BF Goodrich Touring T/A VR4
Written: Jul 19 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Quiet Ride, Good Traction, Good Ride
Cons: Slightly soft in the side-to-side maneuvers
|
|
|
| cpurser's Full Review: BF Goodrich Touring T/A Passenger/Performance Tire |
NOTE: This opinion will somewhat compare the BF Goodrich Touring T/A VR4's against the Goodyear Eagle GS-C High Performance tire. This is because the GS-C's where the original equipment on my 1998 Ford Contour SVT, and this gives a good performance baseline when talking about the characteristics of the T/A's. The tire size is 205/55-VR16.
When my set of Goodyear GS-C's wore out at 37,000 miles on my 1998 Contour SVT, I finally decided on the BF Goodrich Touring T/A VR4. It was a tough decision, because I wanted to keep the excellent handling characteristics of the GS-C's, but I also wanted better tread life and a quieter ride. Price was also a consideration, because all the tires I was interested in were in the $120/tire range. This was above what I wanted to spend, so I took a trip to Sam's Club to check out their selection. The sales guy was very knowledgeable, and convinced me to go with the T/A's over the more expensive tires. I am so glad I went with his recommendation, because I love these tires!
Since this is a "Touring" tire, the T/A has a softer sidewall than a "high performance" tire. Also, the tread design is slightly different than say the Comp T/A's to give a quieter ride. I got the V-rated version of the tire, which means the tire can handle sustained speeds up to 145 mph. I wanted to have this speed rating since the SVT Contour has a top speed of 143 mph.
PERFORMANCE:
In real world driving, it is hard to tell the difference in the handling between the GS-C's and the T/A's. The grip seems to be close to the GS-C's, and the tire does not squeal when it reaches its limits. However, I can feel that the T/A is less responsive and not as "quick" during side-to-side maneuvers (i.e., slalom). But these maneuvers do not come along very often, and the other benefits outweigh this small shortcoming.
I have not been able to test out the wet traction or hydroplaning characteristics of the T/A's, since Louisiana have been in a drought since I bought them.
RIDE QUALITY AND NOISE LEVEL:
The ride and noise quality of the T/A's far exceeded the GS-C's. I no longer dread driving over expansion joints and reflectors. It felt as if I got new struts! The T/A's are also much quieter than the GS-C's. I no longer hear the constant hum of the tires on highway trips.
Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of the Touring T/A's. And with a price of $79/tire, they are, by far, a much better value than the other tires I considered. I would recommend them to anyone who has a performance sedan or coupe. Sports cars, on the other hand, should stick to the High Performance category.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
cpurser
|
|
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 2 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.