down to New Orleans to see a new tire ... the G-Force Rival

[Luke@tirerack]

8:00am Monday morning we left the great white, cold and snowy landscape of northern Indiana and headed down to sunny and warm New Orleans to check out the new BF Goodrich G-Force Rival.

We arrived with little, ok, no fanfare but, at least we were not in sub-freezing temperatures. After checking into the hotel we went for a walk down Canal street to grab a good "Louisiana" lunch. I was thinkin' crawfish ettoufe', a shrimp Po Boy and some red beans and rice



We followed that up with some live music at The Famous Door on Bourbon Street and a nice group dinner at Arnaud's.

Woke up early the next day and headed out to NOLA Motorsports Park.







When we got there we were greeted by some new friends (MX-5 Cup cars, E46 M3's, FR500s Mustang race cars and a few Sti's)









and Goldberg being ... well, Goldberg



next on the agenda we got to meet the star attraction and reason for the trip

The new Extreme Performance tire from BF Goodrich the G-Force Rival





after some techy tire geek stuff we headed out to our "new friends"

first up the MX5 Cup cars on a skid pad to see how this new guy compares to previously known BFG offerings





G-Force Comp 2's, G-Force Rival and G-Force R1-S

the results on the g-meter were pretty much what we expect but, the performance gap from the Comp2 to the Rival was significantly larger than the gap of the Rival to the R1-S

next exercise, Subaru STi's on a short AutoX course

Toyo R1R vs. Hankook Ventus R-S3 vs. G-Force Rival











check out this tire wear

Hankook Ventus after 48 runs



Toyo R1R after 48 runs



G-Force Rival after 72 runs



thew BFG was clearly better in transition and under braking proving faster more consistent lap times

after lunch (shrimp Po-Boy again and some white chocolate bread pudding) we headed to the third exercise. A high speed road course with the FR500S Mustang race cars. The G-Force Rival vs. the Falken RK615.







Both tires exhibited exceptional grip especially in steady state cornering but, the sidewall rigidity and progressive break-away characteristics of the Rival made it easier to drive at the limit with confidence.

the fourth and final excerize was a faster and longer AutoX with BMW E46 M3's. The Rival vs. ther Hankook Ventus R-S3





the crisp steering response of the rival made it easier to drive and faster than the R-S3.

We then wrapped everything up and flew back home to singel digit temps and lake effect snow

Here's the official press release that came out today

BFGOODRICH® INTRODUCES G-FORCE™ RIVAL™

New Extreme Performance Tire Offers Versatility

GREENVILLE, S.C. (January 23, 2012) – BFGoodrich® today unveiled a new extreme performance tire called the g-Force™ Rival™. The tire will help BFGoodrich target a growing market of drivers seeking extreme performance tires which are versatile enough to be used in auto-cross and track-day events then driven home. The tires have a 200 UTQG Rating (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) which allows them to be used in racing where drivers must compete on 140+ UTQG tires.

“The g-Force Rival helps BFGoodrich fill a growing need in the extreme performance market,” said Andrew Koury, BFGoodrich brand manager. “From autocross to road course events, on street or the track, we want drivers to own it.”


The Rival complements a successful BFGoodrich launch of the g-Force™ Sport Comp-2™ ultra-high performance street tire which was introduced in February 2012. Unlike the mostly street driven g-Force Sport COMP-2, the g-Force Rival was designed for track level abuse while providing drivability on the street. The g-Force Rival is predictable, allowing drivers to turn faster lap times1, and turn heads on the street. Highlight features include:

•Razor-sharp reflexes - The Performance Racing Core™ (PRC) with a reinforced internal structure reduces sidewall flex for instant steering response.

•Designed to stick - Asymmetric tread with large, solid tread blocks on the outside shoulder to optimize cornering grip.

•Raise the limit - Extreme Tread Edge™ (ETE) design brings tread compound farther down the shoulder for increased grip in hard cornering and predictable feedback.

•Consistent grip lap after lap — Silica-infused competition compound delivers better grip from start to finish.1

•Street legal with a UTQG treadwear rating of 200 so you can drive to the track and back.

The Rival will initially launch with 15 sizes with rim dimensions from 15-20 inches and 205-335 section width. The product will be available through TireRack.com with pre-orders beginning on February 1.

[Stangkiller]

Such an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing!

[kingpin]

Looks like a lot of fun.
You must enjoy your work and be the envy of your friends.

[Jobaka]

Originally Posted by Luke@tirerack

Noob question: What exactly are we looking at here? It seems as though that tire may be defective.

[Luke@tirerack]

tire wear ... the tread blocks are leaning under heavy lateral load which creates a saw tooth looking tread wear. The high side loading created under a tight autoX is wearing the leading edge off of each tread element

[lander]

This is the "before" on that Hankook.

[mike100]

Please tell me they will offer a 315/35ZR17

BFG discontinued 315's:

[Luke@tirerack]

no 315/35-17 just yet

[Jobaka]

Available sizes are posted on the TireRack site HERE.

[GentleBen]

I don't see any 19" sizes which presents problems for C-6s unless you want to either 18" on all four corners or with exception stagger with an 18" front and 20" rear.

[Luke@tirerack]

19's are in the works ... gotta start somewhere

[allthrottleandsomebottle]

Good write up Luke.
Looks like the stangs had some front camber adjustment
The tire wear and course set ups look familiar