Goodyear Eagle GT: a tire review
#1
Mach 1 Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: October 30, 2011
Location: Spokane, WA
Posts: 858
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Goodyear Eagle GT: a tire review
I’ve had these tires on the car for a while now, but I wanted to wait to do a review of them until I have several hundred miles on them and had driven them in a range of conditions. Reviews written the minute you get home from the tire shop are pointless as far as I’m concerned.
They are Goodyear Eagle GT all seasons, with a W speed rating. (Be aware, these are different than the Eagle GT’s with the V speed rating). Tire rack lists them as an ‘ultra-high performance all-season.’ I was looking for a long lasting, reasonably affordable OEM replacement tire to replace my OEM Pirellis that would be at least as capable as the OEM tire as far as handling goes.
With that said; let’s get to the important stuff first:
DRY ROAD HOLDING/HANDLING: In a word; it’s excellent. These aren’t r-comp track tires, and they aren’t drag radials. But as long as you understand that and don’t expect them to be something they’re not, I think they’re highly impressive. There’s an approximately 110 degree tight radius sweeping freeway exit I take on a regular basis on my way to work, it has a 25MPH speed advisory. With the OEM Pirellis, 45MPH had the fronts squealing for mercy, and much faster than that caused pretty dramatic push from the front end. The Eagles turn in crisp and hold 55-60MPH through the turn without a hint of complaint. I find that they’re more stable mid corner than the Pirellis were in steady sweepers. They’re a confidence inspiring tire, and don’t feel as twitchy as the Pirellis under minor steering corrections mid corner. I haven’t been to the track, so I can’t speak to their abilities there, but they launch on the street far better than the Pirellis did. They hold WOT in first gear from a stop (in my mostly stock GT) with only a little chirping, when the Pirellis under the same conditions would break lose entirely. The only condition I’ve found that confuses these tires somewhat in the dry is rapid, violent left-right-left-right turning such as a slalom, but that’s probably partly down to the 55 series sidewall of the 17 inch wheels.
WET ROAD HOLDING/HANDLING: Again, excellent is the word I want to use here. Because one half of the asymmetrical tread pattern is designed for wet weather they grip very well in the wet. There’s a depression on the freeway on my daily commute that collects a large patch of standing water during heavy rain. Hitting this puddle with the Pirellis always caused a momentary sensation of hydroplaning and a twitch of the steering wheel. The Eagles blast through the same water without any sensation of hydroplaning. Additionally, it takes a significant amount of hooning with the traction control off to get the car sideways on wet roads. They’re a very stable tire in the wet. I haven’t driven them in the snow, and I don’t plan to drive this car in the snow. Frankly I think if you do drive your mustang in the snow, you owe it to yourself to buy a dedicated set of snow tires.
COMFORT: Comfort doesn’t matter a whole lot to me if I’m honest. I spent the last three years driving a lowered pickup with very old, worn out suspension, so this car is a great leap forward in the comfort department regardless. However, I do think that they are a little rougher riding than the Pirellis were. Not so much to be irritating (to me anyway), but they do seem to have a little stiffer sidewall. I think they’re just a little quieter than the Pirellis as far as road noise, but they’re definitely not a silent tire.
AESTHETICS: I’m not the sort of person who buys a tire based on how “cool” the tread pattern or sidewall looks, but if that does matter to you, I think they’re definitely a “cool” looking tire. For one thing, the name Eagle GT just sounds like it belongs on a muscle car, and definitely looks good on the sidewall. Also, they look beefier than the Pirellis did, despite being the same size. Somehow they look a little bigger and wider than the Pirellis. They also have the rim-protector lip which is nice to have. The tread pattern itself is pretty aggressive looking I think. The inside section looks pretty similar to the Pirellis, and the outside section sorta reminds me of the BFG G-Force T/A. Another thing to keep in mind is that they’re asymmetrical rather than directional. For me that’s a plus because it means they can be rotated more efficiently, and more rotations = longer life.
In conclusion, I’m very pleased with these tires; they do exactly what I was hoping they would do, for a price that I could handle. I expect with regular rotations and my driving style to get about 40,000 miles out of these tires. I’ll update this after the first rotation, or if they do anything unexpected.
Thanks for reading.
-Kevin
They are Goodyear Eagle GT all seasons, with a W speed rating. (Be aware, these are different than the Eagle GT’s with the V speed rating). Tire rack lists them as an ‘ultra-high performance all-season.’ I was looking for a long lasting, reasonably affordable OEM replacement tire to replace my OEM Pirellis that would be at least as capable as the OEM tire as far as handling goes.
With that said; let’s get to the important stuff first:
DRY ROAD HOLDING/HANDLING: In a word; it’s excellent. These aren’t r-comp track tires, and they aren’t drag radials. But as long as you understand that and don’t expect them to be something they’re not, I think they’re highly impressive. There’s an approximately 110 degree tight radius sweeping freeway exit I take on a regular basis on my way to work, it has a 25MPH speed advisory. With the OEM Pirellis, 45MPH had the fronts squealing for mercy, and much faster than that caused pretty dramatic push from the front end. The Eagles turn in crisp and hold 55-60MPH through the turn without a hint of complaint. I find that they’re more stable mid corner than the Pirellis were in steady sweepers. They’re a confidence inspiring tire, and don’t feel as twitchy as the Pirellis under minor steering corrections mid corner. I haven’t been to the track, so I can’t speak to their abilities there, but they launch on the street far better than the Pirellis did. They hold WOT in first gear from a stop (in my mostly stock GT) with only a little chirping, when the Pirellis under the same conditions would break lose entirely. The only condition I’ve found that confuses these tires somewhat in the dry is rapid, violent left-right-left-right turning such as a slalom, but that’s probably partly down to the 55 series sidewall of the 17 inch wheels.
WET ROAD HOLDING/HANDLING: Again, excellent is the word I want to use here. Because one half of the asymmetrical tread pattern is designed for wet weather they grip very well in the wet. There’s a depression on the freeway on my daily commute that collects a large patch of standing water during heavy rain. Hitting this puddle with the Pirellis always caused a momentary sensation of hydroplaning and a twitch of the steering wheel. The Eagles blast through the same water without any sensation of hydroplaning. Additionally, it takes a significant amount of hooning with the traction control off to get the car sideways on wet roads. They’re a very stable tire in the wet. I haven’t driven them in the snow, and I don’t plan to drive this car in the snow. Frankly I think if you do drive your mustang in the snow, you owe it to yourself to buy a dedicated set of snow tires.
COMFORT: Comfort doesn’t matter a whole lot to me if I’m honest. I spent the last three years driving a lowered pickup with very old, worn out suspension, so this car is a great leap forward in the comfort department regardless. However, I do think that they are a little rougher riding than the Pirellis were. Not so much to be irritating (to me anyway), but they do seem to have a little stiffer sidewall. I think they’re just a little quieter than the Pirellis as far as road noise, but they’re definitely not a silent tire.
AESTHETICS: I’m not the sort of person who buys a tire based on how “cool” the tread pattern or sidewall looks, but if that does matter to you, I think they’re definitely a “cool” looking tire. For one thing, the name Eagle GT just sounds like it belongs on a muscle car, and definitely looks good on the sidewall. Also, they look beefier than the Pirellis did, despite being the same size. Somehow they look a little bigger and wider than the Pirellis. They also have the rim-protector lip which is nice to have. The tread pattern itself is pretty aggressive looking I think. The inside section looks pretty similar to the Pirellis, and the outside section sorta reminds me of the BFG G-Force T/A. Another thing to keep in mind is that they’re asymmetrical rather than directional. For me that’s a plus because it means they can be rotated more efficiently, and more rotations = longer life.
In conclusion, I’m very pleased with these tires; they do exactly what I was hoping they would do, for a price that I could handle. I expect with regular rotations and my driving style to get about 40,000 miles out of these tires. I’ll update this after the first rotation, or if they do anything unexpected.
Thanks for reading.
-Kevin
Last edited by Kevin509; 4/22/12 at 08:30 PM.
#5
A lot of people that I read on reviews have complaints about the noise on these, and many are saying the tread life isn't that great. The Eagle GT line has been a Goodyear fixture since at least the early 80s.
#6
I'd like to run Goodyear tires when I get new wheels, but they are tough to find in the sizes I'd want to run on some 19's. I like the idea of coloring the Goodyear text in white, going kinda retro, but would need tires that fit as a starter.
#7
Nice write-up! I have the same tires on our VW Passat. Other than the very noticeable increase in road noise from the Eagle GTs, they ARE really nice tires, for all the reasons you listed.
#8
Mach 1 Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: October 30, 2011
Location: Spokane, WA
Posts: 858
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the feedback everybody! As far as road noise, I have no complaints, they're actually a little quieter than my pirellis where when I replaced them. As for tread wear, I can't report on that yet because I only have about 700 miles on them, but I'll certainly update this if they wear prematurely.
Also, I want it to be clear that while Goodyear HAS used the eagle GT name for several decades, these are NOT a 20 year old tire design. They are a fairly recently designed tire.
Also, I want it to be clear that while Goodyear HAS used the eagle GT name for several decades, these are NOT a 20 year old tire design. They are a fairly recently designed tire.
#11
Cobra Member
Join Date: September 9, 2009
Location: Tulsa OK
Posts: 1,465
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ha, i wish! lol. i work at a retail store as a general service guy, not corporate! lol. i can say the tires are really attractive in person. i dread doing flat repairs on Eagle GTs or replacing the old GTs for new ones. lol
#12
Mach 1 Member
Join Date: July 5, 2011
Location: La Jolla, CA
Posts: 969
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bumping this thread just to say I agree with everything Kevin said. My Bullitt came with Eagle GT's and they are a great tire. The tread pattern looks perfect on a Mustang.
#15
Gotta Have it Green Fanatic Official TMS Travel Guide
Another from me. Had them almost a year now. Took us safely to the southwestern US and back in all types of weather. Tread wear excellent, no noise, no tramlining, no complaints. 10 out of 10.
#16
Bullitt Member
Had goodyear eagle gt's on my v6. They were pretty good. Did well in rain and good on dry pavement. Like my set of bf goodrichs I had on before them though. I was very disapointed in tread life though with the eagles and after I worked at a stealership for about 7 months and watched goodyear integritys come and go on all these new cars and how they wear I will never buy another set of goodyear tires if they will continue to sell tires like those that they have to know all wear down the sides of the tread. Every single pair even rotated every 5-6k wear like that its terrible!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Rando
2010-2014 Mustang
8
8/25/21 11:12 AM