BFGoodrich invited me to Mosport racetrack to test their all-new tire, the g-Force COMP-2 A/S.
But while listening to the morning’s press presentation my breath sucked in, “oh no, A/S stands for All-Season, how did I miss that?”
Okay I know exactly how – when reading the invite email, “Keri, we’d like to invite you to the track…” my eyes glazed over everything after “track”.
But this was a problem, because how can I endorse an All-Season tire when I’ve been putting them down for years, both here and at the paper?
Then the spokesman said 2 things that won me over:
1 – they said an All-Season tire really means 3 seasons, “it’s not a snow tire.” Agreed 100%
2 – before sending me out, they gave instructions on how to cheat a tire test
In the hundreds of press events I’ve attended it’s rare to hear such honesty. Day is off to a good start.
Test #1 – Braking
Floor it to 70 km/h, then stand on the brakes and measure which tire brought me to a stop in the shortest distance.
Super fun to do, super erratic results that tell me nothing. It’s not the tire’s performance, it’s because the driver (me) braked all over the place, so can’t rely on results when the tester was so inconsistent.
Test #2 – Wet Autocross
Toss 3 identical Audi A4s around a wet autocross course while riding on the 3 competitors – Continental, General and BFGoodrich.
Continental – didn’t hold the corners as well as BFGoodrich
General – the most fun because they slid all over the place; this is not a compliment
BFGoodrich – grippiest, and I executed my smoothest lap on these. Winner
Test #3 – Dry Autocross
Floored 2015 Ford Mustangs around a dry autocross course. Same set up as Test #2 – identical cars, around the same track, riding on 3 different brands.
And guys my skills are improving, I’m getting smoother!
Watch:
General – sliding around again but less funny than the wet track, these grip poorly
Continental – better than the Generals, but…
BFGoodrich – I was able to get back on the throttle the quickest with these because the grip was already there. Winner
So BFGoodrich’s g-Force COMP-2 A/S won. And their price point is right in line with their competitors.
They come with a 70,000 km warranty, are on-sale now in 32 different sizes, then 52 sizes by Q1 of 2016.
I’ll leave you with the same thing I always tell you…
Don’t cheap out on the ONLY part
of your car that touches the road!
