Bridgestone S002 = death trap!

[matchboy]

I've had no issues with the Bridgestones on my R, and I didn't get hardly any tramping on my GTI with them either - BUT - and its a big but - when the Bridgestones on my GTI starting wearing down to changing tyre time they became very very slippy in the wet - although there was tread left it was like there was none - I don't know if this is just something in general or a Bridgestone problem, but in all my years driving I've never known such a shift from decent grip to f7ck all grip in the wet.  Good fun though  but not the first time I noticed it as I went to go round a roundabout at speed and it started sliding around unexpectedly

[monkeyhanger]

I've had no issues with the Bridgestones on my R, and I didn't get hardly any tramping on my GTI with them either - BUT - and its a big but - when the Bridgestones on my GTI starting wearing down to changing tyre time they became very very slippy in the wet - although there was tread left it was like there was none - I don't know if this is just something in general or a Bridgestone problem, but in all my years driving I've never known such a shift from decent grip to f7ck all grip in the wet.  Good fun though  but not the first time I noticed it as I went to go round a roundabout at speed and it started sliding around unexpectedly

Mine were crap from the off on the GTD, even before the DTUK box, my Dad's GTD on Dunlops had no such issues and still don't even with the DTUK box on it, on a car with around 500Nm, and the Dunlops aren't that highly rated - his are well worn too, he'll be replacing them very shortly. The 4WD on the R will save you feeling how crap they are to a point, but you've got to wonder how much more surefooted the R would be really pushing it, on different rubber. Between here and the R forums, it seems a certainty that you'll get Bridgestones on the 19" Pretorias, and still quite likely on the 18"ers. It's a terrible situation to be in to be spending £25-30k on a performance car and then VW limiting it's potential with sh!te grip tyres. I will definitely consider swapping out immediately if mine turn up on the Bridgestones, up on Gumtree for £60-70 a pop.

[mcmaddy]

The Dunlop's on the gtds are good tyres but I know you had issues on your scirocco. They were 235 on the scirocco whereas they are only 225 on the golf which may help explain your side wall bulging.

[monkeyhanger]

The Dunlop's on the gtds are good tyres but I know you had issues on your scirocco. They were 235 on the scirocco whereas they are only 225 on the golf which may help explain your side wall bulging.

Yeah, my dad's had no issues with sidewall bulges. The roads were generally worse back then, but I was careful and still buggered 3 tyres in the first winter with my first Scirocco - it could be that, or could be that the 225s are more robust, they're certainly significantly cheaper.

[matchboy]

Mine were crap from the off on the GTD, even before the DTUK box, my Dad's GTD on Dunlops had no such issues and still don't even with the DTUK box on it, on a car with around 500Nm, and the Dunlops aren't that highly rated - his are well worn too, he'll be replacing them very shortly. The 4WD on the R will save you feeling how crap they are to a point, but you've got to wonder how much more surefooted the R would be really pushing it, on different rubber. Between here and the R forums, it seems a certainty that you'll get Bridgestones on the 19" Pretorias, and still quite likely on the 18"ers. It's a terrible situation to be in to be spending £25-30k on a performance car and then VW limiting it's potential with sh!te grip tyres. I will definitely consider swapping out immediately if mine turn up on the Bridgestones, up on Gumtree for £60-70 a pop.

I would have killed myself if either car had turned up on Dunlops - I hate them, worst tyre I've ever had.  I agree, it will be interesting to see how much more the R can do on tyres other than the Bridgestones - at the moment they don't seem to be an issue, but only time will tell.  Once I've burned through them I'll be putting on PS3's 

[corgi]

I've had no issues with the Bridgestones on my R, and I didn't get hardly any tramping on my GTI with them either - BUT - and its a big but - when the Bridgestones on my GTI starting wearing down to changing tyre time they became very very slippy in the wet - although there was tread left it was like there was none - I don't know if this is just something in general or a Bridgestone problem, but in all my years driving I've never known such a shift from decent grip to f7ck all grip in the wet.  Good fun though  but not the first time I noticed it as I went to go round a roundabout at speed and it started sliding around unexpectedly

They are patently not a great tyre for use in the UK but they are hardly a "death trap".

They are very temperature sensitive, more so than any other road tyre I've come across - and worse as they become worn because there is less block movement on worn tyres. In cold weather it can take some time to them up to temperature and in the wet it can be very difficult.

The other contributing factor is their relatively stiff sidewalls - sidewall flex generates heat, stiffer sidewalls = less flex. I imagine in warmer/dryer climes they are fine.

Some if this may be down to how the Golf uses them, the same tyres on my Integra Type R were fine... but the Integra was probably harder on the tyres and caused them to warm up faster...

I understand that they are not the best but claiming that they turn your car into a "death trap" is an exaggeration... I think that you're likely to get further on this by being rational not hysterical

[matchboy]

I've had no issues with the Bridgestones on my R, and I didn't get hardly any tramping on my GTI with them either - BUT - and its a big but - when the Bridgestones on my GTI starting wearing down to changing tyre time they became very very slippy in the wet - although there was tread left it was like there was none - I don't know if this is just something in general or a Bridgestone problem, but in all my years driving I've never known such a shift from decent grip to f7ck all grip in the wet.  Good fun though  but not the first time I noticed it as I went to go round a roundabout at speed and it started sliding around unexpectedly

They are patently not a great tyre for use in the UK but they are hardly a "death trap".

They are very temperature sensitive, more so than any other road tyre I've come across - and worse as they become worn because there is less block movement on worn tyres. In cold weather it can take some time to them up to temperature and in the wet it can be very difficult.

The other contributing factor is their relatively stiff sidewalls - sidewall flex generates heat, stiffer sidewalls = less flex. I imagine in warmer/dryer climes they are fine.

Some if this may be down to how the Golf uses them, the same tyres on my Integra Type R were fine... but the Integra was probably harder on the tyres and caused them to warm up faster...

I understand that they are not the best but claiming that they turn your car into a "death trap" is an exaggeration... I think that you're likely to get further on this by being rational not hysterical

You must be getting me confused with someone else, or maybe I've forgotten what I've written - but I don't believe I've ever used the words 'death trap' ?!

My post was completely rational, and from experience.  In the wet, as the tyres got near the end of their useful life (but still had tread), they were all over the shop in the wet.  And the times I had in mind when I wrote the above, the tyres would have been up to temperature as I had been driving for over half an hour.  I'm not into making sweeping statements not based on fact as its unhelpful and a load of old b0llocks  I'll only state things that have actually happened, based on experiences of driving on the same roads at the same time in the same conditions, so that I've made a true and fair comparison based on my own tests.

As I've stated in other posts, in the dry the Bridgestones were fine, and I didn't have the same issues like for eg. MH had on his GTD with tramping.  But in the wet, they were p!ss poor towards the end 

[peterdoherty]

I think corgi may have been referring to the title of the thread and thread in general MB and possibly just quoted the last reply to reply to the thread

[matchboy]

I think corgi may have been referring to the title of the thread and thread in general MB and possibly just quoted the last reply to reply to the thread

Ah, I see!  Well, just for clarification I don't think they're a death trap! 

[corgi]

I think corgi may have been referring to the title of the thread and thread in general MB and possibly just quoted the last reply to reply to the thread

Ah, I see!  Well, just for clarification I don't think they're a death trap! 

That's because they patently aren't.

I quoted you because you were saying that they weren't the best for grip and were offering less as they wore... I was explaining why...

The hysteria I was commenting on was initiated by the title of the thread...