Bridgestone S002 = death trap!

[am1w]

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres were always excellent on the Mk5 and Mk6 GTI's.

That's a thought. But how about the All Season Tyre Vredestein Quatrac Lite? Comes in all sizes. Excellent for UK weather conditions.

[BrimfieldBen]

Good evening all. Sorry to come on here as a newbie without an introduction!
I'm Ben and I work with Bridgestone in their consumer team. I just wanted to let you know that Bridgestone's technical department has been alerted to the S002 issues and concerns raised on here and I will be in touch as soon as I have an official response. I hope you can bear with me. We are looking into this as a matter of urgency.

[monkeyhanger]

It's the S001 and RE050 that are on the GTI/GTD/R isn't it? Mine certainly has S001 on.

Seems a characteristic of the tyre that has been prevalent for a very long time - this isn't a new issue, Bridgestones have been slippery in the damp since I had them on my MK5 Golf back in 2007.

Hardwearing tyre = noisy, with poor wet grip generally. Get something nice and quiet with good grip in the wet like a Continental 5P and it usually has a really soft compound that has a relatively short life. Michelins seem to be able to do very good wet grip (but not the absolute best) and a reasonable wear life.

[ffrank]

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres were always excellent on the Mk5 and Mk6 GTI's.

I will be reporting on these on my GTD shortly. I've got a pair sat in my hallway, only trouble is one tyre was damaged in transit so waiting for a replacement.

[Ross Detours]

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres were always excellent on the Mk5 and Mk6 GTI's.

I will be reporting on these on my GTD shortly. I've got a pair sat in my hallway, only trouble is one tyre was damaged in transit so waiting for a replacement.

I put a pair of these on the front two weeks ago... huge improvement over the Bridgestones (10,000 miles on them) and much more confidence inspiring - especially in the wet.

[ffrank]

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta tyres were always excellent on the Mk5 and Mk6 GTI's.

I will be reporting on these on my GTD shortly. I've got a pair sat in my hallway, only trouble is one tyre was damaged in transit so waiting for a replacement.

I put a pair of these on the front two weeks ago... huge improvement over the Bridgestones (10,000 miles on them) and much more confidence inspiring - especially in the wet.

Ah, awesome Good to hear, I've got great memories of these tyres so I'm looking forward to getting them on. I only got 10,000 out of the conti 2's, so I'm not too worried if I only get 10,000 out of the vred's at the price.

[BrimfieldBen]

Good morning. I hope you're all well.

I now have an official statement from Bridgestone regarding the issues that have been raised on this thread, which is below.

Thanks for bearing with us as we pulled this together. I will keep a note of the subsequent comments (now  I am a member of the forum!!) and will hope to be of further help if necessary.

Ben

STATEMENT:
The Potenza range is a pure sports ultra-high performance product with maximum grip and precision response. The Potenza S001,  has been developed in and for motorsport’s premier arena and has been tuned to deliver high speed stability and optimum road contact in both dry & wet conditions. This ultra-high performance product is original equipment on many high performance vehicles such as the Aston Martin Rapide, Ferrari 458 Italia, Porsche Boxster & Cayman.

Concerning the Potenza S001 developed for the VW Golf MkVII (2013), this tyre the 225/40 R18 92Y S001 XL has been specifically developed to match the DNA of the VW Golf hot hatchback heritage. Tyres developed for Original Equipment manufacturers (OEM) go through a rigorous tyre test programme over many years, prior to the vehicle launch. This test programme involves, dry handling, wet handling, aquaplaning (lateral & longitudinal), ride comfort, NVH (noise, vibration & harshness), rolling resistance (RRC), durability, high speed  and many more before the tyre is released by both the OEM & Tyre manufacturer.

It is important to remember however that tyre performance is a balancing act between many differing parameters. Improvements in dry grip have an adverse effect on rolling resistance, and Improvements in noise have an adverse effect on wet performance. Therefore, when developing a tyre for an OEM there are trade off’s in performance but what is important is that the tyre approved by any OEM must achieve their vehicle development targets, so matching the requirements of that specific vehicle, whether that be ultra-sports, sports, grand tourer, Eco or budget alike.

The Potenza S001 developed for the VW Golf MkVII (2013) has been specifically developed to give optimum performance, considering all targets set for this modern, premium, seventh generation vehicle. In addition, we have no reported historical complaints from the UK for this specific spec of tyre.

[GolfTi]

So, the Bridgestones are actually a fantastic tyre...


Looks like we are all wrong with our observations and comparisons.
We must be driving incorrectly.

[matchboy]

So basically everyone on here is a liar, what we've all experienced is nonsense, and we should be grateful for the Bridgestones as they work fine on a 458 Italia.  Excellent. 

[Mr Savage]

I think there would be "historical complaints" if the people experiencing issues on this forum alone reported it.

The tyre is not fit for purpose. I think we all need to email in to Bridgestone to see if an investigation is carried out or quality check.