I posted this in another thread, but wanted to start my own to help clear up any confusion regarding the discontinuation of the Bridgestone RE-11 in 19" rim sizes. Just 3 days ago I wasn't able to find a full set on TireRack, so I called them and got this all sorted out. Long story short, IT glitch on their part and a new compound all lead to this lack of tire availability.
I informed the Bridgestone rep at TireRack the 285 wasn't online, yet he said it was available. That has since been fixed on their website. As for the RE-11 being discontinued as previously thought, that is incorrect. I found out the tire has been updated with a different compound and better sidewall. Treadwear, or UTQG, is now 200, up from 180. It is only by this difference you can differentiate the older version1 RE-11 from the newer version2. So far the version2 have been released in the wider rear sizes, which is fine since the rears wear faster. I don't mind having a stronger compound on the rear and softer version1 up front. Mind you, I am not talking about RE-11a's. Check it out on TireRack. I bought a set of RE-11's yesterday 245/40 (f) 285/35 (r) for $1103.70. For those interested in RE-11, just gotta call TireRack, or go to your local Firestone dealer and they even price-match Costco's prices, (what I did so I didn't have to pay shipping from TireRack.) Costco still cannot get the larger rear sizes because they search by part # and have yet to differentiate the version2 tire, yet they are shown available on their website. They are not, but Firestone doesn't need to know that!
RE-11's are here to stay. All's well in tireland now.
