Golf R Observations and Questions

[SilvrFoxX]

So. Bridgestone Potenza RE-005A or whatever come on the R. Really not a very good tyre imo.

Looking forward to changing to something decent.

You are kidding.. they have been the best tyre I have ever had, they were on the Subaru and very quiet very grippy and of course very expensive.

[DoggieHowser]

I have always hated the stiff sidewalls on most bridgestones. It has prodigious amounts of grip but when it loses traction, it feels very sudden to me. I prefer tires that are a bit more progressive in terms of feel.

[Corey_R]

So. Bridgestone Potenza RE-005A or whatever come on the R. Really not a very good tyre imo.

Looking forward to changing to something decent.

I agreed mate. The RE050A are pretty average for a performance tyre at best.
But that's no surprise. All the tyre round-ups have concluded the same....

We've been discussing this over in the wheels & suspension subforum. But it used to be a competition between the Michelin PS3's, Continental ContiSportContact 5P's (suitable for 19" R wheels, but not 18" R wheels) and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric.

But then the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 has come out and has just outclassed everything. It has thusfar dominated every review it's been in, and is also getting unbelievable customer reviews.

[Ideo]

I agreed mate. The RE050A are pretty average for a performance tyre at best.
But that's no surprise. All the tyre round-ups have concluded the same....

We've been discussing this over in the wheels & suspension subforum. But it used to be a competition between the Michelin PS3's, Continental ContiSportContact 5P's (suitable for 19" R wheels, but not 18" R wheels) and Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric.

But then the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 has come out and has just outclassed everything. It has thusfar dominated every review it's been in, and is also getting unbelievable customer reviews.

I didn’t even know there was a wheels and tyre subforum. Whoops. I had Goodyear Eagle F1 Asyms on my last car (first generation ones) and they were without a doubt the best tyre I have ever had – replaced P zero, which replaced Yoko Advans. Very good grip and above all feedback – the asyms are a very progressive tyre and let you feel a lot more about what is going on. Good to hear the second gen are getting good reviews as it is what I am considering replacing them with.

Not surprised that the Bridgestone get average reviews. They aren't a bad tyre. They are just not a good tyre either.

[triode12]

I didn’t even know there was a wheels and tyre subforum. Whoops. I had Goodyear Eagle F1 Asyms on my last car (first generation ones) and they were without a doubt the best tyre I have ever had – replaced P zero, which replaced Yoko Advans. Very good grip and above all feedback – the asyms are a very progressive tyre and let you feel a lot more about what is going on. Good to hear the second gen are getting good reviews as it is what I am considering replacing them with.

Not surprised that the Bridgestone get average reviews. They aren't a bad tyre. They are just not a good tyre either.

Which model of P-zeros did they replace? Neros, Rossos or just plain P-zeros?

[Rosey456]

RE-050....average at best
Very funny. And you are a moderator. Don't give up your day job & don't give up your posts. Make me laugh.

[Ideo]

Rosso.

Good the order the wrong way round. The Advans replaced them as the car came with the Pirelli tyres on it, about 1/3rd worn so maybe not fair to judge. Found it to have a lot of movement in the sidewall.

The advans were a great tyre but wore very quickly which is the trade off you expect I guess.

[Ideo]

RE-050....average at best
Very funny. And you are a moderator. Don't give up your day job & don't give up your posts. Make me laugh.

They are. An average high performance tyre. OK, but nothing amazing about them in the slightest. Plenty of better options out there.

The previous gen F1 Asyms wipe the floor with them. So does the PS3.

[triode12]

Rosso.

Good the order the wrong way round. The Advans replaced them as the car came with the Pirelli tyres on it, about 1/3rd worn so maybe not fair to judge. Found it to have a lot of movement in the sidewall.

The advans were a great tyre but wore very quickly which is the trade off you expect I guess.

The Rossos aren't very good apparently. I really like my P-zero Assymeticos. Super sticky.

[Corey_R]

RE-050....average at best
Very funny. And you are a moderator. Don't give up your day job & don't give up your posts. Make me laugh.

Bridgestone S001, better model than RE050, 7th out of 9 - Evo Magazine
Bridgestone RE050A, 9th out of 11 - Auto Express
Bridgestone S001 - 6th out of 10 - Autobild
Bridgestone RE050, 8th out of 9, Auto Review

So I think my comment of "average at best" is not only fair, but accurate.
How about you keep your "moderator" and "day job" comments to yourself.
Cheers

[Ideo]

The Rossos aren't very good apparently. I really like my P-zero Assymeticos. Super sticky.

Ahh, ok. Makes sense - have a friend with them who is a fan as well. I prefer something sticky rather than something long wearing. And you're right. The Rosso really aren't very good and are not worth the money that people pay.

I think that Pirelli make an ongoing mistake in doing everything as "P-zero" when it covers everything from not very good to really quite good.

[Rosey456]

Where a tyre finishes in a performance test is irrelevant. (assuming major brands, not the unknown ones that sometimes pop up in a test)
As a tyre the RE-050/RE-050A are excellent. They may not be the "best" tyre available but they are very good none the less. HSV dont put them on their cars because they are "average"
Ferrari, Porsche and im sure may others have them fitted as standard equipment (yes I know they use other tyres as well) but depending on the intended market, they are used. If they were "average at best" then I am sure Ferrari & Porsche would not have them fitted to their cars.
If talking about street use then any of the top tyres will be way more than adequate. If for the race track......thats a different matter. But street tyres on the track end up having the blocks distorted and severe feathering as well as. One good track day and they are more or less turned into swings. So in saying that when on the track you really need track tyres as that is what they are intended for.
As for the Moderator crack...sorry about that!

[Ideo]

Where a tyre finishes in a performance test is irrelevant. (assuming major brands, not the unknown ones that sometimes pop up in a test)
As a tyre the RE-050/RE-050A are excellent. They may not be the "best" tyre available but they are very good none the less. HSV dont put them on their cars because they are "average"
Ferrari, Porsche and im sure may others have them fitted as standard equipment (yes I know they use other tyres as well) but depending on the intended market, they are used. If they were "average at best" then I am sure Ferrari & Porsche would not have them fitted to their cars.
If talking about street use then any of the top tyres will be way more than adequate. If for the race track......thats a different matter. But street tyres on the track end up having the blocks distorted and severe feathering as well as. One good track day and they are more or less turned into swings. So in saying that when on the track you really need track tyres as that is what they are intended for.
As for the Moderator crack...sorry about that!

Ummmm, I think you are overlooking something there. It is relevant where the tyre comes in tests when compared against competitors. Especially in objective tests such as rolling resistance, stopping distance and cornering ability. The Bridgestone is not cutting edge. It is average. Better than Nangkang or Linglong but not as good as the best tyres available. And for the money they ask I would expect a better performing tyre. Simple as that. And, as a result, they cannot be considered excellent. They are simply average in their class. Excellent tends to indicate top one or two, not the bottom end of the middle. That tends to mean average to just below average. Unless there is some other, less commonly accepted scale that you work off?

As for being OEM fit. Meaningless. Bose stereos are OEM fit in a lot of cars and as a rule they are distinctly average and you can get a lot better performance for the same money from different manufacturers. I will change as soon as I can justify it in terms of the amount of life they have left in them. And they will not be going back on a car I own. Because they are average tyres that are outperformed by equivalent priced tyres. Making them far removed from being excellent.

[Rosey456]

A few questions:
1)What tyres do they fit as standard to the R?
2)What tyres do they fit as standard to the Golf GTI?
3)What tyres do they fit as standard to the Polo GTI?

[Ideo]

1) depends on wheel options
2) depends on wheel options
3) depends on wheel options.

Aer you such a blind brand loyalist that you go OMG VW FITS IT IT MUST RULEZZZZ!!!!111!!!?