I only need rear tires like the post below, but I don't want to buy a full set of new tires, and the Potenzas are worthless in my opinion.

What will happen if I put a different set on the rear?

Does Potenza make a more durable tire than the RE040? Can I match other Potenzas up with the RE040?

 

edit

 

bump...anyone?

 

bump again...

 

Not a "pro" but will try.

Different tires, even if by the same company, have different compounds and tread patterns. If all four are not the same it means your tires are contacting/gripping the road in different ways which screws up the way the car handles.

 

I've had Potenzas up front and KDW's in the rear for over 10,000 miles - no problem at all. Well, except the feathering is coming back up front

 

Who says they have to match? As long as you're talking about putting comparable tires on the front and rear and using equivalent speed ratings, appropriate sizes, etc., there is no reason I can see that they have to be a "matched set" of brand and model. Certainly it makes good sense to match tires on the same axle, but that isn't what you were asking.

 

The tires definitely DON'T have to match. I work at Bridgestone/Firestone and I put mismatched tires on cars all day. I've had a car come in with a different tire on every corner!!! As for your question of a tire that is measureable to the RE040 I would try out the potenza RE750. It's performance matches the RE's but lasts more than twice as long. the tread wear is 340 as opposed to the RE's 140. Plus they're not as expensive as your OE tires. If you're looking for better performance than the RE's I'd go with the Potenza S0-3 Pole Positions. They might be a tad more expensive than the RE040's but they are definitely worth it. I have them on my G and i love em. They will last you about 15,000 miles on average with a treadwear rating of 220 and they are grippy as all hell. The S0-3's are Bridgestone's 'Platinum' performance tire whereas the RE750 is 'Gold' performance tire. I think the RE040's are also rated as 'Gold' in our system. If you have anymore questions about Bridgestone tires i'd be happy to help
-GP-

 

i agree with what The Brickyard Rat said, the tires dont have to but it's better to match the front and rear tires. Driving thru water spot, or in rain at 70-80 mph, different tread patterns will act differently to stretch water out. Same tires with same tread patterns of course will improve the handling. That the common sense.

 

I think you should be fine, unless you go to the track. I had Michelin PS in the front and Falken GRBs on the rear previously. Everything was fine until I went to the track. At the track, the Michelin pilots were melting bad and the Falkens just melted a touch. At one point the Michelins melted so bad, the melted rubber started clumping up on the tire and the car started to understeer.

 

Well it is done very often.

The problem with different tread patterns front and back is predictability.

Wet vs Dry (if one tread pattern is better at resisting aquaplaning for example)
Hot vs Cold (like g35pm said)

In different driving conditions, either the front OR the back tyres could have better traction. If you use the same rubber front and back, its more predictable.

 

Overall it's better to match, but I wouldn't spend money on the RE040s which are mediocre at best. If you wish to stay with bridgestone, I find the RE050s, which I currently have, are pretty decent and definitely a step up from the RE040s. Though for roughly the same price, I'd go with the SO3s.

 

Matching is recommended but not manditory.

Do you find the SO3's as being better than the REO5OA's. Ive had the Michelin PS2's in the front and rear, when my PS2's wore out i put on the REO50's in a 285/35/19 and they are just as good. My friends that have used SO3's and switched to PS2's say the PS2's are way better.


So how do the two Bridgestones stack against eachother?

 

+1. All tires have different characteristics, and are designed and tested in sets of 4.

If you go different tires on the front and rear, I would stick with the same TYPE. For instance, do not put summer performance in front and all season in the rear.

You can mix different brands of summer performance tires. The result: handling, comfort, braking will be, well, a guess.

 

You mean does Bridgestone make tires more durable than the Potenza RE040? Yes. Check the Bridgestone tires at the TireRack and the wear ratings.

 

Sorry, I don't have experience with the S03s, but from everything I've read or people I've talked to, I always thought the SO3s were the top of the line bridgestones. It's good to know that the RE050s are up there with the PS2s.

Just wondering, how did you end up choosing the RE050s? I'm need tires for another car and am thinking about PS2s or goodyear F1 GS-D3s at the upper end. But at a savings of $300-400, I might go with some toyo T1Rs, falken 451s, yoko es100s or maybe some fuzion ZRis.

 

The RE050"A"s have gotten a lot of peoples attention. So i said what the hell they are half as cheap as the PS2's. So I tried them and I am very please and would like to use them again but the PS2's are just so awesome.

 

"half as cheap"? I've looked at the prices on the PS2 and the RE050 A's and they're pretty darn close (within $40).

I live in Indianapolis and the winters are only bad because they don't clean up the snow very well. I've been driving on my worn out rear OEM's and getting by with just slow careful driving. So far, I've narrowed my options down to:

1) Buy all weather tires (Nokians) for the rear and replace the front tires when they wear out (with Nokians as well). I've heard a lot of good things about these tires.

2) Potenza RE050's or RE050A's on the rear tires with sandbags in the back of the car

3) Michelin Pilot Sport's on the rear tires with sandbags in the back. What model? The PS2's?

I really appreciate everyone's comments and input.

 

I'm using RE050's for the rear, they pwn3d and are quiet as hell--oem MercBenz E55 AMG fronts--they're also very quiet tires

 

Wow the price is cheaper now, in a 275/35
Bridgestones 275
PS2's 332

For your driving conditions you should either park it or get snow/mud tires