Stock Tires=Crap

[BrianFiebig]

Sigh...Finally got the car in the shop to diagnose the funky sound coming from the front left corner. I would have wagered large sums of money that it was the wheel bearing crapping out, its a sound I have heard before. Turns out that its just the tires. ALL FOUR OF EM!
The tires that started out on the front and were rotated to the rear a few months ago would fail inspection now, down to barely over 2/32 tread with the second tread pattern from the outside gone. The front left tire had a flat spot which was causing the noise. And all four tires were cupping. Stealership tech said that the stock Potenzas are really not Potenzas, they are the el-cheapo OEM knockoff version that is apparently notorious for it. And Stealership will ONLY put that version of the tire on the car because "thats what factory spec is". Oh by the way, thatt'l be $240 a pop for em.
Anyone else had issues with the stockers going to crap after 8 months and 13K mostly abuse free driving, or did I just catch part of the batch that was made by the guy that didn't get a quickie that morning. And anyone have a hookup on tires that dont toast the performance and actually have a treadlife? Been to tire rack, most of the tires only rated to last ~30K.

[SallySpeed3]

I've heard lots of people complain about the stock tires. I have 25k on my car after having it about a year and half. Granted about 5k of that was with winter tires on, but my stock potenzas have been fine. After putting on a new Rear MM I have had very little problems with wheel hop and traction, except when cornering. It makes me wonder, maybe people who are having problems with the stockers left them on during really cold months?

Oh and by the way, if you want a performance tire for this car, which is what you need, you just can't expect incredibly long tread life.

[Trambounet]

I rotated my tires at 5K~6K, and the front ones were pretty worn out. I anticipate I'll have to change them at 15K at best. 12K is probably more realistic. I also have the stock Bridgestone Potenzas and their treadwear rating is 140, which is ridiculously low.

[Nliiitend1]

These threads make me laugh.

I would actually be pretty reasonably happy to get the kind of mileage that you got out of those tires. The uneven wear probably has more to do with failing to properly rotate the tires than the quality of them in the first place. IMO, tires like the RE050A should be rotated AT LEAST evey 4-5K miles. I rotated mine every 2.5-3K because I'm not particularly easy on tires. I'm sticking to the same schedule with my Kumho XSs.

And as the other guys have already said:

You should never expect to get more than 30K mile out of ANY performance oriented tire, and I'd be suspicious of the actual performance of any tire claiming to provide such wear. It's a trade-off, plain and simple. You will sacrifice performance for extended treadwear, and vice versa.

13K miles is actually pretty decent for a 140 treadwear tire, if you ask me. (dunno)

[funksilver07]

I got 25K+ out of my stockers, sounds like you had some bad luck with yours or rotation wasn't done at proper intervals... these aren't "BAD" tires.

[Sport6]

I got 25K+ out of my stockers, sounds like you had some bad luck with yours or rotation wasn't done at proper intervals... these aren't "BAD" tires.

I'm at 21,000 with a lot of tread left..

[GoFast]

i too have to agree with previous posts....

[Sport6]

Also don't know much about the fake or rip off OEM potenza thing the tech said.... Why would they do that? The stats of the tire all match the "real" RE05A's......

[daonly1around]

yeah, you HAVE to rotate the stock pontenza's regularly to maintain any life out of them

[CnoTataymo]

I got 23k miles out of mine. Rotated mine every 3-4k miles and finally replaced then when they got a little lower then the wearbars.

[CWPspeed3]

I have a summer and winter set of tires so my potenzas only have about 7k miles on them now and have made a trip to tail of the dragon and performed great. Really hard on the tire but they perform well if regularly rotated. As everyone else has said dont expect to get a ton of miles out of them. When I looked at getting them replaced they were $306 a tire so i'm glad they have come down.

[Savate]

I changed mine out at 33,000 miles nad only because of summer rainy season here in FL. I could have gotten 2-3k more but i played it safe. I was going to replace the Potenzas at $187 each wholesale. Not being a real aggresive driver most of the time I went with General Exclaim UHP instead for $109 each wholesale. A hair or two less sticky in the corners but way better in the rain, plus much longer tread life. Not the best, but certainly really good. Perfect for my empty pockets.

[Russm]

Good Day
I got 28K on the stockers and had 4-5k left but was going into winter this past Nov. I do commute up and down 110 miles of straight interstate a day so might not represent your driving conditions, rotate every 5K.

[MSMS3]

The Firestone/Bridgestone store here that does my tire rotations is absolutely convinced that these are REAL RE050A Pole Position Potenzas. Period. I reported the "fake OEM knock-off" story to them and they just laughed and said the stealer-dealer just wanted to make the money from the OP on the replacement tires rather than letting it handled by a Bridgestone store or independent tire shop.

I do get mine rotated at every 5K miles and I just passed 15k miles. These are very soft tread high performance summer tires. Even so, I have lots of tread left.

By their very nature, they will wear quickly. They come standard equipment on some of the highest performance cars in the world and have a well-deserved reputation for being some of the best factory installed performance tires available.

I wonder if the OP was running those tires at the wrong inflation pressure, or had some type of suspension/alignment problem.

I drive my car hard. I have to admit that it has seen north of 130 mph several times, has been to the dragstrip more than a little bit and has been subjected to a lot of hard launch performance runs (perhaps as many as 100) to try to learn to control wheelspin and get my 60 ft times down.

I have at least half of my original tread depth left and see no reason not to expect 25,000 miles on them before replacement.

High mileage tread life is not a reasonable expectation from summer maximum performance tires.

[Kain]

Like others have said, you should rotate every oil change. Since the stock Potenzas are asymmetric, I suggest a cross-rotation.


And anyone have a hookup on tires that dont toast the performance and actually have a treadlife?

How did the old DSM adage go? Oh yes: "Fast. Cheap. Reliable. Pick two."

[mazdaspeedster3]

I got nearly 15k on mine before switching them out but they are still on a car and running strong. I had ZERO problems with them and if they werent so expensive would consider them again. The fake comment isnt worth time to respond, that is total BS. Tires arent purses...

[Kain]

You sure? I bought my Potenzas from a street vendor claiming they were the "Brolex of tires."

[funksilver07]

Here's some useful info on tire rotation, http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43 ...you shouldn't cross rotate a directional tire. I'm pretty sure the OEM Potenza is directional. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

[SwampAss]

Here's some useful info on tire rotation, http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43 ...you shouldn't cross rotate a directional tire. I'm pretty sure the OEM Potenza is directional. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.




you're wrong.

[funksilver07]

Could you elaborate please so the rest of us might benefit from your knowledge? Are you saying the Potenza isn't directional or it's O.K. to cross rotate a directional tire?

[Kain]

Since the stock Potenzas are asymmetric, I suggest a cross-rotation.

Because, y'know, I was totally talking out of my ass.

[Nliiitend1]

I's lawling.

:p

[SwampAss]

Could you elaborate please so the rest of us might benefit from your knowledge? Are you saying the Potenza isn't directional or it's O.K. to cross rotate a directional tire?


yes

[daonly1around]

read.....

[funksilver07]

Very informative and articulate, thanks.

[SPEED305]

ii got about 15k with semi aggressive driving. im one my second setwith about 30% left. sounds wierd, but i trust those RE050A. does anyone know of feedback for the RE-11?

[SwampAss]

Very informative and articulate, thanks.

It was all previously stated in this thread. I'm not one for rehashing.

[BillTheCat]

To the OP, or anyone searching for performance tires with decent tread life: Tire rack users post tons of reviews, and the user scores for the tires will reflect a pretty good cross section of driving styles, car types, etc. Good place to start.

Consumer Reports' 2007 article on ultra hgh performance tires only shows 1 tire rated with "Excellent" tread life- the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2. Noise & ride comfort were only average on that tire, but all other areas were above average, except braking, which was excellent.

The only other tires that rated above average for tread life were Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, which had some dry braking issues, and the Goodyear Eagle F1 (GS-D3), which had some serious rolling resistance issues.

FYI, the CR tests were done with 225/40/ZR18 tires in all cases.

The April '09 CR, on page 21, shows a very brief rundown of various types of tires. For all season H-rated tires, they like Dunlop SP Sport 5000 ($84), Michelin Pilot Exalto (A/S) ($108) and Falken Ziex ZE 512 ($58). For all season V-rated, they like Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 ($173), Yokohama Avid V4S ($104) and Michelin Pilot Exalto (A/S) ($145). (I guess those come in both H & V speeds) They did not specify what size tire those prices were for.

In my personal experience over the last few years, I quickly grew to love the Yokohama S-Drive series. It performed as well as the Falken Azenis, Kumho Ecsta, Yokohama Parada, and several other tires I went thru, but it lasted far longer. I got an average of 12-15k miles from all of the other tires. When I traded in my MINI in September, the S-Drives were pushing 25k and had life left in them. Plus, they were just over $100 each for 17's.

[funksilver07]

ii got about 15k with semi aggressive driving. im one my second setwith about 30% left. sounds wierd, but i trust those RE050A. does anyone know of feedback for the RE-11?

I autox with a couple of drivers that just recently went with the RE-11's, with good results. They seem to be happy overall...

[SwampAss]

FTR, I wasn't trying to sound like a dick. After I reread what I posted, I kinda did.

My apologies.

[bani]

stockers are fine. 20k miles with aggressive driving and still plenty of tread left.

[funksilver07]

FTR, I wasn't trying to sound like a dick. After I reread what I posted, I kinda did.

My apologies.

No worries, no offense taken...

[Wurf]

Because, y'know, I was totally talking out of my ass.

That paints a picture....like Jim Carrey.

[Saskatchewan17]

Stockers aren't bad tires by any means (IMO). But they're expensive.

[slprrex]

I had good luck with my stones. About 17K on them with about 6 autox events on them. With almost no tread left the car won't stick so they will be replaced by the next race.

After reading the reviews I think the Dunlop Direzza Specs are the way to go. Has anyone had any problems with running 225/45 s on stocks?

[KozmoSpeed3GT]

I just got down to the wear bar on my stockers and currently at 35500 miles. I did get the first batch of MS3's though. Maybe that could be an issue

[08cosmic3]

I have 24,000 miles on mine and plan on keeping them for 30,000. I just returned from EECMM where I did some very aggresive driving and was impressed at how well the stockers held in all the hard turns.

[gtlaw]

I can't believe the mileage you people are getting out of these tires! at 4,500 miles with one auto-x, and one day drag racing they just barely passed inspection. at this rate mine will be bald at 7,000 miles

[Kain]

One underrated factor is the quality of roads in your area. Yes, tread rating, driving habits, and frequent rotations matter a lot, but I don't care if you drive like a granny going to Sunday mass: if your roads are shatty, they'll chew up your rubber.

[coololddude]

I have about 50,000 miles on my stockers. I'm getting a lot of sparks from my wheels though!!

[gtlaw]

One underrated factor is the quality of roads in your area. Yes, tread rating, driving habits, and frequent rotations matter a lot, but I don't care if you drive like a granny going to Sunday mass: if your roads are shatty, they'll chew up your rubber.


oh the roads are smooth as glass here in pittsburgh

[HOBDisease]

I just got down to the wear bar on my stockers and currently at 35500 miles. I did get the first batch of MS3's though. Maybe that could be an issue

Same here, my stockers lasted til a little over 36,000 miles, just replaced them yesterday lol.

[mazdaspeedster3]

Sounds like your car was out of serious alignment from the get go (not uncommon for new cars actually). The fake tire story is funny though. I would look to get them to honor some kind of tire warranty for premature wear and insist on the dealership giving you a free alignment.

[gtlaw]

Sounds like your car was out of serious alignment from the get go (not uncommon for new cars actually). The fake tire story is funny though. I would look to get them to honor some kind of tire warranty for premature wear and insist on the dealership giving you a free alignment.

you talking about me? they are worn evenly. I rotated them at 2,000 miles right now all four are less than1/32nd from the wear bars. while I think they are decent tires I would rather buy something that kicks ass than deal with the stealership