Bridgestone Tyres

[matchboy]

The Dunlops I've had in the past were hands down the worst tyre ever.  Utter sh!te, please don't put them on your GTI's!!

[monkeyhanger]

Very tempted to fit 2 Michelins to the fronts. I know I will be with these sh!tty Bridgestones a very long time (save for punctures) as they were extremely hard wearing on my MK5 GT Sport TDI170.

Not really worried that  Bridgestones on the back would slide much, but change in pace for the driven wheels sees a lot of spin in 1st, 2nd and even on occasion in 3rd.

[corgi]

Very tempted to fit 2 Michelins to the fronts. I know I will be with these sh!tty Bridgestones a very long time (save for punctures) as they were extremely hard wearing on my MK5 GT Sport TDI170.

Not really worried that  Bridgestones on the back would slide much, but change in pace for the driven wheels sees a lot of spin in 1st, 2nd and even on occasion in 3rd.

I don't like running different makes of tyre front to rear... I know its not illegal, but...

If were changing them I would change all four...

I've found the Bridgestones aren reasonable from a grip perspective if you can get some heat into them (this is experience from the girlfriend's 120d M-Sport) which in the wet is an issue but in the dry, when it is cold it just takes some time. They lack grip when stone cold and until they're properly warm the fronts are numb - giving no steering feel which I hate. They're not the best in the wet, although they are consistent.

We did nearly 1000 miles in the 1er between Christmas and New Year on the way up to and then in and around Northumberland - it was like going back to my childhood when we lived in Jesmond and then Cullercoats and used to head out to various parts of the county at weekends - so I developed a good understanding of the Bridgestones...

I don't like them but they are not so bad I that would spend my own money replacing them before I'd seen plenty of value out of them...I'm glad my GTD came with Continentals

[legin]

For those considering conti I found on my audi s3 that conti 2 was the worst grip premium tyre I ever experienced truly shockingly bad but the conti 3 and conti 5 I ran one of the very best. Really couldn't believe they are related. I also tried Goodyear assy2 but found it soft in the dry and pretty good in the wet.  A friend tried conti 5 on his Vectra vxr and agrees its the best wet grip road tyre he has ever experienced. I would but either Michelin or conti 5 as replacements.

[Red Tornado]

Currently waiting delivery of my Mk VII GTi on 18s, so I presume it'll come on either the Bridgestones or Conti SC2s (I wonder why they're not coming on the more up to date Conti SC3s or even SC5s?).  To clarify, I presume the Bridgestones mentioned so far are the Potenza S001s (rather than RE050As)? 

I currently have Goodyear Eagle Assm2s on my Mk VI and have found them to be a brilliant tyre, great wet and dry grip but with a reasonable ride comfort and wear (nearly 15000 on fronts with 3mm tread left, rears like new).

[monkeyhanger]

Currently waiting delivery of my Mk VII GTi on 18s, so I presume it'll come on either the Bridgestones or Conti SC2s (I wonder why they're not coming on the more up to date Conti SC3s or even SC5s?).  To clarify, I presume the Bridgestones mentioned so far are the Potenza S001s (rather than RE050As)? 

Money is all it comes down to - old pattern tyres end up coming a lot cheaper than the newer ones for VW buying them in bulk and my Bridgestones are Potenza S001s. Presumably the "S" stands for "sh!te" or "slippy" rather than "sport". 

[Mk1Macca]

Just got my beautiful new GTD home and an happy to say it has contis, not Bridgestone. Will confirm exactly what after lunch

[monkeyhanger]

Some interesting ratings of tyres for fuel economy, wet rating and noise on the AA’s own website for buying tyres. On paper it would seem as though Bridgestones are better than average for wet rating and average for fuel economy for this size of tyre. I do have to wonder what testing criteria is used e.g. could 2 tyres rated “B” for wet performance vary greatly between summer wet performance and winter wet performance, or 2 x B rated tyres be quite different like one just missed out on an A rating and the other was almost a C?

Also I saw on 2 slightly different variants of Conti Sport Contact 5 (they seemed the same except for £3 difference in price – both Y speed and 92 load 225/45 R18s) – Both were rated B for wet and 72Db for noise, but 1 was “C” for fuel economy (best economy rating I could find for GTI/GTD sized tyres) and the other was rated “E”. Listed below with Energy rating, then wet rating, then noise rating:-

Conti Sport Contact 5 = C B 72 £125 fitted (Benfield)
Michelin Pilot Sport 3 = E A 71 £120 fitted (Costco + £40 fuel card per pair)
Bridgestone Potenza S001 = E B 73 £118 fitted (Benfield)
Dunlop Sport Maxx = E B 68 £112 fitted (AA)
Pirelli P Zero = F B 72 £118 fitted (AA)
Goodyear Eagle F1 ASY2 = C A 70 £122 fitted (AA)
Uniroyal Rainsport 3 = C A 72 £146 fitted (AA)

Seems that C is best economy you can expect in this class of tyre, there are a good few with A for wet rating, but only 2 with C economy rating and A wet grip, the Goodyears and the Uniroyals (being a good £24 more per corner than the Goodyears).

Surprised at some of the results for grip – Bridgestones rated B, they are massively less grippy in the wet than the Dunlops I had on my 1st Scirocco (which were fine except their fragility with potholes).

Not sure what the wear is like on the Goodyears, but I have always found the Michelins to wear well and grip is impeccable even if the fuel rating appears to be average (I doubt there’s more than 2% between C and E energy ratings when it is claimed that a full set of 4 x A can be 7.5% more efficient than a set of 4 x G).

Some good prices available fully fitted on the AA website, but it’s nominated fitment, so you might end up with a bunch of monkeys with crowbars to remove your tyres if you pick the wrong fitting place.

[GTI-7-Performance]

These grumbles about Bridgestones, which specific tyre is the problem?

My GTi came with 18" Austins shod with Potenza s001 s. These are fitted to the likes of Aston Martins and Ferraris. I haven't driven on them yet as I have the 17" winter wheels on using Conti WinterContacts.

It will be interesting to see the difference come spring...

[corgi]

My GTi came with 18" Austins shod with Potenza s001 s. These are fitted to the likes of Aston Martins and Ferraris.

Yup, those are the ones in question.

Who cares if they're fitted to Astons or Ferraris - they're different fitments (and maybe specific construction/compounds for them) - the fact is that, as described and for fitment to the Golf GTD, they seem to have their limitations...