andythejock01wrx

Am in the process of looking for 4 new tyres.

Wanted the best tyre I could get for wet weather and had read good reports on Goodyear Eagle F1's. However, just called a well respected local tyre dealer and the chap advised me not to go for the Goodyears, as he's had number of Impreza owners come back with them early as the shoulders of the tyres had worn very quickly.

He recommended Toyo T1R's as they were made of reinforced rubber, so didn't suffer from this problem.

1) Has anybody heard of this problem with Goodyears ?

2) What are the Toyos like for wet weather grip ?

Many thanks folks !

Andy

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Sounds more like the people who've come back have allignment problems to me.

I'm not aware of any such issues with them; mine are wearing very well. Great all-weather tyre too; very impressive in the wet! Suits the Scooby very well.

Ns04

SirFozzalot

I have heard of a few people having problems with side walls splitting on the Goodyears.

Only stuff I have read on here though. Take a look in the Wheels, Tyres & Brakes section, there might be more info there.

andythejock01wrx

My Scoob has the Prodrive alignment settings. The local dealership said this can cause the kind of wear described. Anybody else with Prodrive settings had these problems ? Do you have standard springs/settings Ns04 ? And do you have the XL F1's ? ?

Anybody got any comments on the Toyo's wet weather performance ?

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Hi mate,

No, normal F1s for me. There is a size in the 17inch wheels that Goodyear don't make the F1s with a sufficient load rating for, causing splits in the tyre sidewalls if they're fitted. Hence why some go for the XL I think. IIRC you need to make sure they have a load rating of 87y, or whatever it is that subaru say in the handbook. If they're available in that size they should be fine.

It's my understanding that the Prodrive settings are quite mild and should not impact on tyre wear that significantly. Mine is std at the moment, but must get the geometry done asap!

Ns04

pippyrips

haven't been on mine for a while but they seem fine. I had very wear on the shoulders of my toyo t1-s's - would never get another set.

Omly bad thing i have heard about the GSD-3s is that some had split - get the y rating tyres and you will be fine

andythejock01wrx

Does Y rating = XL ?

Pippygrips, do you mean you had heavy wear on the shoulders of your Toyos - the tyres that the garage were recommending I buy to avoid this problem ?

ralphandcarol

I think it is all down to maintenance and driver.
I have had a set of Toyo T1S's for over 35K, regularly changed from front to back etc,and correctly inflated.
Before anybody say's drives like an old fart, I have done track days and the occasional RWYB and (where sensible) do not hang around on the roads either,all the above on these tyres!!!

andythejock01wrx

Ralph (or Carol !) - Are the Toyos particularly good in the wet ?

ralphandcarol

Andy,
I can only speak about the T1S's which I think have now been superceeded by the T1R's.
The T1S's are great in the wet and (in track conditions) have a very progressive break away.
The T1R's are a softer compound so should give even better results, albeit sacrificing longevity.
I am just about to change mine to T1R's (they have almost had it now) so i shall let you know in 25k+ miles

Ralph

Robin Mullan

I ve had problems with F1's wearing, not just on shoulder but across the tread, they were lasting 5-6k per tyre and i don thave alignment issues, they were good while they lasted.
Have now changed to Michelin Pilot Exalto's, they are a little bit more expensive but god are they good in the wet and dry, they have now done 5k and still have 5mm left across the tread, a big big difference compared to the F1's.

Robin Mullan

How on earth have your tyres managed to last 35k ?

andythejock01wrx

Are the Michelins as good in the wet as the Goodyears ?

And has anyone else tried the Toyos (ie what are they like in the wet ?)

Robin Mullan

Yes the michelins for me are definatly better in the wet, there are a couple of roundabouts near me that i know when i would loose traction in the wet with the F1's. With the michelins i can push the car much harder and it feels much more stable.
I can t comment on the Toyo's as i have never used them.

andythejock01wrx

Cheers Robin !

Anybody else got any experience of these tyres ?

Sonic Blue Type R

iTrader: (3)

Hi Andy, I have had 2 sets of GSD3's and although they are a good gripping tyre, the inside of the front tyre wall doesn't last, they split and crack all the way around the inside wall (rears don't suffer with this problem).

1st set let go, not a violent blow-out but still could have been very dangerous.

2nd set started to go the same way, not too long ago. Basically got the tyre place I bought them from to send them for inspection, down at Goodyear and basically got 60% rebate on each tyre, which is pretty good.

I was also advised to buy the Toyos TR-1's, I think that's what they are called, and they are pretty good, a bit different from the Goodyears, although it is quite hard for me to gauge exactly as I am still running the GSD3's on the rear.

I will be getting them changed soon though, as the different tyre characteristics are doin ma head in.

andythejock01wrx

Sonic,

Am now thinking about either the Toyo T1-R's or Michelins, depending on how great the price difference is. Seems both are good in the wet.

Anyone else got opinions on the Goodyears, Toyos and Michelins ?

marklemac

I've got F1's on my MY02 STI.

The rears have been on for 2.5 yrs and have done 40k miles and still show no sign of wear, (much to the disgust of the local tyre company I bought them off).

I've had 2 sets of fronts in that time.

Shark Man

The biggest problem with the GSD3 I've seen has been due to the owner driving too hard and using factory tyre pressures causing excessive sidewall and edge scrubbing and in some cases failure (the same has been noticed with other brands BTW).

Adjust pressures to suit driving style, speed, and load, not just what it says on the door jam, and ensure that geometry has been checked and corrected (don't rely on factory) and wear should be relatively even without sidewall failure.

andy97

iTrader: (1)

No wonder they didn't last long with 400+bhp

I found my F1s were wearing quite steadily until I entered to a few drag/ track events, now they are showing lots of wear(15k so far, but not too much tread left). It depends on how often you rag the car.

Andy

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

All tyres have a load rating usually following the size ie 225/40-18 89. You need to make sure you get a tyre with a sufficient load rating or you could run into problems with splitting etc. This is especially important if you have a heavier newage scoob. The correct oem tyre spec should be on a sticker on the inside of the drivers door jam (b post). If you go for an equivalent or higher load rating to what's specced there you should be fine.

With regards to Toyo's I've been running T1-Rs for around 8 months (~9k) and they are a very capable tyre IMHO, still having ~75% tread left..! Initially they were awful, for around 200 miles, thought I'd bought the wrong tyre, but once properly scubbed in I've been impressed with them. This was coming from the OEM bridgestone RE050's which were also very good imho. They can be a bit squeely when reaching the limit (I'm running powerstations T25 setup) but they are very progressive.

In the wet I've found traction to be excellent (braking and accelerating) and very good laterally, but this could be due to suspension/geometry setup. I got mine with a wheel package and the tyres worked out a around £100 a corner fitted (225/40/18's 92Y).

Hope this helps.

BTW have you tried Costco for Michelin Pilots, they're supposed to be very cheap inc fitting..?!

Stev

Andy

I had Goodyears on my last Scoob, several years ago, but had to change them (there was still quite a bit of tread left) due to cracks appearing in the side wall ( changed to Pirrelli). Re the Michelin Pilots I have them on the Octavia and they are an excellent all rounder. I am not sure if I would put them on my Scoob though.

Husaberk

Had 4 sets of F1s on my MY00 Wagon(standard wheels) and they've lasted approx 15000miles per set. Been totally happy with them, never seen any sign of cracking.

ralphandcarol

I do not really know that myself,
All I can say is the tyres were put on the day the car was imported and have been on there ever since, 3.5yrs ago and 35K.
Just swapped from front to back regularly and when had the wheels refurbed they were also swapped side to side, plus keeping inflated to the correct pressure.

andythejock01wrx

Cheers Stev.

I've bought quite a few sets of Goodyears in the past. Did notice a wee bit of feathering on the shoulders and sounds like this will be worse on the Scoob with its 4WD. Obviously a lot of people love their grippy Goodyears, but I can't risk the poor wear described !

Up for watching Scotland v France by the way ?

Andy

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

I find the Goodyear F1s last well.....

however...there have been more than a few isolated cases of tyres splitting - all 4 of mine split on the insides quite badly.

Goodyear believe this has nothing to do with the load ratings.

Shark Man

They are right. It's because the tyre has been used with insufficient pressure for the driving style and circumstance, causing excess loading on the outer shoulders

Aztec Performance Ltd

iTrader: (234)

Tyre pressures ran at 34/37 iirc.

All tyres were heavly split on the insides.

Shark Man

Obviously not enough for your useage then?

I am basing this on Good Year's own findings. And not to mention drivers of NON-XL rated gsd3s that have had no issues at all.

robdav

you should have no problems with f1s mate as long as your alignement is set up propely as im getting some on mine soon as they are far better than toyos