Long-Term Review: Bridgestone S04 Pole Position

abm89

I thought I would give my two cents on these tires since they're now being demoted to spare status.

Just for some background, my Z is a daily driver that will see the track occasionally (intermediate level driver). I bought these tires for extra grip without killing me when it decides to pour in the Houston area. I got them February of 2014 and I've done:

Sizes: 265/35R19...305/30/R19
- at least 20K miles
- 5 track days on the front
- 4 track days on the rear

Below is what's left on the rear:


As far as how these tire behave, they are very grippy in daily driving situations when new. Wet and dry conditions yielded stable and predictable handling characteristics. On the track, they were perfect for learning racing lines and the car's handling capabilities. These were very forgiving when you start to break loose; it's a gradual loss of the rear end. I tend recommend these tires to friends who want to learn how to track their Z. They have enough grip to fly around the corners, and the owners don't have to commit to buying a full set of wheels and tires for track use if they don't like the "track experience".

If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. This is all I can think of at the moment.

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speedfreek

Pretty much sums it up. I did a track day on a set of S-04's. For beginners it is plenty of tire to get you acquainted with what a track day calls for. The brakes will need attention first IMO. I have since upgraded to an 18" wheel for the track and run the Hankook R-S3's. Night and day difference in performance level on the track as it should be considering they are in two different categories.

The S-04's are a great tire for DD which I still use mine for.

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TerribleONE

Thanks for your review.

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kenchan

s04's are great street tires for sure. the 's' stands for street according to dori dori when he was explaning about s03's like 15yrs ago. lol

abm89

I'm not so sure they're following that nomenclature. The RE760 and RE050 aren't that impressive.

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kenchan

i think RE stands for ...

never mind..

JARblue

oveRpricEd?

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ufoz8mycow

I 2nd everything here. I've had them for almost 10k miles on my daily driven Z and love them.

Chan Chee Hoe

Stands for "Race Equiped".

kenchan

nope...

not that either..

shaun66

Thinking about replacing my PSS with these tires. Don't want to pay 1400+ again for tires when I see these on tire rack for 800 and change. Car is 100 percent street car and I have about 20K miles on the PSS and I'm at 4/32 all around. Anybody think these will wear any better than PSS? May just get them to save some money regardless.

abm89

It's probably about the same. It all depends on how you drive it and whether you keep your alignment in spec.

Also note the even wear on my rear tire... SPL FTW

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shaun66

Yeah thats kind of what I figured. how did you like those sizes on the sport wheels? I was thinking probably just doing 265/285 combo to keep the stagger down, not that it will make a difference for the driving I'm doing.

Hotrodz

I have about 18K on mine with 12K while boosted. They have done a great job for me on the street. I'm not one that spends a lot of time burning rubber so they will last if you have a good alignment. I'm lowered on coils and spent the money on SPL front arms to go with my rear arms and toe bolts. I figure that it would not only improve handling but over time I will recoup my money in not having to replace tires every 12K mi or less.

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NORAIN

I ran mine at the track in the wet a couple weeks ago. They were great! I seemed to have more traction than the rest of the crowd for sure. They stuck like it was dry.

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