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
This is the second set of RE040s we have had on the car after replacing the OEM fit Conti SportContact2s. Initially the tires were fine but over time we have both found that any form of 'spirited' input into the car leaves you feeling very vague behind the wheel. The set on the car were fitted last may and up to this morning had covered a little over 18000 miles of regular to-work-and-back kind of driving along with the odd motor way run. In my opinion the wear rate is poor on these tires. 18000 miles of normal driving shouldn't have these down to the wear markers on the fronts already. Wet weather driving is also not very good and like other reviews on here you can forget about having any form of winter grip. Yes I know these are classed as 'summer' tire's but seeing as I am not Lewis Hamilton I don't have the convenience of pitting to change my rubber when the winter season starts. Overall a costly tire with an average performance and I wont be buying another set.
Granted i do drive aggresively on some really beat up roads and yes, i do like the weekly drift session but to have the side of the tires (front+rear) wearing out and have chunks missing (rear) at 7000 miles is ridiculous...
N.B.: Genesis Coupe 3.8L V6 is RWD
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Researching the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
These were OEM fit on my wife's MX5 NC 2.0 Sport. I was interested to see what they'd be like as I'd had Pole Positions on a previous car (good) and RE040s (horrid).
Overall I really like these on the Mazda. I have not tried it other tires yet so have nothing to compare with. It may give tires an easier tire de to being lighter than many cars. They gave plenty of grip in the dry and a good feel to the car. In wet weather they have been fine with no nasty moments either in corners or aquaplaning. The traction control light can get active on mini roundabouts and out of T junctions but that's just clumsy driving usually. ABS also activates a little sooner at times that I'd expect (not silly hard braking - just pulling up sensibly at give ways but perhaps with our crummy road surfaces this is not so surprising).
I see there are a lot of comments about poor performance in the snow. Well, I wouldn't have expected much on that score. Actually we haven't had any major issues but did just have to drive very carefully. When the roads were slush covered, I drove my wife to work and as long I drove to the conditions, we got through without issue. This is in surbuban Surrey however with no major hills. Not too bad for a light, rear drive car with summer tires. The other days we took the Golf which ploughed on through everything!
I recently did a limit handling day in the car on a runway surface. This basically did for the tires by taking all the shoulders off and taking the edge off the treads on the front. I dreaded the drive home but actually although the car had less turn in the tires are still OK in the dry. Time to change (not on the wear indicators yet but I like to change them a bit earlier as wet grip and aquaplane resistance disappears on most tires
These were OEM fit on my front wheels with 94 L/I. Handling at low to medium speeds was sluggish, tram lining was terrible and felt unsure when cornering, all becoming far worse with wear. Although they have good grip they also felt too light and uncomunitive with spirited driving.
Have a new set of higher loading PS2s fitted now which show how bad (or at least unsuited) the 050As were. Every aspect is far improved.
All in all I wouldn't buy again or recommend fitting to a 370Z.
Had these fitted to my 350Z to replace the OEM Potenzas when I was unable to source Goodyear Eagle F1/Falklen FK432/Pirelli P-Zeros due to a combination of factors. The car is a 'weekend car' and is typically driven hard. These tires have been used on-road and also on-track. Dry grip is very good in almost all normal road-driving and reasonable in the wet while I was living abroad in a warmer climate. However when I returned to the UK I found that that both dry and wet performance was affected when temperature dropped into single digits and below. Performace on snow/ice is poor. Overall while these tires were fine overall while I was living abroad they are not suitable all-round yres for the UK.
Had these on all four corners, great in the dry but not so good in the wet. Had no confidence when the road became slippy and in any snow/ice forget about it your stuck! next door neighbor has BMW 330ci with kumho tires and he managed no problem where as I spun on the spot!
Now having to change the rears after only 5 months! so won't be buying these again.
Where do I start. These tires were fitted as new on my Audi A5 Coupe 2.0T Petrol. In the dry they are great but as per many other reviews on here come winter and it`s a whole new ball game. Pulling away steady still suffered loss of traction and once the ice and snow appeared it was game over. My car is front wheel drive with an 8 speed multitronic gearbox so quite high torque but these babies were just useless. Even a light covering of snow meant I couldn't even get up the most gentle of inclines(quite embarrassing really). As the car was new I actually complained to Audi who stated that the tire was a summer tire and not recommended below 7 degrees..... er hello !!... it`s brand new, you fitted them and this is England not Florida !!!. After 8000 miles the fronts were down to 3mm so I have now invested in a set of Uniroyal Rainsport 2`s. They are great (I couldn't get a full "winter" tire due to the sudden demand just prior to Christmas and the deluge of snow so opted for the Uniroyal. In brief they are brilliant. I have added a review so please check it out but to summarise they were £25 a tire cheaper and simply out perform the Bridgestones.... and in the wet !!!... they are amazing>
Exellent grip in the dry and good in the wet as long as the tenperature is over 5 degrees ! Lots of feel ideal for people who like to drive hard ! Would have brought again but the recent price hike put me off ! Trying out BF Goodrich Profiler instead !
Bought my car this summer with these tires fitted, and like many have said before - excellent in the dry, very sure-footed in both twisty roads and motorway. They are however not for the faint hearted while winter driving, even with Quattro and a light right foot I found myself going sideways! Traction in fresh snow was OK (perhaps with Quattro), but compacted snow/ice & slush is impossible. Can't comment on wear as the tires were already on the car.
Have now fitted a set of Nokian WR's which will serve as winter tires and will keep the Bridgestones as Summer tires, bit of expense but worth it, I'd say...
