Tyres and Anti-Tramp!?

[SRGTD]

My experience of Bridgestone tyres comes from my ownership of a Honda S2000.  Bridgestone developed tyres especially for the S2000, which is notoriously sensitive to tyre construction and wheel alignment. 

Honda designed the suspension to work with tyres with very stiff sidewalls, and all of the criticisms of Bridgestones in this and many other threads indicate that stiff sidewalls, or rather a lack of compliance in the tyre sidewalls is the cause of the apparent mismatch with the Golf suspension.

The only question is why did VW specify them as original equipment?

I dare say it’s primarily down to cost and the price that Bridgestone have agreed with VW to supply them with tyres. No doubt VW will have negotiated a very good price (for VW) with Bridgestone; 

- VW will be happy as they’ll have an ongoing supply of low cost ‘premium’ brand tyres - certainly not the best tyre, but they are still classed as a premium brand.

- Bridgestone will be happy to a supplier to one of the world’s largest motor manufacturers. They’ve had a contract with VW for many years; my first Golf back in 2002 was fitted with Bridgestones.

- The VW bean counters will be happy, as keeping supplier costs down means bigger profit margins for VW

So everyone’s happy...............apart from many of the customers whose car’s have been fitted with Bridgestones.

[kalimon]

Has there ever been a more maligned tyre than the poor old Bridgestone
I'd personally love to swap mine out for some PS4's, but as they have only covered 6000 miles, they will be staying put

[mcmaddy]

Mine have got 10k on them and the rears are on 6mm still while the fronts are on 4mm. They've been an ok tyre and aren't as bad as many make out and I certainly can't see the point in binning them when new. If you don't drive like a complete a4se and wait until they warm up a little they aren't that bad. Would I buy them myself, no.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

My experience of Bridgestone tyres comes from my ownership of a Honda S2000.  Bridgestone developed tyres especially for the S2000, which is notoriously sensitive to tyre construction and wheel alignment. 

Honda designed the suspension to work with tyres with very stiff sidewalls, and all of the criticisms of Bridgestones in this and many other threads indicate that stiff sidewalls, or rather a lack of compliance in the tyre sidewalls is the cause of the apparent mismatch with the Golf suspension.

The only question is why did VW specify them as original equipment?

Which Bridgestone's did the S2000 have?

I remember that the code was 050, which is an evolution of the original 020, designed specifically for the S2000.

[fredgroves]

Whoever it was saying about letting the BS's warm up... But they don't on a cold wet day. You know, the sort of cold wet day that you get in the UK between about November and April.

As someone else said, in any other major market for the golf in Europe (ie Germany) they don't run these tyres over the cold season.

When it's warm they are OK, if a little noisier than other options.

The other factor is probably fuel economy, which is directly related to co2 emissions... That figure of course being important to Vw and to all of us because less co2 means less tax!

[kalimon]

Not sure about all this talk of them being a noisy tyre 
I can't hear them any more than I could hear the Conti's on my A3. Other tyres may well be quieter but there will not be much in it I'm sure.

[I wanted a GTi]

The other factor is probably fuel economy, which is directly related to co2 emissions... That figure of course being important to Vw and to all of us because less co2 means less tax!

Even more so now, hence the reason VW have increased the recommend tyre pressures now.

[I wanted a GTi]

Not sure about all this talk of them being a noisy tyre 
I can't hear them any more than I could hear the Conti's on my A3. Other tyres may well be quieter but there will not be much in it I'm sure.

That's two different cars though. Going from pretty much new Bridgestone's to the Michelin's I found the Michelin's much quieter but also smoother which also helps with noise reduction.

[itavaltalainen]

Whoever it was saying about letting the BS's warm up... But they don't on a cold wet day. You know, the sort of cold wet day that you get in the UK between about November and April.

As someone else said, in any other major market for the golf in Europe (ie Germany) they don't run these tyres over the cold season.

I think it was probably me who said these things.....
Personally I don't have an issue with the Bridgestones on my car, once they are up to temperature you can put your foot down hard, but then I am running Nokian WR A4 winter tyres between November and March

[Daz Auto]

Not sure about all this talk of them being a noisy tyre 
I can't hear them any more than I could hear the Conti's on my A3. Other tyres may well be quieter but there will not be much in it I'm sure.

On my Mk6 GTD, the Bridgestone tyres were very noisy. My wife noticed it also. At motor way speeds, we literally had to shout to be heard. When I replaced the OEM Bridgestone tyres with Good year AS2 tyres, they transformed the car. Not only quieter, but noticeably more comfort and better grip.

My wife has an A3. It was/is noticeably quieter than my old GTD and new GTI. I'm fairly certain that it is due to the tyres. When the GTD was on 16 inch winter tyres it was almost as quiet as the A3 on it's 16 inch tyres.

I have to confess that, during the summer, I didn't notice any problems with the Bridgestone tyres on my GTI. The only issue I noticed was that noise levels were back up. However, from my previous experience with Bridgestone tyres I was not prepared to take a chance on them again. I have had a few accidents were I realise that poor tyres were a contributing factor.

My GTI PP now has Michelin PS4 tyres. Now that it has turned wet and cold I am very impressed with the grip levels. Also, the car is noticeably more comfortable. Initially, I was disappointed with the noise levels. Especially at motorway speeds. However, it has improved a bit. (Or maybe I've just gotten used to it ). By comparison the A3, with it's 16inch tyres, is certainly a much quieter car.

I always give this site a look before deciding on our tyres - http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/