Hello Everyone,

Before we begin, I welcome you to check out this short video.
BFGoodrich g-Force Rival Preview Drive

As promised, here is the additional information on the new Extreme Performance Summer tire from BF Goodrich!

On Tuesday, of last week a group of us from Tire Rack.com were invited as guests of BF Goodrich to NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana to experience the new g-Force Rival. This is a new Extreme Performance Summer tire that is designed to compete in between their Ultra High Performance Summer tire, the g-Force Sport Comp-2 and the "R" compound g-Force R1/R1-S.




BF Goodrich started with a mission to design and develop a street tire optimized for dry handling and traction, delivering consistent lap times and extremely predictable handling. The g-Force Rival was designed to be the highest dry gripping tire in the g-Force family of street tires. With an emphasis in "street tire" competition in autocross and track events.

While we were at NOLA Motorsports Park we experienced the Rival in 4 different events on 4 different vehicle applications.
• Skidpad using a Mazda MX-5 Cup car on a 225/45R17
• Short Autocross using a Subaru Impreza WRX STi on a 245/40R18
• Road Course using a Ford Mustang FR500 on a 245/40R18
• Long Autocross using BMW E46 M3s on a 245/40R18
















Being able to experience the tire in all of these extreme conditions brought out a few key points I'd like to highlight.
• The g-Force Rival has a design (Extreme Tread Edge) that brings the tread compound farther down the shoulder for increased grip in hard cornering and predictable feedback. When I was behind the wheel of the WRX STi and the M3 I really put this to the test. Both of the autocross courses had excellent cornering and braking areas that allow us to push the tire. As a "spirited" driver I really appreciated the ability to use ALL of the tire in hard cornering applications. At the end of the run and the end of the day we had the opportunity to see the wear of the g-Force Rival. You can visually see the Rival is using this Extreme Tread Edge, it has that extra tread on the shoulder giving you that extra grip.

• The Rival also had very good direct steering response. According to BF Goodrich, this is due to what they call g-Control Sidewall Insert and Dynamic Suspension System. This is extremely important for those of you that autocross. In the long autocross course this was extremely noticeable in the M3. It was almost as simple as point and shoot. I was able to accelerate longer, turn sharper, and maneuver the course with a lot less steering input and brake control.

• On the road course, driving the FR500 Mustangs at well over 100 to 120 MPH the ETEC System (Equal TEnsion Containment System) was very obvious. This technology optimizes the contact patch and traction at speed. Coming down the front straight away to the first turn, a hard right converting to a sweeping left was a good test. Then came the back section of the track. Being this was my first time on this track I wasn't pushing it as hard as I could but I can say the tires defiantly were squealing. I was once told a squealing tire is a happy tire. My only issue driving the Rival on the road course was not enough laps. I would have loved to had the chance to drive LOTS of laps on this track with the Rival. The bottom line it was an absolute blast!

• From a cosmetic standpoint, it is a good looking tire. It has Saw-toothed Lower Shoulder designs that give it an aggressive and dynamic look. To me, I have to like the way my tire looks. Folks, this is just a good looking tire and in my opinion just looks fast.

Currently the g-Force Rival is available for order in 15 sizes which can be seen at the link below. The sizes are from 205 to 335 section widths in 15" to 20" wheel diameters.
BFGoodrich*g-Force Rival

We are currently taking orders some sizes are due in as early as February. We will continue to receive shipments through May.

I would like to express my appreciation to BF Goodrich and NOLA Motorsports Part for allow me to attend this event. We all had a blast being able to drive some fun cars, on some AMAZING tracks, on what seems to be an excellent tire! I am excited about the Rival and cannot wait until we are able to get the tire on our test track here at Tire Rack in the spring. Please check back later on Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels for additional information and test results.

 

I see this tire description mentions dry traction several times, I live in Belgium and am wondering how much of a compromise I would be making in wet weather to go with a tire like this? I really like the tread rolled out over the edges especially after seeing how my current tires(Michelin MXM4 215 55 R16) took a beating at a 7 km road course I ran on Sunday.(spa Francorchamp) They handled predictably with plenty of noise feedback, but were not very grippy and less so once you were really over the edge. I want to do more track days but don't want to have multiple sets of tires. The car is not commuted with and sits a lot so I can afford to run a tire with shorter tread life. I suppose the all wheel drive would give me some compensation for wet or the occasional snow in winter.
I ran the tires midway in Audi's recommended pressure at 37.5psi cold, hot they were 44psi, any advice on what I should be aiming for with hot pressures at the track?