Bridgestone Potenzas,

Anonymous · August 2, 2004, 16:34

I've got a question regarding RE040's. On the tyre review section of this site, they get a bit of a pasting, especially for track use. But, I recently did the Elise driving experience at Silverstone and all there Elises were fitted with RE040s as was my mates dads 300 Bhp Scooby.

Now, they can't be THAT bad can they?

markiii · August 2, 2004, 16:45

track use is omething else, and I can't coment on it, but on the road yes, they can.

juansolo · August 2, 2004, 17:29

Yep, unless you're just pootling around.

GSB · August 2, 2004, 18:37

I have to admit, after wearing through 2 sets of RE040's, fitting a set of performance tyres was a revelation... They're good, but they're not fantastic...

SteveJ · August 2, 2004, 18:52

Interesting - I had a set of RE040's on my car from new and they were fine - I spent far less time with the TC & VSC ( s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted: ) warning lights on with the RE040's than I do with the Toyo Proxes and believe me I wasnt driving any different. Maybe ignoring the stock pressures had something to do with it.

Anonymous · August 3, 2004, 19:01

RE040s - 25 psi in the front and std pressure in the rears - makes front end much more compliant and less understeer biased. Whole car will feel a lot more neutral - do it!

Anonymous · August 6, 2004, 18:04

For just a little more dosh, you can get Bridgestone Pole Position S03 instead.

The S03 replaced the excellent S02, and is currently the tyre industry's reference for maximum performance tyres. The RE040 are in a lower "category/segment", eventhough they are often fitted as OEM on high-perf cars such as Elise, Viper, etc.

The main advantage of the S03 is that unlike most of the competition, the very high tyre performance will last the whole lifetime of the tyre. (I noticed absolutely no degradation, unlike the stock Yokos, GY F1s.)

The wear resistance index is also pretty decent (and important on your finance): 220 vs. 160 (Advan A043) or 160 Michelin Exalto. Only the Good Year F1 have a higher spec with 240.

If I were you, I would shop around and get the best.

SteveJ · August 6, 2004, 19:13

Quote from: "phat"The S03 replaced the excellent S02, and is currently the tyre industry's reference for maximum performance tyres. The RE040 are in a lower "category/segment", eventhough they are often fitted as OEM on high-perf cars such as Elise, Viper, etc.

The main advantage of the S03 is that unlike most of the competition, the very high tyre performance will last the whole lifetime of the tyre. (I noticed absolutely no degradation, unlike the stock Yokos, GY F1s.)

Just dont even consider driving in snow with them on the car (take a look at the tread pattern if you want to know why).

Their general cold weather performance isnt that brilliant either - you have to work them pretty hard to get any heat into them before they even consider gripping the road.

In the summer however I must admit, they were the best tyre I ever had on the car.

Tem · August 6, 2004, 21:16

Quote from: "SteveJ"Just dont even consider driving in snow with them on the car (take a look at the tread pattern if you want to know why).

I did...thrice s:roll: :roll: s:roll: They seemed like just about any other summertyre I've driven in the snow and I had no major issues with them s:? :? s:?

Anonymous · August 6, 2004, 22:21

Quote from: "SteveJ"Just dont even consider driving in snow with them on the car (take a look at the tread pattern if you want to know why).

S03:

RE040:

I think it's obvious they weren't designed for snow, unlike this one:

I used to think winter tyres were just a gimmick, a bit like a 4x4 in the city, only useful if you had to drive through inches of snow. But then I bought a 2nd hand car that had them (as a spare set) and the difference is incredible. The rubber is much more tender, and in winter temperature the grip is far superior to the (stiff) summer tires. It's so good I can even forget about the dreaded snow chains. (But if the temp goes above 20C, they are absolutely rubbish.)

Quote from: "Tem"I did...thrice s:roll: :roll: s:roll: They seemed like just about any other summertyre I've driven in the snow and I had no major issues with them s:? :? s:?

Hey Tem, s:shock: :shock: s:shock: I thought you guys in Finland had snow 6 month a year. I'm amazed you can get away without winter tyres. Maybe that's how you produce so many rally drivers s:D

s:D

aaronjb · August 6, 2004, 22:38

Quote from: "Tem"I did...thrice s:roll: :roll: s:roll: They seemed like just about any other summertyre I've driven in the snow and I had no major issues with them s:? :? s:?

Like you, Tem, I drove S03's (and Proxes) in winter - the S03's on an Automatic too, so much less fine control, and there were no problems as long as you respected the weather s:)

s:) No worse than any other performance tire in the snow, IMHO.

But then I remember a lot of people here having trouble with RE040's in the ice last winter.. Personally it just seemed like good fun to me s;)

s;)

Anyhoo s:)

s:)

I find the RE040's 'ok' on the '2, although they tramline a fair bit now they're quite worn, but I'll definitely be giving the Proxes a go next time to see if they're a bit better in good conditions..

When I compared the Toyo's to the S03's (pretty much back to back) on the 300, I thought they were an excellent comporamise given the price difference (I just tried to check on mytyres, but can't find the Toyo's for the '2) - they were quite a bit cheaper, but not much less outright grip and much easier to drive on the edge..

Tem · August 6, 2004, 22:38

Quote from: "phat"Hey Tem, s:shock: :shock: s:shock: I thought you guys in Finland had snow 6 month a year.

Thank God no! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

Sometimes we have snow by xmas, sometimes we don't. Late January and early February are really the only snowy months in southern Finland. Sometimes it can be a bit chilly till June, sometimes it may be +25C in March (like this year) s8)

s8)

QuoteI'm amazed you can get away without winter tyres.

I don't drive the '2 during snow s;)

s;) Except occasionally when it starts snowing when I'm at work or wherever...

QuoteMaybe that's how you produce so many rally drivers s:D s:D

Actually studded winter tyres are the best way to enjoy winter s;)

s;) But all our rally drivers come from smaller places, where most roads are gravel, so they kinda get to practice all year round s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

Anonymous · August 10, 2004, 12:57

Quote from: "aaronjb"I just tried to check on mytyres, but can't find the Toyo's for the '2

They've gone recently, seemingly at about the same time as Toyo has introduced the Proxes T1-R. m http://www.camskill.co.uk m sell the T1-R's in 195/50/15 and 225/40/16, though they're a little pricier than mytyres were for T1-S. I hope mytyres gets the S's in soon and I'm also working on a local friendly tyre fitting place for a decent quote.