Ok going to stick with the Pirellis. F1s have done about 1300 miles, just as bad. Downright dangerous on the M4 especially on the curves by Newport. Overhyped underachievers - at least in 16 in size anyway. And the annoying thing is they don't even seem to grip as well! Double doh!

Thanks to all those who have commented, and will have a pair of F1s going cheap soon.

Cheers, cal

 

So are Toyo's better than F1's in 16" then? And how do S03's compare?

Sounds to me that Bridgestone could make a mint from us if the started producing the S02 again!! Or someone could if they found a lost container of them!

 

Maddog,

Runnning SO3s on 16s and they tramline alot..... worse now they are approx half worn. Was going to swap to F1s before reading this thread, now not so sure.....

Steve

 

Exactly what SiPie has said. My car was rolling all over the place with my new F1's until I changed the tyre pressures to 34 front, 32 rear. Now pretty good. Still wearing in though.

J

 

Yep running 32.5 psi on the backs. Horrible, nasty feeling, easily the worst tyres ive had on all my cars ever for feel and lack of confidence. Will try and change them next week back to pirellis, all comparisons of my own, but I know whats right and whats not with the car, and those F1s have killed the handling, cheers cal

 

There seems to be conflicting info on pressures, can someone please confirm what they have found the best combination for 215/40x17 size Goodyears.
Cheers

 

Was running 205/50 16 S02's which i thought were brilliant. Changed to 215/40 17 F1 GSD3 and amazed to find them even better. However they did take about 1000 miles to really feel at home. Strangely they didn't feel harsher as I was expecting, and there is a little tread flex when new, but they just get better and better as they go on. Turn-in is sharper, grip unbelievable wet and dry, utterly predictable, which is so important. 34/32 psi.
Wore them out nearly and discovered there are cracks in the side-walls which I've got to get goodyear to look at, however I admit I have given them plenty to deal with and they've still lasted 25k.
I put the old 16 so2's back on last week. Surprisingly they are harsher to ride on and not noticeably softer on turn in, though they are less direct and will run wide earlier than the F1's under extreme cornering. Also noisier. Set around 33/31 psi.

I'd still buy more F1's for sure but next time might need 215/45s on a MY'03, so maybe the theory about the softer sidewalls in 50 profile, which seems to make sense from above, might prove to be an issue in that profile, and more so in 50's.

Oh, and that cracking, I'll keep you posted..

 

DannyB

215/40/17's with 34/32 work best with me.

J

 

Excuse my ignorance but is that 34 front / 32 back or vice versa?
Cheers

 

When I switched from the original Bridgestones on my STI7 to the F1's, I was instantly amazed by the dry and wet weather grip. On the whole I was very pleased with them.

Once I had given them a suitable running in period, I stepped up the pace in the twisties, and to my amazement a could hear scraping sounds in tight corners. At first I though it was my tyres catching the wings, but when I looked closer I noticed that my mud flaps were scraped on the bottom edge. Now there is a good 3 inch between bottom edge of mud flap and ground when the car is parked so I guessed that sort of suspension travel could be seen when pushing the car. So I put it down to the extra front end grip in the car making the suspension work harder.

This thread has got me thinking now, and maybe it is the tyre wall strength to a certain extent, maybe a bit of both. I know one thing though, when I checked my cornering speeds I noticed that I was taking them around 15-20mph faster... Extra grip does mean that more stresses are exerted on suspension and tyres.

Either way, I do agree with the comments about turn in not feeling as sharp as say other tyres. My old SO2's on my MY00 were fantastic, and I had them in both 16" and 17" when I switched wheels, both of which felt just as good as each other.

FWIW, I am running my pressures at 37/34. Much harsher ride, but it is kinder on my mud flaps

Answer to this one is, but 18" wheels and run them rubber bands

Cheers

Simon

 

I guess that error message saying couldn't connect to server wasn't entirely correct then. Didn't mean to post the same mail 85 times. Sorry!

 

I had 16" S03s before the F1s on my 00, and the sidewalls were definitely stiffer with sharper turn in, but they were a lot noisier. I didn't find a tramlining problem with the S03s (ran these at 32/28). The GSD3s have better grip and sound very smooth, but have a slightly remote feeling even at 34/30. I suspect they would be fine on 45 or 40 profile so 17" wheels are tempting...

Bruce

 

Hi Guys,
Am running a Legacy GTB on F1's,these were on when I bought it,25% worn,215/45 17's,I will have no hesitation in replacing them with the same again.Have run several impreza's on Pirellis,Avons and Bridgestones,but the F1's are the most confidence expiring yet,the avons were IMHO sh*te,the pirelli's not much better.I think from all your threads and my experience with the tyres on my car that lower profiles (ie 17" wheels) seem to be the way to go with F1's...Hope this helps

Regards Blackwood

 

I have now upped the pressure on the fronts to just over 34psi - and what a difference it has made!

After a weekend in Wales, the front end now feels a lot more positive on turn-in, and confidence has returned.

So it seems that for the smaller diameter/higher sidewall tyres, an increase in pressure may make all the difference.....

 

Im having 4 x 215/40/17 F1 GSD3's fitted as i type this. I'll post tomorrow after having driven my MY98 tonight. Having read all the above posts, it seems this is a great tyre on 215/40/17's and $hite on 205/50/16's. We'll see.

 

Jury's out at the moment, managed to have a drive last nite but wasnt impressed after about 20 miles (maybe this is a bit early to make a judgement)

Front end seems very light on roundabouts and sharp corners, although i havent checked tyre pressures yet.

Straight line feeling is a MILLION times better than the 225/45/17 Potenzas which tramlined like a biatch and was very worrying.

 

Iv'e got them on 18" they definately take a 1000 miles to bed in no problems now
ken

 

Yeah, bring back the SO2s, they were superb! But don't buy the SO3s - the F1s are much better, especially in the wet. Turn-in isn't quite as sharp as I'd like, but 34/32 (16" rims) helps.

It's always a bit weird going from worn tyres to new "tippy-toes" treads. Possibly part of the reason the SO2s are so well remembered is that the compound got very soft as they wore down to road legal. Going from that to any new set is always going to be a let down, especially in the dry.

J

 

repeated in error, sorry!

[Edited by Jerry B - 8/15/2003 6:40:39 PM]

 

in error

[Edited by Jerry B - 8/15/2003 6:39:25 PM]

 

in error

[Edited by Jerry B - 8/15/2003 6:38:22 PM]