Merry Halloween to YOU ~!~

 

Yes they can be rotated side to side.
They are not directional.

 

I had two of them changed over today. Even though the F1s are the same size, they are much wider tire than the contritouring tires. Should have all four back on the car Friday eve. Can't wait!

James

 

You should notice a much smoother ride with the F1's.

 

Just orderd 2 Front Eagle F1 AS from Discount Tire Direct on EBAY $142.50 each $318.00 with Lifetime Road hazard and free shipping!

 

I have all four on and ready to roll. Drove it about 20 miles tonight. So far so good. Ride has dramatically improved. I will find out more about them this week-end.

James

 

It was time again so this time I decided to try something different. Because I sometimes get "caught out" when the season changes, and because I drive in the rain, the Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S seemed a good compromise between pure high-performance tire and the stock Conti's.

I noticed right away a really smooth ride. Looks isn't a good way to judge a tire but I have to admit, these tires look good.



More...

 

So far mine are doing great and yours look good as well. Now add a little shine on them and you are set to go...

James

 

Thanks. Yeah a little detailing was in order when I got the car back even though I had just done it the day before. I took it to the Mercedes dealer because they seem pretty comfortable with the car. But it was a little bit of a strange experience.

I had a moment of doubt in the morning when I showed up 15 minutes early with the tires. I had left the car in the night-drop the night before since the tires wouldn't fit in the car. As I walked into the service counter with two tires in each hand, held by the straps that they were shipped with, the guy at the service counter just stood there and stared at me like I was Godzilla stepping out of a space ship. I guess I must have been a sight. Six feet, one inch tall, in a long black wool overcoat and suit, black shoes and black shades, probably silhouetted by the doorway holding four tires like they were shopping bags. He literally froze and stared at me. I put down the tires by the counter and walked over to him. He continued to stare at me without moving a muscle, but the look on his face had a trace of contempt. This was not going well...

I told him I had left my car the night before. He practically spat at me "Was it the Crossfire?". Lovely. He might as well have said "Red Headed Step-Child of an SLK". I said yes. He said "Jim's not in yet." I looked and saw that "Jim" must be the Mercedes service writer because a name plate with "Jim" was a couple stations back towards the door at the Mercedes counter. Zombie-man was standing at the Toyota counter. Maybe that explains the "Oh No - There Goes Tokyo Godzilla" look. He'd never make it as a Wal*Mart Greeter...Jim showed up while I stood outside drinking my coffee. And I was relieved to find that he remembered me from last year and was very cordial and welcoming. That was a big relief.

I got the car back with a small hair-scratch on one of the wheels. I would not have noticed it except that I had detailed the car the night before and am certain the wheel was not scratched this way when I dropped it off. I pointed it out more to alert the service writer that the car had not been as carefully handled as I like. I told him it wasn't enough of a problem to require replacing the wheel though deep down inside and certainly a couple years ago I would have insisted.

After he understood my gentle concern I thanked him and headed over to the cashier to pay. I didn't make a fuss and had pretty much sucked it up when the service writer poked his head around and told me to wait a second.

The cashier was up to her... neck in alligators. One customer was there, flush with indignance. "I left my HUMMER for service and got handed a $790 bill! <moaning and groaning; whining and kvetching>" The cashier kept her composure; the service manager came out and stroked the outraged HUMMER owner. I stopped paying attention to her. In my book an H3 is not a HUMMER, so she wasn't impressing me. If it had been an H1, that would have gotten my attention. Her $790 bill didn't impress me either. Lately we've been renovating our kitchen... Her kind of money get's you just about nothing (well maybe 30 or 40 cabinet handles if you go cheap)...

I let a guy go ahead of me to give the service writer time to do whatever he was going to do, and quietly waited. The printer printed. And my bill came out with $50 deducted from it. That was a nice gesture from the service writer. It will fund several bottles of detailing fluid. I thanked him with a genuine smile and paid my bill. Made some small talk with the cashier who was answering phones, printing bills, getting kicked in the shins by huffy HUMMER owners, and probably getting paid poorly by her employer. She seemed to appreciate the moment of resonance. As for my discount, sometimes being quiet and direct pays off...

I left my Jeep at the Mercedes dealer and took the Crossfire. I wanted to check the work before they closed just in case it needed to be done again or adjusted. Instead I found the car rode like a magic carpet. Nice sharp turn-in, smooth run up to speed. No noise, and no wobble. The steering wheel, previously a quarter of a degree off center, was perfectly centered. Perfect. I left the Jeep there to blight the lot and drove home to get a ride from my wife to pick it up.

 

I agree!!

They were short lived on my car....... Don't drive on them in the rain.

 

Here's an interesting chart I generated from survey data comparing the Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S and the Continental ContiTouring Contact (OEM). It's totally subjective consumer opinion and I don't know how many that voted have owned both tires (I have but have not voted - yet...) If this could be relied upon, it appears to say that if you don't mind a little more noise, the Goodyear (the cheaper tire) is the way to go.


More info here

 

I have Eagle F1 tires too. They arent the all season set though. Each rear tire cost me about 300 each and the fronts were around 250 each. Maybe I'm paying a premium out here in Hawaii.

 

I noticed a common verbage "so far so good " from a few of the threads sometime ago I used a similar phase on another post myself unfortunately at 17000 miles the rear tires are worn smooth front still shows a little milage remaining the original Contri got 28000 miles and were replaced with the Goodyear in discussion here these were on my wife's Ltd roadster and while she is a fast car driver "wantabee" there is no way you could say her driving habits caused the quick wear i.e. 28k on the Contri for those now using them good luck and check as you get more milage for those looking I would not buy another set

 

Today I got some validation for my choice by way of the weather...

I was trying to decide if I should go with summer performance tires but opted to stick with the all-season because end up on the road in the cold, wet and even snow.

Today it was cold and it snowed. As I came down the hill in the highway where two four lanes interchange, I saw a big mess up ahead where the road I am on goes onto an overpass and curves sharply to the left to joint the highway below.

This overpass has a joint that causes the wheel to lift just enough that if you are traveling the speed limit all the way through the curve (70mph) the car will shift slightly to the right as the wheel lifts. It's not a good idea to have this happen if the surface is slick, assuming you even make it that far.

Anyway, as I approach I see an accident. It's 32 degrees, the road is wet, and to be sure, the bridge has to have ice on it. So these drivers must have entered the curve too hot and kept going straight which puts them into the Jersey barrier. One of them bounced across the highway and piton'd the guard-rail on the other side.

Not a mile down the highway there's another pile-up with one car capsized in the ditch and back boards and all kinds of rescue.

All I can say is I hope those people all made it out with no permanent injuries. For my part I was lucky I wasn't the first one on the fly-over, though I do track outside temp and compensate on bridges. And thankful that I chose these tires. The whole drive in not one "moment" of uncertainty.

 

I agree, you CAN buy them for less online, but the attitude you put up with having a local company install them- it is like they are doing you a favor and when you really think about- What does TireRack have invested in your purchase- not much really just shipping the product.

You may save $100-$150 by the time freight and tax is added and then the installation fees to the online pricing. I would prefer to keep my local retailers in business for when I need them.

Don

 

I have not had that experience. As a matter of fact, the last eight sets of tires (several 5-tire sets) have come from online retailers, and I have had very little problem with the tires or delivery. One time I did have a problem and the online retailer bent over backward to fix it.

As for the local folks doing the install - not a single one ever showed any sign of being bothered by my BYOT behavior. That includes my local Mercedes dealer who has installed two sets of tires on the Crossfire. They rolled out the red carpet both times.

I save about the cost of one tire, sometimes even more. Spread over those eight sets of tires, that's two sets of tires. I'm sorry but that's significant. None of the locals I use to mount and balance has gone out of business and they know me by name when I show.

It might have a lot to do where we live. It's small-town USA around here. That can cut both ways.