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
Had those on Golf 5 GTI and dissapointed, now switched on Hankook Ventus S1 evo and it feels like other car. The bigest minus is comfort, tires are very hard and it is usefuly on the track but we mostly drive on normal roads so...
I've tried to find the limit of these tires and have not lost them except in a particularly wet and oily concrete road corner. They have lasted well despite the TERRIBLE roads in the central west of NSW (Aus) including dirt roads.
Tires are a little noisy on the coarse gravel (sealed) roads.
I would probably buy these tires again if the RE002 was not available.
When price is taken into account, these tires are exceptionally good value.
Dry grip on sealed roads is nothing short of amazing, and predictable in the wet just for fun!
Tires started wearing from the outside edge and the tire dealer said its because we have so many cambered roundabouts in our area - I don't know whether I believe this or not, having read the other reviews.
Tire has been used from moderate summer conditions to snow as they have been on the car from new for 14 months.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
These tires replaced original Yokohama advans fitted from new. The bridgstones were far better, giving a softer, quieter ride, and better grip in the wet. They have now been on two years, and there is stil 4mm tread left, but the front tire need to be replaced due to inner shoulders scrubbed off (power steering) and the outer shoulders wearing badly, with cracking appearing on the shoulders. These tires have only covered 15k miles! I must admit I am disappointed at this tire being a premium brand, has worn so badly, there has never Ben any tire pressure / tracking issues. I have to ask why buy these expensive tires which dont seem to provide any distinct benefits over cheaper alternatives.
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A very hard tire and it feels it especially at low speed bumps/ridges. The toughness means its long lasting and great at high speeds. Wet weather grip and traction on even lightly damp roads is quite disappointing- i got wheel spin at 40mph! The road noise is also excessive at low speeds. Mazda fit these as standard and the driving experience is arguably ruined because of them; continental or kumho greatly improve wet weather grip, ride and refinement even though they wear out ever so slightly quicker.
If you like noisy, hard, expensive tires which cost the earth & shatter a vertebrae with every bump in the road, buy these and you wont be disappointed! :-)
For me, grip is not all that, especially in the wet, and if there was more of a choice over and above the 2 or 3 tire types I can use would look to change them like a shot!
Is my second set of these tires, and they have covered about 20k so far with more than 50% of tread left.
In the dry they grip amazingly, and still very well in the wet.
They give a firmer ride than most but this explains the grip as the push harder to squash the tread and grip firmer.
My driving is mainly motorways and A roads but I drive in all weathers and have these on a Lexus IS220d with rear-wheel drive and 180bhp. As the cars suspension isnt setup as hard as the average BMW it can cope in the snow, a little weight in the boot doesn't hurt to carry to push down on the drive wheels and my snow socks have never been out of their packets and live in the boot :)
My rear tires are 245/45/17 the front are the 225/45/17 which may explain the snow driving being ok as the rear tires footprint can overcome the rolling resistance (footrpint) of the front when moving off easier as the fronts would be larger due to the engine weight above.
...anyhow, great tires all round and great price..will be buying again :)
had these on the mps since new, they have done 27k miles which i think is pretty good, but after this time one had started to degrade quite badly and the metal band was showing and the tire grip was lifting. i was glad to get them off the car. the ride in comparison to their replacements (goodyear asymmetric 2's) was very harsh, spine shatteringly stiff over bumps, they would follow the lines in the road, when pushed though, they would perform well, but would understeer on corners and roundabouts. overall i would class them at a hard/harsh tire, non compliant, uncomfortable, and most definitely not to be bought, unless thats what you are looking for.
Good handling abilities in most normal conditions but they lose grip in the wet with occaisional wheel tramping when accelerating from a standing start.( they spin in second gear when driven hard) Noisy, noisy tires after about 35000 kms. They drone excessively and they look as though they are only 50% worn. I expected better. Won't replace with same.
The worst tire I have ever had on a car. I have had yokohama parada spec 2s, toyo t1r and a few other tires on high powerd AWD car and these have got to be the worst. They have rubbish feed back and a 8k they only hav 2.5mm left
