Goodyear's reputation

Not the current Goodyear branded shoes (which are just a licensee) but I remember when some New Balances shoes were marketed as containing rubber sole material developed by Goodyear.

They had some claims of being really high performance, including an ad that claimed that all Ferraris imported to the US came with Goodyear tires because that's what Enzo wanted.





And of course Goodyear was instrumental in the development of the original all-season tire - the Tiempo. Some may say that was a bad thing.
 
In my first 20 years of driving I really preferred Goodyears, and often went looking for rock bottom prices in holiday sales. But then radial tires took over in the market, and brands such as Michelin and Pirelli outclassed Goodyear, which was still trying to make radials with clamshell molds instead of segmented molds. Then, I started seeing Goodyears made outside America, such as Goodyears from Brazil

It made me think, what is more American, a Goodyear made in Brazil, or a Yokohama made in the USA?

My cars now ride on Nokians made in Russia,
Nittos made in the USA
Bridgestones made in Japan.

Refuse to buy anything from China with names I never heard of.

If you look at tire specs, Goodyears often fall short compared to the competition.
 
+1 on them making a lot of subpar OE tires which soured people on the entire brand.

I think the issue with them is they make some really cheap tires (both price and quality) like the OE on many new cars, and then some really good but overpriced tires, and not much in between like some other brands offer. The Goodyear Duratrac is an example of a really good tire for trucks and offroad. It is listed as commercial duty traction. When they first came out they were affordable and lots of Jeep guys ran them. I have personal experience with them and although a bit heavy, they wore well, were decently quiet, and had awesome traction especially in snow. Now they are probably the most expensive tire in that all-terrain category, way more than the BF Goodrich ATs I put on my Wrangler back in 2020.
 
I was tempted to get GY Eagle Sport as they were going for $141 for 225/40 R18, but then remembered horrid experience with last three Eagle series I had and pulled trigger on Continental DWS.
I think their problem is that they have a lot if cheap tires through certain vendors instead of using Douglas or whatever other brand for those purposes.
 
2strokeNorthstar said:
They banned a certain type of hat (and other related attire) that angered a certain other group of people.
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No, they enforced an existing work attire policy. Saying anything other than that is a lie in bad faith.

Goodyear is great. They have an entire product range that can suit any budget. You'll be surprised that you get what you pay for.

I pretty much only buy General or Michelin because they seem to make the most sense for me.
 
fisher83 said:
The sets of Goodyear tires that I have owned have been good products at fair prices. That's how I make purchasing decisions. I don't care what the company supports or doesn't support. I also drink beer that tastes good and is a good value and eat at that chicken place that got all that flack 10 or so years ago. I try not to let the TV tell me what to be mad about.
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Chick-Fil-A still takes my gay money and tastes just fine! Likewise I’ve had one set of Goodyears and they were just fine! I would buy them if the price and value and performance fit my needs
 
I still have a set of Goodyear Eagles (Gatorbacks) on the Camaro. They're getting close to looking like drag slicks and need to be replaced after 40k miles. They're typically only good for ~20k.

I'd replace them with another set of Goodyears but I don't know if I want directional tread tires again. The OEM wheels have different offsets front and rear so tire rotations are a demount/remount/re-balance exercise.
 
I bought a 2008 Focus used back in 09. Dealer had installed a set of 4 new GY Eagle RS-A. I ended up getting about 45k out of that set and they were quiet and had good grip on the snow. I replaced them with another set and got another 45k out of them. Around that time, i saw that the General Altimax RT43s were getting rave reviews so i opted for a set of those. They were nice when it was dry but i really didnt like them.

Fast forward to 2020, my Explorer needed new tires so i opted for the GY Assurance WeatherReady. They have been excellent in every season, especially in the snow. They currently have about 43k miles on them and arent even halfway worn. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again.
 
Well, based on what can't be discussed here but is far too awful I would not have Goodyear if they were given for free. Thanks for pointing in the right direction.
 
y_p_w said:
Not the current Goodyear branded shoes (which are just a licensee) but I remember when some New Balances shoes were marketed as containing rubber sole material developed by Goodyear.

They had some claims of being really high performance, including an ad that claimed that all Ferraris imported to the US came with Goodyear tires because that's what Enzo wanted.





And of course Goodyear was instrumental in the development of the original all-season tire - the Tiempo. Some may say that was a bad thing.
Click to expand...

That is certainly something that has changed. Back then, lots of higher end sports cars had Goodyears as factory tires Ferrari and Corvettes (even the Viper ALMOST had Goodyears as Chrysler had a contract with Goodyear yet Bob Lutz reportedly gave Lee Iacocca a ride with Michelins and sold him on going with Michelins. Now you can't even get Goodyears in the sizes for cars that originally had them. Are they trying to just make tires for high performance sedans and pony cars but not traditional sports cars or supercars? What changes? (Their product wasn't purchased after initial purchase or they didn't want to invest in new cutting edge tire tech and didn't want to keep their original offerings in that class anymore as it has become irrelevant?)

While I understand that factory tires are different, I am convinced there is more to it than just that as stated some factory Goodyears like the OEM Integrity from my parents 02 Caravan were fantastic lasting 80k miles. Even then I have seen other OEM tires last about as long (Michelins on '06 Explorer, Generals on 98 Taurus, Goodyears on my grandparents 03 Status, Uniroyal tiger paws on a 96 olds Cutlass Ciera, etc) so it can't be all (unless the changes that made OEM horrible within the last 10 years). I will agree that all OEM tires I have seen since regardless of brand or vehicle type will not last 50k miles.

I'm not touching the political stuff only interested in product discussions.
 
Passport1 said:
It was more than that. You can google what the Topeka GY plant decided (on direction from corporate, Akron) concerning 'zero tolerance' acceptable or not acceptable. Since I don't want to hijack this thread or get it locked, I'll leave it just there.
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I was trying to be overly general so people would look into it and not get this locked.
 
I was a Goodyear, and Cooper, diehard for most of my life. I love the Duratrac in the snow, especially studded up. But just recently, I got screwed by Goodyear on a rebate, Discount Tire too. They both lost a longtime customer over a rebate. It is what it is.
 
Enthusiast said:
That is certainly something that has changed. Back then, lots of higher end sports cars had Goodyears as factory tires Ferrari and Corvettes (even the Viper ALMOST had Goodyears as Chrysler had a contract with Goodyear yet Bob Lutz reportedly gave Lee Iacocca a ride with Michelins and sold him on going with Michelins. Now you can't even get Goodyears in the sizes for cars that originally had them. Are they trying to just make tires for high performance sedans and pony cars but not traditional sports cars or supercars? What changes? (Their product wasn't purchased after initial purchase or they didn't want to invest in new cutting edge tire tech and didn't want to keep their original offerings in that class anymore as it has become irrelevant?)

While I understand that factory tires are different, I am convinced there is more to it than just that as stated some factory Goodyears like the OEM Integrity from my parents 02 Caravan were fantastic lasting 80k miles. Even then I have seen other OEM tires last about as long (Michelins on '06 Explorer, Generals on 98 Taurus, Goodyears on my grandparents 03 Status, Uniroyal tiger paws on a 96 olds Cutlass Ciera, etc) so it can't be all (unless the changes that made OEM horrible within the last 10 years). I will agree that all OEM tires I have seen since regardless of brand or vehicle type will not last 50k miles.

I'm not touching the political stuff only interested in product discussions.
Click to expand...
In 90's Bridgestone obliterated GY out of F1. That is when GY started to get used less and less on premium or sports cars. I remember an article in Auto Bild when they did interviews with both Bridgestone's chief engineer and GY, and pretty much GY was living in some la la land, thinking that name alone would carry them through F1. They eventually pulled out. I cannot remember when was the last time I saw GY on higher-end BMWs, MB etc.

In 80's GY was an absolute synonym with performance together with Michelin. I mean, it was a thing. It was a statement having GY on the vehicle. In Europe, I would say most of the performance cars, whether that was VW Golf GTI or 911, were coming with Good Year. And people buying GY aftermarket was like, they know stuff.
 
c502cid said:
I was a Goodyear, and Cooper, diehard for most of my life. I love the Duratrac in the snow, especially studded up. But just recently, I got screwed by Goodyear on a rebate, Discount Tire too. They both lost a longtime customer over a rebate. It is what it is.
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I decided to get Continental DWS and had to go to Discount Tire. But I am trying to avoid them like a plague.
Every time I come from there, the first thing I do is take the torque wrench and check the wheels. Then pressure.
On Tuesday I got tires, and instead of pumping them 33/38, they pumped 45/49.
 
SC Maintenance said:
No, they allowed an exception for a different type of attire, which angered the same group they banned.

If they banned everything no one would have had a problem.

Your comment is a lie and was in bad faith.
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Oh, I see what you mean. You're of the opinion that something non-political should be considered political and therefore not appropriate.

Don't see how that has anything to do with purchasing my tires. I'm not interested in boycotting an American company that isn't doing anything wrong.
 
I've had 4 different sets of tires on my truck since I first bought it. (1991). Firestone (original), Remington, Goodyear, and finally a set of Falkens that I'm still running.

Of them all the Goodyear Wranglers were the worst. They came apart in under 25,000 miles. (Tread separated from the carcass of the tire). I always had them correctly inflated, and rotated all of them at the same mileage intervals. (usually around 10,000 miles). Just like I did all the rest.

They were a nice looking, nice riding tire. They just didn't last. I replaced them with a set of Falkens back in July of 2011, (12 years ago), and I'm still running them today.

I don't drive my truck much now that I'm retired, so these Falkens I'm currently running just might outlast me. They're wearing beautifully. And I can't even remember the last time I had it aligned.
 
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