linklaw

This past thursday I was exiting an interstate and must have hit a piece of debris which put a hole in the sidewall of the right rear tire on my 2005 S. Fortunately, I had ordered a new set of Bridgestones at the end of April and they were sitting at my friend's shop, waiting to be installed. I had PS2s on the car with 9000 miles on the rears and 19000 on the fronts. They were pretty worn and I was waiting for my 20K service to have the new tires mounted. Needless to say I got them mounted a little early. What a difference the new tires make on the highway. I could barely hear myself think with the PS2s on a concrete highway at 70mph. The new tires are quiet and super smooth. I don't track the car so can't compare handling under extreme conditions between the two tires, but the Bridgestones seem fine for the type of driving I do. Maybe I am noticing the difference more because the PS2s were almost worn out. In any event, if I'm only going to get 9 or 10 thousand miles out of a set of rear tires, I can't see shelling out almost twice as much for the PS2s. We'll see if I'm still happy with the Bridgestones 5000 miles down the road.

mdrums

I am with you...I will not pay the higher price for PS2 when mine wear out either. Last weekend at Sebring my student had a 09 Carrera S that came with Bridgestones and I was very impressed with these tires on the track...the Bridgestone RE050A will have more grip on the street than anyone will ever need. GREAT TIRE!

elh0102

I've had some experience with both, and I prefer the handling of the Bridgestone RE050A over the PS2. I have the Bridgestone now on a Cayman S, and have had the PS2 on both a 997S and a ZO6. The Michelin might have a bit more absolute grip (although I'm not sure), but the Bridgestone sidewall feels firmer to me, resulting in sharper turn in and less slip angle overall.

Dave07997S

The Bridgestone's better sidewall is the cause of the added weight of these tires I believe.

Dave.

GSIRM3

Can anyone that has had experience with both the Bridgestones and the PS2 compare tread life? I currently have PS2 on my 997S, but thinking about the Bridgestones as replacements. I know we are not going to get many miles out of the rears regardless of tire make, but just curious if anyone has experience with both on the same car.

InTheAir

I just got rid of my PS2s for a pair of Bridestone RE050A. They are being mounted, along with some upgrades, and I'm looking forward to some (hopefully) quieter daily driving and some track use.

elh0102

In my experience, no material difference in tread life. I got 9K on the Bridgestone rears on my Cayman S, including two track weekends.

sharmat

Nice post.
I too am growing tired of the excess road noise (and higher price) of the PS2 and am considering the change to Bridgestones.

1999Porsche911

Don't overlook the RE 760 Sports. As good as the RE050A but better wet traction. For those who do not track, dial down the negative camber several minutes and you'll get thousands of miles more out of the rear tires.

mdrums

Also the min range of toe extremely helps in getting the most miles from your tires.

Also the new RE11 Bridgestones are worth a look too.

InTheAir

I thought about getting them, but decided that since we have to replace these tires every year or two (when daily driven), that I'd let some opinions develop on them first and also see if Porsche "blesses" them.

I'd love to hear firsthand experience with 'em.

Deanski

I got my RE050's from the dealer via Tire Rack as at that time TR and PCNA had some arrangment and you couldn't get the "N" spec RE050's from TR, they showed backorder all the time.

Anyway, they are a great tire! Less noise than the P-Zeros(Rosso) I had.

I also use Tire Cradles under them when the car is not used to prevent flatspots.

So far, so good. Handles and feels good for almost half the price of PS2's.

Deanski

BobbyB

Anxious to hear reports back on the Bridgestones when they have about 9K miles on them as I have 10K on my PS2's. My previous experience and gripes with Bridgestones is that they tended to be louder than the Michelins. However points are well made that the price difference between the two tires is too great to overlook these tires.

swajames

Another one here interested in the new RE11 - it looks like it might be a great tire, my local tire dealer says he has a set on his car and he highly recommends them. Looks like only a 305 is available in the 19's but I think that will fit on a C2S, right?

number9ine

I've driven on S03 PPs and RE050A PPs for years now and I have to say it's an excellent tire. Even with 2-3 DEs a year on my Boxster S, I still managed to eke out 12k from the rears on the last set and the fronts probably had another 5k in them. Just put a set on my wife's car and she's not afraid to drive in the rain anymore.

My first set of PS2s is on my C2S (came with the car), but Michelins have never inspired confidence on the VWs I've owned over the years. Loud, useless in wet, abysmal treadwear. We'll see how these fare.