Fitted 225/40/18 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's

[stevehg]

Changed all four tyres today replacing original Conti 2's with the Goodyear F1 AS2's. Conti's have lasted 24,900 miles, fronts ~1.8mm, rears ~3mm.

I could have got a few k more if I'd changed them front to rear at about 12K mark, although I was too lazy to do it!

Tyres were £120 each fitted with current 5% discount and 4wheel alignment was £25, so £505 in total.

Here are some pics of tyres and alignment figures - excuse the dirty car/wheels ...

You get a very substantial rim protector with the F1 AS2's...

Alignment before...

And after...

I'll let you know how they work out.

Cheers

Steve

Edited 4 October, 2012 by stevehg

[stevehg]

Quick update...

It always hard to be subjective about reviewing a new set of tyres, especially when the last set were new some 25,000 miles and almost two years ago. So it's impossoble for me to say if the new Goodyears are quieter, as the outgoing Conti's were very noisy at their worn levels and some surfaces would produce a droning noise. So noise wise the Goodyears are a significantly better, but as I can't reliably remember what the Conti's were like new, I can't compare.

However, it is possible to compare general driving experience. The Goodyears are a lot more forgiving of our uk roads, especially around town, where there is a lot less jarring and shuddering from potholes, drain covers and minor imperfections are soaked up providing a more comfortable ride than the Conti's.

Turn in is noticeably better too. I think this has something to do with be sidewalls being stiffer. You notice this on the fronts. Before the front Conti's always looked under inflated, however, tyre pressures would be spot on and looking at wear you would conclude that they were slightly too high. With the big 2l diesel lump out front, there is a lot of weight on the fronts. I'll see how wears goes on the Goodyears using the recommended pressures. So far turn in at lower speeds and directional changes at speed feel significantly better than the Conti's.

So, very happy with choice so far. The 'poor' low speed ride quality was one of the things I noticed when I first got the superb, but I put this more down to moving from a Range Rover with a couple of extra inches between the road and the wheel. So glad to see that the new tyres have improved this.

Cheers

Steve

[j0hn]

Thanks for sharing, that's a very good price - where did you get them from?

I would have probably gone for these over the PS3s at £120 per corner.

[Caspian]

I was interested to see that you managed to get your 4WD Superb 170 to do almost 25000 miles on your conti 2's. Most people on this forum seem to suggest they only get around 7000 miles on Conti 2's on the front. On my FWD Superb 170 DSG, I am currently a bit over 10,000 miles and my front tyres are 3/4 worn, so I wont get to 25,000 miles, but will be significantly better than some.

I was thinking of new tyres for when I will need replacement and came up with the Goodyear F1 AS2's as being the best all round tyre available at present. I was hoping someone would try them before I had to replace mine. I see that your experience is that they are quieter and smoother than the Conti's and also that turn is better. All sounds good.

May I ask what pressures you were using front and rear for the Conti's, and now for the Goodyear's? At first I ran the Conti's at 32 lbs/sq in front and rear on the recommendation of the dealer. (Somewhat different from the 31.5 front 34 rear recommended on the fuel cap.) I now run at 33 front and rear which from experience gives better turn in without destroying the ride.

[stevehg]

Thanks for sharing, that's a very good price - where did you get them from?

I would have probably gone for these over the PS3s at £120 per corner.

F1 autocentres, other option I looked at was online at Camskill where they were ~£108 + delivery, and fitting of course.

I was interested to see that you managed to get your 4WD Superb 170 to do almost 25000 miles on your conti 2's. Most people on this forum seem to suggest they only get around 7000 miles on Conti 2's on the front. On my FWD Superb 170 DSG, I am currently a bit over 10,000 miles and my front tyres are 3/4 worn, so I wont get to 25,000 miles, but will be significantly better than some.

I was thinking of new tyres for when I will need replacement and came up with the Goodyear F1 AS2's as being the best all round tyre available at present. I was hoping someone would try them before I had to replace mine. I see that your experience is that they are quieter and smoother than the Conti's and also that turn is better. All sounds good.

May I ask what pressures you were using front and rear for the Conti's, and now for the Goodyear's? At first I ran the Conti's at 32 lbs/sq in front and rear on the recommendation of the dealer. (Somewhat different from the 31.5 front 34 rear recommended on the fuel cap.) I now run at 33 front and rear which from experience gives better turn in without destroying the ride.

Yes, I wouldn't say I'm a sedate driver too. There's obviously going to be slightly less wear with the Haldex compared to just FWD, and at least half of my miles are motorway so this will have a factor too.

Pressures for Conti's were standard recommended 2.2 front 2.3 rear same as with AS2's. As you are running slightly increased at front are you getting more central wear pattern?

When its not raining, I'll have to remember to do a chalk test and see what wear is like with recommended pressures on the AS2's.

[Caspian]

When I bought my Superb the dealer said that 2.2 bar (Less than 31 lbs/sq inch) was in his opinion far too soft for the front tyres. He thought I would have problems with damage to the front wheels caused by potholes. He also felt the turn in would be better with 32 lbs/sq inch. I experimented. I didn't like the feel of the car on 2.2 bar and could see how it could allow the rims to hit the road in the event of a pothole, and there are plenty of those around these days. I eventually came to the conclusion that 32 lbs/sq inch all round was good advice. At 32 lbs/sq inch on the front, the wear pattern seemed even across the tyre. Now using 33 lbs /sq inch, it is indeed possible that there is a little more central wear, but I am not yet convinced of that.

[dippo]

But 2.2 bar is 32 psi!

http://www.which.co.uk/cars/driving/sat-navs-tyres-and-accessories/best-car-tyre-brands/barto-psiconverter/