Tyre Advice

[paulc555]

Evening

Just wanted to ask ...

had a bit of a moment last night and had to do some major correction to avoid a close encounter with the scenery..running at the minute with Bridgestone Potenza tyres...they were on the car when i got it....are these any good in the wet...have no confidence at all ...they seem great in the dry.......

anyone care to comment if they have experience of these tyres.??

[derek_robertson]

Didn't like mine from day 1,glad to have got rid.

They tend to tramline alot,haven't heard anyone saying they liked them yet!!

Now running with goodyear F1's. excellent in the wet & dry,so much grrrrrrrrrrrrriiippp

hope this helps,cheers

Del

[the squiggle]

What are they S-02 or S-03. I think the S-02 were better in the rain. No experience of the S-03 but the S-02 are good in the wet. IMHO

I will buy them off you if you do decide to change. I like scary handling...................

Grant

[paulc555]

Del - thanks for the advice.....really not sure about mine at all....

Grant - not sure which ones will look tom im frightened to go out now its to dark.....will look tom...

scary handling....wahhhhhhhh was so close to the hedge and a rather large tree...had a guest passenger to...guys thinking of buying a scoob...think he enjoyed the slide (sorry drive) though...

[fraser_drinkwater]

I just took them off last week for cheaper dunlops and the are much better. i agree with your comments mate.

[Bladerider]

I haven't had any experience of the Bridgestones, but I believe tyre choice is a matter of opinion, and which tyre suits your own particular car and your style of driving.

Due to popular opinion I changed to Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 just before Christmas. I was not too impressed right from the start. I thought I'd give it a while till they're scrubbed in. I've now done a little over 1k miles on them, and I'm still not very impressed. Next time I'll be going back to Avon ZZ3. Excellent tyre in wet, dry, or damp.

I've previously been on Toyo T1S and was pleased with them. The wet grip wasn't that great but they wouldn't lose grip suddenly like the F1, but would give you a warning slide before losing it completely. So were quite pridictable.

[ozzy]

The Goodyear Eagle GSD3's are not on par with the old Eagle F1's IMHO. I would say they are level with the Toyo T1-S in the dry, but the Goodyear still has an edge in the wet.

The roads now are very greasy, so I'd be cautious to dismiss them completely. My Goodyears have been great up until the past month or so. They were excellent hooning back down from Glencoe in the pouring rain on Sunday, but driving along the roads coming out my village this morning the car was sliding all over the shop. When I've used other cars on the same roads out the village, they've done pretty much the same. I'm putting it down to cr@p on the roads rather than simply the tyre.

Stefan

[paulc555]

thanks for the advice one and all...

theres me thinking a tyre was just a tyre.....

cheers

[GrantyBoy]

I've just put on Toyo Proxy's T1-R. Much better than my old Bridgestones!

[wrxmania]

I have Bridgestone Potenzas on mine and have just replaced the front pair. I think they are good IF THEY ARE THE CORRECT TYRE.

Mine are RE-050 and specifically GZ pattern. My local supplier let me see the list of 215/45/ZR17 Bridgestone Potenza RE-050's and there were 16 varieties of that one tyre number in that one size. The GZ pattern for mine is specifically listed as Subaru Impreza WRX 2003 onwards.

Many people seem to completely hate the cheaper Potenzas which are cheaper than the RE-050's - namely the RE-040 - the RE-040's seem to be terrible for tramlining and wet grip. The tyre fitter said that the 40's should, quote "NEVER be fitted to an Impreza - they were just not designed for it". Also, he said that whatever tyre you buy they must have the strengthened sidewall - can't remember the exact term he used but there was normal and toughened varieties of the same tyre in the same size with the same model number etc.

Many owners seem to fit the RE-040s, and specifically dealers on used cars as they are maybe £25 per tyre cheaper than the RE-050. Loads of people seem to really rate the RE-070's too.

Good luck in the search. There will ALWAYS be mixed opinions but the garage owner runs track cars, and an 400 BHP EVO and he rates the following tyres as EXCELLENT:

Brand New Michelin Pilot Sport - released late 2004, not the old version which he says are terrible.

A new BF Goodrich pattern specifically developed for the Impreza - can't remember the number but the pattern looksn very impressive and he says it is based on a racing slick with the tread on top.

He said that Continentals are terrible, as are RE-040's and many others. He said Eagle F1's were over-rated. Go for the newest pattern you can get.

Brian

[john_robertson]

RE-30's have been the subject of much debate, basically most people think they are kack on the Impreza.

The new 70's are the ones fitted to the '05 cars IIRC and are getting a very good report.

John.

[clan2_uk]

<< I have Bridgestone Potenzas on mine and have just replaced the front pair. I think they are good IF THEY ARE THE CORRECT TYRE.

Mine are RE-050 and specifically GZ pattern. My local supplier let me see the list of 215/45/ZR17 Bridgestone Potenza RE-050's and there were 16 varieties of that one tyre number in that one size. The GZ pattern for mine is specifically listed as Subaru Impreza WRX 2003 onwards.

Many people seem to completely hate the cheaper Potenzas which are cheaper than the RE-050's - namely the RE-040 - the RE-040's seem to be terrible for tramlining and wet grip. The tyre fitter said that the 40's should, quote "NEVER be fitted to an Impreza - they were just not designed for it". Also, he said that whatever tyre you buy they must have the strengthened sidewall - can't remember the exact term he used but there was normal and toughened varieties of the same tyre in the same size with the same model number etc.

Many owners seem to fit the RE-040s, and specifically dealers on used cars as they are maybe £25 per tyre cheaper than the RE-050. Loads of people seem to really rate the RE-070's too.

This could be the answer to all my problems, a month after I bought my 2003 WRX (non Subaru garage) I had to return it as a result of them doing the geometry set up wrong it ruined a front pair of Potenza RE 050'S. They picked up the tab for a new pair of tyres and I told them I wanted them replaced with Bridgestones and they done this. However since then I have not been happy with the way the car drives, after reading this thread I checked the numbers on these tyres and what are they ? RE 040's. Will these be ok on the rear as I dont really want to replace them as they have only done a couple of thousand miles.

[wrxmania]

Hard one to answer that - they may be fine in 99% of driving. Then again if you don't like them, and they re the ONLY thing in contact with the road then take them off and sell them on - someone may want them.

Good luck,

Brian.

[clan2_uk]

Just a quick question on this, did STI's up to 2005 come with RE 040's as standard because I have been looking at several sets of gold STI wheels for sale with delivery mileage and they are fitted with RE 040's.