Bridgestone Potenza Tire RE040

...with a brand-new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE040s (OEM spec'd) with a suggested retail price of somewhere around £180 per tyre!

At 205/45/R17, they're reasonably big lumps of rubber. They did their job well enough. After 15 months (and 18,000 miles) of reasonably sedate driving they made it down to the wear indicators. In that time they had been driven on just about every surface you could imagine (with the unfortunate exception ...
...need replacing, will I go for the same spec? Interestingly, even Bridgestones own tyre-selector doesn't pick them... Bridgestone now recommends the nre RE050s (could it be because they cost more or am I being too cynical).

[Originally posted, by me, on Dooyoo.co.uk earlier in 2004]  ... more

One of the great things about getting a new car is the fact that they generally come with tyres that you wouldn't ever dream of paying for out of your own pocket.

Such was the case with my Honda Civic Type-R. It arrived with a brand-new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE040s (OEM spec'd) with a suggested retail price of somewhere around £180 per tyre!

At 205/45/R17, they're reasonably big lumps of rubber. They did their job well enough. After 15 months (and 18,000 miles) of reasonably sedate driving they made it down to the wear indicators. In that time they had been driven on just about every surface you could imagine (with the unfortunate exception of a race track!) and the comments you find here are my experiences of living with the RE040s over the last 18,000 miles.

I'll start off with apeparances... the asymmetric tread pattern isn't particularly inspiring, lots of straight cuts and a reasonable central groove give a purposeful appearance without the swoopy tread of most other "sports" tyres. What the pattern does hint at is the fact that they are designed for high speeds along dry, warm, grippy roads. Lots of rubber in contact with the road with only a token gesture at water displacement.

In this case, appearances are not deceptive. On a hot summers day driving is a pleasure. Warming up very quickly, '040s are ultra grippy on pretty much any dry, solid road surface (the warmer the better). Roundabouts become a thing of the past, with the grip not even coming close to breaking at some unexpectedly high speeds. Braking is equally well-served, the ABS has never been required on a dry day, despite several attempts to wake it up! For a mediterranean summer or a blast around a race track, you would be hard-pushed to find a finer tyre. Luckily for me, the last year has seen plenty of hot weather and so I've had a fine time driving.

Driving in the wet is another story. Not an entirely bad story, but certainly not as positive. When cold and/or damp it takes an age for the 040s to warm up. Wheelspin is moderately frequent and ABS can come into play if you drive "enthusiastically". It took me a while to get used to the Jekyll & Hyde nature going from hot to wet. That's not to say that they are undrivable in the wet, just that they are nowhere near as surefooted as in the dry. In VERY wet conditions (and there have been a few) I've always felt more than a little anxious, particularly of aqua-planing. It's never happened, but I put that down to the conservative approach induced by the slightly "floaty" feel that takes the wheel in very wet weather. The last weather condition you might want to know about is snow. We've not had too much of it so it's hard to comment, but based on my experience in rain I would not recommend them for snow. The tread patterns are all about rubber on the road rather than cutting through the snow, so I would expect the grip to break very easily when there's snow on the ground.

In a more general sense, the low-profile gives an extremely positive feel around corners, with no hint of splashing/shearing. The tread pattern works well here, giving an excellent footprint around bends even at high speed. General steering is very responsive, although a minor complaint exists around the "tramlines" that HGVs leave on roads like the A1. I found that my '040 shod Civic is tossed around like a sailboat in a storm when I stumbled across rutting. It's worth pointing out that this happens at any speed, from urban to motorway.

They are also very noisy. In fact it would be safe to say that they are the noisiest tyres I have ever owned. A dull rumble is present at all speeds, but at 80mph on a concrete road the stereo struggles to overcome the road-noise and conversation, while not at shouting point, takes extra effort.

In closing then, the RE040s are a fine tyre for their intended purpose i.e. aggressive driving in a warm, dry environment. In the UK summer of 2003 (and a little bit of 2004) they have been a joy to drive. In recent UK winters they have been tolerable. They've worn down fairly quickly, but the owners manual warns of even shorter replacement times if the car is driven "enthusiastically". This must be down to the very soft compund used to provide the copious amounts of grip. So now they need replacing, will I go for the same spec? Interestingly, even Bridgestones own tyre-selector doesn't pick them... Bridgestone now recommends the nre RE050s (could it be because they cost more or am I being too cynical).

[Originally posted, by me, on Dooyoo.co.uk earlier in 2004] 

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