Zap Racing

I've been doing a lot of reading, comparing lately and at the moment I am leaning towards the Goodyear GS-D3 's for the everyday street tires.
255/40ZR/17 fronts
275/40ZR/17 rear (maybe 285)

and leaning towards the MT 's for a dedicated set of rear for the strip.

I would really like to hear from some people who are actually running the Goodyear's and their opinions of the tire compared to others!

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

I'm running the GS-D3s now in 245/50 16" on all four corners. They are an awsome tire. They are summer tires, so traction isn't great below 60 degrees. They are decent in the rain despite all the hype about thier wet weather characteristics. Good cornering grip. But their best attribute is dead stop launch grip. For the price they are the best summer tire out there. The Michellin Pilot PS2 is a better tire but about $100 more a tire. I used to run Michellin XGT V tires which prolly gripped a little better all around, but once they let go, watch out, they wouldn't stop spinning once you got them started. They were also terrible in the rain.

Also treadlife seems to be pretty low, but it is a max performce tire so that is to be expected.

I would def recomend them and i would buy them again if i was doing it over again.
JP

Zap Racing

Well, I bit the bullit, dug deep in the wallet (for me anyway) and put on a set on all 4 corners. Give me a few days and I'll post my opinions about them.

So far I like them, but have not put them to the test yet. The guy at Discount tires said not to spin them for 24/36 hours since we did the computer wheel tire matching. The computer finds the optimum place for the tire to be mounted in relation to the wheel, before it is balanced, 3 of them had to be broken down a second time and rotated on the wheel, before the load simulater ruber roller is applied when it is actually balanced. He said the lube they use tire/wheel when mounting them, takes that amount of time to dry, and if I go out and start doing burnouts right away, the tire could turn on the wheel, and mess up the balance. Since he threw all this in for free, I believed him. The guy doing all the matching/balancing explained all this on each tire. It also showed the runnout on the wheels in all directions. Pretty impressive for your local tire store. I know I have one wheel (the one I curbed) that I need to get straightened. The others were marginal.

I will also be making a trip to the local 1/8' probaly next weekend. I know what the 60' times were with the old Goodrich T/A 's, and with a set of Nitto's. Will post what they are with the Goodyear's.

DJP87Z28

Just another overpriced tire from Goodyear. A lot of hype for a new tread desigh other tire companies brought out quite a few years ago at better price. Just remenber the Gatorback that came on the 3rd gen cars, a pure crap tire.

Zap Racing

Well, everybody IS entitled to their own opinion!

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

So you have run these tires and are unhappy with them? No one on this post mentioned a new tread design or hyped it up. I run these tires therefore i have first hand expirence with them. And a better price doesn't necessarily mean a better tire, you know that. You do realize that that tread design is for water evacuation not traction. What gives tires good traction is rubber compound, treadlife, and amount of rubber actually touching the road. The GS-D3s provide the best of these while still allowing it to be a street tire. Sure not all Goodyears are good but that can be said for products of any company. It is actually a somewhat cheap tire. I paid $140ish per tire installed. Other Goodyear eagles were $180+ and the Michellin Pilot PS2s are $250 each.

Good luck with the tires and let us know how they are.

Zap Racing

I love em so far!

Haven't really put them to the test, been putting on a new Glasstek 4" cowl induction hood all weekend. MAN-- that was a bigger job than I thought it was gonne be!!!


More to come!

cam-

I just installed a set of these too. 285/40/17 and 245/45/17. I was running Yokohama A520's before and the first thing I noticed was how incredibly quiet these tires are. Very civilized for a tire of this caliber. Great grip and smooth no lane hunting at all!

Only knock is the sidewall is a tad on the soft side making turn in and response a little sloppy but once loaded they stick extremely well. I would glady trade the little bit of sidewall flex for the practically silent and smooth nature. I have yet to try them in the rain so I will post again when I do.

85TransAm406

iTrader: (1)

I have 315s rear and 275s front, and they are awsome compared to all of the other tires I have had before (GS-Cs, sumitomo HTRs, etc.) Wet weather traction is great compared to all the summer tires i've had before, and better than some of my all-seasons. Just drove this weekend in the pouring rain from NC to AL, and they were great, inspired confidence I didn't have in my old tires. And dry, these things are STICKY! They pick up small road debris like my ET Streets, but a little cleaning off after the waterbox and they hook really nice.

DJP87Z28

See how you like those tires after they wear out in less then 20K.
Not a big goodyear fan. I learned from experience about Goodyears performance tires, all bad.

Zap Racing

It'll probably be a while til I can get back to yu on that one!

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

I think they will last about 25k miles. I don't really care i only drive about 2k miles a year. But that is the price you pay for soft compound tires. But yes i agree they won't last long on a daily driver. What tires do you use djp?

Dewey316

Imagine that, soft sticky tires don't last long.

cam-

Yeah and performance tires that are so lousy they even use them as OE brands for the Ferrari F50 and the Mclaren F1. Pure junk I'm sure

Seriously though I have run many performance tires and NEVER have I even come close to seeing 20k out of any brand I've used. More like 10k tops

Zap Racing

I would have to tend to agree that usually sticky tires won't last as long, but look at the tread wear rating on the chart in the link below! Go figure!!!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...ay.jsp?type=MP

DJP87Z28

Sumitomo HTR-Z II 245/45/ZR17 a good around tire for the wet & dry, been on the IROC-Z a little over four years now. Check Tirerack.com for rating. And as a afterthought they are a Joint Venture with Goodyear.

cam-

I relied on tirerack.com heavilly for selecting the GSD3's this time around. Scrutinize the reviews carefully! I was going to go for the Michelin Pilot sports but chose the Goodyear due to the cost, treadwear and wet weather performance ratings they received. I have just returned from a tour of my favorite stretches of road and I can say without a doubt that the sidewall is too soft on these tires. The grip is incredible but the turn in and transition is very sloppy causing the car to heave around quite a bit more than a max performance tire should allow. The trade off is the very smooth ride that you get in return. I am remarked at how civilized and comfortable these tires are. So far I have about 750 miles on them and the acceleration traction is excellent as well as the ride and low noise factor. The only thumbs down is for cornering. For autocross I would definitely recomend a different tire. The Yokohama A520's were absolutely incredible track tires but were harsh and very noisy and the tread wear was **** poor which is why I shyed away from the new version named AVS sports.

Overall the GSD3 is a very good tire for comfort but lacking for top performance usage. I don't think I would buy them again but I will post on these again at the end of the season after logging some mileage on them to see if I still feel the same

Pete92TA

My ta had goodyears on it before they are very nice tires ride great and quiet. Had 2sets because they handle so good and ride so soft they will wear out faster than others. I have firestone firehawks on my ta now because the old good years did not like the rain. The firehawks dont mind the rain. But I do think good year makes good tires.

Half-FastRacing

I just returned from a two day AX event on a road course. I am running GS-D3s 245/50r16. The track was wet on the first day. The tires provided excelent grip and traction in the rain. The second day was dry and I was able to really push them. It's true about the initial soft sidewalls, but after loaded these tires really stuck. They were very predictable near the limit although rather loud. This is the first set of performance tires I've owned, so I cannot compare to other brands. I am definitely happy with their performance

cam-

After logging some considerable mileage on these tires I have come to the conclusion that they pretty much suck. I was pleased at first but did notice the sidewall thing immediately and now thats all I notice. These tires are at their absolute worst when you need them to be solid. When you have to make sudden moves such as a quick lane change or fast hard braking... they go sloppy for a second until the load is on them which makes for almost scary mannerisms. I would never buy these again. Too bad cause they look wicked. The straight line traction is not that great either unless its roasting hot out which has been rare this summer. It just makes the car that used to handle lie a go cart behave more like a full size sedan. I trusted Tirerack reviews for this purchase and never again. I should have listened to my local performance tire rep as he won't even sell them. I thought it was becasue he wanted to sell me another tire like he talked me into last time. I was soooo happy with the performance of those Yok's I will be trusting this man again next time around. I guess I fell for "the grass is always greener..." thing.

chio987

I've heard alot of "they r performance tires, it's expected to not last long" ok, but their dam everyday tires do the same thing. i got some 75,000 miles tires (can't remember model. the receipt doesn't show it either) and after maybe 6k miles they were done, and i don't mean the rear tires (burnouts, drive tires, whatever) even the fronts. and goodyear eagle ES came on my 04 neon and 4700 miles later the front tires r half gone (no burnouts or driving auto-x) That's BS from a tire that is $70-80. when i worked at a chrysler dealership, none of the parts guys would sell the goodyears unless the customer wanted nothing but. they all sed that it's too soft of a tire and wear out too quick. i got kelly navigator golds on my parents neon ($45-50 a tire) and they've been on the car for atleast 15k miles and they r still going good. sry, i needed to vent about my stupidity for going with something "popular" instead of something GOOD

DJP87Z28

87roc_t56
I told you Goodyear tires suck. Now you know.

cam-

Yeah well I said I would post up at the end of the season and I gave my honest opinion so now I'm taking my medicine. These tires suck!

Zap Racing

Gee...I kinda like mine! I've had them on for a while now, and can't find anything to complain about so far.

I have not experianced the "soft sidewall" problem that some have eluded to, but then again I don't autocross. I have done some hard cornering, as well as some emergency lane changes both on normal back streets as well as freeway speeds and they feel fine. I am not an expert on this aspect of tire performance, so I may not be aware of how to judge this, but I have raced both dirt and asphalt on bias-ply and radial tires, as well as one road race situation. Possibly because I have a very stiff/solid suspension, the combination makes for a good handling package? The trailing arms, panhard bar and torque arm on my IROC, are all billit alum. with spherical rod ends which makes for a very harsh ride, and I could see where this combination may even it out.

I have driven them in heavy rain wet conditions that I would have expected to get sideways, (and did with my old tires) and the Goodyears did not. They stuck better than I thought they would, and recovery-- planned/unplanned--under power or not--was better than I anticipated.

The straight line dry traction is better than the Goodrich T/A KD's that I had. With the T/A's my 60' times were consistant 2.1's. The Goodyear F1 GS D3's are consistant 2.0's with a couple high 1.9's thrown in.

I'm not saying they are the best tires U can get in any of the catagories tires are judged on. I'm sure there better ones out there, but overall they seem to be a good tire for the money, and I'm happy with them for my daily driver. Beides, the tread pattern does look pretty cool!

Just my opinion!

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

Its all in what you are looking for in them. I read the tirerack reviews before i bought the GS-D3s and many did comment about the softer sidewalls. So i'd say you should have read more carefully. If you are building an autocrosser, why not go with an autocross tire, or at least a tire with a stiffer side wall. But everyone is entitled to their opinion. And this is mine. For me 1.9 60fts on a stock suspension with minimal engine mods is pretty good, no wheel spin. I wouldn't auto-x these tires because they are too soft in the sidewall but for the street once the weight transfers they grip well in corners. On a further note, the Michellins are better tires but i couldn't justify $100 more per tire for a weekend street car.

Chio987: we aren't talking about thier everyday tires, i'm not saying they make good everyday tires, in fact i think they suck. I've used all different kinds of performance tires, i don't stick to one brand b/c of the name, i try them based on reviews, and what i'm looking for in a tire, and of course cost.

TransAm12sec

I didn't think a Z rated tire could have a sidewall that's considered soft. Right now I have a T rated tires with poly bushings in the sway bars.

87350IROC

iTrader: (2)

Well its just that, its soft for a Z rated tire, well actually iirc, its a YR rated tire. Real stiff compared to the H rated tires on my accord. Also just because its Z rated doesn't mean its a sticky tire, it just means it won't fail at 149+ mph.

cam-

I find the straight line traction average at best compared to P Zero's and Yokohama's and even the older GSC's gripped better IMO. I do admit though that once loaded the cornering grip is impressive.

TransAm12sec

What Yokohamas are you refering to?

cam-

I ran the A520's and they were FAR superior with respect to performance in both dry and wet. The best tires I have used yet. There were three main reasons I did not purchase them again.

1. Tirerack reviews that have the GSD3 at the highest ranking.
2. Loud tire at slow speeds.
3. They don't make the A520 anymore and the look of the new version called the AVS Sport is too import.

For the first season I could not even spin them... the clutch would slip before the tires cut loose.

Kennerz

How do you guys feel about the Bridgestone RE750? I have them on my SS and they are noisy, and a little stiff, but overall cornering, and tread wear for the price seems right there with the competition. Anyone have any experience with these tires?