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Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Exonian on 23 February 2017, 15:16
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Since the appearance of the MQB platform a lot of UK spec models have had Bridgestones fitted and they seem to be universally damned by just about everybody on the mk7 forums.
I'll assume they're probably specced by VW UK for a reason as Euro market cars seem to come with different rubber going by the sets you see for sale on eBay.
I must admit that when I got my R I was filled with dread at the prospect of Bridgestones due to the unparalleled hate for them on forums.
I drove home on them and didn't fall off the road so it got me wondering.
Admittedly I had a set of 19's in the garage waiting to go on and being as I'm a tart I didn't wait too long before the 18's were wrapped up and chucked in a dark corner (after a brief spell running spacers and 18's whilst running in) then the 19's were fitted and the world was a happy place.
A mate of mine had an R32 and needed new tyres. I'd seen a member selling a set of mint Bridgestones on here so pointed him in that direction and he bought them. It wasn't quite that simple initially, as said friend had also read the internet and was scared of the S001's too. But money talks so he bought the demonised round black things and lo and behold he is still alive and well, as is his car. And believe me this friend does like to enjoy his motoring to the full!
A thread on another forum recently got me wondering again - what's actually so bad about them?
Yep, they're a bit noisy when motorway cruising admittedly but...
Back in January I had a back to back run out in both a GTD and GTI and whilst I can't remember what rubber the GTI was wearing I did note the GTD was on the dreaded make and neither car felt much difference in the ride and handling department on some very familiar fast roads.
Then there's the lady down the road from me with the 66 plate GTD with S001's - she seems to come home alive every night.
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Too hard is the problem. At low temps they are just too hard to ever get to a decent working temp.
You see the problem manifest as tramping in GTI/GTD's, not slipping off on corners really - but you have to wonder if they do have compromised lateral grip too.
Problem largely goes away with some different rubber.
I am guessing that because of Germany's winter tyre laws they don't see it as a problem in specing these as OEM.
On the plus side, they do last a long time, especially on the rear!
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Well answered.
That takes care of the front drivers.
R owners - why do you hate them?
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I did wonder if they were more CO2 friendly than others
On the R they are just too hard as well with under steer and to me not a sporty tyre, similar experience with them on the Polo
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It could be CO2...i guess harder rubber is less rolling resistance. Never thought of that, but certainly VW will have...
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I've defended them in the past, and accused people who hate them, of being arseholes who drive like fools :whistle:
I've recently had to eat my words and that really sticks in my craw.
On 2 occasions I've attempted to make, how should I say, a spirited start from the lights and on both occasions I've simply spun my wheels uselessly whilst edging forward at about 3 mph :sad:
The road was a bit greasy on both occasions and there was just no traction whatsoever.
They aren't very good for sharp acceleration on anything but dry roads imo.
They will last forever, which is why I'm keeping them 'cos I'm canny :grin:
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Funnily enough low rolling resistance was something I edited out of my first post when mentioning UK vs Euro spec tyres.
Being as the sunroof and Santiagos can't be specced together due to apparent CO2 banding reasons that's what got me wondering if they fitted them to GTD's for this reason. My PP had Contis as standard and it has been in the back of my mind that the S001's are fitted for emissions or MPG reasons.
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Anything under 8c the car understeers like mad ,just swapped mine out after 17k for some PS4 & the difference is night and day.
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I've defended them in the past, and accused people who hate them, of being arseholes who drive like fools :whistle:
I've recently had to eat my words and that really sticks in my craw.
On 2 occasions I've attempted to make, how should I say, a spirited start from the lights and on both occasions I've simply spun my wheels uselessly whilst edging forward at about 3 mph :sad:
The road was a bit greasy on both occasions and there was just no traction whatsoever.
They aren't very good for sharp acceleration on anything but dry roads imo.
They will last forever, which is why I'm keeping them 'cos I'm canny :grin:
Unfortunately my PP with Conti 2s then 3s also spun the same way. If the front wheels are pointing dead straight ahead the diff does nowt and I managed to embarrass myself by being greased by a 4wd Diesel Audi barge :embarrassed:
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I'm on my second R, nothing wrong at all with Bridgestones for sensible road use, I find they stick like glue whilst I've put my car through its paces on tight roundabouts, no slip, no squeal, no under steer. Many drivers who have had no instruction since taking the driving test complain and it is their driving style and lack of knowledge that is to blame. :evil:
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I've defended them in the past, and accused people who hate them, of being arseholes who drive like fools :whistle:
I've recently had to eat my words and that really sticks in my craw.
On 2 occasions I've attempted to make, how should I say, a spirited start from the lights and on both occasions I've simply spun my wheels uselessly whilst edging forward at about 3 mph :sad:
The road was a bit greasy on both occasions and there was just no traction whatsoever.
They aren't very good for sharp acceleration on anything but dry roads imo.
They will last forever, which is why I'm keeping them 'cos I'm canny :grin:
Unfortunately my PP with Conti 2s then 3s also spun the same way. If the front wheels are pointing dead straight ahead the diff does nowt and I managed to embarrass myself by being greased by a 4wd Diesel Audi barge :embarrassed:
I seem to make a dick of myself on a regular basis since I passed 50 :embarrassed:
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I'm on my second R, nothing wrong at all with Bridgestones for sensible road use, I find they stick like glue whilst I've put my car through its paces on tight roundabouts, no slip, no squeal, no under steer. Many drivers who have had no instruction since taking the driving test complain and it is their driving style and lack of knowledge that is to blame. :evil:
Have you driven a FWD GTI or GTD fitted with them?
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In theory XDS (common on all Mk7's) should fix the problem, but it doesn't.
My experience with other tyre makes is that its definitely better, but depending on the tyre make some are better than others - it can still spin up but you are talking about GTI/GTD's having a lot of torque for a light FWD car. Best I've had were Pilot Sports.
Re the sunroof and 19's - yes I'd say that this is too eliminate another set of CO2 figures that need testing. Sun roofs add drag because of the seals disrupting air flow and are heavier than the steel roof. 19's are heavier which is why they add to the figures.
I'd guess that the official figures are probably harmonised for different optional extras, but some combinations just add too much to be allowed.
Eg adding a tow bar, leather seats, a dog guard etc will increase the weight over basic spec. Maybe its just sunroofs and wheels that are particularly noted by the test parameters.
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I'm on my second R, nothing wrong at all with Bridgestones for sensible road use, I find they stick like glue whilst I've put my car through its paces on tight roundabouts, no slip, no squeal, no under steer. Many drivers who have had no instruction since taking the driving test complain and it is their driving style and lack of knowledge that is to blame. :evil:
Or it could be you driving like an oap maybe?
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Problem with Bridgestones is that their grip is sh!te and they wear off too quick. Also wheel spin especially when trying a spirited start and road noise. With Michelins PSS all these issues go away. They last longer as well.
Bridgestone make good tyres but unfortunately not the S100 model that comes from factory on Golfs.
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I've got them on my pp gti and up till now they've been a good tyre. Yes a bit noisy but I've managed to pull out into traffic safely without killing myself or others and they also have good grip too. This might be controversial but people complaining about spinning wheels when trying to nip into gaps etc and pulling away from lights aren't driving sensibly or safely. Do you honestly think if these tyres were dangerous they would be sold??
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I'm on my second R, nothing wrong at all with Bridgestones for sensible road use, I find they stick like glue whilst I've put my car through its paces on tight roundabouts, no slip, no squeal, no under steer. Many drivers who have had no instruction since taking the driving test complain and it is their driving style and lack of knowledge that is to blame. :evil:
Or it could be you driving like an oap maybe?
What driver training have you taken since passing your test?
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I managed 23.5k miles from my original fit bridgestones, I rotated them ever 5k so they wore down pretty evenly and they were replaced at about 2mm of tread.
They have been replaced with michelin pilot sport 4 a couple of weeks ago and they are better in every way, wheelspin is minimal, noise is reduced and it's a lot better in the corners. They probably won't last as long but I'm happy with them so far.
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I'm on my second R, nothing wrong at all with Bridgestones for sensible road use, I find they stick like glue whilst I've put my car through its paces on tight roundabouts, no slip, no squeal, no under steer. Many drivers who have had no instruction since taking the driving test complain and it is their driving style and lack of knowledge that is to blame. :evil:
Or it could be you driving like an oap maybe?
What driver training have you taken since passing your test?
Driver training on a road, none.
Driver training on a track, a fair bit combined with appropriately 3-4k of track driving. What training have you had? I bow down to your superior driving.
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I've got them on my pp gti and up till now they've been a good tyre. Yes a bit noisy but I've managed to pull out into traffic safely without killing myself or others and they also have good grip too. This might be controversial but people complaining about spinning wheels when trying to nip into gaps etc and pulling away from lights aren't driving sensibly or safely. Do you honestly think if these tyres were dangerous they would be sold??
I kind of agree with you but :laugh: when I had the GTD, certain large roundabouts would produce understeer if there was the slightest bit of damp. I'm not talking about going at ridiculous speeds but certainly in a brisk manner.
In the exact same conditions driving my daughters Clio or sons Swift I wouldn't get any understeer. Now that could just be different cars but why would the performance Golf be so poor compared to them?
I persevered with the tyres and only swapped them to Michelin PS3's when they had worn out. It was then night and day. I still got the odd understeer and tramping but nowhere near to the same extent.
To answer your question "Do you honestly think if these tyres were dangerous they would be sold" If you are just driving a family hatchback in a family hatchback type of way then they are absolutely fine.
However on one of the performance Golfs they aren't up to the job.
I always remember when I first got the GTD and there was loads of comments on here about Bridgestones tramping and understeer and at that point I hadn't experienced any so said as much. One of the replies was "I wasn't driving it correctly" and they were right enough :grin: :grin:
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I'm on my second R, nothing wrong at all with Bridgestones for sensible road use, I find they stick like glue whilst I've put my car through its paces on tight roundabouts, no slip, no squeal, no under steer. Many drivers who have had no instruction since taking the driving test complain and it is their driving style and lack of knowledge that is to blame. :evil:
Or it could be you driving like an oap maybe?
What driver training have you taken since passing your test?
Driver training on a road, none.
Driver training on a track, a fair bit combined with appropriately 3-4k of track driving. What training have you had? I bow down to your superior driving.
About 8 weeks in total on road training paid for by HM, a further 40 hours paid for by myself. Track experience zero as there was never a necessity to do so.
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For daily driving in a sensible manner, they are absolutely fine.
For hard acceleration from a standing start in the wet, they are quite poor. End of story.
All this sh!te about driving training and experience is laughable.
We all see taxi drivers and truck drivers, who drive for a living, doing the most ridiculous things behind the wheel.
Not because of any lack of ability, but because people in general can do stupid things.
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Your offensive language is typical of anyone who has failed to recognise that their driving can be improved, almost every driver on the road believes that they are a good driver and yet have sought no professional instruction since passing their test. Also it is possible to get your point across without causing offence unless your vocabulary is limited.
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Your offensive language is typical of anyone who has failed to recognise that their driving can be improved, almost every driver on the road believes that they are a good driver and yet have sought no professional instruction since passing their test. Also it is possible to get your point across without causing offence unless your vocabulary is limited.
Wow, I now bow to both your driving expertise and education. Sorry in advance if I don't take your future posts seriously :whistle:
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Your offensive language is typical of anyone who has failed to recognise that their driving can be improved, almost every driver on the road believes that they are a good driver and yet have sought no professional instruction since passing their test. Also it is possible to get your point across without causing offence unless your vocabulary is limited.
Wow, I now bow to both your driving expertise and education. Sorry in advance if I don't take your future posts seriously :whistle:
Whilst I accept that I have a reasonable level of competence whilst driving, I have no educational qualifications whatsoever, experience in life has taught me that manners cost nothing and yet are worth a lot.
Do you enjoy fishing by any chance?
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Now now children!! :wink:
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Now now children!! :wink:
I will make my own comparison after I pick my car up next Wednesday. I have driven a GTD with 19" wheels and Pirelli tyres over a total of nearly 3 weeks and 1500 miles so I have a good idea how the car drives with them.
Another good way of testing a tyre is to hit the brakes hard and see not just how quick it stops but also how often the abs kicks in, the more it kicks in the less grip the tyres have. If I don't like them then I will put these on (http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj564/Noghtblue-GTD/IMG_0133_zpszruhci7u.jpg) (http://s1268.photobucket.com/user/Noghtblue-GTD/media/IMG_0133_zpszruhci7u.jpg.html)
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Your offensive language is typical of anyone who has failed to recognise that their driving can be improved, almost every driver on the road believes that they are a good driver and yet have sought no professional instruction since passing their test. Also it is possible to get your point across without causing offence unless your vocabulary is limited.
Wow, I now bow to both your driving expertise and education. Sorry in advance if I don't take your future posts seriously :whistle:
I think the offensive language comment was aimed at me :laugh:
falconmick, take that stick out of your backside and relax a bit.
If I'd known we had a mixture of Mary Whitehouse and Nigel Mansell on the forum, I'd have minded my P's and Q's a bit more :rolleyes:
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I do not recall making any offensive post whatsoever, merely taking exception to others who cannot express themself with being offensive. It was good while it lasted, I'll get my coat. :whistle:
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Another good way of testing a tyre is to hit the brakes hard and see not just how quick it stops but also how often the abs kicks in, the more it kicks in the less grip the tyres have.
I'm not sure that's a recommendation I would use to assess the overall ability of a tyre... how about lateral grip.
I have reasonably extensive experience of these tyres on a BMW 120d. They are more sensitive to temperature than almost any other road tyre I have experienced. With the BMW if it was cool, even on cool spring/autumn mornings, if you were not careful it was very easy to spin up the rears for the first few miles and the steering felt fairly wooden for longer. If it was warm or you got the tyres up to temperature there were no issues. In the wet, generating temperature, especially if it it cool/cold either never happens or takes a long time. Two likely suspects, firstly compound and secondly stiffness of the sidewalls. The sidewall stiffness effects the warmup because there is much less sidewall flex.
There is a potential positive, once warm the stiff sidewalls can give a more precise steering feel on ititial turn-in, tyres with softer side walls e.g. Goodyear Asymmetric (I'm not saying that these are bad tyres but have a different construction) to me tend to feel a little less precise on initial turn in... Of course, the downside of this on a front wheel drive car would be the lack of temperature in the rears.
Back to the Bridgestones, they are at least adequate and better than reasonable in warm weather. I'm sure that, if I bought a new car with them on, I wouldn't go out immediately and replace them but I would change to something with a wider operating range when the time to change them came along. In the meantime I would learn their limitations and attempt to dive accordingly...
I have a Jaguar 5.0 XKR with Michelin Pilot SuperSports all round... widely regarded as a very good tyre... but for the first few miles - until they have a bit of temperature - if you're not careful... the rears will spin up with (including lots of popping and banging as the traction control cuts in) only light application of the throttle... I just (try) drive accordingly...
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Another good way of testing a tyre is to hit the brakes hard and see not just how quick it stops but also how often the abs kicks in, the more it kicks in the less grip the tyres have.
I'm not sure that's a recommendation I would use to assess the overall ability of a tyre... how about lateral grip.
I have reasonably extensive experience of these tyres on a BMW 120d. They are more sensitive to temperature than almost any other road tyre I have experienced. With the BMW if it was cool, even on cool spring/autumn mornings, if you were not careful it was very easy to spin up the rears for the first few miles and the steering felt fairly wooden for longer. If it was warm or you got the tyres up to temperature there were no issues. In the wet, generating temperature, especially if it it cool/cold either never happens or takes a long time. Two likely suspects, firstly compound and secondly stiffness of the sidewalls. The sidewall stiffness effects the warmup because there is much less sidewall flex.
There is a potential positive, once warm the stiff sidewalls can give a more precise steering feel on ititial turn-in, tyres with softer side walls e.g. Goodyear Asymmetric (I'm not saying that these are bad tyres but have a different construction) to me tend to feel a little less precise on initial turn in... Of course, the downside of this on a front wheel drive car would be the lack of temperature in the rears.
Back to the Bridgestones, they are at least adequate and better than reasonable in warm weather. I'm sure that, if I bought a new car with them on, I wouldn't go out immediately and replace them but I would change to something with a wider operating range when the time to change them came along. In the meantime I would learn their limitations and attempt to dive accordingly...
I have a Jaguar 5.0 XKR with Michelin Pilot SuperSports all round... widely regarded as a very good tyre... but for the first few miles - until they have a bit of temperature - if you're not careful... the rears will spin up with (including lots of popping and banging as the traction control cuts in) only light application of the throttle... I just (try) drive accordingly...
I didn't say it was the only way of testing a tyre. I will ask this though, if a child ran out in front of your car which would you rather the car have tyres best suited for, lateral grip or stopping grip? I know which I would prefer the driver to have. For normal driving the latter would also be best.
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Well after a few days with the car with bridgestones I can see why people don't like them. They are so noisy compared to the Pirelli tyres on the other GTD
Grip wise I'm sure they are fine on an non performance golf. I tried hitting the brakes hard and the amount of times the abs kicked in was a surprise considering I wasn't expecting them to be that good. Where I noticed them the most was accelerating while turning, anything much more than half throttle in 2nd gear they will just break traction.
It is quite easy to drive the car without the wheels spinning by using less power but it I was prepared to do that then why not just buy a slower car. I like to be able to use the power in a car when it is needed on the odd occasion. I'm not into traffic light drag races but trying a quick getaway with the bridgestones is not fun. I'm sure the axle tramp could be helped with a dogbone bush but they will cause a fair bit of vibration in a diesel.
If I decide to keep the standard wheel on the car then I will definitely be getting some Michelin tyres.
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I'm hoping that the facelift GTI PP does not come with Bridgestones. If it does, I will have to give them a try. However, I would seriously consider replacing the front tyres ASAP with PS4s. After all the front tyres are responsible for all of the traction, most of the cornering and most of the braking.
New tyres might be the best performance upgrade available!
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I'm hoping that the facelift GTI PP does not come with Bridgestones.
I suspect it'll still be one of the tyre brands that VW will use on performance Golfs. VW will no doubt have negotiated with Bridgestone a 'good price' for supplying tyres for whatever the duration of the contract is that VW have with Bridgestone. If VW can get cheap tyres from Bridgestone, then they'll no doubt continue to use them.
I've had new 'warm' or 'hot' VW's since 2002 and they've all come from the factory with Bridgestones.
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I'm sure the axle tramp could be helped with a dogbone bush but they will cause a fair bit of vibration in a diesel.
No, you don't want to do that on an oil burner!!!
On the GTI, no problem, although then your overall ride starts to become "sub premium"
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You might end up with Hankooks on the facelift as they already supply other golfs and Audi's. I've just had a noisy front wheel bearing replaced last week and now that the noise is back to normal I'm now hearing how noisy the Bridgestones are.
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You might end up with Hankooks on the facelift as they already supply other golfs and Audi's. I've just had a noisy front wheel bearing replaced last week and now that the noise is back to normal I'm now hearing how noisy the Bridgestones are.
What are hankooks like, I'd hope they are better than the bridgestones. I haven't driven the car in the wet yet, I'm sure they will be interesting when I do
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Once warmed up the Bridgestones are a good tyre but it's getting then warm in the first place that's an issue for everyday use.
By all accounts the Hankooks don't seem to be a bad tyre but I'm sure some people will get a bit sniffy as they aren't a premium brand, whatever difference that makes :whistle:
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Once warmed up the Bridgestones are a good tyre but it's getting then warm in the first place that's an issue for everyday use.
By all accounts the Hankooks don't seem to be a bad tyre but I'm sure some people will get a bit sniffy as they aren't a premium brand, whatever difference that makes :whistle:
Just do a few wheelspins and zig zag down the road to get some heat into them! :whistle:
Hankooks are used by Audi quite a bit and also MINI JCW so won't be too terrible. In fact quite the reverse. I do have a set in the garage that I've not used yet so can't report on progress :rolleyes:
When nosing through the row of cars awaiting delivery in a VW dealer last summer there was a whole line of UP!'s all wearing natty Hankooks (I think that's what they were) with a dainty little flower logo on the sidewall
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Just had one rear Tyre replaced on the R due to a puncture and I spoke to the Tyre fit guy and he chuckled when I told him how poor the Bridgestones grip was in my old GTD and now in the R as he has heard the same story from his friends who have golfs and from other customers running with Bridgestones. Its not as bad in the R as it was in the GTD but pulling away and cornering does limit how much throttle you can use compared to full power I was able to put down once I had Conti 5s fitted (on the GTD) replacing the Bridgestones.
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Ok, so after yet another Bridgestone thread are we done on this subject?
Is there actually anyone who won't accept a bad word about them on a Mk7? I mean F1 used Bridgestones didn't they ;-)
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I don't have the issue with excessive tyre noise that other members complain about but I've not experienced driving a Golf with any other make of tyre.
For the type of driving I do, they are absolutely fine 99% of the time, so I won't be wasting £400 changing them any time soon.
My car is almost 12 months old and I have only done 3750 miles so I think I will have these tyres for another 10 years :laugh:
If I was changing them I imagine I would be buying PS4's .
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Ok, so after yet another Bridgestone thread are we done on this subject?
Is there actually anyone who won't accept a bad word about them on a Mk7? I mean F1 used Bridgestones didn't they ;-)
What has bridgestone making tyres for F1 in the past got to do with it?