Goodyear News
Goodyear provides racing grip for the road
05-01-2001Product group: Car Category: Technology - Tyre launches
A technological breakthrough from the world's largest tyre company - Goodyear - has resulted in a road tyre which is as close as you can get to race tyre performance. This is because the revolutionary "continuous tread" design for their new flagship tyre - the ultra high performance Eagle F1 - provides unprecedented levels of contact with the road.
Goodyear is famous for its industry firsts - including the first tubeless tyre, the first Z speed rated tire, the first original equipment run flat tire - the EMT - and the first energy-saving car tire to be made partly from corn - the GT3. Now, thanks to Goodyear's unrivalled expertise in world championship motor racing - including 368 Grand Prix victories - the new Eagle F1's unique tread design combines the characteristics of dry "slicks" with those of wet race tyres. The result is a product which is perfect for high performance vehicles and custom/tuned cars - providing drivers with superior grip and agile handling, both on dry and wet roads. This successor to the award-winning Eagle F1 - firmly established as a landmark tyre in the high performance sector - was actually designed by Goodyear's former chief engineer of Formula 1 Racing tyre development Andy Weimer. Top of the list of innovations featured in the new tyre is what Goodyear call their OneTRED technology. This extends the familiar V-shaped directional tread design of the old Eagle F1 to provide continuous channels from the solid centre rib right through to the shoulder block. Goodyear's communications manager Ron Pike explained: "If you look on conventional tyres, the horizontal grooves in the tread are usually interrupted by cross groove patterns. This means the contact between the tyre surface and the road is broken at regular intervals. "But with the new Eagle F1, the tread runs uninterrupted from shoulder to shoulder - like a racing slick - and this ensures that in both straight driving and cornering, there is always a very large contact area with the road." Another benefit of the tread design is the advanced anti-aquaplaning characteristics created by the wide drainage grooves. The centre section - which also runs continuously - ensures a very direct and "sporty" steering behaviour. The large shoulder area ensures vehicles can cope well with aggressive cornering. What's more, the tread pattern reduces road noise. Another great feature of the new F1 is the rim flange protector. A rubber lips protrudes over the edge of the wheel rim to protect it from curbstone damage. "I'm sure this feature will be much applauded by motorists with expensive alloys wheels on their vehicles," added Ron. The Eagle F1 is immediately available in 34 sizes for 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 21 inch rims - to serve the majority of high performance vehicles in the UK. More sizes will be available later, including a run-flat (EMT) version. Ron pointed out: "The former Eagle F1 is still held in the highest regard by high performance car drivers throughout the UK." But all I can say is, if you think that tire's impressive, wait till you experience the new Eagle F1. It outperforms its predecessor in every area - performance, handling and even treadlife.