Are Bridgestone Potenza's RE010 195/55/15 still available anywhere? What about RE-11's? Any experiences with these? I want OEM or as close to as possible.

 

I am currently using the RE-11 in 205/50/15. I have used it for track, autoX and daily driving. It is the single best tire of this catagory that I have ever driven on. It can fo all of these things very well, its wet traction isnt bad and they don't seem to be wearing too quickliy at all. I won't heseitate to buy it again.

 

Have you noticed any decrease in straight line acceleration with the 205/50/15? I had that size on my previous R and although it could be my imagination it seemed just a tad slower by seat of the pants. Cornering was incredible though.

 

You mean Vs 195's and are we talking the stock rim or 7" wide rim?

 

The RE010 is no longer available.

The RE-11 is one of the new supersticky tires available that are good substitutes for the RE010. Some come in 195/55-15 (stock size), others in 205/50-15:

1. Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 195/55-15
2. Kumho Ecsta XS 205/50-15
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 205/50-15
4. Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 205/50-15

You'll find a side-by-side comparison test of all four on the Tire Rack website. All are excellent. The biggest difference is in the wet, where the XS isn't quite as good as the others. Also, the Dunlop and Kumho are priced a lot less than the Bridgestone and Yokohama.

Either size can be used on rims 5.5-7.0 inches wide, including the stock 15x6 rims. You'll need to stick with 205/50-15 if you have lard-*** 15x7.5 rims.

 

Yes, sorry should have been more clear.

 

Those who need a set of RE11's are in for a good deal. Discount Tire is offering a 100MIR for a set of four Bridgestones. And Bridgestone is offering another 100 off a set of RE11's. Unfortunately they're not offering it for the RE760.

Search slickdeals for discount tire and bridgestone and you'll find the links.

 

First of all, most such rebates are offered by the manufacturer. It's the same rebate as the retailer offers. IOW, you can only get $X off once, not twice, but you can get it from any Bridgestone dealer.

Second, the rebate you're referring to expired on August 22 and was for $70, not $100.

Current prices:

1. Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec 195/55-15 $84/tire plus shipping at Tire Rack, $92/tire with free shipping at Discount Tire Direct
2. Kumho Ecsta XS 205/50-15 $88/tire plus shipping at Tire Rack
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 205/50-15 $118/tire plus shipping at Tire Rack
4. Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 205/50-15 $122/tire plus shipping at Tire Rack, $151.88/tire with free shipping at Discount Tire Direct

 

That's true most of the time, but not this time.

Anyways, let me clarify, I was being unclear (I assumed the OP was in Cali):

If you live in California (might work in other states if you print out the ad), you can still get a 100MIR from Discount Tire here:

http://www.americastire.com/dtcs/fin...8419&rc=CAOINT

Expires 10/17, which is today.

If you don't live in California, you only get a 70MIR, but the deal is still valid until 10/31:

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fin...ns.do?pgid=247

Those two are Discount Tire rebates, that is, they're sent to the Discount Tire offices for processing. For this rebate it'd be wise to use a store issued reprint.

Now there's the Bridgestone 100MIR, which is independent of the Discount Tire promotion. Your receipt is mailed to Bridgestone, whose rebate deals are not associated with Discount Tires.

http://bridgestonetire.com/VIP/b-j/

That deal expires on 12/31. Doesn't apply to all Bridgestones.

 

Those Discount Tire deals are only good at Discount Tire stores, not at Discount Tire Direct. Prices at Discount Tire stores are almost always MUCH more than at Discount Tire Direct, and those higher prices will often more than offset the $100 savings they're offering. But hey, you can ask at Discount Tire and see if they'll give you a comparable deal or better. When in doubt, it never hurts to shop around.

Don't forget, you also need to take into account the fact that many in-store tire purchases include mounting/balancing in the price, whereas mail order purchases don't and you'll wind up paying $10-20/tire more for it. The typical comparison of prices between in-store and mail-order tires looks like this:

In-store = tire price + sales tax (+ mounting/balancing if not already included)
Mail-order = tire price + shipping (shipping is free with Discount Tire Direct) + mounting/balancing

If there are any store or manufacturer rebates/offers, deduct that too. And you'll have your bottom line.

Good find on the Bridgestone offer, though, which DOES apply to the RE-11. Note that you have to buy the tires by the end of November, not December.

Manufacturer offers like the Bridgestone offer are usually shown on the websites of both Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct when you look up any of the tires involved. I don't know why that one isn't...

 

NSXtasy thanks for the info!