ds2011

Can someone tell me what the brand/model of tire that came standard on a 2001 TA with the WS6 package??

I do know the size is P275/40ZR17.

Thanks!!

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

Canadian-made Goodyears

ds2011

Eagle F1??

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

Goodyear Eagle F1-GS

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

69TA

iTrader: (263)

They were Eagle F1's
but why would you want those tires?
they were not good tires to say the least.

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

In their defense they get a terrible reputation on here for their lack of traction from a stop. However, that really isn't their design intent. They are really a handling and rain tire. I had Michelin XGT-Z4's which were a very similar design intent tire. Marvelous in the rain, handled very well. Once the car had extra power, I could annihilate them at will.

dabest09

iTrader: (1)

I love my eagle f1s idk why everyone hates them.

69TA

iTrader: (263)

Because they don't hook for **** and spin spin spin
until full blocks of tread coming flying off.

I guess you never tried a Gsd3...try them and tell me you still like your f1s
Both are or were made by GY but completely different animals.

dabest09

iTrader: (1)

Spin at the track? No doubt. They are a street tire what do you expect. On the street the hook up very well for me..

69TA

iTrader: (263)

I am talking about the street not track.

Is your car an automatic?

Because I used to spin the **** out the stock F1's like they
were bananna skins

they were not good at all on an M6.

dabest09

iTrader: (1)

M6 here. Maybe I just don't beat on her enough lol. Did you spin them easily in stock form? Bolt ons? etc

69TA

iTrader: (263)

man there was like no traction in 1st

at the time had the usual bolt ons except for headers
with cat back 3.42 gears

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Yep. This is the exact tire, it was factory issue on all '98-'02 WS6 cars.

I don't know why GM used this tire for these cars. I too was not impressed with them. During that era, Goodyear was still making the GSC in a 275/40/17 size, and GSCs were a better performance tire than the F1-GS in my experience. GSCs were already a factory option on the 16x8 wheels, so I don't know why they didn't use them for the 17x9s as well.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

I can shed some light. A 275mm width in a 3400 lb car....that says it all to me. That means you NEED water evacuation. They likely did it for general public safety IMO. If you have a wide tire, you need lots of weight to force the water out on the hwy, if you have a lightweight car, then you need a thin tire to act like a pizza cutter through standing water. A fairly light car with wide tires is good in the dry, bad in the wet. A light car with narrow tires is good in the wet, and bad in the dry. Not everything is about all out dry weather performance. This was a mass produced vehicle gentlemen.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I agree. Something like the old BFG KDs, which were fantastic for dry weather traction, would have been a poor choice for a standard factory issue tire on these cars, since many were to be driven in rain. But I still think they had a better option than the F1-GS.

The GS-Cs were an OEM approved tire that had already been assembly-line issued on C4s for several years in various size combos depending on year and trim level (255/285 F/R, 275/315 F/R, and 275 all-around). I had GS-Cs on my 16" stock wheels for a while, and they were better in every way than the F1-GSs that came on my WS6.

Having said that, the GS-Cs were never meant to be a snow tire, which is why the RS-A was also offered on the 16" wheels for all-weather purposes. So maybe the F1-GS was considered a better potential snow tire than the GS-C...I don't know, as I never drove on either of those tires in the snow.

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

The GS-C was a much older design as well. I think it was phased out in the late 90's (maybe early 2000's). They are also left/right specific. I imagine Goodyear wanted to supply their newer design. As a factory tire, that needs to avoid evil/unpredictable characteristics for your average driver, it does its job.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

GS-C was in production in a 275/40/17 size until 2002 at least. I actually bought a brand new set in the 245/50/16 size as late as 2005. Yes, it was an older design, but it was still better than the F1-GS.

At the very least, they could have offered an optional second tire type for the base SS/WS6, just like the RS-A/GS-C option on the base model V8s.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

Well said!


In this day of lawsuit-itis, one jerk who whacked a curb because it was raining, and his tires just didn't turn, would have cost GM millions. It's not worth the risk for them. YOU want something that "hooks up" rain be damned, then YOU'LL install it, and GM will be in the clear...

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

Interesting because I witness this kind of thing, not tire design but overall platform balance, when switching to different DDs. Our roads here are shitty, and the 18 wheelers leave huge dips where your tires drive and it is prone to holding standing water. I used to daily a small car that was 2500lbs and had a 185mm tire. Looked like a damn spare donut Lets estimate for simplicity sake that it is a 5.5 inch rim. So that's a total of 2500 lbs per 22 inches of total rim width. That comes out to be 114lbs per inch of rim width. Common sense tells you a light car will want to hydroplane, but not so with this vehicle. Now lets compare to a Camaro with 275s @ 3500lbs. We will say they are 9 inch wide wheels. So we have 36 total inches of wheel width for an estimated 97 pounds per inch. The centerline of the wheel on the compact would need to push (evacuate) water in either direction a total of 2.75 inches @ 114s per inch. The Camaro needs to push the water almost twice as far at 4.5 inches with only 97 pounds per inch. Thinking about things like this shows how a 3500HD truck with 275s can maintain traction while driving through water because the weight per inch of wheel would likely be twice as high as a Camaro with the same width wheels AND have larger water channels.