The Bridgestone Potenza RE040 is an ultra high performance summer tire with favorable owner reports for dry grip and progressive breakaway. Wet grip and road noise are recurring concerns, while tread-life opinions are evenly divided.
The quick answer
Owners say65%from 47 owner reviews41% would buy againRead the reviews
Tests saySorry, we don't currently have any test data for the Bridgestone Potenza RE040
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tire - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated November 2019.
What do owners say about the Bridgestone Potenza RE040?
Across 47 owner ratings the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 averages 65%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 7.9 out of 10 and Comfort lowest at 5.7. 26 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 51% of owners score it 70% or better.
What is the Bridgestone Potenza RE040's EU tire label rating?
Across its range, the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 most commonly carries EU label ratings of D for fuel efficiency, C for wet grip and 71 dB for noise.
How comfortable and quiet are the Bridgestone Potenza RE040?
Owners rate the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 5.7 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 39 reviews.
How well do the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 6.5 out of 10 for wear across 39 reviews. 26 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 12,250 miles.
Would owners buy the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 again?
41% of owners say they would buy the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 again, based on the 44 owner reviews that answered the question. 9% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
More questions about the Bridgestone Potenza RE040(5)
What do owners say about the Bridgestone Potenza RE040's dry grip?
Of the 38 owner reviews analyzed for the Bridgestone Potenza RE040, 25 mention dry grip: 21 praise it (strong dry grip) and 4 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "Tires stick like sh*t to a blanket in the dry". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Bridgestone Potenza RE040's tread life?
Of the 38 owner reviews analyzed for the Bridgestone Potenza RE040, 20 mention tread life: 10 praise it (long-lasting) and 10 criticise it (wears quickly). One owner wrote: "They survived for an impressive 26,000 miles". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Bridgestone Potenza RE040's wet grip?
Of the 38 owner reviews analyzed for the Bridgestone Potenza RE040, 20 mention wet grip: 5 praise it (confident wet grip) and 15 criticise it (weak wet grip). One owner wrote: "After they were half-worn, the grip on mixed or rough surfaces(wet or dry) disappeared". Read those reviews
Questions and Answers for the Bridgestone Potenza RE040
Sorry, we don't currently have any questions and answers for the Bridgestone Potenza RE040. Why not submit a question to our tire experts using the form below!
The Bridgestone Potenza RE040 is most consistently praised for dry grip, with progressive breakaway and steering feedback also receiving more praise than criticism. Road noise is the clearest drawback, criticised in over two in five reviews, while wet grip concerns appear in nearly two in five. Tread-life opinions are evenly split, so neither long nor short life is a consistent verdict. Almost every review lacks a stage of use, with only one end-of-life account, which limits conclusions about wear and retained grip. Repeat reviews include different cars and do not establish a common ageing trend.
What owners mention most counted across 38 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 47 ratings
Owner score65%
Dry Grip79%
Road Feedback74%
Handling70%
Wear65%
Wet Grip58%
Comfort57%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 76%
“Very good tire at all road conditions. No weakness at dry,wet or cornering. Problem is very noisy tire, if comfort is important and your car isolation is not perfect replace them with a low noise tire immidiately.”
“These tires gave very bad understeer which resulted in lack of confidence when cornering. T his then produced excesive wear on the shoulders and I would have expected at least another 8000kms before they needed...”
“I recently replaced the ageing Yokohama Parada spec2 s on our Honda Type r. I must say the first thing ive notoced is less flexing of the sidewall , as the yokohamas wore they werent to clever in the wet. Overall id def...”
Very good tire at all road conditions.
No weakness at dry,wet or cornering.
Problem is very noisy tire, if comfort is important and your car isolation is not perfect replace them with a low noise tire immidiately.
inherited these on the front of my secondhand mazda 6 sport - very noisy, tramlining dreadful particularly in slippery conditions - just replaced at 16000 miles, probably could have gotten another 3-4000 miles out of them but they were spoiling the driving for me and they were starting to look at bit fatigued - chose goodyear efficient grip performance and its like driving on clouds - just joyful! would never have bought these in the first place being a self confessed michelin fan but having driven on them for 18 months I cant recommend them at all
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
Tires stick like sh*t to a blanket in the dry. Not too bad in the wet, but could be better.
It must be noted that these are very noisy tires. A G35 is a very quiet car, and these tires were very audible. Very stiff sidewalls, which is most likely the reason for the awesome feedback. They're also vey progressive when peeling out from a corner.
In my opinion this tires are amayzing. Very good grip on dry road. Very quiet, good grip, but wear is very bad. I bought them at 50%wear, and in 10,000KM were sliks:)). I was very happy with them. In my drive limits them never lost grip. I was afraid to push more but this summer i will. Now I have more experience. Very good tires for 20E per tire.(second hand)I had only 2 Potenza on back. This summer I will buy 4.
These tires are amazing. Really smooth on peeling off from traction round a corner, and really great feedback through the steering wheel.
No squeal when I do break traction from an intersection, which is also an added bonus.
Extremely good performance in the dry, and not too shabby in the wet either.
I didn't think the life of the tire was very good, but my style of driving probably doesn't help matters one bit.
Probably the only downside to these tires are the noise. They are, in my opinion, a very noisy tire. 100km/h motorway cruising and they are noticeable. Not deafening, but definitely audible.
If you are thinking of buying the Potenza RE040, make sure you have a good sound system to avoid the loud noise of these tires!!!!..Also in wet condition ,ride seems unsafe as hell..I'm not happy!!
Tires came with the car. I feel let down by Toyota's choice of wheel sizes for the MR2 which means I have a choice of Potenzas RE40 or a couple of models from Yokohama. Feel like I'm stuck with the Bridgestones unless I decide to change the wheels altogether.
The tires are average overall; good points are:
1. Progressiveness - grip bleeds away quite smoothly and, also due to the car itself, all slides are controllable and no tankslapping occurrs when the tires find grip again, quite happy with that.
2. Dry grip - nothing outstanding but good grip from the puny 185/55 15s in the front, very little understeer (again, partially due to the car itself) good grip on braking, surprisingly hard to break traction at the rear (but again, the car is largely responsible for this - not enough torque).
3. Comfort - or one side of it - Potenzas have a far stiffer sidewall that Toyo T1-Rs I had on my previous MR2 (pre - facelift) but are still quite comfortable, good response and very little thudding or thumping.
Bad points:
1. Wet grip - not very bad, but not impressive either. Tires remain progressive and easy to judge but outright grip just isn't there, especially at the front which tends to wash wide.
2. Wear - rate of wear is quite poor, considering that the car weighs less than a ton. I do tend to make tires work quite hard, though. What's really disappinting is performance degradation. I'm close to 3 mil mark now on the rears and the handling is pretty desperate, rear floating around like it's nobody's business. The car just feels unsafe.
3. Comfort - much as the tires complement the suspension well, they are loud. Tire rumble actually starts to drown out wind noise around 70mph mark which is unacceptable on a
These have been on the back of my Mazda 3 sport and recently moved to the front . CSC3s on the back now and previously on the front. Dry grip is distinctly average (even with 6mm they have less than the contis with 2.5mm) damp weather they slip and slide in acceleration though are fine in breaking and ok in cornering.
Biggest problem... very noisy tire! The Mazda 3 is no quiet car, built to a budget. When they were on the back the whole car had a resonant noise, now with them on the front they are very noisy and it is obvious they are the culprit as the noise has shifted forward. Ok not noisy enough to make me get rid of them as they have plenty of tread, but a regular trip from the South East to the North East of the UK does now get tiresome with the rumble these tires make. Can't comment on wear, they did 12K on the back and used 2mm, about 1mm more gone over 4k on the front.
Will stick to Contis from now on in, cheaper and quieter.
Not really a tire buff myself so can't comment on the specifics in detail but just felt tires did not have great grip. I drive a late model Audi A4 2.0T and am based in Brisbane, Australia so weather here is mostly dry and warm 9 months of the year. Summer months are hot and balmy with tropical rain periods. Being a front wheel drive, when accelerating with a bit of keeness, traction control nearly always kicked clearly feeling the tires could not grip enough for this car (in the dry). In the wet, never felt unsafe but drove more cautiously knowing heavy acceleration would not be pretty from the lights. Maybe this has something to do with being a front wheel drive causing the front to lift slightly, hense loosing traction - I'm not sure but I am putting a full set of Michelin Pilot Sport PS3's on tomorrow so will be sure to give 'em a good test. Being a 1st time reviewer, I'll do my best to come back in a few weeks to provide comparison. Also, I've rated tread wear as average but again, I may be a little harse as it may be the way the tires are aligned/balanced (I really have no clue) but they are worn heavily on the outside edge - mates say they look almost bald (all tires - changed front to back 6 months ago) but there seems to be plenty of tread on the inside. Have acheieved 35,000klms (24k miles)which I consider poor to average as I got over 70,0000klms from an earlier car (Subaru Liberty) and my last Audi 1.8T I traded after 3 years, just under 50,000klms (33k miles)with the original tires (unfortunately can't remember brand). Think I had Michelins of some sort but I know this is bit of a nana car and all wheel drive so clearly going to be less aggresive on tire wear. What I do find interesting about the Potenza tire is that even though I know nothing about tires, I never really liked the feel or how they handled - which seems to be supported by the many reviews on this site, which would include a lot of people who do know something. Heading into Xmas, wishing everyone safe driving.
