Bridgestone claim that overall it should offer better performance than the RE002 in both dry and wet conditions, and generally improve stability and braking. While I've not used the RE002 on this car, I can definitely say that it's a vast improvement over the moderately worn (~15000km) RE050As that were previously on it.
Some things I've noticed so far from daily driving (which is the primary use for the car):
- My entry speed into corners is able to be much higher. Where previously for normal suburban driving the car would start to feel a bit unstable above about 35-40, I'm finding now I don't even really need to brake and the car still feels like it could take the corners much faster than the prevailing speed limit.
- The road noise is almost nil, compared to the almost deafening roar that came from the RE050As. On some surfaces the old tyres quietened down to an acceptable level, but the new tyres seem to be very quiet on any surface I've come across so far.
- The grip and bite that the tyres have off the mark seems to be as good as any other non-specialist sports tyre that I've used. In Intelligent mode on the SI-drive, seat-of-pants it seems about as quick off the mark as it used to in S# mode. In S# mode with stability on (I generally keep it on for my license's sake), it feels like there's about another 20-25kW usable than there was previously, and 0-60 is over in about 2/3 of the time.
- In the wet (… that we seem to have a lot of in Brisbane…), there seems to be no appreciable loss of stability or grip. Previously the car more or less refused to go past spool on the turbo unless I was in S# or in manual, now in Intelligent and Sport it feels more or less no different to what it does in the dry.
- The ride comfort is so immensely improved. I drove from Brisbane to Rockhampton recently and by the time I got to Gympie I couldn't walk the ride was so harsh, but with these the car seems to damp the terrible roads around here well and hold the road surface much more reliably. I've got a broken back, so this is definitely a big win. Unless I'm really down its throat, the car feels like the luxury car it always should have.
- The steering seems to be much more direct. I peril to use the phrase 'on rails', but for the most part it definitely feels warranted here. There's a little bit of tramlining on really uneven surfaces, but that seems more of a characteristic of the car than the tyre itself.
- They don't look particularly indiscreet on the car. One of my primary concerns was that the car still look 'sleeper' unless you were really looking, and although the sidewall is a bit sportier with the aggressively embossed type, they don't look out of place.
- Braking is phenomenal. I actually hurt my face from braking in the wet this morning because it pulled up much more quickly than I was expecting. The old tyres weren't necessarily bad, but I definitely wouldn't call them good or in any way remarkable.
The differences were immediately noticeable and definitely welcomed. I've not taken them for a trip into the mountains yet to really beat on them, but for a spirited daily driven tyre I genuinely cannot complain. I get out of my car with a smile on my face because it actually feels like I'm driving something crafted, not something thrown together.
The price was a bit of a pain as an unexpected expense thanks to a piece of mild steel through the sidewall on the old rear driver's tyre, but in the scheme of things, what I paid ($265/tyre fitted and balanced) is really nothing to complain about for the improvements that its made. By comparison, it feels like I was driving around a car with half as much potential, and the joy that it has given me from my daily drive to and from work is well worth the investment.
I obviously can't give a direct comparison to the other REx series tyres, or competitors like the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (my first choice after driving a MY15 WRX STI with them) or the Pirelli P Zero, but compared to the few different tyres I have driven on 4GEN/5GEN Liberties (RE050/As, Continental ContiSportContact 3, Falken Azenis FK453, amongst others), I'd say these are comfortably amongst the best thus far. I can't as yet say that they're the best streetable tyre I've ever driven, but I'll be damned if they're not up there.
Bridgestone promised a lot, and so far I've yet to be able to call them on any of it. They do exactly what they say on the tin.