bought them again...
My experience with GYs - too soft - in handling - they wear out too soon, and they're pricey.

[CYCLONE_06]

Yup, I would get some BF Goodrich All Season KDW tires. Thats what I bought, and I couldnt be happier. 215/50/17

~CYCLONE_06

[Chromenut]

Well, I've tried the GT's on several cars over the years and can tell you that they generally have a sidewall that's stiffer than the competition, which is good for hard cornering but makes the ride bumpy. I used to feel every little transition in road surface with them. Along with this, they used a sticky rubber compound, which along with the sidewall stiffening helped them have a tremendous time on the +g skidpad tests, but shortened their overall life expectancy.

Basically they were good tires, okay in the rain but not all season, and not great on long trips because they'd wear your backside out.

Now in 2008 Goodyear switched to an entirely new compound on the GT's, along with a more aggressive tread pattern, and now they are selling like hotcakes. If you can ever get one for under $100 it's a good buy. They are now way better in the wet than they used to be, and somewhat marginally better across the road. The old GT's got crappy mileage as they were such a soft/sticky compound. The new one's supposedly have an improved ride and, with care, can reach the 40k mile mark. I never could get more than 26k out of my GT's before.

Anyway, here's a really good write up from an acquaintance, he had me laughing about his review of the GT's, but still stayed fairly neutral throughout.

Speed Sport Life.

Here's a pic of the new GT:

[CreepyPT]

LMAO! That's one of the reviews I'd read already trying to find out about the tires! As far as BF Goodrich, my work doesn't carry them, so they are out of the equasion. The hydroedge were tempting, but I can't get a tireshop that can explain the composition stuff I read on the GY website, and a LOT of reviews, even good ones said that the Hydroedge were very noisy on anything other than a perfectly smooth road. Noise isn't one of my big concerns, but the wind noise on my Bella already drives my crazy running over 65.
Almost forgot: I am getting the 195/65/15s like the stock tires I have already. I had planned on getting some 205/70/15s with whitewalls, but time (and tread) is running out before winter. So financially I'm sticking with my options from work so I can save some $$ on the tires and services.

[Chromenut]

I can tell you that I've used lots of different tires and manufacturers over the years, and my favorite of all on my PT right now are the Falken Ziex ZE-912's. That led me to try the Falken mud/snow tires on my wifes truck and I like them better than the Michi's I had on before!

I drove to Indianapolis and then rode the Tail of the Dragon since buying these Ziex's and I couldn't be more happy with a tire. I get all four seasons, plus an unexpected performance edge. They are great over the road (10 hours each way to/from Indy), and great in the corners. I had them through heavy rain in the mountains outside of Charlottesville, WV, on my way back and they really held the road. For a discount tire, I am amazed at the level of perfromance I've got from these things and am a sworn Falken Family member now!!!

Falken Ziex ZE-912

[Matt42]

Originally Posted by CreepyPT

Was wondering if anyone had any personal experience with these.
I'm considering repalcing my original tires with them, even though I hate the Badyears that were OEM. Since I'm getting them through work, our tech manager promised me that if I have any problems at all he'll make sure they are taken care of for me. So if I get a bad tire, or set of tires, he'll make sure they are replaced right away.
So, any thoughts?

If the price is right, and if you live in a mild climate, and if you don't drive perpetually on the edge of adhesion, they may be OK. Having said that:

I've had three sets of Goodyear tires in my 40 years of driving. That ratio ought to say something. I never bought a set of them, they always came on a car I bought. The first came on a 1971 car. They were Polyglas belted, wore on the second rib from the outside on each side, handled like they had been injected with novocaine and were junk. I replaced them with Michelin. The second came on 1996 3/4 ton truck, they handled like they had been injected with novocaine, and were junk. One separated at 50 miles. Another separated at 13K miles. At 15K miles I replaced them with Michelin. About a month ago, I bought a used PT with Sears-Goodyear Weather-Handler tires. I am pleasantly surprised by them. I'll get back to you on whether I keep them or if they separate.

As for my using Michelin tires, I live in a hot and nasty climate where road surface temperatures will often reach 200F or more. Few brands of tires will stand up to that. In my experience, Michelin does the best. I do not have to deal with snow or ice except when I travel out of the local furnace. Rain is temporary but intense, and brings up lots of road oil.

Have I ever had a Michelin tire separate? Yes. In 1986, all four Michelin XZX tires on my Mazda 626 separated in Wyoming but did not come apart. I drove them back to Arizona, lumpily.

How many sets of Michelin tires have I owned? I would have to take off my shoes to count that high. I bought my first set in 1973 and rarely looked back. I took one brief excursion into Bridgestone in 1978, and went right back to Michelin when I sold that car the next year. The best I ever did was 79,000 miles on a set of zX tires on a 1980 Mazda GLC.

Are other brands of tires good? Certainly! This is just my experience. People in mild and cold climates report excellent experiences with tires I see pieces of along the sides of Arizona roads. My brother in Illinois gets many years and many miles out of Firestone Steeltex truck tires, and the thought of that makes my skin crawl. But he puts Michelin tires on his passenger cars.

Your mileage can and will vary. If you work at a tire shop, consider going with the tire you get the fewest returns on. I worked at an independent Goodyear store in my youth, and that's what I did. I didn't get a discount. I quit when the owner told me to install tube-type tires without the tubes, saying nobody would notice.

[quicksilverdon]

[QUOTE=CreepyPT;277881 The hydroedge were tempting, but I can't get a tireshop that can explain the composition stuff I read on the GY website, and a LOT of reviews, even good ones said that the Hydroedge were very noisy on anything other than a perfectly smooth road.[/QUOTE]
Really? Mine aren't noisy...