Choice of Tyres
- Thread starter slapheed
- Start date
When I bought my 310 VZ2 recently I did my homework on the car, tyres included, seems a lot of owners are not too happy with the Bridgestones and prefer Michelins, for some reason mine was shod with GoodYear Eagles and I find them very good.
Bridgestones are generally disliked on performance cars on some forums as they tend to be made from a hard, relatively non compliant compound which compromises grip and handling (not ideal on a performance car), and ride comfort. Being made from a ‘hard as nails’ compound means they seem to last forever too, and they tend to be quite noisy.
My VW came with Bridgestones from the factory and when I changed my wheels, I took the opportunity to get some better tyres and got a set of Michelin PS4. IMHO the Michelins are better in pretty much every respect.
My VW came with Bridgestones from the factory and when I changed my wheels, I took the opportunity to get some better tyres and got a set of Michelin PS4. IMHO the Michelins are better in pretty much every respect.
Theres this thread here: https://www.seatcupra.net/forums/threads/pirelli-pzero.469552/
Which has a lot of interesting feedback
Michelin Pilot Sport, Pirelli PZero and Goodyear Eagle F1's seem to be the top 3 sporty contenders for Formentor owners.
Which has a lot of interesting feedback
Michelin Pilot Sport, Pirelli PZero and Goodyear Eagle F1's seem to be the top 3 sporty contenders for Formentor owners.
It is odd how the worlds largest tyre manufacturer gets bad reviews on forums, not so in the real world tyre tests through. Bridgestone have firmer sidewalls than others which offers a more sporty feel together with more stability but on the down side can cause more noise. As for grip good luck trying to find the difference between a Bridge. and Mich. as many tester also struggle when conditions are the same, not many have tried the Potenza Sport but tests results speak for themselves. Mich. claim their tyres last longer of which many agree with, so who uses the harder compound? A Mich. tyre generally degrades (cracks) before a Bridge, either way, both excellent tyres offering slightly different ride comfort/sporty feel, for me its Bridge. if a 17" tyre or below as 18" or above generally for our roads requires a softer wall..
Hey bit of a pub quiz fact here, did you know Bridgestone used to make motorcycles in the 60s and early 70s as well as tyres?
Agree.
I’ve experienced wheel hop and tramping on more than one occasion with the original Bridgestone tyres that were fitted to my car when they were nearly new. That was moving off from standstill at a set of traffic lights and the road surface that could - at worst - have been described as barely damp in usual September / October temperatures. I’m not an ‘enthusiastic’ driver and don’t go in for the traffic light Grand Prix; I was just pulling away normally from rest.
This happened on a road I travel frequently and I’ve moved off from standstill at the same traffic lights many times since having Michelin PS4 tyres fitted and have never experienced wheel hop or tramping, whatever the weather conditions, temperature or road conditions.
When the time comes to replace my tyres, Bridgestones won’t be the replacements.
Years ago the first Mrs -9 and I both had a Peugeot 306, one on Michelins and the other on Bridgestones. Given when driving the cars you'd sometimes forget which one you were driving (both diesel turbos, etc.) and as a great handling car you'd throw it into a corner or roundabout with gay abandon.
The problem came when you realised you were in the car which understeered an awful lot more than the other - which was the Bridgestone car and also the nearest I ever got to a real world comparison.
I haven't replaced a Bridgestone when delivered with the car with another since, and have never felt them to be a 'drivers' tyre, unlike the Michelins (which are probably the best tyre generally anyway - and usually the most expensive).
The problem came when you realised you were in the car which understeered an awful lot more than the other - which was the Bridgestone car and also the nearest I ever got to a real world comparison.
I haven't replaced a Bridgestone when delivered with the car with another since, and have never felt them to be a 'drivers' tyre, unlike the Michelins (which are probably the best tyre generally anyway - and usually the most expensive).
I think the Bridgestone Potenza S005,s that came on my new Leon are great, no tramping at all in normal conditions. The ones on the 280 that I had back in 2014 where rubbish and the car still had Problems even with Mich Pilot Sport 4s's fitted. Think the new car has better front end set up as standard now.
I have the Potenza Sport's, have been perfectly ok in the cold weather so far and much improved over the S001, the Turanza on our Ibiza I agree have a harder compound and can struggle on the start of a journey, but two different tyres.
It's a shame once a bad experience has been had with one tyre model we sometimes consider other tyres from the same brand to be just as bad together with newer generation models. I've had some poor experiences with Michelin's but also had some excellent ones, as i have with other brands. Michelin have so improved over the years as have Bridgestone hence why they are the top two tyre manufactures of which the majority can't go wrong with, far worse to purchase and as said, both are always at the top of tyres tests both on and off track..
My Bridgestone experiences have been
Leon FR brand new 2018 with Potenza RE050's which were not great. Changed them out for Goodyear Assymetrical 5's at the time and the difference was instant. Was an unbelievable change.
I also had Bridgestone All Weather Control A005's and these were very poor. In the wet they scrabbled for traction like i would of expected a budget to do.
I have mixed feelings with the Bridgestones on my eHybrid 245.
I am satisfied with the fuel efficiency, minimal road noise, good comfort levels and reassuring performance in the wet.
All good when I want relaxed comfortable driving. Where they dissapoint me is when I decide to have some fun. Skidding, wheel hop / tramp etc..
I am aware that the torque of the hybrid system is too much for the FWD system to handle without skidding, but the Bridges don’t feel planted or grippy at all even when I am not applying a lot of throttle.
When replacement time comes, I am considering Michellin PilotSport5 or Pirelli P-Zero. Any recommendations or personal experiences with these two and how they compare to the stock Bridges?
I am satisfied with the fuel efficiency, minimal road noise, good comfort levels and reassuring performance in the wet.
All good when I want relaxed comfortable driving. Where they dissapoint me is when I decide to have some fun. Skidding, wheel hop / tramp etc..
I am aware that the torque of the hybrid system is too much for the FWD system to handle without skidding, but the Bridges don’t feel planted or grippy at all even when I am not applying a lot of throttle.
When replacement time comes, I am considering Michellin PilotSport5 or Pirelli P-Zero. Any recommendations or personal experiences with these two and how they compare to the stock Bridges?
Yes and we used to call them "Jap-Crap" - first thing you would change on the bike would be the stock Bridgestones to Dunlop TT-100s or Avon Roadrunners. Showing my age a little here.
Anyways I am not at all impressed with the Turanza T005s on the VZ Edition and looking for recommendations from you people. I'm thinking maybe Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSports or Conti Sport Contact 7.
I appreciate we are in the cold mid winter and they are different cars but running the Formentor back to back with my stage 1 Leon Cupra 290 shod with Pilot Sport 4S, tells me that the Bridgestones are poor at any given time and any given day.
Yep they got labelled Jap-Crap and how wrong they were proved to be. Anyway I run Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 5s and can't fault them on my 310 VZ2 .
Out of those 2 choices pilot sport 5's every time.
Will dramatically reduce wheel hop / tramping when comparing to bridgestones
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