Bridgestone S002 = death trap!

[cheets7]

Hi all,
Had my gti a year now and I have to say the tyres the car came with are just dangerous in any other weather than dry! The GTi's could not have been originally tested with these tyres and passed fit for purpose. Who feels the same?

[JBirchy]

Me!

Can't stand them (assuming you mean S001?) I've got Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 Winters on mine at the moment and the difference is remarkable. Even on the winters, the dry grip is miles better, as is road noise and ride comfort (which I didn't expect).

[monkeyhanger]

Yes, they're sh!te. I emailed VW Germany who thanked me for the time taken to tell them about the tyres (I was aiming to get a flag put on my R order so it wouldn't have Bridgestones fitted), but said I was not within their geographical remit and passed me onto VW UK.

The VW UK representative rang me and we discussed why they were bad, and asked why a car (GTD) that supposedly has an "anti-tramping feature" in it's list of equipment is still able to tramp readily because it has Bridgestones on. She said there was nothing she could do about it, but can pass the feedback on to the factory and if they get enough complaints then they'd have to look into it.

So go ahead people - moan through the official channels and by the time the MK8 is out we might be getting somewhere with this issue.

[Mr Savage]

They are AWFUL. They seem worse than ever so far this winter. Obviously they've had more wear than they had last year but seriously they are unfit for purpose...

Putting my foot down (not even all the way down, just half throttle) in any gear on any slightly moist road even when it's not raining causes my traction control light to illuminate my dash board and the car to violently pull to one side.

I was thinking today how ridiculous these tyres actually are, earlier I was driving in 5th at 40mph. Needed to overtake so paddle shifted down 2 gears and accelerated in 3rd, car starts squirming and traction control performing a light show in the cabin of my car.

Pathetic tyres. I'm changing them even with 7mm left on the backs. Putting my Continental Winter Contact tyres on this weekend, which I know will actually beable to manage the GTI's torque.

[monkeyhanger]

As I already said, we'll get no-where if we all be British about it and not moan. Get onto VW UK and moan!

So go ahead people - moan through the official channels and by the time the MK8 is out we might be getting somewhere with this issue.

[cheets7]

Calling VW first thing and going to push this until they replace them! Wish me luck!

[peterdoherty]

Calling VW first thing and going to push this until they replace them! Wish me luck!

After having them on for a year?
I wouldnt waste my time.

If only delivered and didnt get a massive discount there may be the slight possibility that a dealer may replace to sweeten the final deal but not after they've had a years use.

[monkeyhanger]

Calling VW first thing and going to push this until they replace them! Wish me luck!

After having them on for a year?
I wouldnt waste my time.

If only delivered and didnt get a massive discount there may be the slight possibility that a dealer may replace to sweeten the final deal but not after they've had a years use.

Agree with that sentiment. They did nowt for me but advise that if enough people moan about the tyres, they'll have to listen and consider what we're saying. They're not going to give you a new set of tyres after a year of putting up with them, especially if you're only moaning to them about the tyres now. If we an get 10+ people saying that Bridgestones are sh!te then they might have to listen. I wonder whether German GTI/GTD/Rs are specifically not shod with Bridgestones?

I know from experience that the Germans are second only to the Finns in moaning (I work in technical complaints for a pharmaceutical company and those 2 nationalities moan way more than the average market share (4% of what we make goes to Germany yet they account for 28% of our complaints, the vast majority of which are unjustified). I'd have to assume they wouldn't hold back on moaning about sh!te tyres and if there was anything getting done about it because their voice was heard, they'd have done it already.

[Mark V GTD]

Tyres seem to come in batches and vary from time to time - my GTD (late Feb/early March 2014 manufacture) came with Continentals- to my relief.....

[Chief1337]

Where you are putting on winter types, I assume you are changing the wheels as well?

Although not a winter tyre, I was wondering how much of an improvement the Conti Sport 5 would be over the Bridgestones in the kind of weather we've had recently?