Where the Fiber Meets the Road.(Revs)

Byline: LARRY EDSALL

Goodyear thinks performance sedan buyers want to have their cake and eat it, too, so the Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker is offering up a plateful of fiber-carbon fiber, that is. The newest Goodyear Eagle, the one that officially launches the performance tire line's second quarter-century, features what Goodyear calls ResponsEdge Technology with Carbon Fiber.

Ooh. Magic words for high-tech junkies there: "Carbon Fiber.'' Hey, if they can use it to dress up ballpoint pens and desk accessories, why not? At least tires have engineers working on them.

Goodyear did have genuine engineering goals: to offer a replacement tire that meets the high-performance handling characteristics that sports sedan owners want while providing a quiet, smooth-riding touring tire with all-season capabilities.

"Feel the road, not the rumble'' is the sales pitch. "A performance tire with manners'' is how marketing manager Bob Toth put it as he showed off a tire with asymmetric sidewalls and tread pattern, Kevlar belt overlay and built-in wheel rim protector.

While the tire's inner sidewall features normal tire construction technologies, the outer sidewall has a carbon fiber ring to provide strength and stiffening for enhanced dynamic maneuvers. Toth said Goodyear has used carbon fiber in its Indy car, Formula One and sports car racing tires.

Not only are the sidewalls of the new Eagle asymmetric, but so is tread compounding, with the outer section designed for high-performance dynamics and the inside zone for all-season grip. This all-season zone features the ...