From: aq456@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Terry Quinn)
Newsgroups: rec.autos
Subject: Re: Tires: BFGoodrich vs. Goodyear
Date: 8 Jan 1993 02:02:54 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


> My 1991 Ford Taurus SHO needs new tires.  The original equipment tires
> are Goodyear Eagle GT+4 P215/60R16 rated 94V, treadwear 200, temperature A
> and traction A.  These tires are directional (give best performance when
> rolling forward).
> 
> The tire dealer suggests BFBoodrich Comp T/A tire, same size, V rated.  
> He claims comparable performance or even slightly better traction.  
> I have no clue.  Does anyone have any ideas on this?  
 
receives response . . . 
 
> As I recall, the Comp T/A has a treadwear rating of 340--
> 
> That "should" mean the tire "should" last a lot longer, all other
> things being equal.  I don't know about the wet, dry, slalom, snow,quiet,
> braking on wet, dry, and overall handling differences--maybe someone
> out there has actually compared the two brands on the same car.
 
 
Comp T/A VR4 has a 340 rating.  I put these on my Lancer Shelby 
after the Goodyear Gatorbacks wore out.  Here is how I compared 
those two tires, but remember, the Gatorbacks start out stiffer 
and more responsive than the tires you had (I had made this 
comparison earlier for someone else):
 
All comments are concerning Goodrich (compared to Goodyear).
 
Steering Effort:  Somewhat reduced at all turn angles
 
Steering on center precision:  Not as good as Goodyears, by a small amount
 
Road noise:  Slightly less than Goodyears when they were new, much less than 
             Goodyears when Gatorbacks were at half tread depth. 
 
Shock (over expansion joints, etc):  Better than Gatorbacks.  
These are much smoother running tires than the Goodyears. 
 
Response to sudden lane change maneuver:  Pretty agressive at 
getting the nose turned, but the rear end seems slow to follow.  
When if finally does come, you almost feel like you have to 
countersteer a little (probably just dropping off the steer angle 
input at a funny rate) to get things back in control.  In this 
sense, I think the Goodyears are superior. 
 
Output vs slip angle:  At near center position, the "gain" of 
these tires seems significantly less than Goodyears, making them 
feel less responsive (mushy).  After you get through that dead 
zone, however, the Goodrich tires seems to develop more cornering 
force for a given slip angle.  This may be a little bit deceiving, 
however, since the steering effort is so much lower. 
 
Ultimate cornering force:  There might be a slight reduction due 
to the more open tread pattern, but I doubt that you would be able 
to notice it without track times.  At the limit, they are a little 
noiser than the Goodyears (not so much squeal and grumble or growl 
sound) wheras the Gatorbacks were extremely smooth at the limit.  
But ultimate cornering force is comparable. 
 
Wet Weather Handling:  Road slightly wet . . . superior to 
Gatorbacks.  Accelerate from stop on wet street with significantly 
less wheel slip, even compared to Gatorbacks on same car when it 
was new. 
-- 
                                    Terry Quinn
                                     Germantown Hills, IL
                                      tquinn@heartland.bradley.edu
                                       aq456@cleveland.freenet.edu