A few months ago it was time for new tires on the ol?? SVT, so I turned to my fellow CEGers for input and received quite a bit of useful info. As the subject states, I went with a set of 4 BF Goodrich Comp T/A VR4s. I??m sure many of you are thinking ??ah, those tires are old tech? or ??there??s a million better tires out there for the money?, but several people asked me to provide a report on these tires. Having logged about 4000 miles on them at this point I am going to do just that ?? please see my comments below. Please keep in mind that my previous tires were BF Goodrich Gforce KDWs, so a lot of my comments are made in comparison with these tires, which as you know are ultra-high performance. Also bear in mind that I like to drive pretty fast.
Throughout my 4000 mile eval of these tires I have only varied the tire pressure slightly. I??ve run all 4 at 32psi and then later bumped up to 33psi. 32psi is actually what BF Goodrich recommends, and it's also what Ford recommends for our car in general. I??m aware that many CEGers run in the 40??s and love it, but for my 60 mile daily commute a ride that stiff is not quite what I am looking for. I am also aware that many people run different pressure front and back, and that??s also something I choose not to do.
Comments at 32psi: Low speed handling is a bit spongy. Steering effort at low speeds is very high ?? turning the wheel is quite an arm workout. Ride is firm but supple. Once up to highway speeds, handling feels tighter and steering effort decreases. Ride is very supple and comfortable, bumps are soaked right up and the ride is very smooth with average tire noise. Extreme high speed handling is a bit soft, especially quick maneuvers; there is definitely some sidewall flex and body roll with these tires. Steering response is not razor sharp as it was with the KDWs, the wheel has more of a ??dead? feeling than a direct connection to the road. Emergency maneuvers don??t inspire much confidence, but overall grip is very good, meaning that while riding a hard curve the tires stick very well, even though the body might lean a bit. Hard braking is a bit shaky though; the car seems to dive and waddle side-to-side a bit due to the sidewall flex.
Comments at 33psi: Low speed handling is still a bit spongy. Steering effort at low speeds is minimal ?? turning the wheel is amazingly easy, it feels like the road is slicked with oil it??s so easy. Ride is firm but supple. Once up to highway speeds, handling feels fairly tight and steering effort is still very minimal. Ride is very supple and comfortable, bumps are soaked right up and the ride is very smooth with average tire noise. The car glides like butter at 80, 90, 100mph, making it very easy to speed. Extreme high speed handling is still a bit soft, especially quick maneuvers; there is still some sidewall flex and body roll with these tires. Steering response is still not razor sharp as it was with the KDWs, the wheel has more of a ??dead? feeling than a direct connection to the road. Emergency maneuvers don??t inspire much confidence, but overall grip is very good, meaning that while riding a hard curve the tires stick very well, even though the body might lean a bit. Hard braking is again a bit shaky; the car seems to dive and waddle side-to-side a bit due to the sidewall flex.
Bottom line: These are probably not the tires of choice for autocross, unless you want to jack them up to 45 psi and give it a go. These tires are much more soft riding and handling than the KDWs, and definitely take away some of the SVTs extreme handling prowess. However, what they lack in handling ability they make up for in ride comfort and smoothness. On long drives they are fairly quiet, super smooth, and ride great, isolating road harshness that the KDWs used to transmit directly to my bones. So if you??re willing to sacrifice a little handling for a lot of comfort, this might be a good tire choice for you.
Last but not least, I paid $110 per tire at my local dealer (same price as TireRack) and expect to get about 50k miles out of these babies. I have heard rumors that the Comp TA VR4 was discontinued, but most tire dealers still have them in stock.
Sorry for the long review but I wanted to be thorough. I hope it was helpful. If you have any questions don??t hesitate to ask.
