Bridgestone RE003 Review

[fedaykin]

Outside wear can mean toe is out too much (or in, can't remember which way).

[Clearlight]

Outside wear can mean toe is out too much (or in, can't remember which way).

All four tyres were worn the same , zero toe at the front and back and around 1 degree negative camber .
I can't blame the alignment , its the way I drive ; might look at getting some more negative camber , once
I fix the leaky head gasket , and the busted rear drive etc etc ….

[fedaykin]

Haha fair enough. Just a heads up for anyone who's experience uneven wear with "normal" driving.

[2353]

I'm just about to replace the original Yokohama Advans on my MY13 Liberty? Does anyone have an opinion on if the Bridgestones are better that the current Yokohamas for a stock car driven mostly around SE Queensland?

[Manaz]

I'm just about to replace the original Yokohama Advans on my MY13 Liberty? Does anyone have an opinion on if the Bridgestones are better that the current Yokohamas for a stock car driven mostly around SE Queensland?

Location probably matters less than your driving style. The RE003s are a pretty aggressive tyre - if your driving is more "touring" than "touring car racing", you may want to consider something different, like the S001.

[2353]

I'm just about to replace the original Yokohama Advans on my MY13 Liberty? Does anyone have an opinion on if the Bridgestones are better that the current Yokohamas for a stock car driven mostly around SE Queensland?

Location probably matters less than your driving style. The RE003s are a pretty aggressive tyre - if your driving is more "touring" than "touring car racing", you may want to consider something different, like the S001.

Thanks - I'll probably get the tyres changed when I get it serviced next time.

[Manaz]

Thanks - I'll probably get the tyres changed when I get it serviced next time.

Go to a separate tyre place, you'll get better service and price than through a general mechanic (especially over a dealership if that's where you have the car serviced).

Look for Bridgestone offering their deals if you're keen on the S001s - they do a "Buy 3, get the 4th free" kind of deal quite regularly.

[muzza]

Getting some RE003 Potenzas tomorrow for the Lib.

Size is 235/45/18's from Donnellans Box Hill (went a little wider). $834 fitted and balanced - bargain!
Sure pays to shop though - I had quotes of up to $1290 (Kmart - who then dropped it to $845!)
Mind you Kmart would do the Goodyear Eagle F1 A2 for $800 - that was way cheaper than anywhere else. They would be a good touring tyre.

The stock RE050's have done 60K km and pretty evenly worn, but they getting a little bit slippy at times in the wet if I boot it.

I don't expect the same mileage from the RE003's but I think (hope) they will be quieter, a bit softer in the ride (though this can be adjusted with air pressure to a degree) and should stick like glue according to reports.

I'll put in some impressions after tomorrow.

[nixwrx]

Bob Jane have 4 for 3 offer at the moment - go 235 / 40 / 18 and you can get these for under $700?

[muzza]

Yeah? The 235/40/18's must be more popular perhaps so cheaper?
BJs gave me a reasonable price but still up over $950 for 235/45/18 but would deal if I rang back I'm sure.

Things against the 40 series 235's for me was that the speedo error gets worse with the lower profile (2.2% faster reading making it about 8% fast) whereas the 45series is 1.4% slower ( ie reduces speedo error somewhat) plus the ride should be a bit less brittle on Melbourne's fabulous roads. There's also the bonus of a little more rim protection.

I'll add some "muffin top" pictures in due course!

[RX25SE]

Love how I got a good price on RE003 for supply only (I fit my own tyres) only to find two weeks later Bridgestone do their 3 for 4 deal.

Hate that!

Outside wear can mean toe is out too much (or in, can't remember which way).

Toe in.

[muzza]

OK - how they look:
LibTyre3a (2) by Murray, on Flickr

"Muffin top" - not really - they appear rim width: LibTyre1 by Murray, on Flickr

3/4 view:LibTyre2 by Murray, on Flickr

They don't feel as "pointy" as the RE 050s, the ride is better but I need to mess with the air pressure a bit to hit the sweet spot b/w ride/handling around town. Pretty quiet on all surfaces, but a slight harmonic at a steady 80kph.

With the 235/45/18, my speedo is now only about 4kph fast - gotta be more careful til I get used to it.

[gen3v8]

Love how I got a good price on RE003 for supply only (I fit my own tyres) only to find two weeks later Bridgestone do their 3 for 4 deal.

Hate that!

Outside wear can mean toe is out too much (or in, can't remember which way).

Toe in.

This is interesting! On a rwd toe in will wear the outside of the fronts. On a car with driven fronts, especially a powerful car, the inside will wear on power and the outside will wear on deceleration and braking.

[RX25SE]

^
FWD cars are normally set with a bit of toe out, this is due to the driven wheels 'pulling forwards' slightly due to compliance in the suspension and the nature of the tyre. RWD are set toe in, as the opposite occurs when the front wheels are pushed from the rear.

Your grunty FWD is probably just yanking the tyres a bit further than a std car would. If you add a bit more toe out it may combat it and give you better turn in to boot. Race cars commonly toe out (RWD) to give better turn in, just makes them 'twitchy' in a straight line.