bureau13

OK, I've about narrowed down my tire choices to:

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 or Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position

The Goodyears are slightly cheaper at Tire Rack. The Bridgestones have great ratings there, but I'm not sure how many grains of salt to take with that. The Car and Driver test mysteriously tested the non-Pole Position tires next to the Goodyears, and predictably, didn't rate them as well.

I was pretty much all set to go with the Bridgestones, however...their treadwear rating is WAY lower than the Goodyears, or any other tire they have for that matter. I realize you can't always compare them directly, but...if the manufacturer itself is actually rating them that poorly, that doesn't sound like a good sign. I don't want to be asking this question again in 10K miles...or less!

Of course, if you think there is a better choice than either, I'm listening....but let me know what about your particular choice is better than the above.

FWIW, this will be stock 18" wheels but I want to go with 245/40R18 rather than the stock 225s.

Oh yeah...these will be almost entirely street-driven, in dry and wet conditions (but no snow or ice or even cold weather). Performance/grip in these conditions is important to me, but I'm not likely to actually have these on a track, if that makes a difference.

TIA,
jds

PhotoMunkey

I've owned both tires, on the same car... a 2004 Jetta GLI limited edition model. The Goodyears were fantastic with a very firm lock on center "feel" and a solid transition into corners. The Bridgestones by design were softer, and had a better ride, but both felt like they had the same overall grip. The transition to cornering was slower and softer with the Bridgestones, but once there, was rock-solid!

Now, I've had the basic Dunlop OEM Mazda tire on my RX-8, and now have Bridgestone RE01-Rs and won't take them off for the world! The level of grip this tire provides is probably beyond my ability to safely drive the car!

I had a mix of tires on my Mustang GT for a while. Nitto NT555s are VERY good. Continental Conti-sports are also extremely good for the money. If I were replacing stock RX-8 tires, I'd look at either of those two first, then the RE01-R if you're going to do some track days.

bureau13

Are the RE01-Rs R-compound tires? I'm guessing they are by the name...are they good in wet weather, and don't they wear REALLY fast?

I'm curious...your review of the tires I mentioned when you had them on the VW seemed pretty good...why would you pick the Nittos or Continentals over them?

Thanks,
jds

LionZoo

RE-01Rs are not R compounds, they are the same class of tires as the Advan Neova AD07s.

bureau13

Interesting...I just went back to Tire Rack and searched again for my size...there they are. Not sure why I never saw them before. They're a little pricier, but the description reads pretty much the same as the Pole Positions. So they are significantly better than the PP or Eagle F1s I mentioned previously?

jds

connor@tirerack

out of the three tires (Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 or the Bridgestone Potenza RE01-R) i woould say the RE050a PP tire would be the best all around tire. I have had the opportunity to drive all of these tires side by side on the same model of vehicles and in identicle conditions. The RE050A PP offered better wet and dry traction on the skid pad as well as the slolom.
Also keep in mind you cann't use the UTQG code to compare between tires. Every manufacturer has there own testing methods. Due to this there is no way to translate what those numbers will mean to you as a consumer. the tread wear was actually comparable between the two tires under the exact same conditions. We actually got around half a day more of track testing out of the RE050A PP. Even though that is not a significant amount of mileage it is allot of hard driving on the tires.
Personally i would not recommend the RE01R. They do offer outstanding dry tractionbut mediocre wet traction. If you are looking for extreme traction for a very aggresive driver and you don't care about mileage or wet traction then the RE01R is a great choice. This tire was designed to be a direct competitor for the Yokohama Advan Neova line of super soft street compound tires.

225/45R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position -- 172.00 ea
245/40R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position -- 188.00 ea
245/40R18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 -- 172.00 ea
245/40R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R -- 217.00 ea

LionZoo

Connor, you mean the RE050A Pole Positions are actually superior in the dry compared to the RE-01Rs? That seems a bit counterintuitive as the RE-01R is a dry focus tire.

Keep up the good work. I'm going to be shopping for a wheel and tire replacement in the next few months. I'm not sure if I'm getting wheels from tirerack, but tires I most definitely am going to be.

LionZoo

By the way Conner, what is your recommendation in the Max Performance class?

connor@tirerack

Sorry for the confusion. The comparison i was making was between the RE050A PP and the Goodyear. I wasn't including the RE01R in the comparison because it is a different class of tire. The RE01R will offer better ultimate dry traction than the either of the other two tires. Personally i would not buy the RE01R unless you are planning several track runs. For everyday driving i still think the RE050A PP are the best way to go. When you are ready to place your order please give me a call. When your paid by commission every order counts.

avenger

I use RE01R just for the track. I have another set of daily driving (Kuhmo SPTs). Connor ... I just ordered my RE01Rs just last week ... I completely forgot to reference you when I put the other through online.

bureau13

Its great having a TR rep here to answer some of these questions. It sounds like the Pole Positions are the tire for me in this case, so I'll most likely be placing my order in the next week or so.

When I've ordered Tire Rack tires in the past, I had them shipped to the nearest Tire Kingdom (they're a recommended installer for Tire Rack). They won't give me any crap about using a wider tire than stock will they? It seems like pretty much everyone on the forum uses 245s.

jds

connor@tirerack

They shouldn't give you a hard time on this but it really depends on the mangement at that particular location. Some of them tend to lean more towards the OE specific fitments. Normally this isn't an issues though. If you do have problem just give us a call and we can work with them to get the installation done.

LionZoo

Hey Connor, one more question (sorry about threadjacking). I notice on some tires with asymmetrical threads, like say the Advan Sport, that there is a label on the tire that says "this side on the outside" or words to that affect. My question is, if the thread is the proper direction on the left side, won't putting the side that says "outside" on the right side be flipping the thread and so the tire would actually be going backwards? Or do you guys provide left and right side with mirrored thread patterns to offset that? Thanks.

bureau13

Yes, I still have the very worn OEM 225 Bridgestones on now. I will definitely report back!

jds

dbright007

These are obviously not the tires you are buying, but I am very wary of Bridgestones after what happened to mine. The stock Potenza's with 13k miles are shot.
Tread is fine, but they are all warped and scalloped = a wave wrapped in a circle.

bureau13

Interesting...I've got about the same mileage on mine...maybe a big more...and my tread is mostly gone, but that's about the only problem.

jds