Bridgestone Potenza Tires

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
April 24, 2012

I bought these tires for a 2007 Honda S2000 as a replacement for the stock Bridgestone Potenza RE-050 non Run-flat. These had worn down to wear indicators by 45K miles and the road noise was now being fully transferred through the chassis and into the cabin where it had become unbearably loud.

I was looking for a bit more width and I happened upon these. The stock rubber had a tread width around 9” and these 255s reigned in at 10.2” with minimal tire bulge (if any). Ding!Ding!

During the break in period I observed posted speed limits and kept my speeds around corners >/= 20 MPH over, which is not even working this car’s suspension. I felt as thought the sidewall was flexing in an exaggerated manner; the rear of the car felt like it was wiggling upon any sort of steering input and it felt very unsettling around corners. I felt as thought I made a huge error.

Then right around 300 miles, the tires must have settled in – all of these conditions are gone and the car has never felt more stable, responsive, or planted. I will continue buying these tires for the rear of the car, provided they wear decently. Now the fronts…

While I was tempted to take advantage of this series of tires’ wide contact patch/squared shoulders for the front, I am thinking I need to stick with 215s instead of bumping it up to 225s. Stock Re-050s are only about 6.6” in width, probably contributing greatly to the car’s uber-responsive turn-in. These G-force 2’s have almost 8.5” of tread width on the 215s – that’s crazy wide. These ain’t no pizza cutters! The last thing I want to do is numb this car’s steering or add too much in the way of unsprung mass.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
April 27, 2012

This tire replaced the original Pirellis that came with my 2001 Saab Viggen. The Viggen was built for "spirited" driving and these tires have out performed the Pirellis so far. Tires really grip on hot days when they heat up and respond well in rain/wet roads. Wear has been great, will rotate them every 7K even if the fronts so no sign of rounding just to keep them honest.

Initial Review, 35,000 Miles on Tires
April 28, 2012

These were OE on my 2008 Subaru Outback. They were serviceable but not spectacular. The ride is somewhat noisy and traction in wet or snowy conditions isn't great. They don't offer any grip on icy roads even at very low speeds with great care taken not to brake hard or steer sharply. I didn't expect them to perform as well as a dedicated winter tire but I did expect to have a little more control in light snow since they are all season tires. At 35k miles they were done. You could do worse, but for the price you could certainly do better.

Initial Review, 150 Miles on Tires
April 20, 2011

Wasn't quite sure about this tire but...price was right and

A) Like the little sidewall lip to protect the wheel.

B) Wet traction to be determined.

C) Broke them in at an autocross...very impressed!

D) Hopefully won't get too noisy as the age.

Will update opinion later.

Initial Review, 1,500 Miles on Tires
April 18, 2012

I previously had Pirelli Pzero Asymetrico, and replaced them with Continental ExtremeContact DW because of reviews and cost. Big mistake for an older 1984 Porsche, with 16" rims. Handling, steering response was poor, felt unsafe at quick maneuvers. Replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 within Tire Rack's return policy. (thanks Tire Rack!) Night and day difference ! My Porsche handles great again, and steering response excellent. I was surprised how much of a difference the tires made. Perhaps the sidewalls on the Continentals were too soft for 16" rims, but the Potenzas RE-11 were great.

Initial Review, 22,000 Miles on Tires
April 16, 2012

Very smooth and quiet, but not as grippy as the original Bridgestone Potenza RE050As that came on the car. Also, much worse treadlife than the Bridgestones (22K vs 32K).

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 18, 2012

I plan to go with all season non-run flats and buy the Fix-a-flat kit. The car has 60,000 and the Summer tires are only comfortable and quiet for 2,000 or so miles. They're unbearable by 12,000. My wife is not an aggressive driver and these tires just don't last.

Initial Review, 30,000 Miles on Tires
April 24, 2012

These tires were great when new. I've had them for 4 years. However the past year and a half they've been making so much noise - it has reached the point that I'm going to have to replace them.
I took the car in and they said the rear tires were cupped - and I think that doesn't reflect well on these tires. I've never had tires cupped before.
Anyhow, in terms of performance these tires were great - just the noise... the darn noise... it's so bad you can't have a conversation inside the car lol. Good luck

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2012

As this is our third Volvo V40 these tires seem to be the best fit for all around touring. We do a lot of driving; while we live in MD and last year had aprox. 6' feet of snow this year not even 10" total. We do drive to the western US, Wyoming and Kansas as well as several long trips to Vermont each year, my sisters drive is unpaved up the side of a mountain about 1/3 of a mile with one part hitting, perhaps 20+% so unless you have speed you can't even start from a stop in a 4x4. There is a plow truck and w/ these tires we've never had a problem getting up, even when my sis had winter snow tires on we simply drove on past her through the deep snow and it took her another 3-4 try's to make it up.

As I am an adrenaline junky I give these tires a work-out usually at night out in Maryland's horse country which has a nice mix of smooth tarmac straights where 130+ feels totally stable and older twisting roads you can get airborne in a turn and stick when you land just hearing the tires grip not squeal. These are by far the best over all so far for the V40.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 17, 2012

After doing TireRack research I chose to put these tires on a 2000 Honda Civic EX Coupe and I am elated for the decision....Previously, I had had Bridgestone Turanza and Potenza...I was disappointed that I could not get new Bridgestone's BUT it worked out to be MOST fortuitous...I LOVE these Pilot Exaltos...Love 'em!!! I'm now in Florida with smooth straight flat roads and these tires are QUIET -- quietest tires I have ever had...The Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position 92 might be slightly better at traction but overall I recommend Pilot Exalto....I bought the tires when working and living just North of Pittsburgh so I have experience on hilly, curvy, rainy, snowy, pothole filled roads and these tires the test...I am so amused with the guy who, in his review, detests these tires - he must have gotten a bad set. I am an aggressive driver with 40 years driving experience...I know a good tire when I get one...These are Great!

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2012

These were the OEM tires. After only about 18,000 miles, they need to be replaced, but I will not be getting these tires again.

While I enjoy spirited driving on occasion, most of the time I am commuting at normal speeds, and cornering in normal traffic. Therefore, there is simply no excuse for the high rate of wear these tires experienced.

The performance of the tires themselves was average to moderate for this type of tire. In other words, there was nothing to recommend them. Wet traction and stability was notably poor.

These tires are, within their category, amongst the highest price. I found that neither their perfomance nor their tread life justified their purchase.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2012

I love these tires. These tires have fantastic traction and great road feel. I liked them so much on my BMW daily driver I also bought a set for my 1990 Porsche 964 cab.
very predictable and hard to exceed their limits on the street without really trying.

Initial Review, 23,000 Miles on Tires
April 23, 2012

Installed these G019's on my wife's '03 Mini a couple years ago. They are loud and are difficult to keep balanced. I didn't realize how bad they were until I put them back on after having Blizzak's on for the winter, granted the Blizzaks are a different size with higher profile but the noise/wobble is significant..

Initial Review, 50,000 Miles on Tires
April 19, 2012

While I've read plenty reviews bashing this tire, it's evident that those owners either have no idea how to make clear and articulate distinctions between bad driving, terrible maintenance, or faulty car equipment. I have yet to encounter a tire so bad that the tire itself creates cupped tires- that's typically an inflation issue.

I live in Atlanta where we encounter ice which is by far worst than 4-8 inches of snow. I haven't had any problems with my tires as long as I did as recommended and slow down while driving in a lower gear (2nd/3rd 30-50mph. With that being said, I personally put my car to the test; dry hot days are not a problem on the pavement or asphalt. These tires are constructed very well for high speed cornering and overall ride comfort, even though my car's component aren't exactly high performance these tires were able to compensate where Goodyear Integrity left off. Road noise is minimal, in fact beside the sheer pleasure of the new comfort and control, this was the first noteworthy attribute. As for wet conditions wet and constant raining conditions these were some of the better tires aside from my Michelin MX4's. Coming from a standstill I typically pull the gear down to 2nd (where torque runs a high degree of causing tires to lose traction) before taking off and still I'm able to pull off in confidence that my rubber is meeting the ground with adequate coverage.

Overall Traction-9.3
Wet-8.8
Dry-9.6

Overall Responsiveness-9.4
Cornering-9.2
Stopping-8.9

Stability-9.3

Ride Comfort-
Driver "feel" for the road- 9.6
Cabin Noise(domestic car, not a Lexus)-9.5

Mileage- Excellent/10 I'm currently @ 46,000 without any rotations after 10K.

!!!GREAT TIRE FOR ANY SEDAN!!!
225/60/16

Initial Review, 400 Miles on Tires
April 18, 2012

I previously had Pirelli Pzero Asymetrico, and replaced them with Continental ExtremeContact DW because of reviews and cost. Big mistake for an older 1984 Porsche, with 16" rims. Handling, steering response was poor, felt unsafe at quick maneuvers. Replaced them with Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 within Tire Rack's return policy. (thanks Tire Rack!) Night and day difference ! My Porsche handles great again, and steering response excellent. I was surprised how much of a difference the tires made. Perhaps the sidewalls on the Continentals were too soft for 16" rims on sport cars or sport sedans, but the Potenzas RE-11 were great.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 18, 2012

I replaced the original Goodyears (23,000 mi) with these, even though they were my second choice. The new Pilot Sports do not come in my size. These tires are a huge improvement over the stock Goodyears. Much, much quieter, better ride and very responsive handling. Not enough experience yet in the wet and they are still in the break in stage but so far -wow! I believe they offer an excellent value as well. Need to keep in mind these are not run flats. The car has upgraded sway bars and brakes, both of which put more demands on the tires. I will be taking some extended trips in June including mountain driving and will update this review then. Service from Tire Rack and installer (Townsend Chevrolet in Dover, DE) was a 10 out of 10.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 13, 2012

I have these on a highly modified 1971 Nova. They have been through three autocross events and a road course event as well as serving daily driver duties. They tires provide excellent cornering stability and traction. It is pretty easy to overpower the rear tires, but they are very predicable and controlable when you do apply too much power through the turns. They have decent ride and comfort for an extreme performance tire. Much better than I'd expect for a tire of this type. Wet traction is good, but hydroplaning is a problem in heavy rain at high speed. I keep it below 70 in these conditions. They are wearing like iron. In the road course event, the tires didn't marble like many of the other tire brands at the event. I will definitely buy these tires again.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
April 14, 2012

Hated the O.E. Dunlap Runflats because they were uncomfortable and jarring as well as noisy. These 960A/S RFTs are so much smoother and very quiet when compared to the dunlaps. Steering effort is less but the car handles just as well. Overall the car is more settled and comfortable, it just feels more refined under all road conditions. If you are going for a more comfortable ride and want all-season performance while staying with a Runflat this is the best tire in the segment.