I need two new tires in the rear (I am running 275/40/18) and I just found out that the Potenza SO3's that I have always used and loved on all of my cars have been discontinued!

That tire was getting such great reviews, I can't imagine why they would discontinue it. So now I am faced with getting a different tire and am looking for advice. I loved the SO3's for their grip. I live in California, so rain is not much of an issue.

Ater reading several reviews on this board, I think I have narrowed it down to:

TOYO Proxes T1R

BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3

Yokohama AVS Sport RFT

What do the experts think?

 

Why dont you go with some PS2s? Best tires on the market IMO.

 

To tell you the truth, mostly because I have not heard anyone mention them.

I have just read the Car and Driver Tire Test that another member on this board pointed me to. Out of 11 tires tested, they ranked the Goodyear Eagle F1 in first place. Interesting read.

 

isnt the RE050A the replacement for the S03?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+Pole+Position

 

RE050A Pole Positions are the S03 replacements.

 

That's true, but the reviews have been pretty bad. Car and driver rated them 9th out of 11 tires tested.

 

"Best" tires from my reading here are T 1Rs, F-1 GD S3s, or Michelin PS2s.

My T 1Rs are fine. Wil repeat or go with PS2s next time. I'd love to try the F1s but they don't come in OEM sizes (at least for my Z).

 

The RE050A Pole Positions were ranked 9th our of 11? Article link? I find that hard to believe.

 

I personally like Michelin PS2, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, and Bridgestone RE050A PP

 

I listed the link in one of my posts above (the article title in my post above is a link pointing to > http://www.caranddriver.com/features...the-tread.html

 

Don't go with the AVS sports, those are discontinued in a bunch of sizes and why would you want runflats? SO3's were disco'd, but they were noisey...get the RE050A pole positions, quieter and handle great still. BFGs are good, but loud...Michelin PS2s are phenomenal...I work at Tire Rack so I guess this would be an expert opinion, ha ha!

 

you gotta remember that those reviews are from customers, not experts, what are they comparing tires to??? Look at some of the ones with good reviews and you'll puke...like General Exclaim UHPs, they are good compared to most 15 OE tires, but compared to a Mich PS2 or BFG KDW, no they suck...you gotta take those reviews with a grain of salt.

 

The RE050 tire that is now the OEM Z tire is the low ranked one. The "good" one is the RE050 Pole Position. That's the replacement for the highly regarded S03 PP.

 

I looked up the link and I think it was comparing the RE050A not the newer RE050A PP

 

Actually, I think you might be right. I didn't notice that until you pointed it out.

What does Pole Position mean anyway? I compared the RE050A and RE050A-PP both on TireRack and the Brigstone web site, and there is no difference mentioned that I can see. They both have the same specs and the PP is acually $20 cheaper.

 

The tire rack used to have the RE050A and the RE050A PP listed separately. The PP derivative is the true successor to the SO-3's. This is also the stock tire that comes on the Ferrari Enzo...just slightly modified for the Enzo.

The S0-3's were awesome tires and these replacements are right on par if not better.

T1-R's have ridiculously soft sidewalls and you'll feel uncomfortable coming from S0-3's. I've seen mixed reviews on all the other tires you've mentioned...especially the f1-gsd3.

The pole positions are great tires and I will be switching out 100 mile old t1-r's for them next week. I can't stand the sidewall flex going into corners. If you want stiff sidewalls then you only want Bridgestones. IMO thats what gives the car a sporty feeling and is very confidence inspiring in corners.

 

Personally I think the RE050A is a much better performance tire than many want to believe. Not only is it standard on the Z's and G's but it also comes on the Ferrari Enzo and the SLR McLaren. It's much much better than the oe RE040's for sure.

The Goodyear F1 GS-D3 being 1st??? Maybe best overall when comparing price, wet performance, road noise, etc that non-performance drivers are interested in, but it's hardly a tire I'd want on my car if I'm going to any sort of track event. Look at the tread design, the blocks are thin, they heat up, they wiggle around, the tires feel unpredictable. That's speaking from 1st hand experience. The Car & Driver ranking system is bunk. They must be doing 1 or 2 laps around a small autocross course. Take that tire out on a circuit track and see how well it performs after ten minutes of hard cornering and braking.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+Pole+Position

heres some info and check out the review also

 

They carry the RE050, RE050A and the RE050A PP.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bridston.jsp

 

Yeah they still do....I thought by some of the above comments that they lumped them all together now.