The Official OEM Potenza life thread.

[tranceformer]

Just replaced my rear potenzas this morning, about 14.8k miles. One of them had a nice big hole in it but probably only had a few hundred miles left anyway.

140 treadlife rating FTL.

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by tranceformer

Just replaced my rear potenzas this morning, about 14.8k miles. One of them had a nice big hole in it but probably only had a few hundred miles left anyway.

140 treadlife rating FTL.

Yep, anything with a 140 - 200 TW rating gets suck for mileage, but that's how you get the 1G corner grip.

Harder compounds = more miles = less grip

It's a trade off unfortunately, you can't have your cake and eat it.

[semtex]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

Yep, anything with a 140 - 200 TW rating gets suck for mileage, but that's how you get the 1G corner grip.

Harder compounds = more miles = less grip

It's a trade off unfortunately, you can't have your cake and eat it.

Not sure I agree it's that simple, Chris. Michelin PS2s provide more grip and they have a treadwear rating of 220. Not that there isn't a catch, mind you -- they're freakin' expensive! But it is possible to increase both grip and treadwear at the same time. To be honest, I think the OEM tires are utter junk. For such a soft tire, the level of grip is simply pitiful. I've never driven a set of Bridgestones I didn't think were crap. Just my personal experience. I hear the RE-11s are good though. But even there the treadwear is only 180. I put PS2s on my S2000, I put them on my 350, and now I'm putting them on my 370.

[AK370Z]

I'm almost 18,300 miles and still I have threads left on the tires. Heck, I even did a peel out/burnout today (just for fun). I think I can still go another 3000+ miles easy on them. I'll report back!

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by semtex

Not sure I agree it's that simple, Chris. Michelin PS2s provide more grip and they have a treadwear rating of 220. Not that there isn't a catch, mind you -- they're freakin' expensive! But it is possible to increase both grip and treadwear at the same time. To be honest, I think the OEM tires are utter junk. For such a soft tire, the level of grip is simply pitiful. I've never driven a set of Bridgestones I didn't think were crap. Just my personal experience. I hear the RE-11s are good though. But even there the treadwear is only 180. I put PS2s on my S2000, I put them on my 350, and now I'm putting them on my 370.

Can't really comment much on the RE-50A's as I took them off right after I got the car and installed RE-11's. The RE-11's have fantastic grip but only if road temperatures are above 60 degrees, below that they can be downright dangerous.

Don't know what treadwear is really like with the RE-11's considering I beat the crap out of these tires with auto-x. I have 5500 miles on the tires and the fronts are shot on the outside, the rears have even wear but are going to be reaching the wear bars soon. PS2's are a good tire but can't really compete against the RE-11 in terms of outright grip, definitely a better all round performer though.

[m4a1mustang]

I got a little over 18k out of mine. Here's a pic of the RR...

[semtex]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

Can't really comment much on the RE-50A's as I took them off right after I got the car and installed RE-11's. The RE-11's have fantastic grip but only if road temperatures are above 60 degrees, below that they can be downright dangerous.

Don't know what treadwear is really like with the RE-11's considering I beat the crap out of these tires with auto-x. I have 5500 miles on the tires and the fronts are shot on the outside, the rears have even wear but are going to be reaching the wear bars soon. PS2's are a good tire but can't really compete against the RE-11 in terms of outright grip, definitely a better all round performer though.

Yeah I considered getting a set of RE-11s, actually, because I know the grip is superior to the PS2. But I ended up going with the PS2 on account of its higher TW.

[tranceformer]

I loved the reactions I got from coworkers (read: NON car enthusiasts) when I said I wore out my rear tires at 15k miles.

[tonybui]

Can u guys post the way u drive too ? that would help a lot. I can't imagine my tires dead at 12k miles

[m4a1mustang]

Mine was all semi aggressive street drivig with a few drag strip passes. The rears wore down much more than the fronts.

[semtex]

Originally Posted by tonybui

Can u guys post the way u drive too ? that would help a lot. I can't imagine my tires dead at 12k miles

I'm actually fairly conservative in my driving style. I don't track my car, I don't auto-x. And I get a bigger kick out of nailing it in a straight line than I do from cornering at the limit. Now, that's probably going to change once I get my PS2s on, because part of the reason I take it easy around corners is that I think the OEM Potenzas are complete crap and I have no confidence in them. But yeah, the stock 19" tires only have a 140 TW rating. You'd think that they'd at least provide decent grip if they're going to wear so quickly. Bridgestone OEM tires FTL.

[m4a1mustang]

Originally Posted by semtex

I'm actually fairly conservative in my driving style. I don't track my car, I don't auto-x. And I get a bigger kick out of nailing it in a straight line than I do from cornering at the limit. Now, that's probably going to change once I get my PS2s on, because part of the reason I take it easy around corners is that I think the OEM Potenzas are complete crap and I have no confidence in them. But yeah, the stock 19" tires only have a 140 TW rating. You'd think that they'd at least provide decent grip if they're going to wear so quickly. Bridgestone OEM tires FTL.

It really is interesting, isn't it? For a 140 rating and costing nearly $300 a pop you'd think they'd be good tires, but they're really just loud pieces of crap. My Hankook V12s, which are "almost" half the cost, seem to perform twice as good as the OEM tires. They are nearly 100% quieter, they have more cornering grip, and the car just feels better... not to mention my wallet is happy.

[JACKPAC]

I've only gotten about 1,500 miles out of mine so far...











... I need to drive more

[DakillaZ]

15000 k for me

[semtex]

Originally Posted by DakillaZ

15000 k for me

Wow, that's amazing! 1k=1000, therefore 15000k = 15,000,000 miles!