Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Run Flat

Just recently had my third blowout in 9 months. These are the most fragile tyres I’ve ever used.

Being fitted to a BMW 640d they do have a fair bit of weight on them, however after 3 blow outs and 2 slow punctures in 9 months it appears they’re just completely unusable. If you’re reading this, and it’s not too late, please buy something (anything) else. You’d probably have better luck with tyres made of spaghetti.

I don't think I'm qualified to give dry, wet, and in general, handling characteristics as this is my first performance tyre. I will mention that during heavier rainfall, I did have a few worrying moments of aquaplaning within the speed limit, however, this was during our stormier and wetter seasons. Generally, the tyre does feel grippy on dry and wet roads but I wouldn't say that it is confidence inspiring. Wear can be a little bit weird for sportier drivers. I do find that the outer tread does seem to wear much quicker but weirdly I only experienced it on the front right side. I did take my car in to have the tyres inspected and they weren't able to deduce exactly why except from a possible misalignment. Is that the fault of the tyre? Possibly not, however, seeing reviews on this did not make me feel confident about the general wear characteristics.

Is the tyre comfortable? You do get a lot of noise in the cabin and that is likely due to the tyres being runflat. Having changed to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6, the road noise is almost non-existant even on the roughest of new roads being paved with rocks everywhere. Where it is a stiffer tyre, any bumps you encounter will not feel great at all and will leave you worrying about the state of your wheel. I will give the tyre a big plus on that there is a sidewall that portrudes a fair distance from the rim which protects it. Luckily, I have never kerbed the car and knock on wood, I will never.

In terms of whether or not I would buy it again, I would probably say no. The price is high, it compromises comfort for the ability to run flat for x amount of miles, and I don't think it is a tyre I will stick with if I and many others have had some unusual wear. It is a good tyre nonetheless and if you need the runflat then I would definitely choose this. These were fitted on my BMW 335i 2011 (E92) and the rears were newer than the front and I only recently purchased the car so I cannot tell you how many miles these had been on for. I already had in mind that I wanted to change from runflat to non-runflat so my view may be biased. I do think for drivers who do take it easy and want the peace of mind, this tyre is good and does everything that you need.

Gotta say, I’ve had some serious bad luck with my Merc E400 and its Bridgestone 245/35R20 run-flat boots.

It had new wheels and tyres when I bought it with 14k miles on it last year. (Bought from a friend so I saw them installed by Wembley Tyres).

Since then, I’ve done ~10k and have got through three tyres, two of which blew on the inside rims, and one cracked wheel. I can’t believe I’ve gone through the better part of £2k in less than 18 months.

I’m based in London where you can seldom reach 30mph but where speed calming and potholes are ubiquitous. That said, I drive carefully, not aggressively, usually on the car’s eco setting for fuel economy.

The car itself is wonderful, but I’m beginning to worry about what it rolls on.

I know run-flats have poor reputations for durability and ride comfort, but I had them on my previous car for the seventeen years / 100k miles I owned it and hardly got through any more (Pirelli Zero 205/55) boots in all that time.

Bridgestone are a premium brand but are they really this fragile?

Seriously considering another brand or even saving a packet on non-runflats and slime….

Never again will I buy such a tire!!

These came standard with my 2012 Mini Cooper Coupe JCW and Im currently on my second set. I knew these cars had sports suspension and figured it was the car itself that was rough and after 7yrs Im almost at wits end to sell it because its so uncomfortable to drive on the country roads. We also have a 2017 200 series BMW with Bridgestone S001 RFTs and it's 'much much' more comfortable then my Mini so I was confused why his runflats were good but mine were rough and he has 17's too. When I seen this page, I realize now its the tyres and that the S001's are way better. I havent had any issues other then the lack of comfort and skipping across the road on rough corners. Wet roads, I never really noticed anything unsafe as you should be driving to conditions anyway. But Im done with these horrible tyres!

These were fitted to my unmodified 2015 BMW E89 Z4 SDRIVE 20i M SPORT ROADSTER when I bought it 6 months ago, the test drive very nearly put me off as the ride was so harsh, but convinced myself the car was ideal otherwise. Having now driven a few 000's of miles on most UK road surfaces I can honestly say I find the ride comfort to be pretty dreadful in most conditions - although ok on well prepared roads and it rides gentle undulations well, the car crashes on all blemishes in the road surface. Makes driving most A & B roads impossible to enjoy, as attention is focused on just avoiding problems. Crashy, harsh, unforgiving, tramlining. Granted the combination of M suspension (not active), 19" wheels and RFT tyres is hardly ideal, but will certainly be soon changing these tyres for something more forgiving, possibly non-RFT. May also invest in changing to 18" rims at the same time, if budget allows.

BMW E91 Touring 07, with a 3.0 liter 6 cylinder engine P. baged as 325i with 258 bhp. I have a pair of Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Run Flat on the rear. Lincolnshire roads around Louth are rough as they come, farmers trackers & HGV damages.So tyres get a pounding. I agree about feeling like crashing over bumps, however, they do not let go on bends when I pitch the car as fast around bends from when I used ride my motorcycle around into bends. So not shamble at all. Much better than continents that are recommended which would have worn more than the Bridgtones have. I have used Bridgtones before & they were the first to the market with carbon black in the silicone.So, good grip to the end of the tyre.

Now on my third set of these tyres. The car came with these and they have been brilliant so I have decided to stay with them. I don't run the car in winter and I have only once driven the car on these tyres in the snow, I wouldn't recommend it. But a great tyre for the rest of the year. Reading other reviews these tyres appear to be too harsh on low profile tyres and can crack rims, however on 50's they seem fine and I have never experienced this problem.

Terrible! Same as previously seen review - trying to kill me? Soo relieved when I changed them - all problems solved. Only good for scrap!

Incredibly harsh bone-shaking ride on typical UK roads. OK on smooth roads in the dry. Dreadful grip on wet roads but gradual and predictable breakaway. You can have a lot of 'fun' at very low speeds. I've had two of these tyres literally explode this year - and one cracked wheel. Unfortunately, as they seem to last forever, I haven't tried any alternative yet...

One strip from the tire ripped off and tore my brake line. I lost all brake function on the freeway. I would NOT buy these tires again. Tire had 25k miles on it.

Turn a good car into a pig. Hard, noisy and unsettled by bumps, undulations, objects, in fact anything you are likely to find on a road. A sports car has firm suspension, in connection with these, you need to have a running order with your dentist to have your fillings tightened.

These tires came factory fitted on my E89 Z4. The tires didn't excel in any condition. The tires were above average in terms of dry and wet grip. They were very uncomfortable (even compared to other runflat tires) and not so good at road feedback. Wear wasn't bad, but could be better. Overall I was quite disapointed by the tires.

On a 2016 520d M sport with 275/40/18 on rear.

Absolutely dreadful tyres.

I agree with all other reviews.

Extremely hard ride, tram lining constantly, barely any grip.

Worst tyres I've driven on.

Do not waste your money, get some Pirelli/Michelin/Goodyear. I've had a much better experience with them and they last a decent amount of distance.

I got Re050s only on the rear of my BMW 135i as they were the only Runflat tyres available.
Despite always being properly inflated and driven quietly they were harsh and have only lasted 18 months and around 20,000 km before failing a vehicle check. Very disappointing.
I'm replacing them with the OEM Dunlops.