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
BMW 325 CI M SPORT CONVERTIBLE (E46). Had these tires from new when i bought the car, covered 20,000 miles in them and have been fantastic. Dry grip is very responsive and sticks to the road, tons of hard cornering grip and breaking is solid. Wet just as good but you obviously don't drive as hard but still responsive and good feedback. Big down side is they wear badly in frost, snow and ice, very cold weather and these tires dont work, very slippy and even if you traction control, its not going to work. This winter Dec 2010 i traveled along from Bicester to Aylesbury and alot of uphill driving and in the snow it was impossible, if using in snow and tires have half way worn then they dont work. However this didnt justify me from buying winter tires and it doesn't last that long here and i had tons of hard summer/spring driving which i love the car for and performance around that time from the tires are excellent. One major thing that mad me but them again is obviously the grip in wet/dry buy also how the look, because they are a square shape tire and look better once on the car - as you see a thin line of tire and more of a block shape, I'm talking about what the tire wall looks like and on the rims and car, where as alot of other tire like the Michelin's that i thought about buing have a round edge tire wall and feel it looks odd of the car. Overall i think there worth the money - all 4 tires front 225/40/18 and Rear 255/35/18 from £600 including fitting.
Have these fitted to a Golf GTD. Have been fine until the snow has come. On the snow they are not good even in a couple of inches. The car just sits and spins even on the slightest slope and its not even rear wheel drive! Have invested in a pair of AutoSock's to go over the front tires which has enabled me to get easily up the hills. Without these the car would be going no where!
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
Fitted as original equipment on 170hp Mk6 Golf GTD. 12,000 miles of enthusiastic (aka hooligan) driving on motorways, a-roads and country lanes before the fronts needed replacing. Still plenty of life left in the rears. Can't fault the dry grip in warm conditions and the wet performance isn't too bad as long as the temperature remains high, although they are prone to aquaplaning at any temperature. However, as soon as the temperature drops to below about 7 DegC it's a different story... In cold weather the dry grip is average at best and any hint of moisture will have you spinning the wheels in a straight line and understeering into the corners. Once the temperature is low enough for frost or ice they don't even grip well on a dry road and their performance on frost, ice and light snow can only be described as truly horrific! I had the misfortune to drive to work on about an inch of fresh snow a week or so ago with a temperature of about -5 DegC and I've never been so scared in a car!! I normally go out to 'play' in snow and love to drift round corners while practicing my handbrake turns, left foot braking and lift-off oversteer but with these tires I had to drive VERY cautiously and even then I nearly lost it on 3 separate occasions. I've been looking for some winter tires ever since, as I'm confident that these Tires will kill me before spring if I don't! I'd be happy to put them back on next summer but I certainly wouldn't recommend them as a year-round tire in the UK.
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These tires were fitted on my car from new. The fronts have just been replaced, covering 28100 miles (FWD). The rears still have 3-4mm left on them, but are wearing on the edges.
This mileage was done 90% on Motorways, with the other 10% driven quite enthusiastically on A roads.
These tires were great, but road noise increased a lot for the last few months.
Grip is great in the dry, but wheel spin is a problem in damp/wet weather when setting off from junctions, never had a problem with aquaplaning even in the worst of weather. Absoloutely no grip in the snow!
A great Summer Ttire but are totally useless in freezing/frost/snow conditions.
97%
Member
BMW
245/35 R19 W
13,000 miles
A Combination of Roads
Spirited
I highly rate these tires as the grip is excellent in all conditions bar snow and ice. Corner really well and are a very comfortable tire even for the 35 profile. They are awesome in the dry and you can really throw the car in and out of bends with confidence and in the wet they are very good too however I have had a few scary moments but that may have something to do with my over eager right foot rather then the tire.
The RE050A are an excellent choice for OEM tires on the 2009 and later model Mazda RX-8 R3s. They were the 'upgrade' tire of choice by many owners of the Series 1 RX-8 (18"), myself included. Far better in the cold weather and a bit better in the wet than the RE040s. I have no problems with them on the R3 - other than eating through the rear set in only 9,000 miles!
A summer tire that can perform on the road and track equally well but only in the dry. A very hard compound with a very stiff sidewall that is especially good for any car with sports suspension. A nice sharp turn in every time with this tire. Wear rate is very good as you would expect with a hard compound tire.
The trade off for the harder compound, that is so perfect when hot, is its poor performance in the cold/wet. This is compensated to a degree by the excellent feedback and progressiveness of the tire allowing you to know when the grip is poor.
I have just had them replaced for some Toyo T1R's to see me through the winter but will be looking to fit these again in the Summer.
In my opinion a quality tire just don't expect a summer tire to perform all season!
excellent performing tire, putting 256bhp through the front wheels they cope very well, lacking confidence with them when it is very wet, just replaced these on the front with the same again as they were original fit and did 14,000 miles on them, not bad for a front wheel drive car with 256bhp, rears have hardly worn at all, they get a bit noisy when due for replacement but don't they all? very good looking tire on the 18" wheels, will probably have but these again too.
