Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics fitted...

[MrT]

Just put a pair of 225/45-R17 Goodyear F1As on the front at 24k miles (Exclusiv CDTi 150 facelift) - rear 215/50-R17 NCT5s still about 4mm left, so maybe the whole set will need replacing next time round.

Now before I get going about these, in my experience just about any new tyre on the front will feel lighter and give better grip because of the sudden switch from 1.6mm to 7mm of tread depth. I'd add to that 'sound quieter' but would undoubtedly get someone who fitted mud/snow/studded tyres correcting me...

However, here are a few things of note comparing F1A to NCT5 on my car, in no particular order (but roughly pro then con):-

• A lot less noticeable road noise from front - road/tyre noise now much more pronounced at rear due to drop in front 'drone' (apparently there's a much better pitching sequence for the tread blocks)
• More direct feel to steering ('Active Cornergrip Technology')
• Much better wet grip - I remember spinning the NCT5s at 60/3rd on a wet slip-road when a couple of months from new (mind you, that was on the northbound Chester-le-Street/A1 junction, and the run-off from the road there makes it like driving through a ford at places) - wet grip is so much better in reviews than other brands (Bridgestone 50's tend to pip them slightly in the dry, but hey, this is Britain and I'm shortly moving to Durham so it's definitely 'wellies on' time!)
• No loss of comfort despite reinforced sidewalls (NCT5 are 91W, F1A are 94Y) - standard springs/dampers on Exclusiv model
• Despite this, they actually ride potholes better too
• If anything, better protection for alloys than with NCT5 - there's a good 5mm offset in from sidewall to rim (NCT5 sidewall is more rounded, so it's difficult to tell without getting silly with callipers and straight edges)
• Better look to tyre when fitted - more square-shouldered
• Looks more 'Q' than GSD-3 - does the non-V tread pattern suit a sensible, untricked, non-sports cruiser? It's horses for courses and definitely a personal choice!
• Slightly lower (okay, so that's stretching the point - who notices <5mm drop?!)

-

• More tendency to tramline - trade-off for better directional feel
• likely to last less miles (two reasons: OEM tyres tend to last better anyway, but the Traction is 'AA' on F1A, cf. 'A' on NCT5 = softer compound: Treadware and Temperature match at '240' and 'A') - trade-off for much better grip
• speedo is about 1.5mph higher for same road speed (as measured by satnav). As a general note, most accurate speedo I've experienced on a stock out-of-showroom car was a Citroen Xantia - my wife's 206 is also v.close at 70mph (reads 71mph) on the same satnav that now reads my Vec at 10% high, but used to read it about 8% high on NCT5. This is still legal, but only just!
• Until the rears are done, my car is now slightly nose-down which is most noticeable when driving at night - lights cannot raise enough to compensate using the electric adjusters!
• The gap to the arch is more noticeable, but isn't like those cross-over sports/off-road motorcycles or anything that's been lifted like a 4x4 Transit...

HTH guys - get back to me with any Q's!

BTW, anyone know what I should ask for when talking to dealers regarding recalibrating speedo? IIRC it's a TECH2 trick - telling the car it rolls on 17s instead of 16s is a start (Plus Pack fitted from new - why isn't this done at factory??). I presume it's something like entering the tyre size and letting the computers do the sums.

[rushy]

You wont need to recalibrate. Its not actually a 5 mm difference. Its something like a percentage of the width or something and as you have gone wider the profile is almost the same. Only something like 5mph over at 60 so your actually only doing 55. HTH

[gtr1000]

Exactly the same situation I'm in. NCTs on rear still OK with approx 4mm left but the NCTs on the front will need looking at soon.

Yes, I too have considered the F1's but am also looking clsoely at the Goodyear Excellence and the new Optigrip just launched.

A lot rave about Falkens but I've one or two reservations having had the 912's on another 200 bhp motor just under 12 months ago - noisier than the previous Dunlops and whilst tread wear was great to start with, they've now gone downhill very quuickly.

Anyway, will await your longish term views on the F1's

[Big Dave]

I fitted the Goodyear GSD3's (225/45/17)on the front of mine. Still got NCT5's (250/50/17) on the rear.

I've noticed a bit of tramlining with the GSD3's, but the transformation in the handling more than makes up for it.

[MrT]

You wont need to recalibrate. Its not actually a 5 mm difference. Its something like a percentage of the width or something and as you have gone wider the profile is almost the same. Only something like 5mph over at 60 so your actually only doing 55. HTH

Cheers Rushy. I tend to drive to the satnav speed anyway, just noticed that I'm now read 77 for satnav's 70, whereas before it was a touch over 75 indicated. This will also mean my odo's out, won't it? Not as bad as those 308's that were so out they showed 12k after about 10k actual, but a few miles over true!

[_ZS_]

I wasn't fussed on the F1-A when I had them on the Astra (225-45ZR17 XL).

Went for Bridgestone Turanza ER300 in 225-45WR17 on the Vectra. They're as quiet as the NCT5, main reason for going for them. I put the new tyres on the back and moved the rear NCT5 to the front.

The front NCT5 lasted 17k of rental car use and were down to 2.5mm. Rears are/were still 5mm, now moved to the front as I said.

[MrT]

Exactly the same situation I'm in. NCTs on rear still OK with approx 4mm left but the NCTs on the front will need looking at soon.

Yes, I too have considered the F1's but am also looking clsoely at the Goodyear Excellence and the new Optigrip just launched.

A lot rave about Falkens but I've one or two reservations having had the 912's on another 200 bhp motor just under 12 months ago - noisier than the previous Dunlops and whilst tread wear was great to start with, they've now gone downhill very quuickly.

Anyway, will await your longish term views on the F1's

I had a look at Excellence - they reminded me of the older GY DuraGrip tyres in pattern. Wifey's 206 runs GY DuraGrip all round - much more wallet friendly size though! They are lightyears better than GT2 or knockdown lines like CEAT (which IIRC is a Pirelli sub-brand). Life is less than GT2, but then again what isn't these days. I used to get 50-60k miles with rotation on GT2 before they wore down on my old Cav, but had to suffer sounding very squeely in car parks...

http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/r...ence/index.jsp
http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/r...F1AS/index.jsp
http://eu.goodyear.com/uk_en/tires/r...D3_2/index.jsp

Looking at those links, the Excellence will last longer and will be more comfy on sports springs (there's a 91W load rating in 225/45 size - the 215/50 looks like it's only XL at 95W), but might just lose the edge on performance and directional feel.

[MrT]

I wasn't fussed on the F1-A when I had them on the Astra (225-45ZR17 XL).

Went for Bridgestone Turanza ER300 in 225-45WR17 on the Vectra. They're as quiet as the NCT5, main reason for going for them. I put the new tyres on the back and moved the rear NCT5 to the front.

The front NCT5 lasted 17k of rental car use and were down to 2.5mm. Rears are/were still 5mm, now moved to the front as I said.

Yeah, the guy who fitted mine is a Scooby fan (has two Imprezzas -a UK-spec and a Jap import, plus a modded MR2 and a grey import 4x4 for the school run) and he reckoned that Bridgestones have the advantage in some areas, but not quite in the wet - they would have been my second choice. There's only one size in the whole F1-A range that isn't XL, so there are more comfy rides out there. Maybe I'll notice that more when I go the Eibach -30mm route next year... (which I shall explain to my insurers as being done to avoid a potentially costly broken spring/blowout incident - though no doubt they'll whack a premium on me all the same).

[_ZS_]

One thing I forgot to mention about my experience with the F1-A. You could literally see them wearing. I lost more tread in 6k with the F1-A than I did in 20k with the Vredestein Ultrac on the same car.

My speedo is oddly accurate, by the way. 72 on the speedo is 70 with the GPS. 30 is dead on accurate. Both reading taken with the 215-50 NCTs.

[MrT]

I fitted the Goodyear GSD3's (225/45/17)on the front of mine. Still got NCT5's (250/50/17) on the rear.

I've noticed a bit of tramlining with the GSD3's, but the transformation in the handling more than makes up for it.

Agreed - it's a massive improvement and with no noticeable downside (apart from the expected sub-20k life, that is).