I finally got them! (some of the more astute forum readers may have found that out last night).

Drove to the movie theater last night and discovered a vibration, beginning at 60mph and getting pretty nasty over 75. So this morning I took the car back in and had them re-balance the tires. They weren't surprised; apparently their balancer has been acting up.

So I took it out for another test drive. I came across a C5 on the interstate, and then something :ahem: then the speedometer said 120 and there was a Corvette in my rearview mirror. 120 wasn't exactly smooth -- more vibration, and lots of it. It was noticeable at 80, and downright bad at 120.

So I took it back. They said that one of the rear wheels had rotated 180 degrees inside the tire, so that the weights were in the wrong place. Makes sense to me. Turns out I need to let the mounting grease dry before I do any more hard launches and 1-2 shifts.

While they had my car up on their lift, I was able to get underneath and take some nice high-quality photos. One of them is below; I'll post the others in General Tech later.

One more test drive, and this time I brought the mechanic along for the ride just to be sure. It was as smooth as ever up to 120, so we called it good.

Anyway, I'm happy now, and I have some impressions to share.

The old tires
245/50ZR16 BFGoodrich g-Force TA KDWS mounted on stock 16" wheels. Less than 1/4" of tread left upon removal.

The specifics
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s, same size on the same wheel.

The excuse
I wanted 275/40s, but including the wheels I want, that would have more than doubled the cost, and I don't have that in my budget now. Now, on to the results...

Acceleration
With ASR off, the 2nd gear bark is less pronounced, indicating better forward traction. With the BFGs I could get a little tiny chirp going into third -- this is no longer the case.

Braking
I don't have any measurement equipment, but I wouldn't be surprised if my 60-0 braking distance were ten feet shorter. I'm probably exaggerating, but the difference is noticeable. The ABS also doesn't kick in as quickly, indicating that the tires are holding on longer/deeper/harder/insert innuendo here.

Handling
A quick flick of the wheel now yields a response a bit sooner. On the BFGs, the car would dip a tiny bit on the outside, and then a tiny fraction of a second later it would actually turn. On the Goodyears, the dip is reduced and the turn-in feels immediate. I'm assuming this means stiffer sidewalls.

I haven't gone out and done any real racing, but I never really did on the old set either (just one trip to the drag strip last fall). I'm planning on going to a Detroit region SCCA autocross in a couple weeks, so we'll see.

So yeah, I'm happy.

 

Nice man, good to hear they're workin' out well for you....I'm seriously considering a set for my car...My BFG KDW's have like an 1/8 in of tread left I'd also like new rims and 275's but as you said the extra cost is probably more than I want to go for right now.

 

Thats interesting I thought I experienced the same thing, took it back and they said it feels fine however they could not open it up. The other night I ran into 2 stangs and a s10 350 and I had to back out just after 200 km/hr due to extreme vibration. I am going to have my driveshaft looked at but know I read this. Anyone else?

 

I took one of their mechanics with me for a ride and ran it up past 100 so that they could see what I was talking about. I think I might have sold the guy on buying a Z28 for his next car in the process.

If your driveshaft was bent, I think you'd feel it long before 200 km/hr.

 

I"m trying to figure out if my vibration is caused by tires or driveshaft. At what RPM did the vibration occur? Was it same/worse after shifting gears and accelerating?

 

Vibration occurred at any RPM in any gear, accelerating, cruising, or decelerating, as long as the speed was high enough. Therefore, tires.

 

a vibration at a specific speed in any gear could still be the driveshaft, rear end, or tires.

the driveshaft and rear end spin the same amount whether you're in 3rd gear at 100 or 6th gear.

 

Haha, yeah. Brain fart or something.

But seriously, I had brand new tires and a brand new vibration. Obvious conclusion.

 

The vibration has been fixed for months (you might have noticed that the thread is old).

Between the car's torque, the tire's grip, and my desire to drive hard on my new (at the time) tires, there simply wasn't enough friction at the rim to hold the tire in place. Bead sealer fixed that.

 

I've wanted these tires foreverrr.

 

If you want a decent 60' time, plan on having a second set of wheels/tires for the strip.

Other than that, I love these tires.

 

i loved my gsd-3s. u said ur breaking was better, ive never had the abs go off on my car once with these tires and ive done some hard stops(slotted/vented rotors helped).

for the track i used mt et streets

great handline tires in the dry , im sure they are pretty impressive in the rain since the ratings are higher than dry , but ive never messed around in the rain , hell i dont drive in the rain

i got caught in the rain once with the et streets, damn the back end didnt like to stay straight, swirly i tell ya lol

 

If you don't drive in the rain, you should have sprung for a dry-only tire! A BFG KD or one of the other Eagle F1 tires might have been a better choice.

As far as braking, I can still make my ABS activate, even with my stock rotors and calipers. It's just not as easy as it was with my old tires.

Doing something to make the brakes stronger should make it easier to get the tires to slip, not harder.

 

i used to drive in the rain , hence y i bought the tires, then i bought another car and decide to leave the maro at home during crappy days

 

the GS-3's will definetly be my next tire. Great tire!!!