Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Run Flat Reviews - Page 11

i dont know if it is the tires or the car or a bit of both .. but i have not any problems with the other tires i had on some one sugessted these might last a bit longer, so i thought i would give them a try..BIGGEST mistake i ever made. The road noise is so bad i am going to spend another small fortune and change them before they need doing as, i cant stand the noise.. it is driving me mad...my advise spend a bit more and get something better..

Intro:

OK let's not mess about here. I have owned a wide variety of sporting cars over the years including original tuned up Mini Cooper's of various vintage, MKII,III,IV Golf Gti's, E36 BMW Coupe's (various engine sizes) etc etc... and The RE-050's that I had fitted to my Z4 (in the run flat version at least) are some of the worst tires I have ever used on a car. Fitted for the duration on a Z4 2.5i I have very little that is positive to say about them. In the dry grip was good and progressive on the limit but in all other respects I simply cannot recommend the RE-050 for every day use.

Ownership Experience:

In the wet they were lethal and broke away for too easily especially when towards the end of the life of the tire. Wear rate was high and uneven with the outer edges going before the inner area (tracking is fine). Ride quality and tram lining on ANYTHING other than a perfect road surface was appalling. Road noise was awful and construction quality questionable (I had two lumps of rubber disappear from the sidewall for no apparent reason) the list goes on. In my view the Run flat RE-050 simply does not cut it against the opposition.

Conclusion:

When BMW went with the run flat tire idea several years ago, the 050 was the OE spec tire. These days though other brands are now available in a run flat formation that are superior in almost every way. I suspect many BMW owners (myself included) have due to habit replaced their OE Bridgestone's with the same. Do yourself a favour even if your 050's are half worn and change your 050's to another brand (I have swapped to Conti's recently and cannot believe the improvement). Would I recommend these tires? Not a hope.

Worst tires I have ever used for wear. First set down to the fabric after 13,000 miles, second set require replacing after 32,000 miles. Cannot be repaired so you have to buy a new tire after each punture. Thought there was a problem with the suspension so had BMW check it out at ?130.00 and they found nothing wrong. You need deep pockets if using these tires.

Stock tire on the Z4 E85.

Good traction and grip in the dry. Bad in the wet, very slippery, do not inspire confidence. Terrible comfort, ride is extremely harsh. Very prone to tramlining due to stiff sidewalls.

Changing them for non-runflats summer tires (like I have before on other cars).

Found wear to be astonishing, 75000km or ~45000 miles from new.
Onto my 2nd set now :)

Run flats fitted on the front - very uneven wear with very high wear on outside edge, terrible tramlining and uncomfortable. OK its an MSport but its on 17 rims so the profiles are not silly. Tires actually went on for a few thousant males more as the middle tread had plenty left. Changed to Continental sport contact 2 RF and found more comfortable nad less tramlining. Still look like they are wearing on the outside edge. The rear tires (255x40 x170 are still going ok after 32k miles with 3mm tread but wet weather (and snow) grip is almost zero so will have to go.

Just replaced all four tires after 4000 miles of wear. 225/R19 RE050A 88Y on the front and 255/30R19 RE050A 91Y on the rear. All tires worn through to the braiding on the inside edge, rest of tread approximately 7mm. Scary as you cannot see the wear without getting under the car. The tracking was all awry with the king pin angle being over 13 degrees+ on the front tires. 26 readings were taken on the front of which 6 were classified as dangerous This is either a tire design problem or the the BMW suspension is unable to absorb the extra stresses caused by the stiffness of the side wall in a RF tire hence the changes in the tracking. The UK roads are in a terrible state with pot holes, sunken drain covers or badly repaired subsidence. This must contribute to the problem and therefore either Bridgestone or BMW or both are not producing a product suitable for UK road conditions. Today I was informed that a colleagues car, a BMW 1 series has suffered the same problem and all four tires are having to be replaced. This suggests that this is a common problem with BMW and Bridgestone on which despite the dangerous implications both manufacturers are keeping quiet. I will follow this through with BMW and report further

I bought the car only a few months old from BMW with the standard run flat Bridgestone Potenza tires. The rear tires are now bald on the inner edges after covering only a total of 13,600 miles and need replacing. I am astonished at only a short life and whilst I can put with the very hard ride and having to keep an extreme awareness of 'potholes' and sunken manhole covers, the suspension is a worse ride than my Morgan Sports car with sliding pillar suspension of 1909 era. They are the worst tires I have ever experienced in 45 years of driving and will get rid of as soon as possible!

49k miles on 2 sets 225/40/18 front & 255/35/18 rear. Wear OK but grip in wet is horrendous even 20mph slow around roundabouts induces a front slide and big understeer. I've had 4 wheel alignment checked twice in case potholes knocked it out but all correct and front tires still wear heavily on outside. If I didn't do 50% motorway miles these tires would NOT last 1/2 distance. Ride is very hard and you certainly know when you hit a road hole. VERY disappointing from Bridgestone :(
My previous BMW 330ci had Dunlop SP9000 Sport and they were brilliant.

These tires are the worst I have ever driven on a car and ive driven alot of cars the sooner you get them off the z4 the better. They are leathal and its a wonder they fit them. They started being rubbish at 5000 miles and as the car was new,I am stuck with them but get them off asap.

Dry grip is astounding - cornering limits are reached by your nerves before the tires. Tire screech became evident at high g when tread reached 4mm.

Wet grip is excellent, however traction very noticeably and badly affected once tread reached 4mm. Tires easily overpowered by the car in the wet.

I got 25,000 miles on tires when replaced @ 4mm due to above issues. Excellent wear - I am very spirited driver indeed and often seek out country roads on weekends ;-)

Tramlining, harsh ride, understeer in some situations and replacement cost led me to swap to Goodyear Assymetric.

Which I now regret enormously...

Car been in for a service 28000 on 1 set of tires not bad at all. However had it not been for a groove worn on the inside edge of each tire 25mm wide x 8mm deep i would think i would have got another 15.k There is 6mm of tread left across the full width of the tire but the inside edge of each is down to the steel wires. Car only 15 month old never bumped a kerb. Either car set up wrong or tires have a major fault. ?250 each + Vat Ouch!!!