| Analyze This - Goodyear Eagle
Carbon fiber has penetrated almost every facet of the tuner market. From hoods to trunk lids to intakes to shift knobs, carbon fiber has the ability to make anything sexier.
Goodyear, however, has found a new and previously unexplored use for carbon-tires. Reinforcing the outboard sidewall, a carbon insert in the new Eagle ResponsEdge tire provides stiffness, improving handling and steering precision.
Besides carbon fiber, the ResponsEdge features a unique dual-compound asymmetric tread design, providing two tire characteristics in one. The inside is the "All Season Zone", boasting an open tread pattern, Aquachutes for water dispersion, TredLock microgroove technology, which provides a larger contact surface during cornering, and a new silica compound. Conversely, the "Performance Zone" on the outside consists of a solid rib, performance tread blocks, and is manufactured with a grip-enhancing compound.
Other features on the new Goodyear tire include a sound and shock absorbing InsuLayer made of DuPont Kevlar, a rim protector, glossy PermaBlack sidewalls, and Goodyear Eagle stamping on the tread groove.
While all of this sounds great on paper, Goodyear also put their money where the track is and invited several journalists to try out the new Eagle with ResponsEdge. At the Bob Bondurant School out in Phoenix, AZ, we had the opportunity to pit the tire against a well known competitor in four different tests: road course, slalom, emergency evasion maneuvers, and a wet/dry autocross.
In all four events the tire maximized the performance benefits of the carbon fiber. The differences in handling and responsiveness between the two were surprisingly noticeable, with the Goodyears having a significant improvement in "bite" without sacrificing any of the drivability expected from a touring tire.
Available in 15- to 18-inch sizes, the Goodyear Eagle featuring ResponsEdge technology is a remarkable tire featuring a truly innovative design. If this is Goodyear's take on a touring tire, we can only wait in ultra-high anticipation for their Ultra-High performance adaptation.
Street Smarts
Before tires, carbon fiber Monocoques made their F1 debut in 1981 with the McLaren race car which was designed by McLaren engineer John Barnard and piloted by John Watson. Coincidentally, or not, the McLaren F1 supercar was the first car available to the public that offered a carbon fiber Monocoque design. That is, if you consider Wyclef and Jay Leno members of "the public."