Tyres. All cars have them; the four, black, round things at the corners of your car. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, tyres are the most important aspect of any car and yet oft times they’re the most neglected aspect of any automobile. Think about it, when was the last time you even checked the pressures, or did a thorough visual inspection for any damage? Been a while hasn’t it? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Why are tyres so important? That’s because they’re the only contact you and your car have with the road.
Recently, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the new Goodyear Eagle EfficientGrip tyres for a full review. It was perfect timing really; the rubbers on my car were about 3-years old and despite having decent tread depth, I began to suspect that they needed replacing. Don’t ever forget, just because your tyres have enough tread or ‘bunga’ as it’s colloquially known, it doesn’t mean they’re fine.
Sidetrack: Rubber is a natural source, and like all things in nature, except honey, rubber does have an expiry date. You can tell how old tyres are from a specific marking on the sidewall. For example in this photo below, unrelated to this review, ‘0907’ means that the tyre was made in the ninth week of the year 2007, which means it’s more than seven years old, and should be replaced soon.
Goodyear claims that the new Eagle EfficientGrip is its ‘quietest and most comfortable tyre ever’, benefiting from its new “Quiet Tred” technology, to minimize road noise. Goodyear achieved this with the Eagle EfficientGrip by adding a secondary layer of rubber called a ‘gum-strip’ to absorb noise and road vibrations. Additionally, the actual tread design consists of a closed-shoulder design which dampens ‘radiating radial noise a.k.a. road-noise and vibrations from permeating the cabin.
A balanced-block distribution is also utilized. Think of a tyre as a hammer impacting the ground and you get the general idea, only this hammer is actually the tyre tread ‘blocks’. As the multiple blocks hammer the asphalt, road noise is unavoidable. In this day and age of super-luxury cars where you can hear a pin drop inside, tyre noise is ever more prevalent and has never been such a bane for tyre makers to overcome.
The final ace up the sleeve of the Eagle EfficientGrip is the ‘perpendicular design’ edge-blading, which gradually reduces the actual stiffness of the tread-block, thus lowering the block movements and reducing road noise.
One of the great things about classic or ‘old skool’ cars though, is that ANY improvement no matter how minuscule, can be felt immediately, thus I chose a 1977 BMW 633CSi (above) as the test mule for the Eagle EfficientGrip tyres. As expected, the differences could be felt immediately.
As it’s a car from the 70’s devoid of any and all latter-day ‘electro-gizmodery’ insofar as active and safety systems are concerned, it’s a very raw driving experience, and a lot is actually riding on the tyres; pun intended. Surprisingly, the very first thing I felt was how much easier it was to turn the steering wheel. Could it be that the tyres were not gripping enough? Of course I took it easy for the first week or so, to let the tyres ‘scrub-in’, but then it was back to normal driving, which actually involved commuting daily.
I’ll get this out of the way right off the bat. These really are the quietest tyres I’ve ever tested. But more importantly, they also offer excellent dry and wet weather ride and handling. While not geared for performance-use, there’s Goodyear F1’s for that, these Eagle EfficientGrip tyres still provided a lot of feedback from the roads being traversed, as well as more than adequate grip levels around corners. I especially like how reassuring they are when it comes to wet-weather driving, something that’s been happening a lot thanks to this time of year.
While there was no info on ‘water-dispersion’ for the EfficientGrip tyres, size 205/55 R16, I never once experienced any hydro-planning or loss of traction in inclement weather. Quiet, comfortable and offering very decent ride and handling, I was further impressed by the bump-absorption characteristics of the EfficientGrip tyres as well. Its sidewall is neither too stiff nor too soft, thus it returns a very comfortable and yet sure-footed ride, while its tread pattern is both quiet and more than adequate in terms of grip levels.
Available from 40 to 60 series, and in sizes ranging from 245/45 R18 down to 205/60 R16 (V, W, Y speed rating), the Goodyear Eagle EfficientGrip is a highly recommended aftermarket OEM replacement tyre. It’s suitable for a broad range of passenger cars, so for more details on its available sizes, click here.
Also be sure to check out the Goodyear Worry Free Assurance programme, which will replace your damaged tyres for free, as well as AF’s PSA video on tyre safety thanks to Goodyear, which can be found in this link.
