Any Inputs yet on the Eagle F1's

[donaisenbrey]

Price wise it looks like Ford gave us some "good" tires. According to the Tire Rack Survey they are not to terrific in the rain. Any inputs and/or actual experiences?..........Don


PS: Please don't tell me your Cobra never gets wet.

 

[skstang]

Hey Don my car doesnt get wet. But I did drive through where a sprinkler had gone once. Boy was I scared. Cant help you on the rain thing but I would like to say these tires really seem to follow all the grooves or imperfections, angles in the road. I think this could be causing some of the pulling to the right issues. Most roads are angled to the right for water runoff and I believe these tires pick that up. Just my 2 cents though.

 

[Silver 03 Cobra]

Don, I've owned 99 and 01 Cobras along with my 03 now. My first few set of tires were 275 BFG Comp TA's and Goodyear GSC's. The tread ratings are pretty low on both. I had 4.10's on the 99 and 01. I hardly ever burned any rubber. The best mileage I got out of a set was 8000. 4.10's and jack rabbit starts eat tires. I saw that a friend's Lightning had F1's so I bought a set. I got close to 24K miles on my first set. I didn't find them no worse than any other tire in the rain. As for street driving, I won't run any thing else. What I am planning on doing is getting two drag radial's for the rear to prolong my F1's. My 4.10 gears willbe here by Friday and I'll put them in Saturday. I'm sure with the rwhp that I'll have to be a little particular when I leave a light. I've been trying to do this for three years :-D .

 

[dips]

The Eagle F1 GS tires on your Cobra are not the same ones you get off the shelf, or the ones on the Camaro SS. They were designed specifically for the 03 Cobra and are much better than the off the shelf tire. Something to keep in mind when it is time for replacement........

 

[donaisenbrey]

The Eagle F1 GS tires on your Cobra are not the same ones you get off the shelf

Interesting.....Do the '03's have the F1-GS or the F1? From the pictures I have seen of the tires it only says F1 on the sidewall............Don

 

[eddy z]

I had F1's on my 98 cobra... I like the Goodyears better vs the Comps T/A's.. The F1's last longer, and provide better handling/performance from my past experiences...

 

[p3pete]

Don,
Just looked at mine and they say F1 GS. How 'bout the rest of the 03 owners?
Cheers,
Pete

 

[fangstang]

I doubt very much so that the F1's on the 2003 are any different from the ones's on the SS or WS6.

BTW, my friend has these tires on his 2001 WS6, and I ask him all the time how they perform in the rain, and he says that they are great, and he has yet to slip with them, he also doesnt have traction control on his car so its pretty amazing! They lasted him along time too!

 

[eddy z]

yep these tires handle much better than the comps t/a's did in the rain...

 

[dips]

SVT develops unique tires with the tire manufacturers for every car. Tires are tuned to the vehicle, just like shocks, springs and bushings. Although the tires might look the same, tire construction (belts, sidewalls) and compounds (rubber, silica, etc.) are a black art that is left up to the manufacturers. The compounds on the Cobra are different from the ones used on the off the shelf tire. It's not something you can see by looking at it, because the tread pattern is the same, but if you tested the two back to back, it is easy to tell the difference.

 

[black03]

I had a 99 camaro ss and I can tell you that the tires on my 03 are the same exact tires that were on my camaro. Goodyear Eagle F1 GS 275 40 17 . Same size too.

 

[Gatorac]

I'm very impressed with mine. They stick well on the street and don't seem to hydroplane bad in the rain.

 

[p3pete]

Dips,
I must admit, I'm not a tire expert, but if the tires SVT put on our cobras were not standard Goodyear F1 GS, then how would one go about ordering them? Is there a unique part number or something that would differentiate between F1 GS for a Cobra, a SS, etc. etc.?

We have had some serious rain down here in Florida as many others have alluded and my cobra is a daily driver. I must say in my opinion, these tires are quite good in the rain. I'd always been a comp t/a zr guy on previous cars, but I might just stick with Goodyear this time. Both wet and dry handling are quite good.

Cheers,
Pete

 

[SVTyballz]

I have to admit.......These are the first set of Goodyears I have ever liked. Great at everything so far. I was skeptical at first, cuz every other set of Goodyears I have owned ( all OEM) have been terrible. Of course the EMT versions on my girlfriends C5 are another story.............they really are baaaaaaaddd. More proof of SVT doing it right on this Cobra!!! Thank you Mr. Coletti!!

gary

 

[Cobra'03]

Originally posted by p3pete
Dips,
I must admit, I'm not a tire expert, but if the tires SVT put on our cobras were not standard Goodyear F1 GS, then how would one go about ordering them? Is there a unique part number or something that would differentiate between F1 GS for a Cobra, a SS, etc. etc.?

We have had some serious rain down here in Florida as many others have alluded and my cobra is a daily driver. I must say in my opinion, these tires are quite good in the rain. I'd always been a comp t/a zr guy on previous cars, but I might just stick with Goodyear this time. Both wet and dry handling are quite good.

Cheers,
Pete

I am having trouble buying this also:

1) The car's are certified with a certain tire, and if it were some "jazzed" speciality tire, I wonder if the EPA would allow it.

2) What about safety issues if one tire had to be replaced for whatever reason? Wouldn't Ford face culpability for not having made prior disclosure that thre replacement tire is not matched in perf. to the OEM?

3) What about the scales of economy - a specialty tire requires a specialty price, which is not attractive to a major mfr as it cuts into the prfit margin.

 

[Gatorac]

FWIW, A friend of mine was the guy trying to get the replacement tires for Speedster302's Cobra. He works in the parts department for the dealer where Speed bought his Cobra. It was very difficult for him to find the factory tires. He claimed they were made special for the Cobra and that's why they were hard to find. He could not get them from the local Goodyear store. He's a smart guy with no reason to make up a story for me.

 

[FINICKY]

well i just happen to work for a good year stor in jersey and just had this conversation with my manager.....YES they are different then the camaro ss tires its the load range of the tire.these tires have a higher load range wich makes them a little stiffer and able to handle more weight....probably cause the dam car weighs so much.

 

[Petzuk]

I ran the old Goodyear Gatorbacks on an 88 5.0 Hatch.... They were pretty bad in water, and wore out quickly (30 K).

My 95 Cobra came with Goodyear GS-C's, and they were much better in the rain, and lasted longer (40 K).

I replaced them with Goodyear F1 Steels and they were very good in water, and lasted a bit more (43 K).

I would expect the '03 F1's to be better than all of them. Tire technology is always improving, and costing less.

I've also noticed that wide tires (greater than 225) tend to get caught in road depressions, grooves and cracks (Especially on the old Saw Mill Parkway in NY). Must have something to do with the width.

 

[VettTheRipper]

I have about 10k miles driving on the F1 Supercars and if the Cobra's F1's are anything like them then you've got some great tires. They are not the best rain tire but I've had no problems in the rain provided you dont get crazy on the gas. Dry grip is incredible and they take abuse well.

 

[toofast4u]

I live in South Florida and it really has not stopped raining since I bought the car a month ago. The car feels extremely confident on the road dry or wet and they are better then any tire combination that I had on the 95 Cobra. I have had Firestone SZ-50, Yokohama AVS, and Goodyear GS-C before and these definitely handle better in the dry and wet.