Subaru WRX Tire for the Hardcore Driving Enthusiast

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 by Rudy Riedel
I recently purchased some new Subaru tires for my 04 Impreza WRX. After lots of consideration the tire I chose was the new Bridgestone Potenze RE-11 Extreme Performance Summer tire.



I wanted to share some of my driving impressions. Initially I was a little worried about getting this tire for my daily driver. I was afraid that it may prove to be too rough on a daily basis. From the minute I took my first drive on this tire I can say this is the best tire I have ever driven on. I have been very pleased.


My initial impression for an Extreme Performance tire was that this tire actually had no more road noise or ride harshness when compared with the Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position they replaced, but had loads more dry grip. This tire offers so much grip that I do not feel you can safely push the limits of this tire on the street. It leaves me smiling every time I get into the car. This is a very fun tire. I have also had the chance to drive this tire in a couple medium rains and the wet grip of this tire is very solid. At highway speeds at new tread depth I did not feel unsecure. The tire felt very well planted.





Keep in mind this tire is not for everyone as I expect it to wear quickly, but for the customer with a sports car that drives spiritedly and autocrosses or attends track days the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 is hard to beat.

Comments on Subaru WRX Tire for the Hardcore Driving Enthusiast

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 by Chris:
With regard to wet performance and braking, and with regard to tread life and rolling resistance, how does the Bridgestone RE-11 compare to the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2? (Michelin is not yet making the Pilot Sport 3 in the size I need, 235/45R17.)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010 by Rudy:
There are two main parts of wet traction to consider wet grip and hydroplanning resistance. Wet grip is all about tread compound the RE-11 has a grippier compound so in an average to light rain will have better wet traction than the PS2. This was confirmed in our test data as the PS 2 took 31.88 seconds to go around our test track in the wet. The RE-11's were able to do it in 30.36 seconds. In our wet stopping test from 50-0 the Michelin PS2 stopped 94.50 ft. The RE-11 stopped 50-0 in 84.20. The other part of the equation is hydoplanning resistance. In a heavy rain with lots of standing water on the highway the RE-11 has lots of big tread blocks for dry and handling and not as many grooves and channels as the PS2. The PS2 would be able to evacuate more water faster. The PS2 would be able to handle higher speds in heavy rains and if I were to guess the stopping distances would probably be much closer .

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