Goodyear....what is their vision?

[Bogie]

Goodyear seems to be....slipping.

They lost the fit for the ZR1. Trumped by Michelin.

They got hammered by Tony Stewart.

And I note in several trade pubs that they seem to fall short versus the competition.

Don't get me wrong. I love my OEM Eagle F1s on the SKY. But I don't play in the big leagues either; they grip at my limit...so no problem. On the flip side, it seems they're just not keeping pace with the top competition. I don't know if this is just an erosion of technical skill, or if it's a move toward catering to a different market. Makes me wonder. Is Goodyear fading away. What is their vision?

[G8TR]

I'm one of those ol suthern boys that likes nascar, from what I saw at Indy they have no vision.

[RedSkyMan]

The Eagles may be great on a nice dry road but watch out on a rainey day, they hydroplane something awful. I found that out the hard way a few months ago on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[compdoc777]

I like Pirelli tires in wet or dry. The are the best, but they are expensive!

My truck tires are Scoripion Zeros $250 a pop, but the perform like no other.

I think I will go with P-zero's when I get new tires on the Sky.

[RedHeaded RedLine]

Originally Posted by Bogie

Goodyear seems to be....slipping.

They lost the fit for the ZR1. Trumped by Michelin.

They got hammered by Tony Stewart.

And I note in several trade pubs that they seem to fall short versus the competition.

Don't get me wrong. I love my OEM Eagle F1s on the SKY. But I don't play in the big leagues either; they grip at my limit...so no problem. On the flip side, it seems they're just not keeping pace with the top competition. I don't know if this is just an erosion of technical skill, or if it's a move toward catering to a different market. Makes me wonder. Is Goodyear fading away. What is their vision?

Other than a few people in 'tire' (street tire) class I don't think I have ever seen a Goodyear competing at an AX, and certainly not winning.
OK, last year, hubby won his first event on F1s but realized that they were not up to a season of AXing. If we were going to be in the rain all the time I would go back to the Michelin Hydroedge’s. Goodyear does not have the reputation it had 15 years ago.
If we could afford new tires every 8 thousand miles we would be on Yokohama A048s!
It was a lot of fun taking my 710s on the off ramps to the last event 10 miles from the house! -J

[Ernest]

GY's came from the factory on my Z06. I think they are crap. I went to Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position and the traction and feel is as different as night and day I can actually hook pretty well with the Bridgestones even with 500+ HP, something I could never do with the GY's.

I will never buy GY's for my Z again, only Bridgestones & Michelien's for me.

[Bogie]

Originally Posted by Ernest

GY's came from the factory on my Z06. I think they are crap. I went to Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position and the traction and feel is as different as night and day I can actually hook pretty well with the Bridgestones even with 500+ HP, something I could never do with the GY's.

I will never buy GY's for my Z again, only Bridgestones & Michelien's for me.

Funny how the article that finally prompted my post was Road & Tracks 10 car four track competition. The Z06 came in sixth overall, beat out by the Lambo, Viper, GT-R, 911 GT2 and R8. If you read the article, the inability of the Z06 to "hook up" or it's ability to lose hook seemed to be a recurring theme across the tracks. As R&T put it, "...power was not a problem for the Corvette; putting it down was!". So, I looked at the tire fit for all the cars, in ranked order:

Lambo: Pirelli P Zero Corsa
Viper: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup
GT-R: Dunlop SP Sport 600
911 GT2: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup
R8: Pirelli P Zero
Z06: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar
DBS: Pirelli P Zero
M3: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
Exige: Yokohama Advan A048LTS
Lancer Evo:Yokohama Advan A13

The Z06 clearly outmatches the vehicles it ranked above, and should be in the top 3. Looking at the lineup, and listening to the drivers, it may all come down to tires.

[Elff]

The only Goodyear tire I ever liked was the MTR. It was a very good daily driving tire for a lifted jeep and on the road was good in just about everything.
Like all goodyear tires, others were better in the rain and snow, but this one was at least pretty darn good. Offroad, it was excellent on rocks and pretty good in mud. Not as good as a dedicated mud tire, but better than most.
So overall, for PA roads and offroads, it was a good tire.

All other goodyear tires I have had I hated. The ones on the sky are actually pretty good in comparison, but there are much better tires for the same price or less. They really need to go back to the drawing board ESPECIALLY for rain traction.

I don't know what I'm going to get when these wear out, but I am pretty sure it won't be goodyears.

I love my Pirellio Diablo's on my motorcycle, so I will probably go that brand.

[ParrotHeadNation]

i will never run good years on my car, after how they can't do anything in nascar right....

[JRinKY]

Don't forget that Michelin choked at the US Grand Prix.

Racing tires and the problems that occur with them are really not indicative of street tires and the problems that occur with them. Many times the sanctioning body is as much to blame as the tire manufacturer when there are problems.

[Ernest]

I can attest to the fact that GY's, in my case, are terrible for the street. As for the strip, I currently run BFG' Drag Radials. Planning on purchasing either Hoosier, M&H, or M/T slicks this fall

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Bogie

Funny how the article that finally prompted my post was Road & Tracks 10 car four track competition. The Z06 came in sixth overall, beat out by the Lambo, Viper, GT-R, 911 GT2 and R8. If you read the article, the inability of the Z06 to "hook up" or it's ability to lose hook seemed to be a recurring theme across the tracks. As R&T put it, "...power was not a problem for the Corvette; putting it down was!". So, I looked at the tire fit for all the cars, in ranked order:

Lambo: Pirelli P Zero Corsa
Viper: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup
GT-R: Dunlop SP Sport 600
911 GT2: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup
R8: Pirelli P Zero
Z06: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar
DBS: Pirelli P Zero
M3: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
Exige: Yokohama Advan A048LTS
Lancer Evo:Yokohama Advan A13

The Z06 clearly outmatches the vehicles it ranked above, and should be in the top 3. Looking at the lineup, and listening to the drivers, it may all come down to tires.

:agree Just go on the 'Vette Forum to the C6Z06 section and read how many Z06 owners change to Michelin or Bridgestone, even the ZR1 will be sporting Micchelins

[DIABLO WINDS]

I have nothing more to add other than I always had Michelin Pilot Sports on my 95 LT1 Corvette.

Thats what it came with and they always seemed to work, so I didn't think I needed to change!

[ParrotHeadNation]

Originally Posted by JRinKY

Don't forget that Michelin choked at the US Grand Prix.

Nascar's BADyears always seem to have a problem, two years ago at Charlotte, they couldn't stop blowing out, every 10 laps one would blow

[MidniteBlues]

Well, I'm over 23K so far on my 07 Sky with the RSA OEM's and they still have plenty of meat. Of course, with my 2.4L auto it has never been abused in any way and have not burnt any rubber what so ever. I figure I will get well over 30K before they will need replacing. HOWEVER, I am a very very BIG fan of Michelin's, always have been for years, they will be looked at very seriously when it is time to change, altho which model has yet to be determined. Also, I also like one of the GY tires that is also still being sold, altho it is not any of the OEM's currently on either Sky. I'll be doing lotsa homework when the time comes and reading reviews etc from users and then make a decisions on quality and price, as usual.. Of course it will have to be a HP tire, in a little 4 banger like ours, I don't think I need an extreme HP tire, HP will do..

[JRinKY]

ParrotHeadNation : Nascar's BADyears always seem to have a problem, two years ago at Charlotte, they couldn't stop blowing out, every 10 laps one would blow

Always ?

My point is that you can't compare street tire performance with race tire performance, especially interms of reliability. Especially when a significant change is made to car or track.

If you are going to rule out Goodyear for street tires based on problems on the race track, you can't logically consider Michelin to be a desirable supplier since they have had similar problems. As has pretty much every tire supplier that has built racing tires.

[ParrotHeadNation]

Originally Posted by JRinKY

Always ?

My point is that you can't compare street tire performance with race tire performance, especially interms of reliability. Especially when a significant change is made to car or track.

If you are going to rule out Goodyear for street tires based on problems on the race track, you can't logically consider Michelin to be a desirable supplier since they have had similar problems. As has pretty much every tire supplier that has built racing tires.

exaggeration on the always, but numerous times, and i know it has nothing to do with the two tires, but I mean I am boycotting the company. They really need to get their act together or their gone

[JRinKY]

ParrotHeadNation : exaggeration on the always, but numerous times, and i know it has nothing to do with the two tires, but I mean I am boycotting the company. They really need to get their act together or their gone

I am sure they will sorely miss your business.

As long as there is an automotive industry Goodyear will be around. They may not make the best performance tire, but they do make many good, reasonably priced, tires for general use. More people need those than need top-of-the-line performance rubber.

[RedHeaded RedLine]

Originally Posted by JRinKY

As long as there is an automotive industry Goodyear will be around.

Might you have said the same thing about "Firestone" a few years ago? -mk

[JRinKY]

RedHeaded RedLine : Might you have said the same thing about "Firestone" a few years ago?

More than a few years ago, maybe, and different circumstances. Firestone was bought by Bridgestone in 1988, and I don't see another tire company buying Goodyear. Of course the company still does business as Bridgestone-Firestone, so in a sense it is still around.