Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's - Big Problems

[WBRacing]

Not trying to rain on anyones parade but in the name of safety and awareness I thought I would share some experiences of a what should be considered premium tyre, the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3. My friend has them on her focus for around 4 years. In that time shes had to replace at least 4 of the tyres early due to some extremely concerning problems. 3 had to be replaced with huge (and multiple) bulges appearing in the side wall. It took ages for us to realise as they were all on the inside of the tyre, so not easy to spot - she had to replace 2 right then & there. It was thought to be a bad batch or just an unfortunate coincidence.

Then 6 months later another one suddenly developed some more bulges (multiple, again). Wondering what was going on.....The final nail in the coffin was having to replace another one that suddenly turned itself into a 50p piece, developing a massive flat spot across 1/2 the tyre width. It had to be seen to be believed.

These experiences drove me to do some research, and it seems these aren't isolated experiences; there seems to be a lot of different manufacturing sites for these tyres, with some having extremly poor quality control by the sounds of it.

See these links for an example.

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread. ... le+F1+Tyre

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=115488

http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249985

In summary for those thinking about changing tyres, I would consider other brands. If this can happen to one model of theirs it can happen to another. I used to be a big advocate of the F1 from my Cosworth days but after this, no longer. These days I am a fan of Michelin Pilot Sport 2 that have worked extremely well on my Porsche offering a fanstatic balance between wear and grip. They are quiet on the road (not as quiet as Pirelli P-Zero Neros admittadly but they wore very quickly).

Those with, I would suggest keeping a close eye on yours. Any odd vibrations and I would take them off and inspect them thoroughly.

There are some cracking review sites out there, I recently found http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/ which is an up and coming site and in the future (given more reviews) should be a very good resource. Pneus-Online also have some very good summaries: http://www.pneus-online.co.uk/public/st ... r18-A.html

[WBRacing]

A photo on the GTO thread linked to above shows exactly what happened to my friends car. The guy on that thread said they were two weeks old....

[Nige_RS4]

Bulges like that can be a result of a sloppy tyre fitter!

It's more likely that they are copies from China - it's a common problem in UK, especially if you buy from ebay and the likes. I was warned by Camskill about cheap GSD3s. He said make sure they have the E mark on them, but I guess even that can be copied. Best bet is to get them from a reliable supplier who you can trust. You may have to pay a bit more this way.

p.s. those tyres are more than a weeks old!

[chunky79]

That tyre also looks like it has been curbed on the inside, over the bulge and closer to the camera.

[Nige_RS4]

Maybe a coincidence .... http://www.rs246.com/index.php?name=PNp ... highlight=

[P_G]

I have to say that I have had four sets of Godyear F1's inclduing now the assymetricals on an S3. S4 and now RS4 and have had no issues with any of them, they are by far the best tyre I have had on all 3 cars for durability, grip and road noise levels.

I agree copies are an issue, bt if from a reputabl distributor and fited properly there shouldn't be any issues.

[bigandyw]

Same here, always had F1's, never had a problem, but then always brought from my mate at national tyres, even he said as long as they are brought from reputable dealer you should not have a problem in this country!

Chinese and eastern european manufacturered F1 have been big problem, they seem to turn up on cheaper tyre websites, and many people bring them in for fitting and he gives them the bad news!