Curious. According to the specs, the BFGoodrich is a better tire, aside from being a bit noisier. It has the same traction, but a higher treadwear rating. Why, then, is it so much less expensive than the Potenzas? Is there anything else you should be looking in to when choosing your next set of tires? Which set is the best set for my Touring Z, because I have a heavy foot. My '06 Z came with the Potenzas stock from the dealership, so I am probably going to replace them with the same tire. However, the BFGoodrich tires look like a better buy. What do you guys think..?

Bridgestone Potenza:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....h=true&index=0
Dry Traction Rating: 9.2
Wet Traction Rating: 8.7
Ride Comfort: 7.8
Noise Comfort: 7.6
Wear: 6.6
Treadwear Rating: 220
Traction Rating: AA
Temperature Rating: A
Price: $225.00/tire

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....h=true&index=4
Dry Traction Rating: 9.3
Wet Traction Rating: 8.7
Ride Comfort: 8
Noise Comfort: 6.8
Wear: 7.8
Treadwear Rating: 300
Traction Rating: AA
Temperature Rating: A
Price: $156.00/tire

Specs taken from http://www.tirerack.com

 

you dont want to get teh RE040's again...
please ... you check the ranking on tirerack for the RE040's??
they are the 2nd worst tire in the catagory!

if you want bridgestone tires check out S03 Pole-Position or RE050/RE050A

 

My bad, I linked the wrong tire. The ones that came stock w/ my car are the RE050A's.

 

Potenzas are more because they are OEM spec. People are in the mindset they have to purchase the same tire to be "compliant" and the dealerships have to replace the same tires when needed.

Basically tire mfrs bid on the opportunity to provide OEM tires to new vehicles, the lowest bidder wins, they ship tires by the TRAIN LOAD to the final assembly, then 6 months later they see the benefit by jacking up the price for consumers to replace them.

If you don't believe me, look at General Tire Co. They lost out in the last 2 years on these bids and they have had to expand their product offering AND INCREASE QUALITY (mildly) just to keep up with the other companies.

The BFG KDW2 is superior, dont fall into the price point/quality fallacy.

 

At discount tire, the same potenza tire cost $320 each. i only needed 2 rear tires and almost sh*t myself when the final price with warranty was over $800. i went with the BF kdw2's. But the car is alot more wiggly with those tires back there.

 

I switched to the KDW-2's and I love them. They are louder than the RE040's, but the sidewall is much stiffer and turn-in seems better. Plus they were $160/tire from Tire Rack in the stock sizes.

 

The only thing is that the BF Goodrich tires have pretty bad wet weather traction ... pretty bad but I'm willing to sacrifice a little wet weather grip for awesome dry weather grip aren't you?

 

Uhhh... not the KDW's. Your thinking of the KD's. K = Killer, D = Dry Traction, W = Wet Traction

The KDW's are designed for all weather conditions except ice and snow. Their wet traction is up there with GSD3's from Goodyear and S03's from Potenza.

 

Ive had em both, KDWII's by far...

 

try kumho MX - by far the best valued max performance summer tire...
*just a suggestion*

 

In addition to being reliable on the street, sticky on the track, ample traction in the rain, the BFG KDW-NT has the sickest looking tread out there. Combine it with a decent price, and I probably wouldn't ever choose a different tire for a street car.

 

I just replaced my rears with Remington ESSENZA 210 TYPE R on my rears at they are way better traction grabbers than the stock potenza's. I found them decently priced locally and love the tread pattern loook as well.

 

I have been running the Falken Ziex-512s for a month now in snow and rain and can readily recommend them as a good replacement tire too.

 

I have the Goodyear F1 GSD3s. They improved the handeling and ride dramatically. Look cool too! If you really shop around you can get a decent price but they are a bit steep.