Best Tires for the Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance Mk. 7.5

OEM winter tire on a 2019 Golf GTI Performance. In my country, Andorra, a snowy country, I didn't like the grip on snow, especially after half its life, which was awful. In wet and even in dry conditions, there have been many losses of traction in this car. In my opinion, I wouldn't recommend it or buy it again. My next winter tires will be Goodyear Ultragrip Performance 3, which I expect will be much better.

These tires generally perform well in everyday driving under average conditions. For the prices, they are a reasonably good buy but knowing that they are a budget tire I haven't tried to push them and driven very conservatively in adverse conditions.

The issue I have is that one tire kept losing air. I would just pump it up and a few months later my car would give me the same warning light. Then the warning light would appear after about a month then about a fortnight later. I couldn't se anything wrong but fearing I had a puncture, I took it to get repaired. What the tire repair place showed me was that there were two bulges on the inner side of the tire. I thought to myself what would happen if this tire exploded at highway speed? Never will I buy cheap unknown tires (these tires came with the used car that I bought about 12 months ago).

I'm going back to the well know premium brands, looking at Michelin Pilot Sport 5 as a replacement. If you are considering these tires, ask yourself how much is your life worth?

(I’ve reviewed these tires the first time they were fitted.) I took these tires off my car a year ago and changed for Goodyear Eagle F1 A6’s. I didn’t initially notice just how bad the Goodyears were but going back to the SC7’s is such a relief. It feels like going from watching a movie on a CRT TV to 4k OLED. The sub limit feedback and grip is so much better. I’m no longer guessing how much grip the tire has. The Goodyears felt numb with very little information as to how close the tire was to letting go and understanding straight on. The car’s balance has shifted from terrifying understeer to playful and manageable oversteer. In terms of grip on acceleration and braking the tire is now being restrained on heavy acceleration by the SC7’s getting the power into the road. The Goodyears would just spin up and not stop till you lifted your foot and that’s on basically a stock Golf. All in all these are a much more fun tire to use both below and above the limit. Sure my previous complaint was wear but I’d rather replace my tires more frequently that deal with wooden tires that would give me surprise understeer at any moment.

I purchased these ~1500miles ago. I had needed to replace sport contact 7’s that had worn out after 6 months of use. I have been please with the appearance, noise and sub limit grip and price on these tires. They were ~£10 cheaper than a replacement set of continentals. As for sub limit grip they do have plenty of grip in the wet and dry.

Unfortunately when I compare them with the SC7’s I had I’ve grown to hate these tires. They have nothing left on or over the limit. And when you do go over the limit the SC7’s would generate predictable oversteer the Goodyears just plow straight on. There’s also very little feel in the tire at the limit, feels quite numb. Maybe they will have great life that will outweigh these negatives however I’d rather buy tires a bit more frequently than have an almighty crash on a Scottish country road because my car stopped turning.

Tires are fantastic for grip in wet and dry, a great UHP tire. I maybe had a slight preference to the PS4’s I had on my last car but the price difference would make up for any minor differences in performance. My biggest gripe with the tire is they were fitted in the start of October 24 from black circles. And my car had its major service in the middle of Feb 25 and I was told the fronts were 80% worn. And it looks like there’s less life than that when I inspected them myself. There are no mechanical, tracking or tire pressure issues with the car.

So all in all a great tire what will cost a lot per mile. Potentially the abrasiveness of the poorly finished Scottish country roads is a contributing factor.

I think these are good tires, both in the dry and wet, however when very cold they loose some of there confidence inspiring grip. I’m a little on the fence with there longevity, but I do like them

When I bought my new to me Golf GTI performance it came with an almost brand new full set of the Davanti Protoura tires fitted discovered quickly these tires don’t like cold, damp or wet. When cornering they easily understeer and can struggle for traction even in 3rd gear. This has taken my confidence away from these tires. In dry and warm they are perfectly adequate and wear reasonably well. Davanti’s insurance is also another good point as whe I hit a potholes and damaged the side wall I got a new tire for £20 due to minimal wear on the damaged tire. I’d say these tire would be good for a non sporty or powerful car for general driving duties

So i put these tires on at around 85,000km's and i must say they are an amazing tire when it comes to grip, road feedback, handling and so on. However im now at around 97,000kms, and i must say first, i have a heavy right foot and if i must admit i drive like a bit of a knob. But knobs aside, these tires seem to wear down very quickly im at around 4-5mm left on the tires and i dont see them going for more than 10000kms more. They are a great tire but i think they wear down far to quickly for the price and competition at this price point. I will most likely be looking at some f1 asym 6 or something else in this category for my next set.

I run my car in Vancouver, BC, CA. Typically winter involves a lot of rain, but snow will be a thing to deal with at least a few times a year. It is hilly (very much mountain adjacent), and when snow comes it tends to be very "greasy", and will not be cleared by the city. These tires are enough (when combined with a soft touch on the gas) to negotiate the snow we get here. They are even enough to give a strong sense of superiority to all the boobs who try to use summer tires, and lesser all seasons. They are EXCELLENT in the wet, which we really get much more of. Intellectually, I know I can get more in the summer out of a dedicated UHP, but in normal driving that is a point you won't likely reach on any regular basis.

These Bridgestones came supplied with my Mk 7.5 VW Golf GTI Performance. I would describe them as a decent tire, certainly compared to many others I've driven on over the years. Although I live and drive in a city (average driving style), I do take the car out around country roads and motorways regularly (spirited driving style). I do not track race the car. I would describe the braking performance as exceptional, the tires provide a strong feeling of security. They are extremely comfortable, even over drives of 400-500 miles...so great for touring...as you would expect of this tire. Tires are not quiet though, much louder than my Goodyear Asymmetric 6's. Quite a noticeable noise on the motorway at legal limits. I would say that most would find the handling to be great, though slightly remote...certainly not as grippy or accurate as the Goodyears. Front tires wore after 10-12K miles, rears more like 15-17K. I would recommend the tires and would buy again.