Drivers describe the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A as a sharp, sporty UHP tyre with strong steering feel and confident dry grip, and many high-scoring reviews also praise its stable handling and braking in the wet when temperatures are moderate. However, a substantial share of owners report a firm/harsh ride and rising road noise as the tyre ages, alongside notable performance drop-offs in cold conditions (and very poor snow/ice ability). Wear rate and value are polarising: some achieve long life with correct pressures/rotation, while many others see rapid wear-especially on driven axles/inner shoulders-making cost a frequent complaint.
What owners mention most counted across 178 reviews
These came with my BMW 335d E92 and with them being RFT's, they ride extremely harshly. Hitting a pothole on these tyres with a 19-inch rim feels like you've just written the car off. They are very skitty over even after the smallest of bumps in corners. My 335d makes 600nm and 340hp and it wheelspins at 80mph in the wet with these on the rear. Definitely not a confidence-inspiring tyre.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tyres perform against premium summer and winter tyres!
Driven for more than 5 years all i can say is one of the best sport summer tire u can fit
Dry/wet almost same grip very high limits and handling specially when they are pushed on the limit
A bit hard compound but its a performance tire not comfy for everyday use.
They lasted about 35000-40k with good grip,last 10k a bit more slippery but ok
Would buy them again if not so expensive ..
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
Tyres came as standard on my car. Done about 35k before it got replaced with Michelin PS2, which is quite good for performance tyres, in fact they were the longest lasting set for the car. Dry grip was there but I found I had to drive it hard to extract the grip from these tyres. In wet, these tyres were terrible when compared to other like PS2, PSS and V105 tyres I had, there was no confidence in cornering in wet and often ended in massive understeer. The RE050A were quiet though, they were less harsh than the Michelins I had probably because the Michelins had 98 and 100 loadings instead of the bridgestone's 96. They were not cheap hence I would recommend other tyres.
Comes standard with the car and provide superb feel and handling in both dry and wet. Tire is harsh and transmit all bumps and road irregularity into the cabin, likely due to the low profile ratio. Tire wears off very fast, and less than 10K km it is at 50% or less.
LIkely buy again, as the tires matches the car performance - almost no drama (read: boring) drive across mountainous winding road... no screeching, no sign of losing grip...
I purchased a BMW Z4 from a family relative and it was fitted with the Bridgestone Potenza RA050A run flats. The first thing I noticed was the disturbing tendency to tram line, the car was constantly fidgeting on the road. The second issue was very serious, the car would effectively slalom when pulling in after an overtake. It was terrifying! The Potenza's fitted to the rear were new (1400 miles use) on the front they were worn with the front offside down to the legal limit.
I took the decision to fit Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 5 tyres all round and at the same time I had a 4 wheel alignment performed. Whilst some settings were out of spec the maximum was 0.21 degrees too little camber on the left rear tyre so I don't think this had any impact on the handling.
The car on F1s has, quite simply, transformed. It is calming, smooth and predictable. One Z4 owner described the fitting of Bridgestone Potenza RA050A tyres to that chassis as ‘treachery', I now agree.
Since changing to these tyres there is a huge increase in Road Noise. Ok at speeds under 50mph, but really noticeable after that. Would I buy again..? NO
I've had those on my Audi quattro and they put a smile on my face every time , the Grip is impressive on both surfaces wet and dry , they are really good until they worn out and it happened so quick , it's worth to mention I'm an aggressive driver and I live in U.A.E where it's mostly sunny .
I've done about 44000 km on them and then I had to replace them and I did it with a cheaper set of Chinese tires the difference was distinctly clear and I felt like I lost some of my car bhp due to the huge gap in the grip between both .Conclusion : if you are looking for performance regardless of money and comfort then go for them otherwise you should probably think of something else.
i had it oem on my insegnia 2014 , made 85000km and can do more maybe 120000km as my tread still around 6mm depth ..it was great for the first 20k then it became noisy and lost grip .. i wanted to change it but some way i didn`t .. after about 40k dry grip and handling improved and noise became some what less .. wet grip is not what i expected as it has gone early about 20k .. but for me it was not a problem i live in a hot country .. it was not great tyre but it was doing suffecient enough not to replace it , but now after 85k ... i just sais enough.
for buying decision there is better choice for less money as mechline primacy4 or continental sportcontact 5.
I have put these on now a second time as I liked them enough to do so.
Very robust tyres, wear evenly and in the dry give confidence especially under heavy braking. Also, I've gone over some very bad roads and some of these roads had huge potholes and these never punctured.
Good pattern for water displacement but I would say the grip levels in the wet aren't what you might get from a uniroyal.
Noise levels reduced with the re050 compared to a budget tyre fitted by previous owner.
My car is quite heavy, not that powerful and has sport suspension and I have to try quite hard to break traction in the dry.
Had these on several cars, seem to be an OEM favourite, but they are terrible tyres.
Grip is 'adequate' in the dry, and 'adequate' in the wet, but no better, and to be fair they last for absolutely ages. But that's at the expense of utterly appalling ride comfort (it's like driving on the rims, they have absolutely no give whatsoever and send jarring through the cabin on anything other than billiard-table-smooth roads). They last forever because they must have the hardest compound ever used in a road tyre. If longevity is foremost in your mind, more so than safety, comfort and noise, then this is your tyre!
They are unbearably noisy, easily the noisiest tyres I've ever had the misfortune to be stuck with. Replacing them cut in-cabin noise considerably.
Delighted to get rid of them, in the end replaced rears as well despite 3-4mm left as I just couldn't live with it anymore. Jarring, exhausting, painful ownership experience, never to be repeated.
