Goodyear is a brand that is deeply associated with automobiles in America. The company’s name is synonymous with NASCAR, as it is the sport’s exclusive tire supplier. Goodyear’s racing heritage goes far beyond that, as it’s the brand with more Formula One wins, starts, and championships than any other tire brand. So it’s no wonder that Goodyear is one of the biggest tire companies in the world, selling over 15 billion dollars of tires every year.
Goodyear initially was started as a small factory in Akron, Ohio, but since then it has grown into the biggest tire company in America. Its success can be traced to its fundamental American principles of value, quality, and fairness.
What Sets Goodyear Apart?
Racing Legacy
Goodyear has shown a commitment to the racing roots of car culture since the sport began in the early 1900s. As cars spread across the nation, racing grew, and so did Goodyear. The company spends millions of dollars on racing for two reasons—exposure and technological development. Automotive racing is one of the biggest sports in the U.S. and attracts tens of millions of eyeballs each year. Fans who watch NASCAR know that Goodyear is a huge financial backer of the sport. Goodyear invests in American racing at all levels of the sport.
The main purpose of Goodyear’s auto racing participation is the incredible developmental opportunities that racing provides. Due to strenuous conditions and high-performance demands, racing offers unique opportunities to test and improve products. Innovations such as the radial tire, TredLock technology, and Goodyear’s Carbon Fiber Technology can all be traced directly to developments at the race track.
American Heritage
Goodyear is well known to be a quintessential American brand. Ever since its inception in Akron, Ohio, the company has embraced American ideals like opportunity, progress, and individuality. These ideas are what have taken Goodyear to such great heights and what helps Goodyear continue to stay on track after so many years.
Commitment to Creating Jobs
With over 64,000 employees in the U.S., when you buy a Goodyear tire you can be sure you’re helping to support the American economy. Although Goodyear does operate overseas, they have 12 factories in the United States. These American factories are some of the only ones left that still produce consumer passenger tires in the U.S.
Along with investing in American workers, Goodyear also invests in its communities. At their Akron headquarters, the company has begun initiatives for job training and career development to help create a talent identification network for their company. Goodyear has job recruiters that operate in all 50 states to seek out the employees they need, and every factory has a local network it utilizes to find and train workers to make their tires.
30-Day Goodyear Pledge
Along with producing some of the best-known and technologically advanced tires in the world, Goodyear takes its commitment to customers one step further by offering a 30-day guarantee on all products, no matter where they are purchased. For any tire model you buy online or offline, you can return it, as long as you take it back within 30 days. Through this feature, Goodyear not only offers an incentive to buy but displays the degree to which the company stands by its products.
Goodyear Design Features
ComfortFlex Compound
Addressing the comfort and noise issues that some drivers have with all-season tires, Goodyear synthesized a proprietary compound that is designed to give a smoother, quieter ride. The technology is also superior at impact absorption, meaning that the material will soak up both road vibration as well as bigger bumps. The compound, which is soft yet durable, also delivers superior handling.
AquaChannel Tread Design
One of the biggest issues Goodyear’s engineers face is how to make a tire perform well in wet conditions. AquaChannel is a groove in the middle of the tire tread that helps to clear water from the surface of the tire, preventing hydroplaning while also improving braking and handling. Their tires now have one to three of these AquaChannels, and the technology also improves handling in light snow.
TredLock Technology
To keep traction in all conditions, Goodyear designed an innovation called 3D TredLock Blade Technology. The ‘blades’ are micro-grooves in the tire that help grip when turning or braking. The rubber structures actually lock together on a microscopic level when going around a corner, which helps support the lateral force created during the turn.
TredLock is the culmination of years of innovation at Goodyear’s research and development wing, and the technology manages to deliver good traction in all weather and road conditions.
Goodyear Carbon Fiber Technology
The modern tire design was created in the 1950s, and utilized a steel belt as a lattice on which to glue the rubber construction. Since then, steel-belted tires have reached near-100% market penetration. Throughout the years, the design has stayed roughly the same, and little has changed about the steel belt. At the Indy 500 in 2006, Goodyear unveiled a major innovation that would revolutionize tire construction all over again.
The innovation is called Goodyear Carbon Fiber Technology, and the design uses ultra-stiff, lightweight carbon fiber to reinforce the outer sidewall of the tire. This helps drivers “feel the road, not the rumble.” The stiff properties of the carbon fiber improve handling but also help to dampen vibrations. The technology was initially developed for Formula One and Indy 500 cars.
Goodyear Warranty Information
Goodyear, as with other top tire manufacturers, offers several layers of post-purchase customer support. For newly purchased tires, the brand offers a 30-day return policy, which is available on all models purchased both online and offline.
After 30 days, Goodyear’s set of warranties takes effect. They offer mileage warranties for most of their rubber, ranging from 30,000 miles for all-terrain models up to 80,000 miles for touring tires. Generally speaking, their policy is quite generous, with most models being covered for around 50,000 miles.
On top of the mileage warranty, tires come with a limited replacement warranty for defects and damage. If any tire becomes unusable within the first year due to the fault of Goodyear, the company will replace the tire. This warranty covers the cost of replacement, so for any unusual product failure, Goodyear is very generous in covering any issue you might come across.
A History of Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling in Akron, Ohio. Since it was launched before the advent of the automobile, the company initially produced pneumatic tires for bicycles and carriages. When Henry Ford began to produce the Model T, he selected Goodyear as a tire supplier, and every one of the original Model Ts came out of the factory fitted with Goodyear Rubber.
Goodyear rode the wave of automobiles to incredible heights, diversifying as the country grew. They began to produce other rubber parts as well as plane equipment, even manufacturing American fighters during World War Two.
In the 50s, a European-developed technology called the radial tire began to take over the market. Of the five biggest American tire companies, only Goodyear adopted the technology. The company received huge backlash for spending millions of dollars to retool their factories, but they are the only tire giant of the five that survived the transition.
Starting in 1990, Goodyear began to sell off parts of its international business and began refocusing on what initially propelled the company to success – tires for American passenger vehicles. They are one of the most respected and identifiable companies in America. In 2008, Fortune magazine ranked the company as the most respected auto parts manufacturer in the world.
Goodyear’s biggest market is in the United States and the company is continuing to optimize its tires towards domestic consumers. As the biggest tire company in the U.S., they have a historically high market share stateside due to their savvy and consistent placement in the market.
The Goodyear Blimp
The Goodyear Blimp is undoubtedly one of America’s advertising icons, and the fleet of airships is recognized at sporting events across the country. The blimp itself is made of a non-rigid material that inflates when filled with helium. It’s used for advertising purposes and sometimes it provides aerial footage of sports events.
It was in the 1910s that Goodyear began to develop its rubber components for airspace, which culminated in a dirigible that it would fly to competitions nationally. In the 1950s, as T.V. swept the nation, the Goodyear blimp went to sports games in every part of the U.S. to advertise and broadcast sports. Since then, Goodyear has continued to use blimps as a critical part of its marketing strategy. These days, the fleet consists of three blimps, which all are 246 feet long and can carry up to 11 passengers.
Goodyear in the Tire Industry
Goodyear is an industry giant that has been the biggest tire company in the world at several points throughout its history. They first took the crown in 1926 and held onto it until the first generation of cars began to fall out of vogue. As cars like the Model T waned, other manufacturers began to take more market share.
As of 2020, Goodyear is the third biggest company in terms of revenue, sitting behind Bridgestone and Michelin. While those brands sell tires under many different labels, Goodyear sells most of its tires under its own Goodyear banner. Tires range from sub $100 budget offerings all the way up to $1000 racing and off-road tires. Goodyear also operates the brands Dunlop and Kelly, as well as Fulda, which is a German brand that sells across Europe.
Goodyear and Auto Racing
How Racing Saved Goodyear
In the early days of the automobile, Goodyear was the first supplier selected to provide tires for Ford’s Model T. But as Ford grew, their expansion outpaced Goodyear’s manufacturing capability and Goodyear began to lag behind other suppliers. The company pursued an innovative marketing strategy, investing in auto racing to gain exposure for the brand. In 1922, Goodyear had to halt production since competition in the tire industry was so fierce. However, as Goodyear’s reputation grew at the racetrack, their production ramped back up as well. By 1926, just four years later, and primarily thanks to Goodyear’s investment in racing, it was the largest tire company in the world. To this day, Goodyear credits racing with saving the company. The marketing department continues to use racing as a key part of its publicity strategy.
NASCAR
NASCAR is Goodyear’s bread and butter—in fact, Goodyear has been NASCAR’s exclusive tire sponsor since 1997. But the company hasn’t always been the only sponsor of NASCAR. In fact, since the sport’s inception in 1948, there have been many years of turmoil, with various companies striving to be the chief patron of the sport.
Early on, Firestone and Goodyear vied for control of NASCAR’s tire supply chain. Goodyear won the battle against Firestone by developing a technology called Lifeguard, which allowed drivers to return to the pits in case of a flat or a blowout. This advancement caused Firestone to be pushed out of the sport due to safety concerns.
In 1986, Goodyear faced a hostile takeover and NASCAR invited the tire company Hoosier to participate in case Goodyear wasn’t available to produce the tires necessary. After some back and forth racing that left no definitive winner, the season came to a head during the Winston 500 at the famed Talladega Speedway. At that race, Goodyear driver Dale Earnhardt used Goodyear tires’ durability to help him win the race. Sales of Hoosier tires collapsed afterward, forcing the company to pull out of the series.
Through dozens of years of sponsorship, Goodyear has proved its commitment and dedication to the safety of the sport. Due to its omnipresence at famous speedways and races, it has consistently gained allies and fans over the years.
Formula One
Although Goodyear hasn’t sponsored Formula One racing for over 20 years, they are still the tire brand with the most starts, wins, and championships. The company first started sponsoring teams in 1965, and it has provided tires at various points to many major Formula One institutions, such as Ferrari and McLaren.
After tire requirements changed to make tires less similar to consumer tires, Goodyear pulled out of the sport, citing their commitment to use racing as a way to develop and test products for the consumer market.
Goodyear Giving Back
Early in its history, Goodyear was hyper-focused on growth and expansion, but in recent years the company has spent a growing portion of its budget on social and environmental projects to help the communities in which it operates.
Sustainability
Goodyear has taken enormous steps forward in sustainability after the tire industry began to get flak for its environmental impact. Goodyear prioritizes making all of its tires as fuel-efficient as possible. The company sells so many tires even small improvements in efficiency can have tremendous impacts on carbon emissions.
The company has also started to clean up its supply chain from top to bottom. Since most rubber on the market is made from petroleum products, which produce emissions, Goodyear has begun to use more natural rubber in their tires. The cultivation and use of natural rubber actually takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The company has also worked on incorporating reused and recycled materials into its supply chain, along with eliminating environmentally hazardous and toxic chemicals from its rubber products.
Inspiring Culture: BetterFuture
In late 2018, Goodyear performed a top-down analysis on its corporate responsibility practices and came out with a plan called BetterFuture. One of BetterFuture’s pillars is a component called ‘Inspiring Culture,’ which involves Goodyear partnering with stakeholders, communities, and employees to improve the culture surrounding the company and industry.
The company set out a plan, starting with Goodyear’s values, to work towards a more positive future. They set out benchmarks for employee health and diversity to make sure that their 60,000 workers are all thriving. They also set up a plan for talent development across the country. This makes sure that the company has a system in place for cultivating talent from the community today. This talent identification system emphasizes growing entry-level employees into the leaders of Goodyear tomorrow.
Goodyear’s Best Selling Tires
While other major tire companies usually divide their tires between different internal brands depending on whether it is their discount, mid-range or premium offering, Goodyear doesn’t do this. Instead, Goodyear offers a wide range of tires all under the Goodyear brand.
Their line starts with inexpensive all-season offerings like the Efficient Grip Performance and runs the gamut all the way up to expensive racing and offroad tires such as the Eagle F1 Supercar and the Wrangler DuraTrac. Models like these have an incredible legacy of design and racing behind them and are well worth the price for enthusiasts.
Goodyear Efficient Grip Line
Starting at the more affordable end of things, the Efficient Grip line is a series of tires meant for practical, daily driving. This line comes factory equipped on cars such as the Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra, so if you’re looking for an incredibly reliable and value-oriented tire, consider this line.
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- Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance: For drivers seeking performance along with value, the Efficient Grip Performance model is a slightly more handling-forward tire that costs just a touch more than the other Efficient Grip Models. While still being durable, it offers great dry handling, wet handling, and traction.
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- Goodyear Efficient Grip RunOnFlat: With Goodyear’s RunOnFlat Technology, this Efficient Grip tire offers a fuel-efficient ride that will take you up to 50 miles even after a puncture.
Goodyear Wrangler Line
The Goodyear Wrangler line is directed at light truck and SUV owners, and since the line was first sold it has evolved into one of the most successful SUV tires of all time. It has taken the market by storm due to its all-season versatility, performing optimally in winter and summer conditions as well as providing traction both on and off-road. On top of all that, the tire is practical, reasonably priced, fuel-efficient, and safe.
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- Goodyear Wrangler Radial: At around $100, the Goodyear Wrangler is a classic unfussy, economical, all-season truck tire. The warranty goes up to 50,000 miles and it’s perfect for small pickups that need to get the job done without a hassle.
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- Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac: The DuraTrac is the off-road mark for the Wrangler line, providing excellent traction in rugged terrain. The aggressive tread still does well on the highway, remaining quiet and comfortable on all surfaces.
Goodyear Eagle F1 Series
The Goodyear Eagle F1 is Goodyear’s performance line. It derives its technology from the decades of experience company engineers have at the racetrack. While the line isn’t particularly durable or even practical for that matter, it’s one of the best-rated tire lines for cornering, stability, and steering responsiveness.
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- Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar EMT: With a whopping $2000-per-set price tag, this tire has no qualms about what it is: a race car tire that just happens to be street legal. If you’re seeking the highest possible performance, this might be worth a look.
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- Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric: For automotive enthusiasts that need a tire you can still drive around town, the Eagle F1 Asymmetric is a great pick. While it still has supercar-level capabilities, it sits a reasonable price point and offers some puncture protection.
All Tire Models: Goodyear Tires
Passenger Tires
High-Performance Summer
Eagle F1 Supercar 3
Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2
Eagle F1 Supercar G: 2 RunOnFlat
Performance Summer
Eagle F1 Asymmetric
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 RunOnFlat
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 RunOnFlat
Eagle F1 GS-D3
Eagle F1 SuperSport
Eagle F1 Supercar
Eagle F1 Supercar EMT
High-Performance Summer
Eagle F1 GS EMT
Eagle F1 GS-2 EMT
High-Performance All-Season
Eagle Exhilarate
Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season
Eagle F1 Asymmetric All-Season RunOnFlat
Eagle Sport All-Season (W-Speed Rated)
High-Performance All-Season
Eagle Enforcer All Weather
Eagle RS-A
Eagle RS-A EMT
Eagle RS-A2
Eagle Sport All-Season (H- or V-Speed Rated)
Eagle Sport All-Season RunOnFlat (H- or V-Speed Rated)
Performance All-Season
Eagle GT II
Grand Touring Summer
Eagle NCT5 A RunOnFlat
Eagle NCT5 EMT
Efficient Grip Performance RunOnFlat
Efficient Grip RunOnFlat
Excellence
Excellence RunOnFlat
Grand Touring All-Season
Assurance ComforTred Touring
Assurance WeatherReady
Eagle L.S.
Eagle LS-2
Eagle LS-2 RunOnFlat
Eagle Touring
Radial LS
Standard Touring All-Season
Passenger All-Season
Assurance All-Season
Assurance ComforTred
Assurance Finesse
Assurance Fuel Max
Assurance TripleTred All-Season
Integrity
Passenger Ice and Snow
Ultra Grip Ice WRT
Stud Capable Ice and Snow
Ultra Grip Winter
WinterCommand
Performance Winter and Snow
Eagle Enforcer Winter
Eagle Ultra Grip GW-3
Ultra Grip 8 Performance
Ultra Grip Performance 2 RunOnFlat
Street Legal Track and Competition Tires
Temporary and Compact Spare Tires
Convenience Spare
Radial Spare
Light Truck and SUV Tires
Street/Sport Truck Summer
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 SUV-4X4
Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 SUV
Eagle F1 Asymmetric SUV
Eagle F1 Asymmetric SUV-4X4
Eagle F1 Asymmetric SUV-4X4 RunOnFlat
Street/Sport Truck All-Season
Eagle F1 Asymmetric AT SUV-4X4
Efficient Grip SUV-4X4
Fortera SL Edition
Wrangler HP
Wrangler HP All Weather
Crossover and SUV All-Season Touring
Assurance C.S. Fuel Max
Assurance CS TripleTred All-Season
Fortera HL Edition
Highway All-Season
Wrangler Fortitude HT
Wrangler HT
Wrangler SR-A
Wrangler ST
All-Terrain
Wrangler AT/S
Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure
Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar
Wrangler SilentArmor
Wrangler TrailRunner AT
Off-Road Maximum Traction
Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar
Off-Road High Traction
Wrangler DuraTrac
Stud Capable Snow and Ice SUV/Truck Tires
Ultra Grip Ice WRT LT
Ultra Grip Ice WRT SUV
WinterCommand (L.T.)
WinterCommand (SUV)
Truck and SUV Performance Ice and Snow Tires
Ultra Grip Performance SUV Gen-1
Ultra Grip SUV RunOnFlat
Trailer Tires
Endurance
Marathon Radial
