First Impressions

After some familiarization laps in a standard C6 Corvette with the Z51 performance package on Eagle F1 Supercar EMT tires, we were ready to compare tires on a pair of the school's bright red 2008 C6 Corvette Z06s. The Z06 brings big brakes, tuned suspension and just over 500 horsepower to the equation - enough to challenge any tire holding it to the ground.

Going out first for a few laps in the car equipped with the original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT confirmed our initial impressions. It's apparent Chevrolet and Goodyear fine-tuned this combination for the C6 Corvette, as car and tire seem to be in sync with each other. Steering response was smooth and linear, turning down to the apex with precision. Overall vehicle balance was good, too, with both the front and rear tires reaching their grip limit at the same time. The Z06's traction control engaged occasionally and predictably, mostly when we were simply too aggressive with the throttle on corner exit.

Then we were back into the pits to switch to the car with the new generation Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat. It only took driving into the first turn to realize the new generation tire was working on a whole new level of performance. The most obvious change came in steering response - this car/tire combination feels directly connected to the driver, responding almost instantly to steering inputs. Several drivers commented on how the Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat felt more like a dedicated track tire than a street tire. Cornering power at the apex was impressive and perceptibly better than with the original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT. We did not experience as much intervention from the Corvette's traction control system during hard acceleration away from the corners, and braking traction felt sure-footed, too. As a package, the car fitted with the Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat felt more connected to the track, resulting in higher driver confidence and quicker overall track speed.

Objective Data

To find out just how fast around the road course the Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat was, we put Bondurant's chief instructor Mike McGovern behind the wheel. Mike knows the track, cars and original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT tire like the back of his hand, so any performance differences should become readily apparent. We equipped the cars with our Racelogic DriftBox data acquisition unit to capture lap times and performance data.

First, Mike made a baseline run on the original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT, starting with 2 warm up laps followed by a tight group of 4 timed laps, averaging 54.25 seconds with a fastest lap of 53.90. Switching to the Eagle F1 Super Car G: 2 RunOnFlat he again warmed the tires and then put in another group of 4 test laps. In his first ever hot laps on the new generation tire, Mike's 4-lap average was 52.65 seconds with a fast lap of 52.40, or 1.50 seconds faster than the original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT. Wow!

A look at the data from the fastest lap on each tire shows where the new tire's performance comes from. The graph's red trace of the Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat is always beyond the trace of the original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT shown in black. With the Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat Mike was able to accelerate sooner, brake a little later and carry more speed through the corners at every turn and down each straight.

Summary

The original Eagle F1 Supercar EMT showed it's still a good design for the Corvette and will continue to be used by Chevrolet as the Original Equipment tire for performance handling package cars. The new Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat raises the bar, and will initially be available in limited sizes for key applications. In the rarified air of modern supercars, Goodyear's new Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat breathes easily, showing just why Goodyear chose to call this tire "supercar." It really is the next generation super tire for today's supercars.

Initial O.E. Applications for the Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat