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Goodyear Run-Flat Tires Run Flat-Out at Concours

29 May 1998

Goodyear Run-Flat Tires Run Flat-Out at Concours

    GREENWICH, Conn., May 29 -- Goodyear's run-flat tires are
going high-brow today at the prestigious Concours d'Elegance.
    Despite their affordability, Goodyear new Eagle Aquasteel EMT and Eagle F1
GS EMT run-flat tires will be served up with Perrier and Grey Poupon at this
car exhibition for the rich and famous.
    At the start of today's Concours rally, journalists will "flatten" the
Chevrolet Corvette's Eagle F1 GS EMT tire and the new Eagle Aquasteel EMT and
go for a lovely drive through Fairfield County. They will drive the entire
course without air in the tires.
    An article in the Wall Street Journal today said the flattening process
itself creates the most excitement.  Reporter Amy Gamerman said her week of
driving tires without air passed uneventfully.
    Eagle Aquasteel EMT, capable of up to 50 miles at 55 mph without air under
fully loaded conditions, is available in five popular sizes now. Another three
sizes will be offered in the second quarter. Eagle F1 GS EMT is standard
equipment on the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette.
    Run-flat tires, once relegated to exotic sizes for the Corvette and
Plymouth Prowler, now will fit upscale family sedans and minivans, according
to Bob Toth, marketing manager for high-performance tires. They are priced
approximately 20 percent more than conventional tires on a size-for-size
basis.
    "Goodyear's run-flat tires are the ultimate in convenience and safety,"
Toth said. "They allow the driver to determine when and where it is safe to
stop after experiencing an air loss. It takes the worry out of having a flat
tire."
    In the Eagle Aquasteel EMT, ultra-tensile steel provides high strength,
fatigue resistance, low bending stiffness, quick steering reponse and
durability, Toth said. "Ultra-tensile steel is the answer to the technological
challenge of moving into higher aspect ratio tires and maintaining outstanding
run-flat performance.
    "The achievement of developing an affordable, easily retrofittable EMT
tire for motorists is important, given consumer desire for safety. Of the top
10 performance characteristics in a survey where run-flat tires were not
specifically tested, consumer responses were heavily slanted toward safety,"
he said.
    The new tire also requires that vehicles be equipped with a low-pressure
warning system to alert drivers when a tire is losing air or has gone flat,
because the Eagle Aquasteel EMT performs similarly at full and zero inflation,
he said. Goodyear plans to market a compatible, affordable system for the
replacement market Goodyear run-flat tires.
    In addition to ultra-tensile steel technology, the new tire features two
aquachannels and a directional tread design to provide improved wet traction.
Eagle Aquasteel EMT replaces the Eagle Aquatred wet-traction performance tire.
    The H speed-rated (certified up to 130 mph) tire's steel carcass is
designed to deliver superior handling, improved treadwear and cut resistance,
Toth said.
    Eagle Aquasteel EMT, manufactured in Goodyear's Lawton, Okla., facility,
is available in sizes P195/60R14, P195/60R15, P205/60R15, P215/65R15 and
P225/60R16.  In the second quarter, sizes P195/65R15, P205/65R15 and
P205/55R16 will be available.