Quote Originally Posted by sdg3205 View Post
What was the reason for this? just aesthetics?
I don't have a verified answer from anyone at universal why they swapped to the Eagle GT's.

Several theories include:

The Goodyear NCT's were recalled due to poor traction in cold/wet conditions, so it's possible before filming started the tires on the cars were swapped to comply with the recall.

Or the stock tires could have already been partially warn so production could have just wanted a fresh set. The filming schedule called for stunt scenes (burnouts, high speed driving, etc) so before they started to film they could have given the cars a once over to prevent issues that would potentially interrupt filming.

Or there could have been a product placement agreement with Goodyear and the NCT's were black wall and wouldn't have shown up on screen. The white letter Eagle GT's would show up on camera better and were also a performance tire worth marketing.