Its time for me to get some new tyres and have been looking round at various tyre website's. I think I am going to go for:

£107.30 Each - FRONT - Bridgestone Potenza RE 050 A 225/40 R18 88Y
£192.10 Each - BACK - Bridgestone Potenza RE 050 A 255/35 R19 92Y Double branding, 92 ZR, NEW.

Cheapest rears were Dunlop SP 9000 for only £164.90 Backs and £100.30 Fronts.

This does not including Fitting which is £10 per tyre plus £1 to dispose of the old tyre.

The best website I found was: www.mytyres.co.uk

Has anybody tried the Bridgestones?

JB

 

Those prices look pretty good, not sure how they perform though.
I had to get new fronts a few weeks ago after a track day. I really wanted to stick with the excellent Michelin Pilots - but no where had them in stock and they were VERY expensive even if they managed to get some in. I ended up with Pirelli P Zero Rossa's (£160 each) which I am reserving judgment on until I get a few more miles on them, but they seem pretty good so far. I am going to need rears soon (just turned 10,000 miles) so will probably match them up with more P Zero's. I have found Conti sports to be very good 'budget' choice so may consider going for four of them and keeping the Zero's for the track. The problem with tyre choice (unless replacing like for like) is you pretty well have to take a chance and hope you get on with them, otherwise you're stuck with them for some time.

Simon.

 

I did a comparison a couple of months ago using info from tirerack.com. The Bridgestone came in third and the Dunlop's didn't make it to the top five.

The total price includes road hazard insurance.

225/40ZR-18
255/35ZR-19

• Goodyear F1 GS D-3 (70.1 overall score - 8.0 wear rating) $728.00 + $88.00 = $816.00
• Michelin Pilot Sport 2 (69.9 overall score - 7.4 wear rating) $1,040.00 + $125.00 = $1,165.00
• Bridgestone RED50A (68.1 overall score - 7.0 wear rating) $934.00 + $112.00 = $1,046.00
• Avon Tech M500 (67.7 overall score - 7.8 wear rating) $666.00 + 480.00 = $746.00
• BF Goodrich G-Force KDW (67.1 overall score - 7.8 wear rating) $774.00 + $93.00 = $867.00

 

Speaking as a person who worked for B.F.Goodrich for 16 years, (Akron used to be known as the rubber capital of the world) I've always had my best luck with Goodrich tires. I'm speaking mostly about their Radial TAs. Even my best friend who works for Bridgestone, has BFG TAs on his mint 70 Mach 1. I'm not knocking Goodyear or anybody else, I'm just talking long term serviceability. I know I shouldn't have done it, but my first set of TAs lasted 23 years on my AMX before I replaced them with the ones that are on it now. And they've been on it for the last 10 years. Last fall a year ago, I turned a 2.00 sec. 60' at the drags on them, so they still hook up like they did when they were new. I've always stored my car in an unheated garage, not jacked up, and I've never noticed any "flat" spots, cracking, or signs of "dry rot" either. Just my $.02.

 

Now I'm not sure! Dam you all for been so helpful!

JB

 

Let me make it easy for you... Get Goodyear F1 GS-D3's. I only here excellent reviews of these tires from many sources, including a Cadillac CTS-V forum. Many mention that they can't tell the difference between driving in the dry, and driving in the wet, they are that good. For an all-round, ultra-high performance tire, you can't go wrong. They are a decent price as well! Good luck in your search for tires...I know when my tires are ready to be changed, I'll be getting the Goodyear's!

 

Even more confused now!

Bridgestone Potenza RE 050 A £192.70
TyreTest.com:Average of 50 completed tests
Score: 1-best 6-worst 1.9
Grip in dry conditions 1.5
Braking in dry conditions 1.5
Grip in wet conditions 2.0
Braking in wet condition 1.9
Grip in snow 4.9
Comfort 2.0
Tyre noise (in car) 1.8
Tyre noise (external) 1.8
Tyre wear 2.4
Kilometers driven 993.023

Goodyear EAGLE F1 GS-D3 £179.50
TyreTest.com:Average of 231 completed tests
Score: 1-best 6-worst 2.2
Grip in dry conditions 1.6
Braking in dry conditions 1.6
Grip in wet conditions 2.0
Braking in wet condition 2.1
Grip in snow 4.9
Comfort 2.8
Tyre noise (in car) 2.9
Tyre noise (external) 2.8
Tyre wear 3.0
Kilometers driven 5.209.560

The Goodyear's score high on Noise and that's not good.

 

Why the difference in completed tests? Average test scores are close.
I wonder what the 1 difference in noise actually means. Is that alot?

 

Notice how the Goodyear's were tested with over 5,000 km on them, while the Bridgestones were tested with only 993 km on them. All in all, what you must ask yourself is what you are looking for in a tire. Car and Driver magazine recently had an ultra high performance tire test, and the F1 GS D3's came out on top. You decide.

 

How aggressively do your drive your Crossfire, how many miles do you drive each year, and in what weather conditions? The tires on the crossfire are fairly wide, and all the tires that match the original sizes on your car provide more grip on dry pavement than all but the most spirited driver will ever need.

The Goodyear F1 GS-D3 is priced attractively and has a really good-looking tread design. I will consider getting them when I need tires. However, since they have a "highly" directional tread pattern they may be more prone to uneven wear and noise. But they sure look good.

One thing to consider about the Bridgestone Potenza RE 050 is that it has the lowest UTQG treadwear rating of the bunch - just 140! The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 is rated at 220 and the F1 GS-D3 is rated at 280. Based on those numbers (which are provided by the tire manufacturer from tests conducted against a standard) the Goodyear would be expected to last twice as long as the Bridgestone. So if your car is only driven a few thousand miles a year, the Bridgestone tires may still be a good choice, otherwise you can expect to replace them more quickly.

If I were buying a tire today and I routinely drove my Crossfire aggressively on dry and wet pavement and didn't require the absolute quietest ride I would get the F1 GS-D3. If I was a more conservative driver or even thought I might be forced to drive in snow some day, I would consider the all season Continental ContiTouringContact CW95 which Tirerack is practically giving away (< $500 for 4 in the U.S. - don't know how much they may cost to those in the UK). If I was looking for an inexpensive summer tire that would still provide good performance I might even take a chance on the Avon Tech M500. Only if I drove less than around 7K miles a year would I consider the Bridgestones based solely on the treadwear rating. I probably wouldn't consider any of the Michelin tires solely because of price. But if performance is the goal, the original equipment PS2 is hard to beat.

 

There's another vote for the GS-D3's!

 

The data Johnny Bravo was providing were from customer surveys (similar to what you would find at Tirerack here in the U.S.) Even though TyreTest.com uses the word "test", their surveys aren't really tests as there are no criterion or standard. But just like Tirerack's surveys they are useful in comparing tires amongst a category.

The distance of 5,209,560 km was the total distance driven on the Goodyear's reported by all the respondents. Likewise, 993,023 km was the total distance driven by all the respondents with the Bridgestone tires. All it means is that there have been several times more people filling out surveys for the Goodyear tire than for the Bridgestone. Most likely, the Goodyear tire is a better seller or it has been around longer, either which would explain the greater number of completed surveys. One other thing about these surveys: even though they are quite useful, many of the responses are completed when the tires are still new or at least well before they are worn out. Issues like ride noise, ride comfort, hydroplaning, etc., often arise as a tire wears and may not be accurately reflected in the surveys.

 

The treadwear rating is an important issue to think about.

 

Basically, because the "tests" have no comparative value or scientific basis - they are a little mis-leading... tire wear, noise factor etc. are all subjective opinions.
I guess they are useful to a degree but I for one would much rather see a "test" that really uses an industry wide common set of standards. Then one could make an informed choice of tire selection.

 

An excellent point indeed, but it would be difficult to "see" a test...or am I missing something?

 

While tire tests may be subjective, every source I have come across gives the edge to the Goodyear Eagle F1's. Car and driver tested 11 brands and they too put the F1's in first place...

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....ticle_id=10252

OVERALL SCORE

Goodyear: 1050.4
Continental: 1031.9
Yokohama: 1027.0
Michelin: 1018.7
Hankook: 1015.4
Dunlop: 1002.2
Pirelli: 1002.1
Toyo: 999.7
Bridgestone: 993.9
BFGoodrich: 993.0
Kumho: 990.7

 

The people at full-lock provided a much more consistent and professional method for evaluation. They certainty are alot closer to a unbiased, across the board review. That is probably as close as we are going to get to a purely scientific test.

 

Subjectively speaking, the Goodyear's are no more noisier than the original Conti's and I found them quieter than the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season on my Crossfire. The Goodyear's are outstanding in the wet and the dry and horrible in the snow. Regards and Best Holiday wishes to all.

 

I've done it, I've ordered a new set of Goodyear Eagle F1s.

Rears £177 354
Fronts £104 208

Total Price £562

Got a great price from Bracknell Tyres.

I just hope they are as good as everybody's says they are.

JB