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
These have been an excellent tire and im quite surprised that they have a treadwear index of 140 as I thought they would only last probably 15k.
They have lasted 23k but on the outer shoulders of the tire they are down to 2mm in some places but on the inners they still have 5mm this is consistent with both front tires. I inflate them upto the recommended 32psi and always keep an eye on pressure. I can only assume its a tracking issue however im still pleased to the mileage out of them.
Overall an excellent tire solid sidewalls and the tire looks good on a 18 inch RS6 rim, dry grip is as good as the Michellin PS2 and wet grip is good too.
Had Bridgestones before and have had excellent performance on them, so had no hesitation to switch from Dunlop soft compound that wear quickly to these. However, big mistake - road noise is bad. Had bearings check, alignment redone and still noisy at low speeds and under braking. Dealers say very blocky which is causing the problem, but with 5mm left looks like will have another 20,000 mile to go before replacing with alternative.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
These tires were fitted to my 58 plate A4 from new. They give awesome grip in the dry and excellent cornering, but tend to wheelspin whenever on a wet (or even damp) surface. Grip under braking is good in all conditions. However, they REALLY don't like snow! Hence why I am going to give the ContiSport 2s a go. After 23,500 miles the fronts are on the TWI in the middle, which is normally due to overinflation, but I have been running them at 31PSI. The rears are almost down to the TWI on the inside, but I think this is due to the fact that the boot is always fully loaded with all my work gear. All in all a good dry tire, but a bit slippy in the wet.
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These tires are superb in the dry and have so much grip and the wet they are very good too, I had them on the rears for 10k and from new which was probably about 8mm of tread they were down to 7mm when switched to the fronts. Now that they have done 20k (10K on the front) they are down to 3mm.
Being a heavy front end diesel Audi it does go through rubber quite quickly but I have been impressed with the performance these tires have given me.
I think they will probably last another 3k before I will have to change them.
These tires perform quite well, giving reasonable wear 20Km miles front approx 30K miles rear split 60/40 on open roads town traffic. They give good results on dry and wet roads. They are not good at low temperatures between +3 degrees C and -3 degrees C regardless of wet or dry road. They look nice but don't ask them to do any work in snowy /icy conditions. Most definately a tire for the Mediteranian or warmer regions of the world.
they had an annoying tendencies to be platspotted when parked, took app. 2 miles for it to dissapear. Wet grip not impressive lost grip without warning. I'll never buy this tire again
These were standard issue on my car and after reading Autocars tire test 2007 I wasn't expecting much of them ! Fresh and without any running in they were exellent wet and dry ! I tend to drive very hard and the firm side walls helped alot and gave massive dry grip ! The only weekness i've experienced with the tire was loss of pressure (that I put down to the amount of speed hump in my area) and the lack of traction in cold weather ! Wear is't exellent but the are a sports tire so if you want grip you are going to get that anyway ! If you want a premium tire on your car they also tend to be a little cheaper than the tires from conti and michelin !
67%
Member
Rover
225/45 R17 W
10,000 miles
Mostly Town
Average
Front Wheel Drive but expected to last longer than 10,000 miles.
Good tires but poor life.
This tire is great for grip in the Dry and Wet! After 14k the front tires were completely shot. previously I drove a Renault Megane, using budget tires which to be honest we not bad! I managed over 20k. I have now ordered some Falken ZE912 tires. fingers crossed the lifetime of these tires will be slightly better!
For the style driving I do 90% of the time the Bridgestone's are overkill! and for the 10% when you push it in the bends they sure do grip!
You will never get a grippy tire that lasts forever. I know my decision is made by the amount of money I want to spend running through pot holes!!
When your putting 256bhp through the front wheels you need something that got grip. Great in the dry and reasonable in the wet..terrible in snow! Toward the end of the life of the tire it seems like they are slicks. Manages 12k out of mine which ive heard is pretty good compared to PZero's life.
This car have eibach strings so it does not tilt much when cornering..The bridgestones have a very hard wall so im going to stick with these. As i have checked the reviews on the Toyo TR-1 and alot of people have given poor reviews of the tire wall giving them no confidence in cornering!
Depending on which is the best value at the time all the above tires give excellent grip in the dry and wet and feel very progressive on the limits.
In the dry I think the Michelins just shade the Bridgestone's, Continentals are best for preventing aquaplaning in a bend or straight line.
The Michelins are best in the wet too with again Bridgestone just behind in second. So all three are superb tires but I find the Michelins last the longest with Bridgestone 2nd and the Continentals 3rd.
In terms of value for money I would say the Continentals and Bridgestone are good with the Michelin being pricey and in 3rd place.
I have been running my 944 as a daily car for the last 5 years. Firstly with Dunlop SP9000s which were excellent, then Pirreli P6000s which were less progressive and had poor feedback. Then I got a set of second hand 17" alloys which were fitted with Conti WinterContacts. Frankly these winter tires were better than the Bridgestones RE050 that I have now.
In the dry the Bridgestones grip well, but give no feedback and are not progressive. When it rains I just end up aquaplaning everywhere, and when it snows I get stuck!
The Conti WinterContacts had surprising high grip in the dry and were progressive so you could actualy slide around and have some fun. They lasted longer, and were obviously far superior in bad weather.
As soon as it is dry I am going to kill what is left of the Bridgestones on a circuit :-) and probably go back to the Contis.
