Tyre Choice - 328GTS

Bridgestone Pole Position REO50A gets my vote! The Goodyear V-Groove tires do not wear well at all IMHO

 

I have been running the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 on my 328 for two years (10K miles) and pleased with the performance.

 

I have autocrossed with pzero neros in a porsche 944, and found the drift/breakaway characteristics to be excellent for 8/10ths driving. Don't know what people find is the problem, and the wear rate was ok, not inconsequential when tearing up tires on occaisaonal weekends, but still with a daily driver. Put them on my Ferrari (old Bridgestones were good grip, but sidewalls were stiff and ride suffered). My experience with older cars, including the Porsche, Fiat X19 and a Ferrari Mondial, is that too much traction/grip overloads the suspension setup, I would want stiffer roll bars and maybe spring rates with more tire/grip. Same reason why vintage/veteran cars use reproduced rubber even though more modern fitments are available. So, I am not suggesting old tech is best, just that there is some synergies involved, and changing one thing without other things can upset otherwise good handling dynamics.

By the way, I think Tire Rack customer ratings for Znero are very high. I have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus on my Saab 9-5, same size as would fit the Ferrari stock 16" rims. Excellent tires, probably near the non-A/S in maximum grip in all practical conditions (but size in non A/S hard to get in 16") but they do tramline more than others, and are very expensive.

The popular Goodyears as noted in this thread are very highly rated, huge grip, but from a ride in a friend's 348, seem to give a crashy ride. Not a big deal in a sports car, but the Ferrari decent ride delicacy is worth preserving, so not my preferred choice. Depends how hard core you are, I guess, as an autocrosser I value controlled breakaway/recovery more than absolute grip.

Just sharing experiences, I am keen to see what works for others.

 

In that case, you might like the US-market RE11s, as they were compounded for auto-X, but the soft sidewalls seem a bit springy on the 50/55 series sizes used on Ferrari 16 inch rims. (The break/recovery is controllable enough, especially at the rear, but the front sidewall flex adds a just perceptible lag between turning the wheel and the translation at the contact patch.)

I suspect they'd work better on my EVO as a lower profile tire, but, with the EVO, a "crashy" ride is pretty much factory stock.
So I don't have to "soften" the Ferrari to make it ride better than my daily beater.

 

My GSD3s will go out of date (i.e. over 5 years old) long before I will wear them out I'm afraid !

 

Recommendations for summer tires (no track, no Auto-X, no rain! ) with stock wheels, at least Z-rated tires?
1. Should I go to 225/50 16 front and 245/45 16 rear?
2. Thinking Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 or Bridgestone Pole Position REO50A (Anybody for Yokohama run flats, or Michelin Pilot Sport)

 

Go wider if you like the look but TBH if the geometry is right the car doesn't need the extra rubber. When I talked to my Indi mechanic about it he said categorically don't do it, the car doesn't need it & the expression he used was that it would be "over-tyred" (and I don't think he meant it would need an afternoon nap!). Can't say if he was right or not, I went with standard sizes.

You will also find your choice of tyres in the 245/45 is pretty limited I think.

Unless you spend a lot of time driving in the cold you can't go far wrong with the Good Years in standard sizes.

 

Today's "extreme performance" summer tires are stickier than the stuff produced in the '80s. (I had '80s Eagle VRs that didn't go "off" as severely in winter as today's tires.)

The cars were engineered for a certain level of grip. (Check out the threads with wheel hubs ripped off the car from track use on modern slicks.)

In the '60s, people use to add massive horsepower to their engines ... and then leave bits of transmission lying along the road.

Upgrading a single component can have unforeseen consequences on associated parts.

I think having a thorough four wheel alignment, along with fresh stock sized rubber, will produce better initial results, before playing with up-sized shoes.
Make sure you're getting the car's full potential before trying to exceed it.

 

For the 328, I have stock sized Eagle F1-GS-D3, its a great tire. If considering an alternative I'd probably go with the Bridgestone I'd choose the RE11s over the RE050As.

My Boxster RS60 came with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. They are really nice, but I don't think they make the PS2 in a size for a 328 front wheel. I think you'd have to go with Michelin Pilot Exaltos PS or the original Pilot Sport, neither of which I think are quite as good as the F1 GS-D3 or RE11.

Best regards,
Dino

 

I’m also about to replace the shoes on my 328 and am on the fence between the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position tires. It is interesting to note while those tires are rated #2 and #3 respectively in the Tire Rack’s max summer tire survey chart, the GS-D3 does not come up as an option for the stock 328 wheels in the Tire Rack’s plug-in decision guide. FWIW, it’s my understanding that the reason the GS-D3 is not a Tire Rack suggested option for the 328 is that the current speed ratings for the front and rear tires are different.

 

I'm not sure it has anything to do with the difference in speed ratings. The difference in speed ratings for front vs. rear tires has been there for a long time. I inquired about the speed rating difference when I ordered my F1 GS-D3s back in 2006. Back then these tires still used to come up as a choice for the 328.

In any event, it might be a tough choice for me between the F1 GS-D3s and the Bridgestone RE11. But I'd take either of those tires over the Bridgestone RE050A.

 

I replaced a set of square tires on my 328 3 years ago with F1 GS-D3's from Tire Rack. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the manufacturers date codes on them before installation.

I recently had a tire shop dismount the tires to powder coat the rims. They drove the dismounting tool through the side wall destroying of one of my tires! It was at that point they advised me they were 7 year old...

Long story short, my fronts were 4 years old & rears 6 months old when purchased "New".
Now in the market to replace them and will probably go the F1 GS-D3 route again, but will look closely at the manufacture date code before accepting them..

 

I just talked to Tire Rack and they advised the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 is discontinued. They are recommending the Bridgestone RE 050A Pole Position, Bridgestone 760 Sport, or Yokohama S-drive.

Anybody have any experience with these?

 

According to their website they still have the F1 GS-D3, but if they are not recently produced, I'd probably go with RE11s from Bridgestone. The RE11s are supposed to be great tires. The RE050A, is ok, just would not be my first choice.

Best regards,
Dino

 

They still have them but they are closeout on the rears. That is what prompted me to call them.

 

FWIW I just ordered a set of Dunlop Sport Z1 Star Specs because of many great reviews, both from friends who drive them hard, as well as online reviews. Supposed to be great dry traction, great wet grip and excellent both on the street and track. They are being fitted to my 308 right now and I'll be taking them for an 800 mile drive in three weeks, so we'll see how good they are.

 

O just ordered a set of Bridgestone RE-11's in the stock sizes. I'm sure they will be good. It was frustrating to do fast research after deciding on the Goodyear F1's so long ago.

 

I have a set of GS-D3s on my 308 and love them. I'm sorry to hear that they're discontinued.

I recently bought a set of BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2s in stock sizes for my 550 for use on track days. They're mounted on a spare set of stock wheels. I have Michelin PS2s on my regular (stock) wheels.

The g-Forces are great tires. And they were less than half the cost of the PS2s! They come in stock sizes for the 308, $127 for the front and $120 for the rear at Tire Rack.

If you read the reviews, disregard the remarks about them being noisy tires. I haven't found that to be the case with my 550 at all. They get good reviews from drivers who track their cars. I kind of like the radical tread design too. I've decided to leave them on my car for the season as I like them on the road as well. They're every bit as good as the PS2s, in my opinion. I highly recommend them for the 3x8.

Barry
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If anyone is looking...I've got a pair of Goodyear F1 GS-D3 (225/50-16) that I'm not using. They have 70% tread remaing. Please contact me if you are interested.
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Got those as well, but I already think they are too sticky compared to the old pirellis which were on the car before.
Now I have to try harder and go faster to get oversteer.

 

The RE-11s are what I would put on my car with F1 GS-D3s out of production. The RE-11s have gotten great reviews (1st place in a comparison with Yokohama and Dunlop) and even its predecessor the RE-01 was considered a great tire. Good luck and let us know what you think of them once you've put some miles on them.

Best regards,
Dino

 

I went the RE11 route. Will report back once I have some more miles on them.

 

After reading all the accolades on this forum, I purchased a set of F1 GS D3 tires from Tire Rack a few weeks ago. Drove home in a serious rain storm after the installation. They provide excellent handling in both wet and dry conditions, and are really a great choice for the 328. Anyone considering 328 tire replacement should scoop them up while they are still available. But remember to first ask for the production date.

 

Go with Bridgestone RE50A OR RE11.... treads on the F1 GD DS do not look proper on the 308/328.

 

I have a friend who mounted these on his car with 500+hp and he loves them. Not noisy at all but then his car is somewhat loud, who the hell could hear them? Of course even with 335s, for some reason the rears don't seem to last very long.
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