We had four new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 SUV Tyres fitted in September 2023 and at the weekend I had the wheels off to clean them and do a wheel rotation. When checking the tyres for stones and any other objects I noticed all four tyres have cracks in the radial grooves on them, took some pics and tried to zoom in as best I could.

Are there any tyre guys on here who can give an educated opinion please.

Cracking along the grooves suggests uneven loading, and excessive cornering forces, suggesting tyres were at incorrect pressure.

The other possibility is they have been driven when very cold, when the rubber is very hard and brittle, and it has cracked. These are summer tyres and not really designed (although UK folk do use them at low temperatures).

I have a winter tyre set, and my summers had no cracks after 7 years (because they are not used in cold weather), but I know people who leave summer tyres on all year and find surface cracks after 2-3 years. Of course in summer UV is strong, so I don't buy into theory that strong UV causes cracks, especially as I know others with winter tyres that also don't get cracks. My hunch is they only start to crack when brittle when cold, although once a crack is started it can expand.

I would be reaching out to Goodyear. Those tyres were made in mid-May of 2023.

I would not expect premium two year old tyres to have cracking like that.

While I don’t disagree with the above, I run Pilot Sport 5s (UHP summer tyre) all year round. The tyres on the front of my car are from early 2024, and have no issues. Bearing in mind, they’ve been rim deep in snow a few times. They’ve also had some very hard driving, with multiple tyre-squealing and 350bhp FWD launch-controlling occasions.

UV does cause cracking and degradation of the rubber, but realistically this is over a period closer to ten years than two IMO.

Loading, pressure and temperature do have an impact, but again, unless they were significantly overloaded or under/overfilled, I doubt that would cause this.

FYI, I did some maths on the Octavia a few months ago in response to a post, and worked out that it is realistically impossible to overload (with respect to tyre ratings) a Skoda Octavia vRS fitted with the correct tyres, before the boot floor collapses.

Certainly, unless you live in Shetland and carry cinder blocks around, I’m not convinced, especially as you’re in balmy Cambridge. While winter tyres are nice to have, you don’t need them in Southern England. The Eagle F1 is a UHP tyre, but it’s not a Pilot Cup 2.

Out of interest, how many miles do you do a year? With what sort of use? Unless those tyres have had really hard use, I don’t think their condition is right.

I only ask as those tyres look in worse condition than my Pilot Sport 4s after 16,000 miles, and those were a really soft compound.

The sidewalls look as expected, but the edge of the blocks and the rubber around the cracks look quite tired IMO.

6 hours ago, OccyVRS said:

I would be reaching out to Goodyear. Those tyres were made in mid-May of 2023.

I would not expect premium two year old tyres to have cracking like that.

While I don’t disagree with the above, I run Pilot Sport 5s (UHP summer tyre) all year round. The tyres on the front of my car are from early 2024, and have no issues. Bearing in mind, they’ve been rim deep in snow a few times. They’ve also had some very hard driving, with multiple tyre-squealing and 350bhp FWD launch-controlling occasions.

UV does cause cracking and degradation of the rubber, but realistically this is over a period closer to ten years than two IMO.

Loading, pressure and temperature do have an impact, but again, unless they were significantly overloaded or under/overfilled, I doubt that would cause this.

FYI, I did some maths on the Octavia a few months ago in response to a post, and worked out that it is realistically impossible to overload (with respect to tyre ratings) a Skoda Octavia vRS fitted with the correct tyres, before the boot floor collapses.

Certainly, unless you live in Shetland and carry cinder blocks around, I’m not convinced, especially as you’re in balmy Cambridge. While winter tyres are nice to have, you don’t need them in Southern England. The Eagle F1 is a UHP tyre, but it’s not a Pilot Cup 2.

Out of interest, how many miles do you do a year? With what sort of use? Unless those tyres have had really hard use, I don’t think their condition is right.

I only ask as those tyres look in worse condition than my Pilot Sport 4s after 16,000 miles, and those were a really soft compound.

The sidewalls look as expected, but the edge of the blocks and the rubber around the cracks look quite tired IMO.

I do around 6 to 7k miles per annum,they have done 12k since fitting and have 5.5mm tread across most of the tyre. I drive mostly local rural road journeys with the odd trip up the A1 to Newcastle to see our son. Most journeys it's just two adults, two dogs and shopping 😀. Tyre pressures check done monthly set to recommend 2.4 bar and it's not driven in snow, we have a Panda 4x4 with all season tyres(my wifes daily driver) for that.

Had Eagle F1s on my previous Octavia Vrs estate and they were still in good condition after three years when we changed to the Kodiaq. That was partly why I had them put on in place of the four Pirellis that were on it.

Spoke to Goodyear yesterday and they want me to take it back to National tyres who fitted them for inspection.

My concern is if they agree to replace them could another identical set do the same thing?

I don't believe it's a known issue with them, however I'm also not an expert on Goodyear car tyres. See what National Tyres say, and let us know.

You've given them normal use, and maintained them more than the average person would. I haven't done my tyre pressures in a few months - I must do that soon.

My money now would be on Michelin or Continental. Crossclimate 3 might be worth a look - not sure on your usage but it doesn't sound like SportContact or Pilot Sport are really needed.

It's worth saying that tyres aren't impervious to nasty stuff on the roads - I doubt you have, but I suppose you could have driven through spilled acid on the A1 😂

Just be careful in case they try to suggest that.

I don't know your tyre size, but it is worth noting that currently the latest Goodyear tyres are :

(Summer) Eagle F1 asymmetric 6 or Efficient grip performance 2

(All year) vector 4 seasons gen 3

(Winter) Ultragrip performance 3

If you have asymmetric 3, they are either an odd size, and only available to old design, rather than latest version 6

So if they opt to replace them, I would check what version they currently fit, and based on what you say is your driving style, I don't think you need the sporty F1 tyres. If Goodyear are paying try and switch to one of the others in their range. If you are offered any brand then unless you can get latest versions try and get something else eg Michelin, Continental etc.

8 minutes ago, SurreyJohn said:

I don't know your tyre size, but it is worth noting that currently the latest Goodyear tyres are :

(Summer) Eagle F1 asymmetric 6 or Efficient grip performance 2

(All year) vector 4 seasons gen 3

(Winter) Ultragrip performance 3

If you have asymmetric 3, they are either an odd size, and only available to old design, rather than latest version 6

So if they opt to replace them, I would check what version they currently fit, and based on what you say is your driving style, I don't think you need the sporty F1 tyres. If Goodyear are paying try and switch to one of the others in their range. If you are offered any brand then unless you can get latest versions try and get something else eg Michelin, Continental etc.

They are 235/45 R20 100V Asymmetric 3 SUV. If National/Halfords agree then will go for an All Season tyre.

3 hours ago, Liteboy said:

If National/Halfords agree

Halfrauds will agree to anything if they think it's a "buying signal".

Yeah... I go to Halfords for screen wash and that's about it. I wouldn't trust them to open my fuel cap.

I always like to go to an independent place. Especially when swapping tyres from one set of wheels to another, it's always been the independent places that have carefully wrapped up the wheels for the boot.

13 minutes ago, OccyVRS said:

Yeah... I go to Halfords for screen wash and that's about it. I wouldn't trust them to open my fuel cap.

I always like to go to an independent place. Especially when swapping tyres from one set of wheels to another, it's always been the independent places that have carefully wrapped up the wheels for the boot.

They took over National Tyres where we are, to be fair the Autocentre seems to employ more mature staff than the local shop does. Bit like you screenwash is the only thing I tend to get there too.

On 11/08/2025 at 15:26, Liteboy said:

We had four new Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 SUV Tyres fitted in September 2023 and at the weekend I had the wheels off to clean them and do a wheel rotation. When checking the tyres for stones and any other objects I noticed all four tyres have cracks in the radial grooves on them, took some pics and tried to zoom in as best I could.

Are there any tyre guys on here who can give an educated opinion please.

I've seen worse. I don't think you have anything to worry about, but if you can wrangle a new set of tyres off the back of those cracks, go for it.

At least you have a supplier to go back to.

I used to use a mobile tyre fitter who was rubbish at assisting with my tyre cracking problem (3-year old tyre below). Which is why I stopped using him in favour of a premises-based supplier.

I spoke to Bridgestone about my tyre cracks (Turanza 001) and they said it was due to lack of use meaning the "oils" within the tyre weren't able to move and keep the tyres supple.

The tyre fitter said there was a rubber shortage following fires at rubber plantations, so alternative materials were being used in tyre production. 🤷‍♂️

I don't know what the truth of the matter is, but I swapped them for GY Assym 6's and so far they've been great.

For whatever reason, it seems tyres are more prone to cracking these days.

So I have been in conversation with Goodyear technical and the car has been in to Halfords Autocentre today for inspection. Both have assured me that the surface cracks are quite normal in this type of tyre and in no way does it affect the structural integrity of the tyre. As EnterName says they did say lack of use or heat cycles in the tyre can cause this due to the outer tread compound materials. Apparently it is less likely to happen in a mid range or budget tyre again due to the compound materials. Unless the cracks grow they wouldn't even get an advisory on the MOT. They measured tread depth at 6 to 7mm, more than my gauge showed, so there is plenty of life left and nothing to worry about 🤔