Hey guys,

I was speaking with a guy at Wheel Works and he said I might have reduced handling on the GS D3 because the sidewalls are pretty soft. I'm looking for a decent max-performance tire in that price range though. Can anyone else vouch for them and claim th is isn't a problem with these tires?

Here's a link to the good year tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

 

First off, welcome to NAM.
Check these out too:
http://www.edgeracing.com/tire/1537/

 

I am currently running the F1 GS-D3's 225/45/17. Overall great tires, especially if you plan to drive in the rain. The tires have a deep tread pattern and my front sidewalls wore down very quickly. Now they have about 10k miles on them and have about 40% tread left in the center and the car feels a lot more responsive than at first. The tires ride very nice and quiet compared to other ultra high-performance tires I've tried. Just to note, I experienced slight rubbing at first, but that will depend on what wheels and offset you are running...

I ran the RT-Falcon RT-615's 225/40/17 the previous summer when they first came out; if you are looking for an extremely stiff and high performance tire w/o going to R-compound, I recommend get those. They almost feel like run-flats on rough roads, but that's not a problem with me. I will probably go back to the RT-615's after my GS-D3's run out.

Keep in mind, I usually get about 10-15k miles out of a set of tires. I have lived about 15 minutes away from the Dragon's Tail for over 20 years, and when I'm not attending college at Ohio State, I'm back home and screaming down The Dragon, so my tires go quite quickly.

 

It's interesting that SayGoodbye recommends the RT falcon and you say you're switcing back to them. I'm also not too fond of a soft tire. I really like the way I can feel every bump in the road (it lets me know the bumps are there).

I'm looking to get these wheels: http://www.tirerack.com/upgrade_gara...ed&showRear=no
Will these tires fit? http://www.edgeracing.com/tire/1537/

I'm not 100% sure what all these numbers mean: 215/40R17. I gather the 17 means 17" wheels, but I'm not sure what the 215 and 40 mean, and how I can tell if the tires fit my wheel.

 

Okay I read up a bit and figured out the 215 means tread width. The second number, 40, still doesn't make much sense. It's something to do with the "ratio" of the sidewall? If you guys know for sure that the falcon 615 tire will fit those wheels it looks like a winner for me in price / performance.

 

Yes, the /## is the aspect ratio. Ina 215/40-17, the tire has a sidewall that is 40%, or roughly 86mm of the tread width of 215mm.

 

The second # in a tire size is the aspect ratio it works w/ the first # (width) to give you your sidewall height. The RT615's in the size you're looking to go w/ will definitely work on the Motegi wheel. The 215/40's are a bit shorter than stock and will be a bit more susceptible to road hazards (potholes and the like). I personally run 215/45R17 Bridgestone RE960's for the winter and the RT615's in the summer. The Falken's are a very fun tire and ride just fine, much better than the O.E. runflats. Hankook has a Ventus SZ something or other that I had looked at before I bought the Falken's, looked like a good product, and is in that same price range.

Later

 

I have the gs d3's and love them! But then again the only other tire I have used on a MINI are the stock runflats. I do believe they are soft.. for me that is a good thing for performance, noise, and ride quality. I am a little bummed on how they are lasting. The middle of them are holding up well, but the side walls are wearing quickly.

The thing I was most impressed by with this tire is the wet performance.
In the wet the tire performs as well as any other tire I have used in dry conditions! No joke on wet roads through medium speed twisties there is almost no loss in grip! During our last rain storm, through 40-50 mph corners I could not get them to break unless I tried really hard; and when they did break they were very predictable and did not just "go".

Overall I am very happy with them... They look super cool and perform well. If I lived in a wet climate, they would be ultimate!
I just wished they would last longer. I might try something different next, but only because it would be something different.

When I bought mine I was researching.. There was a shoot out of the top 10 ultra performance tires by I believe Motortrend Magazine. The GSD3 won. That influenced my purchase.

I heard the Yoko Prada are really cool also by one of my friends that just got them. He also owns a Lotus Exige... So he would know whats a cool tire....

I hope this helps.

Jasun

 

The Eagles will work fine an a MINI. The sidewalls may be a little softer than other tires in that class, but since the MINI is not that heavy of a car, it's not that big an issue. Most of the people complaining about the softness of the Eagles are from the VW world where the tire came on the R32 which is a much heavier car than a MINI.

Other options include the Bridgestone line. I have used the S-03 Pole Position and I liked it better than the Goodyear Eagle. The S-03 isn't being made anymore and is (was?) on closeout so that brought the price down. I have not used the replacement for the replacement for the S-03, but I'd have to assume it's a good bet too.

 

I have the gs-d3s and love them. Used them on the track, street, rain, and they have yet to disappoint. I was worried about the soft sidewall after reading some reviews, too, but I found that to be a non-issue for me.

mb

 

they are softer than S03's, but not soft like a/s tires.

it's a nice balance. noisy tires after about 1/2 worn...but that's considered
normal on these high perf tires.

 

I forgot to ask.. Why are you deciding to go back to the RT615s?

 

I went from Pirelli performance RFs to the GS D3 Goodyears. IMHO you do not actually lose any handling ability it just feels like you do. I prefer the feel of the RFs because they don't have the sidewall flex of the non-RFs but I have never even come close to getting my Goodyears to lose grip

p.s...my Goodyears are 215/45/17. If I had it to do over again I would have gotten 215/40/17 because I don't think they would have as much flex but that size almost costs as much as a RF so I would be better off just sticking w/the RFs :impatient

 

I am going back to the RT-615's because they have incredible dry weather performance and offer a tight, stiff, controlled ride. When the weather is bad I drive a 1998 Honda CR-V, so all I am really looking for in a tire for my MCS is the best dry weather performance without going to r-compound.

 

i used them on my MINI and was absolutely happy with them, however i have a buddy of mine not liking them on his R32???

 

ahh. so if you don't mind me asking, what's bad about r-compound?

And can anyone answer me this: what's the diff between a 215/40 and a 215/45 tire? Does one handle differently? Is 40/45 based on my wheel size?

I think at this point I'll go with the falkens because they're cheaper and it's dry weather the vast majority of the year in the bay area but I'm not sure if I need to go with 215/45, 215/40, 205/40, 205/45 etc.

 

All I know is 45's are taller. Will need a tire geek to help out w/more info

 

The R32 is a much heavier car, so it is more sensitive to a tire with a "soft" sidewall.

And the tire is original equipment on the R32, so of course people say it sucks and they need to upgrade.

 

There is a lot of history to the term "R-Compound", much of which I don't exactly know. But in todays internet lexicon, R-Compound refers to DOT-Approved (aka street legal) Competition tires, such as the Hoosier A6, Kumho V710, and several other tires. The problem with these tires is at least 3 fold: 1) they will last ~1k - 5k miles of street driving; 2) they have only enough tread to satisfy DOT requirements (read: essentially no tread) so they aren't good in rain; 3) they pick up stones and throw them onto your car.

Of course the great thing about these tires is that they are very fast on an autocross course or track.

But anyhow, I don't think any tire manufacturer uses the term R-Compound anymore, it's just used to refer to the crop of DOT competition tires.

Edit - by the way, I have used a lot of tires on my Mini, and I do like the Falken Azenis quite a bit. It is close to some of the slower r-compounds in performance, but it's cheaper, works well enough in the rain, and lasts pretty well.

 

, i dont believe it is the OE on R32s

 

I have found numerous somewhat definitive sources that say the F1 GS-D3 was oe on the R32... motortrend articles, other magazine reviews, reviews of the tire on 1010tires, probably more tire reviews on tirerack, this thread on vwvortex:

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1285689

So, I'm pretty sure they were stock on the R32.