I bought an '05 with 16,000 miles on it and about 35% tread left on the rear stock RE050's. I'm at 20,000 now and about 20% left. These tires never seemed to have much grip compared to the PS2's I had on my last car.

My question is, do these tires lose grip as they wear? My PS2's and SO3's didn't'. They seemed to have as much grip at 50% as they did when new.

I met a guy the other day who bought his '05 S2K new. He said the tires seemed to have a lot more grip when new. He's at 50% and feels the grip is way less than new. Since I didn't buy new, I don't have the experience for comparison.

Thanks for any comments.

 

yes.

Get some Advan Neova.

 

...with this guy.

Not only does grip suffer, but so does the ride. PLEASE...Don't even think about driving your car in the rain with only that much tread left.

 

I just changed my rears today at 13,000 miles. They probably had 3,500 or so usable miles left , but I am challenging the dragon next week and wanted some more grip. I do agree that they lose a bit of stickiness after 10k or so. On the bright side, they are extremely predictible and controllable at any wear point IMO.
I find it hard to believe your wear bars aren't showing on your rears at 20K miles.

 

So having them really worn down for track only applications would not be a good idea? Having a "shaved" Re050?

Gabe

 

I haven't tracked or autocrossed on them yet, I saved my 13K pair to run at autocross, so I'll know in a couple of months. I really like these tires, more than any of the other Bridgestones I've run.

 

i tracked my car twice with the same tires (050's) and i like them but i think my next set will be some re01r's they should have a higher grip level then those of the 050's and it is the competitor to the neova

 

I changed mine on Wed. They had about 35% tread life left with 16800 miles on em. I dont drive my car in the rain.

 

My first set lasted 20k miles and definitely went off toward the end. They were replaced with new RE-050s of the same size and the difference was very noticeable, even though I drive rather conservatively on the street. Rubber naturally gets harder with heat cycles. Some new tires have dual compound tread (ie Bridgestone UNI-T AQ) with a softer layer underneath to compensate for this. The RE-050 doesn't have this construction.

Strangely, I also noticed the difference in ride quality mentioned by superfunguy. I can't quite explain that one.

Peter

 

There isn't a size for the Neova that fits the AP2 OEM wheels very well. All you Volksters get the benefit of a Neova that fits perfect.