Power Pages
The Newcomer
Goodyear Revspec RS-02
Size tested: 225/40R18
Tested on: Volkswagen Golf GTi
The Revspec RS-02 is not a new tyre, as it was released back in 2005 in Japan. The RS-02 has gained accolades wherever it was released officially by Goodyear, in countries such as Japan, Australia and other selected Asian countries. The reason why it wasn't released worldwide is because it was designed and developed by Goodyear Japan, not by its design headquarters in Europe.
It seems that we Malaysians have been missing out on a great tyre for the past few years. Up until now, the only UHP tyre we could get from Goodyear was their excellent Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD-3, which in its own right is a great tyre where comfort and performance work together in beautiful harmony. But for those who demand more performance than comfort and silence, and an edgier tyre, the Revspec RS-02 should be right up their alley.
The Revspec RS-02 was created using Hybrid Computer Modeling and Bio Tred Technology, which is claimed to endow the Revspec RS-02 with unprecedented levels of performance and comfort. The tyre is made with a silica compound which incorporates Bio Tred technology and a spiral overlay contrsuction with 'hybrid' materials.
The Revspec RS-02 also boasts and improved tyre footprint shape for a better grip on the road and the advanced tyre design gives great grip, handling and response without sacrificing comfort. For those with expensive wheels, you may rejoice as the Revspec RS-02 also comes with a rim protector.
The Revspec RS-02 also scored very highly in a highly respected Australian magazine, where the Revspec RS-02 was tested with other tyres such as the Toyo Proxes T1-R, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx and Michelin Pilot Preceda. The Revspec RS-02 was found to be excellent in the slalom course and performed very well in dry cornering and braking tests. It did only reasonably well in wet braking and cornering tests however.
We got our test set in 225/40/R18 size and the tyres were mounted on 18 inch SSR Type C wheels. The test car was a Volkswagen Golf GTi.
When we first got the tyres, we allowed for a 200km scrub in period before we laid judgment on the tyres, but our very first impressions of the tyre was that it is very responsive and a lot of fun. Ride comfort suffers slightly due to the stiff sidewalls, but the RS-02 is a performance tyre after all.
Two hundred kilometers later, we found that the tyre had more grip and was even more responsive now that the rubber had been completely scrubbed in. In one of our favourite corners near the office, we found that the Revspec RS-02 had good levels of grip and were very stable and predictable. Snap direction changes were instantaneous thanks to the firm sidewalls.
In the dry, we found the Revspec RS-02 to be a wonderful tyre; great levels of grip and response, but in the wet, it didn't do quite as well as we had hoped. We could still chuck the car about and it resisted aquaplaning reasonably well, but one should always exercise caution whenever the roads are wet. With that being said, we would be hard pressed to find a tyre that could do as well as the Revspec RS-02 in both the dry and the wet.
Our Verdict
Goodyear's Revspec RS-02 provides a great alternative to other tyres in its class as it is priced quite competitively. We loved how responsive the tyres were and how much grip they provided, but we made very sure to take things easy in the wet. We have only one complaint:
What the hell took Goodyear Malaysia so long to bring it over here?!