vfg

Just re-shod all 4 of my Sti7's (PPP) wheels with 225/45/17 Goodyears. I was very happy with the last set - felt more assured than the Toyo's I had previously and never gave a problem in almost 17 miles (tyres swapped f-r after about 8K miles.

With only 20 miles on them, they feel slightly new skittish and vauge - however this lasted only 3-400 miles on the last set and then they were good come rain or shine.

This might be my last set of scooby tyres because I may move on after 2 soobies ('00 model Turbo Standard) and the current Sti.

The performance is wonderful but I fancy a softer driver for long journeys! It could be I will go for refinement and econnomy over raw power next. trading off to a compromise wwould always feel like a compromise!

ST AYE

Recently fitted a set of F1's to replace a set of Bridgestone 070's.

Had to buy new tyres due to an irreparable puncture. I liked the 070's in the dry, good level of grip, was always cautious in the wet, due to a couple of "incidents". If anyone has any they took off I would be interested in buying one.

Anyway, first impressions of the F1's was that they were horrible, car squirming about all over the place.
Increased tyre pressure to 37f 34r, and seemed better, however still moved about on long sweepning bends. Have covered about 300 miles now. Car definately feels nowhere near as planted as on the 070's.
I guess they may improve with a few more miles on them. Overall at present I prefer the 070's

BlueBoy

I need to put more miles on mine Goodyears as they seem to be doing all sorts at the moment (my last set of Toyo's were fine when run in), seemed to have noticed it a lot more with this set for some reason - think I've done about 300 miles now, but they still seem very slippy.

I also had the RE070's on mine and "no" IMO, your not going to find anything as grippy out there at all in the dry, I also though they were good in the wet considering. Sadly, I have to have 18" wheels to fit over my brakes, or I'd get some 17" ones again and once more enjoy the 070's

Chris L

Give the F1s a little time to bed in - it is worth it. The levels of grip are outstanding both in the wet and dry. I've put about 1000 miles on my 18" F1s and they have settled down nicely. The best tyre I've had fitted on my car.

Chris

SlowBoy

iTrader: (1)

Ultimate grip in dry and wet was very good. Turn in was poor.

Wanted to try something different so now on Avon ZZ3s. Ultimate grip is marginally less than the F1s, but the ZZ3's do break away very progressively, so easy to handle. Turn in feels much better than the F1's. Since I do most of my driving around town or at speeds within the legal limit, I prefer the Avons...most of the time.

Dazzler

Felt the same about my F1s since moving from S03s! They felt very vague, almost like you were driving on nobblies. After approx 1000 miles they seem to be so much better.

I do miss my old S02 PPs though !!

Fizz

iTrader: (1)

I've had the f1's in 17's and 18's now on my My01... The 17's seem to roll more than RE070's (what I have on at the moment because I use them on track with 17's). The 18's are fantastic though. The f1's however I agree with above.. bed them in and they'll be better than the re040's

mwp

17" on 03sti ... def need running in ... and i think it's a softer turn in, but be confident and push them and they stick.

- mark.

Jerry B

Stick with them. This is my 3rd set now, and they've all taken around 1000 miles to start to feel good.

WRBlu

I see other people are finding the GSD3 squirmy after the bridgestones, not helped in my case by the std 03 wrx suspension which is too soft when you push it hard. I have not been happy with the car since putting the f1 on the back, still have the bridgestones on the front. All the high speed precision gone, i have found the only way the car feels precise and planted is to run all 4 at 37psi. Now in a dilemma as to whether to stick another 2 GSD3 on the front or go back to the bridgestones or maybe try the avons.

pmarch

I've got a similar situation (MY01WRX) - Goodyear F1's on back,Bridgestone Potenzas on front and quite often experience a wishy-washy squirmy ride on roads with less than perfect camber/surface - also prone to tramlining. Currently inflating to 33 front/32 rear as in car manual. Car does not feel assured - funnily enough less confident in a straight line. Whilst I would really like to (and should) change fronts to Goodyears so as to match up, I will try the extra pressure to 37psi. 37psi might make it too hard a ride but I could always experiment with say 35 as a compromise.

WRBlu

The GSD3 seems to work well on some scoobs and certainly has been recommended in independant mag tests but IMO it is the wrong tyre choice for a new age wrx with std suspension. The std suspension is soft, they were able to do this as the body on the new age is so stiff, the suspension could be softer - combined with softer sidewall tyres - it dont work IMO. I think the solution is another tyre or maybe fit the prodrive springs with the F1, then it should be the best of both worlds. . I am also going to experiment with pressures, had a few quick drives and the car feels much better, downdide is a slightly light feel to the handling with the harder pressures, may go down 1 psi and see how that feels. - Be interested to hear from more new age wrx owners with the GSD3 and std suspension

Fox

Interesting comment regarding the softer tyrewalls and standard suspension. I have been running my MY01 with Prodrive Springs (Powerstation Fast Road settings), OZ 18" wheels and the Pirrelli Neros as supplied with the wheels. Great combination except for one aspect - tramlining (even after Powerstation waved their magic wand)!!

Decided to swap to F1s after reading good reports on various BBs, and have been running them now for 3 weeks (1200 miles).

Initial impressions:- extremely soft - very 'bouncy' ride compared to the Pirrellis - very uncomfortable at 'fast' road speeds on undulating surfaces.

Solution:- push up pressures to 35 front and 34 rear.

Now get a very stable and predictable ride, good grip on both wet and dry surfaces, no tramlining. Bonus feature is that they are a much quieter tyre on rough surfaces. With the Pirellis, you almost had to shout on to be heard on some surfaces (M25 southern section west of Reigate)

Overall though, still not sure - If the Pirrellis didn't tramline so much, I would probably put up with the louder ride and switch back to them.

Regards

WRBlu

Interesting that you have the prodrive springs and still had to put the pressures up, mine are higher but then i do have std 17'' and std suspension. But what is the alternative tyre choice -
the F1 has wet grip and resistance to aquaplaning
the bridgestones and maybe pirellis have a more precise and controlled feel
Is there a tyre which will give the best of both worlds

SlowBoy

iTrader: (1)

Always some compromise involved. Just a case of personal preference/priority of one characteristic over another.

GF8

I had the Japanese version S03 and then F1 GSD3 now, with Prodrive suspension of a classic wagon.

Here is my observation:

S03 is better in terms of grip & handling. The harder sidewall gives more feedback from the road.

However, the F1 GSD3 gives a better ride, less road noise, and reduced tramlining.

I am looking for a more comfortable ride with the new set of tyres, and I think choosing the GSD3 is closer to my requirements.

NotoriousREV

I've had F1's on my MY93 WRX (16" wheels) for 25,000 miles and before that had 2 sets on my Lexus IS200.

F1's do feel a bit squirmy, certainly at first, but I like this as you are getting feedback from the tyres but not so much information that it feels nervous but you soon realise that although the tread blocks and sidewalls move around a little and they actually grip extremely well, wet or dry. I run 37f/32r rear which helps reduce understeer but makes the car feel a little more tail happy.

For the levels of grip, longevity isn't an issue either, my 25,000 miles is on one set of tyres, and although the outer 2" of each front tyre is slick-like the main part of the tread has only just reached the wear indicators on the fronts and there's loads of meat left on the rears. Thats mixed driving including commuting on the motorway and hooning about on the twisties.

WRBlu

VFG sorry for thread hijack, hope you found it interesting Thanks for the input, running on 36-37 front and 35-36 rear the car is fine, just a little tail waggy under hard braking which i think is down to the mismatched tyres front to rear axles, sticking 2 gsd3 on front now to fix

vfg

Please feel free to Hijack away - at least we finally have an rational comparison between S03's & DG3s!

The F1-DG3's are still going well and do provide good grip and a nice ride. I have no regrets.

MJW

I think you'll find the tramlining is more symptomatic of the Bridgestones rather than the F1s. I noticed severe tramlining when my OE Potenza's were on their last legs, but when I switched all 4 tyres for the F1 GSD3 (even after 17k miles) there's no tramlining at all. They're also considerably less noisy than the Potenzas. I think the tread pattern may account for some of the ride issues on severely pitted surfaces but in all honesty I haven't noticed it that much in my experience with them. IMO the F1 GSD3 is the best compromise for the UK weather and roads and will be re-shodding my car with them next time round as well.

pmarch

Yes, the tramlining and general vague feel seems to be at the front end. Currently trying all four inflated to 36psi to see if this provides temp fix, but ideally I will change fronts to F1's to match those on back.