From my experience, I have found that the Goodyear tires tend to have some of the best sidewall construction which helps thier great handling characteristics. But my favorite tire of all time is a Bridgestone Potenza SO2 and it is because it has great handling, wicked wet traction, and is super quite. The point is that to find the right tire, you first need to decide what size you want, then decide what characteristics you are looking for. Do you need an all season or will a summer tire work? How important is wet traction? Ride quality, handling, noise, wear rating? Then what do you want to spend narrows the selection down pretty quick.
Like I said, I loved the SO2's, but it isn't right for every car and I have had less expensive tires that I thought were better "bang for the buck" tires.
Out of the two tires you have shown, the Goodyear will blow the BF Goodrich away, but they are also much more expensive, will wear out quicker, and will definitly not be something you will want to run in the winter. Be aware that any high speed rated "Max" or "Ultra" performance tire is usually not very good past 18,000 to 20,000 miles (and that is driving nice on them). When these tires (not specifically these, but in general) get close to 15,000 miles on them thier wet traction performance starts to become a real issue. The BF Goodrich will probably last you closer to 30,000 miles.
Bottom line is: The more you pay, the better performance, but the more often you are buying tires.
If it was me, I would be in a debate between the BF Goodrich Radial T/A and the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500. I have had the T/A and it is a good tire, but would be very curious on the Firehawk. I have had a set of just Firehawks on an 1999 T/A that were excellent tires for the money.
