Tires: Goodyear Eagle GTs vs. Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S

[DeepPower]

It's that time and I'm looking for tires for my '89. I went to 16" rims a long time ago and the only tire size that makes sense, for performance and speedometer accuracy, is P215/60R16. Not a popular tire size so options are very limited.

I live in DFW in Texas now so I'm no longer concerned with snow traction, but wet weather traction is very important here. I've narrowed it down to a choice between the Goodyear Eagle GT vs. Goodyear Eagle Sport All Season.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these tires? The Eagle Sport is newer and the Eagle GTs are being discontinued by Goodyear, so naturally Goodyear is pushing the Sports. But I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with either tire?

Thanks!

 

[rubydist]

the GTs apparently had a lot of variation in how they were made - I've seen outstanding reviews in terms of life and performance, and I've seen terrible reviews in terms of life and performance. It appears to be a crap-shoot if you get a good set or a poor set.

 

[waffles]

just a tidbit, you might consider a move to 225s, I have run a set of 225/55/R16 as well as a set of 225/60/R16s with pretty decent results if that expands your choices at all.

 

[SHOVNST]

225s will 'work' but will also result in a noticeable loss of cornering/handling capability. The slicer wheel is too narrow for anything wider than a 215.

 

[platoribs]

If you can pick up some Thunderbird SC wheels they are 16x7 and will allow good fitment of the aforementioned 225/50 or 55 (55 gives almost the same diameter for your speedo accuracy)-16.

Lug pattern is the same between the Birds from 89 to 97 and the Taurus, 108x5...

Best luck:wave:

PS there are 78 results for 215/60-16 on tirerack.com, just saying.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=215/&ratio=60&diameter=16&performance=ALL

 

[tommyturbo]

I have Eagle GT's in stock 225-60-16 on my tbird SC, they seem great, stick great even for such a big heavy beast, and seem to have decent wet performance but it doesn't rain much here in socal. I also have them on my Lebaron GTS in stock 205-60-15, and can say the same for them on the Chrysler, although it's a much lighter car. Both have had good wear so far.

 

[pjtoledo]

Original owner of an 89?


Congratulations are in order.




Perry

 

[intimdatr]

I ran 225 55 16s for over 2 years and really enjoyed them. I never felt the capability the tire will ever be pushed on the street.


Ive heard great things about the GT's especially when they are warm however in the cold they can become total bricks. Something to think about.

 

[DeepPower]

Thanks for your great feedback. I'm going with the P215/60VR16 Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S. Don't want to go with a wider tire, I have clearance problems in the back as it is. The Eagle Sport is very very new, something like 60 different compounds in the tire.

I think the deciding factor is the wet performance. I've heard it's better than the Eagle GTs, and now that I've moved down to Dallas the road surfaces here aren't the best for wet weather.

I'm also having a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) installed. I'm excited to see how my tire pressure/temperature varies as I push my SHO!

This will all be done on Friday, assuming I get the TPMS in the mail in time. I'll post a review after I've run the ****** rubber off them.


(That building in the background is a high school)

 

[SHOVNST]

How wide are those wheels?

 

[DeepPower]

How wide are those wheels?

Don't know - I'll have them measured when the work is being done. They are Borbet wheels. That reminds me - anyone know how to prevent people from stealing the Borbet center cap (they go for $20+ on eBay)? Is it O.K. to glue them in?

BTW - had to put off the install until next Wednesday 2/19.

 

[SHOVNST]

No need to measure, the wheels will have the diameter and width somewhere on the inside.

 

[DeepPower]

Installed the tires. Didn't have a chance to test them out, so let's see how tomorrow's commute goes.

The TPMS is really cool. Shows the tire pressure all around, the temperature of the tires, and also the car battery voltage!

On the inside of the wheels it's stamped 7½J x 16 H2.

 

[TimboSHO]

Don't know - I'll have them measured when the work is being done. They are Borbet wheels. That reminds me - anyone know how to prevent people from stealing the Borbet center cap (they go for $20+ on eBay)? Is it O.K. to glue them in?

BTW - had to put off the install until next Wednesday 2/19.

Don't glue the centercaps. Then you will probably need to replace them the next time you need them off (balancing tires).

Nice looking 89!

 

[DeepPower]

Timbo, nice looking '89 back at cha! If I had gone with a white SHO I would have wanted it to look like yours.

Goodyear Eagle Sport A/S: First Impressions
Partial review. Keep in mind I'm coming off a set of BFGoodrich Comp T/A's that had maybe 0.25" of tread left. So yes, the ride is much better now but I've also got more tread on the new Goodyears to cushion the road. I'm not sure if the small amount of tread left on the BFG translates to better or worse dry traction.

Well, it's been a day of highway commuting with the Goodyear Eagle Sports. TireRack recommends running 500 miles off the rubber so I haven't pushed it. But the first thing I noticed was how sharply and smartly the car changed lanes - wow, nice and smart!

Something I didn't look for and didn't expect is the tires really seem to PULL. I imagine there was some slippage with the BFG that I'm not seeing now.

I can still chirp these tires when shifting from 1st to 2nd, but the chirp is definitely shorter, and I'm comparing that to what I have always remembered about the 1-2 chirp since I got the car. I used to enjoy seeing how long I could extend that sound, and now it barely lasts 1/2 a second.

Takes turns like on rails. No tire noise, even at 80mph. I tried to be critical as I realize there is a bias in wanting to like these new shoes, but DAMN this is an improvement!

Goodyear claims it's a brand new design in construction and materials.

The new TPMS (ORO Technology W401) is waaaay cool. Everybody should have one - really. All four sensors start sending data when the car starts moving. I have the display set so that it alternates between pressure and temperature - I'll post a video later. As an added bonus it also gives you the car battery voltage. Right now it's plugged into the cigarette lighter but I'm going to hard wire it & attach it to the dash below the temp and gas gauges.

At start, tire pressure F/R is 35/34psi and temps were ambient at 62degF all around. After a ten minute ride to work pressure is 36/35 and temps went to

LF . . RF
78F 76F
74F 74F
LR . .RR

I'm guessing the LF is the drive wheel which is why it's slightly hotter?

I can say that, the car is a joy to drive, it's like we're on our 2nd honeymoon since 1989.

 

[SHOdded]

What TPMS system did you have installed? Is the sidewall stiffer on the Sport's vs the T/A's? Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

[DeepPower]

Sorry, forgot to add that. The TPMS is ORO Technology W401 (added it to my original review).

Now that I think of it, the sidewall is definitely stiffer on the Sports. There is a driveway-type parking lot entrance at work where, unless I drive at a crawl, I bottom out when I pull in off the street. At 10mph the T/A's would bottom out, but not with the Sports.

 

[TimboSHO]

Thanks for the review (of both the tires and the TPMS)!

Temperature will always vary a few degrees between tires. The fronts will always be slightly higher, especially when making frequent turns. I know most sensors are supposed to be accurate to withing 4psi, so I'm not sure how exact the temperature will be either.

 

[DeepPower]

"Tires are comprised of many layers of rubber, steel and fabric. Due to these different components, your new tires require a break-in period to ensure that they deliver their normal ride quality and maximum performance. As tires are cured, a release lubricant is applied to prevent them from sticking in their mold. Some of the lubricant stays on the surface of your tires, reducing traction until it is worn away. Five hundred miles of easy acceleration, cornering and braking will allow the mold release lubricant to wear off, allowing the other tire components to begin working together. It is also important to note that your old tires probably had very little tread depth remaining when you felt it was time to replace them. As any autocrosser or racer who has tread rubber shaved off of his tires will tell you, low tread depth tires respond more quickly. Don't be surprised if your new tires are a little slower to respond (even if you use the exact same tire as before). Their new, full depth brings with it a little more tread squirm until they wear down."

Source: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=5

 

[SHOVNST]

Installed the tires. Didn't have a chance to test them out, so let's see how tomorrow's commute goes.

On the inside of the wheels it's stamped 7½J x 16 H2.

Those are wider than I expected. I'm extremely curious what the tires look like mounted.