18" Tyre test

[Ryan90GTI]

I absolutely love PS4's, superb grip even on a 300bhp+ FWD, you can throw it into corners at stupid speeds too without worrying if it'll lose traction. I'm on my second set now and will no doubt replace them with the same unless something better comes along.

[monkeyhanger]

The test result kind of backs up your own experiences with the PS4 mcmaddy

Compared to the Goodyear and Conti, definitely.  But compared to the Bridgestone S001 standard on the GTI - nah.

The video very much echos my experiences with the PS4.  I cannot fault the grip, wet or dry, but would like more steering feel.  The Goodyear might be a good option for me.

I'm please to see the Mk8 GTI will be coming with either S005s or Goodyear F1s.  Bridgestone must have finally exhausted the massive stockpile of ancient S001s!   

Are you confident that S005 will be better than S001? I'd rather avoid Bridgestones altogether, they've all been crap across about 15 years of buying new VWs with them (they seemed to be the VW tyre of choice from MK5 Golf and onwards.

Same formula of being rock hard, noisy, poor traction and turn in grip, with average fuel economy - in the hot and cold. Best way to describe them is that its like having summer tyres in -5C conditions all the time.

[mcmaddy]

The noise levels across all the tyres even the supposed premium ones is negligible. It's only Dunlop that manage to creep under 70 on the noiseometer 
As for fuel economy again the expert opinions are that's it negligible between a tyre claiming to be C and one for E. VW have probably used the harder tyre from the factory as the characteristics of the tyre suit the car. I much prefer the harder sidewall of the Bridgestones compared to the soft mush of the Michelin. The Goodyear seems to give the best of both in the test above but if the Conti had better rim protection that would be my choice.

[Exonian]

The Bridgestones work fine when hot. And I mean HOT!

Back in the mk6 days a lot of OEM tyres were Dunlop and these seemed to have soft sidewalls that suffered bulges after pothole impact and the like.
Maybe VW opted for a more concrete compound for UK cars to reduce warranty moans about the tyres, or maybe it was entirely emissions and fuel economy related (hard tyres blown up to the max to provide good headline economy figures under test conditions).
The Ed40 chassis guys rated the Bridgestones for their ‘Ring based chassis development going from the interviews back in 2016.
As I said, they work well when HOT!

[mcmaddy]

The Bridgestones work fine when hot. And I mean HOT!

Back in the mk6 days a lot of OEM tyres were Dunlop and these seemed to have soft sidewalls that suffered bulges after pothole impact and the like.
Maybe VW opted for a more concrete compound for UK cars to reduce warranty moans about the tyres, or maybe it was entirely emissions and fuel economy related (hard tyres blown up to the max to provide good headline economy figures under test conditions).
The Ed40 chassis guys rated the Bridgestones for their ‘Ring based chassis development going from the interviews back in 2016.
As I said, they work well when HOT!

ideal set up is to have a set of winters to swap them if you can be arsed   

[monkeyhanger]

The Bridgestones work fine when hot. And I mean HOT!

Back in the mk6 days a lot of OEM tyres were Dunlop and these seemed to have soft sidewalls that suffered bulges after pothole impact and the like.
Maybe VW opted for a more concrete compound for UK cars to reduce warranty moans about the tyres, or maybe it was entirely emissions and fuel economy related (hard tyres blown up to the max to provide good headline economy figures under test conditions).
The Ed40 chassis guys rated the Bridgestones for their ‘Ring based chassis development going from the interviews back in 2016.
As I said, they work well when HOT!

Those effin'  Dunlops! Cost me a fortune with Winter 2009 and my Scirocco. The car was 8 months old and despite not hitting a proper pothole, I had 3 f**ked tyres in the space of a month - all sidewall bulges and absolutely no damage to the wheels. Dunlop wouldn't entertain a claim, neither would VW.

Maybe Dunlops should only be used on a track or in Arab/African countries?

[mcmaddy]

I've had Dunlop's previously and they were really good. Was years and years ago mind 😂

[monkeyhanger]

The Bridgestones work fine when hot. And I mean HOT!

Back in the mk6 days a lot of OEM tyres were Dunlop and these seemed to have soft sidewalls that suffered bulges after pothole impact and the like.
Maybe VW opted for a more concrete compound for UK cars to reduce warranty moans about the tyres, or maybe it was entirely emissions and fuel economy related (hard tyres blown up to the max to provide good headline economy figures under test conditions).
The Ed40 chassis guys rated the Bridgestones for their ‘Ring based chassis development going from the interviews back in 2016.
As I said, they work well when HOT!

Those effin'  Dunlops! Cost me a fortune with Winter 2009 and my Scirocco. The car was 8 months old and despite not hitting a proper pothole, I had 3 f**ked tyres in the space of a month - all sidewall bulges and absolutely no damage to the wheels. Dunlop wouldn't entertain a claim, neither would VW.

Maybe Bridgestones should only be used on a track or in Arab/African countries?

[Splashalot]

The test result kind of backs up your own experiences with the PS4 mcmaddy

Compared to the Goodyear and Conti, definitely.  But compared to the Bridgestone S001 standard on the GTI - nah.

The video very much echos my experiences with the PS4.  I cannot fault the grip, wet or dry, but would like more steering feel.  The Goodyear might be a good option for me.

I'm please to see the Mk8 GTI will be coming with either S005s or Goodyear F1s.  Bridgestone must have finally exhausted the massive stockpile of ancient S001s!   

Are you confident that S005 will be better than S001? I'd rather avoid Bridgestones altogether, they've all been crap across about 15 years of buying new VWs with them (they seemed to be the VW tyre of choice from MK5 Golf and onwards.

Same formula of being rock hard, noisy, poor traction and turn in grip, with average fuel economy - in the hot and cold. Best way to describe them is that its like having summer tyres in -5C conditions all the time.

Good points and spot on with the last comment.  Now I think about it, no I'm not confident.  Given how long ago the S001 was developed, I'd hoped the S005 would have caught up, but when I think about it, every set of Bridgestones I've owned had the same characteristics - RE030 on two different cars, RE040 and S001.  All had poor straight line traction and cold weather performance.  Tend to agree they're all designed for hot weather only.

[mcmaddy]

I had the re050a on my old Jetta and they were fine. The thing is even when cold you can't just stamp on the go pedal and expect to get traction from the outset. Drive to the conditions and sensibly and you won't have any issues even on Bridgestones.