Goodyear Eagle F1s are awesome

[MarkW19]

Just a quick note...

Even though the SS+ on my 2006 S feels very soft and bouncy in comparison to my 2003 Cooper (which had a combination of SS and Eibachs, and then KW coilovers), and even though I've not got my Eibach anti roll bars and JCW strut brace on, my car handles fantastically!!

I pushed it really hard into a corner (3 lanes, no traffic so no potential problems) and really did expect it to let go. But there was hardly any understeer, and even though it rolled a bit (as I expected) it stuck to the road like glue.

I put this mainly down to the tyres, and secondly possibly the LSD. The F1s are amazing - so quiet, so refined, but astonishing performance.

Anyone who's still got the runflats - go out tomorrow and buy the CHEAPER Eagle F1s and see how much better your car handles!!

Really impressed

[Rakey]

having just driven my GF's cooper this weekend, I was amazed how anyone drives with runflats, I have the Eagle F1's on mine, and the difference like you say is amazing

[pbraun]

I am running Bridgestone tires now 245x17, and love them! They stick like glue....what sizes are you guys running?
cheers,

[MarkW19]

215/40/17...although starting to wish I got 215/45/17 as the gap in the arches (especially the rear when the handbrake is on) is starting to irritate me

[T-bone S]

I used to run F1's on my Astra coupe Turbo - best tyres in the world imo.

will they get rid of the tramlining tendancy?? - thats the only problem i have with my car atm

[PETRAN]

You lucky guys... i'm still on run flats(dunlops 195-55-16) after 120000kms on my beloved mini cooper s works but i just can't change to normal tyres..i drive about 150kms daily so it's a big risk for me to drive on normal tyres here in greece.. roads here are worst than hell,believe me!!
i once tried normal tyres and thought i was driving some other car..
i was really impressed. it was much better in every aspect..
if i ever change my mind though i won't go for normal brands..
avon or toyo would be on top of my list cause for a perfomance car like this high performance tyres is the only way...

[MarkW19]

They do tramline a lot for me.

[T-bone S]

Quote: Originally Posted by MarkW19

They do tramline a lot for me.

The RunFlats or the F1's?

[venox22]

the cheaper eagle F1's?????

im in the process of changing tyres on my JCW R105's

[MarkW19]

Quote: Originally Posted by T-bone S

The RunFlats or the F1's?

F1s

Well yeah the F1s are cheaper as they're £85 each (that's what I got them for) and the runflats are about £130 each aren't they?

[MarkW19]

Actually they don't tramline "a lot", but a bit. If I let go of the wheel my car usually pulls over to the left, and occasionally to the right if I'm right at the other side of the road. Also they really do follow the road - ie. on the motorway the car wanders about a little on anything but 100% smooth roads. I've got used to this now though, but it felt a bit strange at first. Maybe playing with the pressures will cure this though? Goodyear apparently recommend running them quite high (36-38psi) whereas I'm at 32psi at the mo.

[uncle albert]

I'm probably going to give these babies a go after my current boots have worn out. Currently on Toyo T1-S, which whilst offering superb grip in the dry, my first experience in the wet with them the other day got the old ticker going a bit!

James

[E74778]

Quote: Originally Posted by MarkW19

Actually they don't tramline "a lot", but a bit. If I let go of the wheel my car usually pulls over to the left, and occasionally to the right if I'm right at the other side of the road. Also they really do follow the road - ie. on the motorway the car wanders about a little on anything but 100% smooth roads. I've got used to this now though, but it felt a bit strange at first. Maybe playing with the pressures will cure this though? Goodyear apparently recommend running them quite high (36-38psi) whereas I'm at 32psi at the mo.

On the tramline and pulling to the left issue.

Our MCSC does the same with the standard runflats, let go of the steering wheel and the line at the top of the steering wheel moves around 20 mm to the left. Our car has been back into BMW for a full alignment and although it's now setup to BMW spec it still pulls to the left with the camber of the road, BMW say this is normal.

Last week I took the car into an independent alignment specialist who noticed that the machine BMW use at my garage for alignment does not show the caster angle for the front wheels. The guy checked everthing out, all the settings that BMW had set were spot on but he noticed that the caster angle for the front wheels were different from standard and different from each other (it states the caster angles in his book).

I may get the next bit the wrong way around but:

He stated that for cars that drive on the LHS of the road the caster angle on the LHS should be greater than the caster angle on the RHS to stop cars following the normal roads camber, on our car they were the other way around but BMW's settings shows them as the same so they were defiantly wrong?
The guy needed to look at the issue in more detail but asked if anyone had dropped the front subframe, a local unnamed BMW garage had in the past when sorting out a different problem.
In his opinion (and if it's possible to do so) the subframe needed to moved in order to change the caster angles and then the whole front end realigned so that all the settings including the caster angles are correct.

Unfortunately he ran out of time so the cars back in tomorrow.

TBH the guys explanation sounded reasonable when he told me but he also stated that large tyres and the way Mini's are setup will always cause a little tramlining. Mini's were one of the few cars that actually run "toe in" on the front end instead of the normal "neutral to toe out" setup.

Sorry if this is confusing, If anyone out in Mini land is an expert then please try to put this across better than I have, I am an engineer but not a mechanic.

By the way, apparently he says this is also a common fault on other BMW's to differing degrees. I can back this up because a colleague at work has a new 3 series 320d and his car pulls to the left.

Will keep you posted.

Al.

[MarkW19]

Let us know how you get on mate!

[Hat]

Quote: Originally Posted by uncle albert

I'm probably going to give these babies a go after my current boots have worn out. Currently on Toyo T1-S, which whilst offering superb grip in the dry, my first experience in the wet with them the other day got the old ticker going a bit!

James

the one big & immediate difference with the Eagles over the runflats was the wet grip. the runflats never inspired confidence on damp roads (full wet was better) whereas the eagles feel safe as houses