Drivers describe the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A as a sharp, sporty UHP tire with strong steering feel and confident dry grip, and many high-scoring reviews also praise its stable handling and braking in the wet when temperatures are moderate. However, a substantial share of owners report a firm/harsh ride and rising road noise as the tire ages, alongside notable performance drop-offs in cold conditions (and very poor snow/ice ability). Wear rate and value are polarising: some achieve long life with correct pressures/rotation, while many others see rapid wear-especially on driven axles/inner shoulders-making cost a frequent complaint.
What owners mention most counted across 178 reviews
i HAVE THESE TYRES ON MY 2009 gOLF WHICH AS THE SPROT SUSPENSION.i HAVE NOW DONE 56,345KMS WITH TYRE LIFE REMAINING. i HAVE THEN ROTATED EVERY 5000 AND AN ALIGNMENT AT SAME TIME. i ALWAYS THINK THAT THIS IS CHEAPER THAN REPLACING TYRES. hOWEVER THEY BEGAN TO GET NOISY AT ABOUT 30,000 AND HAD SOME FEATHERING AT THE EDGES. oN A REGULAR DRIVE FROM nEWCASTLE, aUSTRALIA TO sYDNEY ON THE NOT SO GREAT 'EXPRESSWAY' THEY CAN BE DOWNRIGHT ANNOYING.tHE SPORT SUSPENSION IS ALSO A VERY THUMPY ON THIS ROAD BUT i THINK ALL CARS USFFER ON THE WORST SECTIONS.
wHAT TO BUY NEXT? dO WANT GOOD WEAR, NOT TOO NOISY AND WET WEATHER ABILITY AS WE DO GET SUMMER STORMS AND ROADS CAN BE EASILY FILLED WITH WATER.
Put these tires few months back. I was persuded by local tire fitters to go for these, they could couldn't recommend them enough. Worst decision I have ever made. Having a 300+bhp car with tires has made me lose confidence in driving. Terrible!!!
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
I have just replaced the front tires after 21k miles from new. The outer edges are worn away, mostly due to being under inflated for a long period, otherwise I would still have several thousand miles left. Fantastic tire with excellent grip and quite quiet. The car has been driven quite hard at times.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
The RE50A is the asymmetric version of the RE50. Some tire sizes are only available as RE50A - e.g. 205/45/17, other sizes are only available as RE50. Other sizes have different speed ratings - e.g. 215/45/17 RE50A is available as W or Y, the same size RE50 is V or W.
My first Legacy was a 2.0 petrol with the original RE50As still fitted (going by the datestamp on the tires). I had to replace the tires when they got to 5 years old due to severe cracking. They had done 34,000 miles and still had plenty of tread.
My second Legacy, a 2.0D, has the original two year old RE50As and are already cracking but have a few years left in them. They have 15,000 miles on them with plenty of tread in the middle, but are badly worn at the edges so could have been run under-inflated by previous owner. Probably not helped by my enthusiastic cornering!
These tires are fantastic in the dry & unbelievable in the wet. Never got close to getting stuck in the snow (car is 4wd), but had to pussy foot down steep hills in first gear.
As a retired male of 72 and driving pretty steady, i bought the car new last year,having the car in for its winter check, i was aghast to find that the front tyers were worn down to 3mm after only doing 6000 miles on town and country roads,on my previous Audi A4 i could get 17000/18000 out of Michelin Premacy tires. Needless to say when i replace them,it will not be with Bidgestone Potenzas
Much better than my previous tires which were Pirelli P Zero's and Toyo T1-R's. Decent all rounder, no real complaints, just terrible in snow, which to be fair is the car in general and the fact they're high performance SUMMER tires. Otherwise I've been very happy, bought them again and I think they're decent value (£100-£110 a corner with hunting around online) plus the wear rate is good. Lasting longer than my P Zeros and the Toyo's..
Had these tires factory fitted on my A3 Black Edition with 18'' wheels and very impressed with the overall level of grip in both dry and wet conditions. They are very quiet tires with no sign of whine and very little road noise. I know some people have had problems with these tires wearing out quickly but i've covered nearly 17k and still got around 4mm of tread left, although the majority of my driving is motorway and A roads i'm happy with the wear rate for a premium tire.
Have these on my V6 Genesis Coupe. Dry grip is good. The winter gets really wet here and although i haven't had any major problems, it can get pretty scary sometimes. These tires reach their top performance at 15% of their lifespan then it's all downhill after that. Wear is HORRIBLE, i've only done 17000 Km on them and i don't have ANY tread left. Comfort is bad but i guess that's because of the 19" rims.
Ive had these on my seat leon tdi fr, i got 21kmiles out of the rears and only just 10kmiles on the fronts, they done well for me but I prob wouldnt buy again due to the fact that they have gone up to £140 a corner and I think theres other tires out there that can do similar mileage for less money.
Very disappointing. Factory fit was the Potenza so I opted for these last time. I managed to get 10k miles of of a front set. The rear set are still going with 5mm remaining after 32000 miles, but Potenza RE050 on the front of a 58 Plate Mondeo last no time at all.
I'm giving Michelin Pilot Sport 3 a try as they're supposed to last longer and give better wet/dry grip.
I won't be buying Potenza RE050 again soon.
I have these tires on our Zectec S Fiesta TDI fitted OE with the bigger wheels on the street pack.They are a bit noisey and a fairly hard ride but any tire with 35 aspect ratio will be a hard ride.We had the car from 4500 miles from a dealer previously a demo and I had to put front to rear at around 14k to get a longer life from them.My wife does the miles in the car and does drive it sensibly.We did wreck one tire due to a nail I put that down to unlucky, I would say these are good tires.This car comes a live when its wet.Its a TDI so not that quick,I am a wet weather driver used to race and a car technician so do know my stuff and the chassis is obviously the main reason its so good but it would slide all of the place if the tires werent any good.I can honestly say it one of he best cars in wet I have ever driven and that is down to these tires,the paqckage is right.
Had these tires as OE on my Vauxhall Insignia, good comfort and road holding, but cant believe that they have only lasted for about 15K miles as i drive carefully to watch my MPG . very poor wear !!!
