Road Test
Goodyear F1 Assymetric 2 (non-RFT)
Wheels: 326M with 225/35R19 front and 255/30R19 rears.
I've had the rear tyres on for nearly two weeks now, and they offer much more grip than the OEM Bridgestone RE050 RFTs.
It was hard to tell about ride quality when the fronts were still the Bridgestones but I could hear and feel a noticable difference in the thump when you hit even the smallest road obstacle between the front and rear tyre. (eg a cat's eye)
This morning the fronts arrived and I now have the Goodyears all round.
Wow!
Why oh why did I wait this long to ditch the RFT?
The car feels softer, with slightly more roll in the corners (only slightly) but the ride quality over bumps and lumps is massively improved.
In overall grip they are not a huge step forward, but they are better none the less.
In the last two weeks I have felt the front go into understeer far more than ever before, as the back keep pushing and the front gave up the ghost.
I haven't tested the limit of the lateral G as yet, but initial indications are we are on a winner.
Two thumbs up.
Next step is to book the Zed in for a rattle repair at the dealer, and see how long it lasts with the more compliant ride.
PS - my new Contour GPS camera has arrived and has been fixed (took three cameras and three days to do it) so I can now do some in car videoing with associated GPS speed and location monitoring.
The GPS only works on 4Hz though, so it is not a replacement for a good video V Box system for mapping out acceleration times, but fine for mountain drives and track days.