Track Tested: BFG G-Force Phenom T/A UHP Summer Tires Review

One of the best upgrades you can make to a vehicle is good tires. You simply need better rubber if you want to go faster, stop quicker, and corner better.

BFGoodrich (BFG) has been around for a very long time — 150 years — and has a well-known racing legacy in off- and on-road arenas. Its latest tire is the g-Force Phenom T/A. Inspired by decades of racing knowledge, BFG claims phenomenal performance — and phenomenal looks.

I put the tires to the test on the track during a 2-day Skip Barber Racing School session at Sonoma Raceway in California to see what they’re all about.  My experience with the tires was in Ford Mustangs.

In short: The BFG Phenom is an ultra-high-performance tire meant for dry and wet handling. It’s a great choice for performance car drivers who want high levels of grip and predictability, and also know that they’re likely to see a lot of rain.

BFGoodrich g-Force Phenom T/A Review

BFG’s g-Force family of tires is the brand’s performance rubber. The g-Force Phenom T/A replaces the previous g-Force Sport COMP-2 as an ultra-high-performance summer tire, and slots between the g-Force COMP-2 A/S Plus all-season, and the track-ready g-Force Rival S tires.

Phenom is designed for summer performance in dry and wet conditions, and it really excels in the wet. The company says these tires are intended for performance vehicles such as the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, Mazda 3/6, Nissan 350Z/370Z, Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86, Honda Civic Si, and other performance/tuner-oriented vehicles.

Ultra-High-Performance Summer Tires

BFGoodrich specifically states these tires are designed to corner, engineered for grip, and built for braking. Respectively, Phenom offers stiff sidewalls, shallow shoulder blocks, and offset shoulder grooves for better feedback at their limit.

They also provide increased stability. This is achieved through what BFG calls its g-Control sidewall inserts, which resist deflection for fast turning response. Also, the tire’s dynamic suspension system offers reinforced internal structures to maintain control and offer a comfortable ride.

A dual-zone tread pattern provides an optimized wet zone for water evacuation and a dry zone for maximum dry contact. The summer silica compound is tuned for ultimate performance, delivering better wet grip than its competitors, according to BFG. In fact, BFG engineers explained the company’s proprietary mixing of its rubber compound — with over 200 ingredients — is a reason the tires are able to offer the performance they do. 

Fifty sizes are already on the market for this new tire, ranging from 205/55ZR16/XL to 245/35ZR20/XL. 

First, a Trip to the Classroom

The g-Force Phenom T/A tires are the Skip Barber Racing School’s tire of choice for its Mustang GT teaching cars. While stats and claims are fine and dandy, BFG was ready to show off these tires on the track, and that’s where I came in.

Before we got into a car, we got into the classroom. Here, Skip Barber’s instructor and professional race car driver, Carter Fartuch, gave us lessons on apexing corners, vehicle weight transfer, and other core principles of going fast and safely on a track.

While tires are a great first upgrade to any vehicle, driving lessons are perhaps one of the best investments you can make if you want to become a better driver on the track and in real-world driving.

Then Some Low-Speed Track Learning

After our classroom sessions and before getting behind the wheel of one of Skip Barber’s multiple BFG-Phenom T/A-equipped fifth-generation Mustangs, we had ride-alongs in pace cars to get an idea of the track. Instructors showed us the track’s best lines, corner apexes, and tips for safety and speed.

Then it was into the Ford Mustangs. We did a few slow laps, rarely exceeding 60 mph, to familiarize ourselves with the cars and the track. All the Mustangs wore Phenom tires, and soon we’d get to push them harder and faster. Before we’d put in more laps, we did driving lessons in the paddock. 

In a series of tests designed to show off the new Phenom T/A tires, we had a variety of Skip Barber instructors and racers ride along with us to help educate us and improve our driving skills.

BFG g-Force Phenom T/A Wet Weather Demo

Before we sped things up on the track, we headed to a wet skidpad in the paddock. Here, we saw how the tires fared in the wet, a condition BFG said these tires were great in. 

Here we had two seventh-generation Ford Mustang Convertibles. One had the new Phenom T/A tires on the back and Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires on the front, the other was the opposite. We did short, tight laps around a set of cones, pushing the tires to their limits until they broke traction.

When pushed in the wet, you could feel when the tires on the car with the BFGs on the back were getting loose and progressively slid out. Conversely, the Firestones generally didn’t provide much warning before you’d spin out and you suddenly started sliding. They were harder to find where the limit was before you simply lost control.

In terms of understeer (or front-end push), the BFGs hung on better in the wet and simply provided better feedback and grip. Point made.

The entire time, instructors would give pointers on how to better handle the car in cornering situations. Even if you think you’re a great driver, these educational situations will help make even excellent drivers better.

Autocross Duty Put Tires to the Test

Next, the Skip Barber team put all four BFG Phenoms on one of the Mustang convertibles and all Firestones on the other, and we did a short autocross course on dry pavement in the paddock. Again, when pushed, the Phenoms’ more progressive nature and grip were apparent. You could feel the tires about to lose grip and regain control.

Plus, turn-in felt better. Because of this, the Phenoms felt more confident than the Firehawks. In fact, on average, all drivers completed the autocross course faster on the BFGoodrich tires than the Firestones, despite the cars being the same spec. 

We also had an exercise in Nissan Altimas where a hard plastic “drift ring” was affixed to one of the rear wheels. When you’d corner in a certain direction, the sedan would start sliding sideways, and it was our job to correct the skid. This was yet another great car-control exercise. 

Finally, to the Track With the BFG g-Force Phenom T/A

We moved back to the racetrack for more lead-follow laps behind an instructor in a pace car, even though the track was soaked by rain. But this provided a great way to experience the Phenom’s wet-grip abilities at speed.

In a 300-plus-horsepower, rear-drive Mustang, you had to be cognizant of conditions. The g-Force Phenom T/A tires did an admirable job hanging on in wet scenarios — despite a very slippery turn 11.

We had a few on-track sessions this day, and as the track dried out, the pace cars sped up, and we students got better. Then, we concluded day one with more classroom time.

Day Two: This Time With Speed

We headed back to the track the next day for more, and we picked up the pace, too.

There was no doubt: We were more confident in our driving skills after day one. Even more experienced racers were benefiting from these experiences. 

Day two was drier, and we got to push the BFG g-Force Phenom T/A tires even harder. But, as instructor Carter Fartuch, said, it was “important not to go for more, but to go for better.”

That said, even our pace cars got faster. No more Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Malibu, or Nissan Altima setting the speed. Now it was Mustang pace vehicles. This was going to be a blast!

They say you learn by doing, and I was certainly learning. As we did more skid pad exercises, Skip Barber instructor and race car driver Edgar Lau told me to look where I wanted to go. This sounds rudimentary, but it’s not instinctual for many.

Lau also advised me on how to make quicker corrections when the car wanted to spin out. The instructors kept passing on nuggets of driving gold as we went through a variety of car control courses. I was feeling more confident, especially when going faster on the track. 

Finding the Phenom’s Limits

After multiple paddock driving sessions, classroom instruction time, and a growing number of laps around the Sonoma Raceway, the sun came out, and our instructors picked up the pace car’s speed on course yet again.

This allowed us to really implement what we learned during our 2 days here and put the Phenom T/A-equipped Mustangs to the test. Without a raindrop in sight, we had our fastest laps yet.

After a slower prep lap, we sped up, approaching the uphill corner at speeds of about 90 mph. We smoothly apexed corners, got hard on the brakes coming into downhill curves, and rolled into the throttle again.

A long sweeper through “the Carousel” and into a straightaway down the dragstrip netted speeds over 100 mph. We danced through high-speed S-corners, navigated tight chicanes, and blasted down the front straightaway. How fun is this?

A Squealing Tire Is a Happy Tire

I could hear the Phenom’s squeal a bit under hard cornering, but we were told “a squealing tire is a happy tire.” This was a notification that you were approaching the rubber’s limits. We were also told that a howling tire is an unhappy tire.

Two things stood out about the BFGoodrich g-Force Phenom T/A tires: first, their progressive nature. I can see why Skip Barber equips its teaching cars with these. They’re forgiving and predictable. Rarely are you surprised by a loss of traction.

Secondly, their wet performance is impressive. Northern California in the spring can be a showery place, and these tires provided great grip, even when the track was wet and slippery — I’m looking at you, corner 11!

At the end of the session, I was a better driver. I had excellent instructors, significant wheel time, and great equipment to help me level up. The Skip Barber Racing School should be a must for anyone interested in becoming a better driver, even if you don’t have racing intentions.  

BFGoodrich g-Force Phenom T/A: Conclusion

BFGoodrich went nearly 2.5 years without a tire in this segment, and the g-Force Phenom T/A is a worthy successor to its g-Force Sport COMP-2 of yore. The Phenom T/As would be a solid choice for enthusiasts who are looking for both dry and wet traction in a predictable, high-performance package.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest (like me) or somewhere else that receives lots of rain, these tires are a great choice for your sporty ride. Their confidence-inspiring progressive behavior should be welcomed by enthusiasts. 

It’s hard to argue against BFGoodrich’s legacy, history, and engineering, and the g-Force Phenom T/A should continue to keep BFG at the top of shoppers’ lists when it comes to a tire for their sporty rides.