New F1 GS-D3's - First impressions

I had Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 275/40 17" put on a few days ago.
They replaced 3 year old Firestone Firehawk SZ50's of the same size. The SZ50's rubber was getting pretty hard and would only stick well when really warmed up (i.e. 5 minutes of lapping...). Anyway, after driving on these Eagles, my initial impression is that the sidewall is a lot softer. I realize the squirm from full tread depth is part of this sensation and contributes to the slower turn in response but they feel noticeably "mushier" (and the sidewall seems to bulge out more compared to same tire pressure on the Hawks). I started out at 35 psi up front and upped it to 38 without much improvement. I noticed that these tires have the highest max tire pressure (51psi) I have ever seen for a passenger car tire). Anyone else who switched recently notice this? What tire pressure do you like with these things? Also I was starting to get pissed with my suspension before these tires went on (starting to feel a little "floaty" on the highway (I think the stock shocks are starting to bite it) and I have been wanting stiffer response in hard cornering. Anyway with these new tires all this has just gotten worse.... I now have even more appreciation for the SZ50's (granted it is kind of hard to compare tires when the one set
is 3 years old and "shaved" and the other is new and you are not used to them). The F1's grip is better (like that was a surprised) but I was expecting more and am hoping they will slowly get better with a little more mileage (only about 100 k on them so far). If I do a another lapping day I think I will do it with the old hawks as I think they will perform better (and for the Kings ransom I just paid for these Eagles, I am in no hurry to chew them up!) I will say this though, they do look awesome. I am now looking forward to a good rain (as the hawks had become downright scary) and I am sure my appreciation for new tires will be restored.

This is the first review of these tires that I have seen that did not say they were fantastic. I am planning to buy them for my next set of tires. I will be interested to see what others here say.

i don't know about you guys, but one look at the tread pattern made me think... no thank you

too much air space and not enough rubber!

In the 9/2003 issue of Grassroots Motorsports on p.171, John Rastetter (the Tire Rack’s lead tire guru) commented on a test they did of the GS-D3 in the 275/40-17 size. On their 30 second test course, the D3 was @ ½ second slower than the quickest tire in the “Max Performance” category, in the dry. That is a large difference. Reading between the lines, you could tell he was not impressed with its dry performance.

In the wet, the D3 was @ 1 second quicker than the next fastest “Max Performance dry tire”. That is a very large difference. It was only about 1 second slower on the wet course than it was in the dry. If the compound ages well and retains that level of wet traction, the D3 would make sense for a daily driven car that has to be driven on rainy days.

I would probably drive extra carefully in the rain and get a tire with more lateral continuity to the tread blocks. I have not been pleased with the tread squirm of any of the tires with those long circumferential tread grooves.

Bob Bishop

I have the GS-D3's.
LOVE THEM.
I think the sidewall actually feels stiffer then the stock F1's.
They grip like nuts though, I've taken turns faster then I would normally and they hang right on. They're great in the wet too. Personally, I'm really happy with them.

Chris