Need some input....have searched the WWW and can't find ANY info on these tires and are looking for more info about them to purchase and install on a friends R.....

thanks in advance for any help.....


oh ya....these come on the Newest Subaru WRX "Sti's" as pictured here....

 

well they're prolly really $$$ cause they're OEM tires, plus you won't find too many of us rolling on 17" blingers around here, so I would go look on tirerack or something...

 

I think the RE070 is what the Ferrari Enzo uses. I wonder if they make them in a 15''?

 

Not too long ago, one of my friends in the tire world put me in touch with one of the top technical experts at Bridgestone. I had an extended conversation with him about tires, and, in particular, about their various Potenza tires. I know now that the STI is using the Potenza RE070, but at the time, we were discussing the Potenza RE010 (OEM tire on the R) and the RE040, and I'm pretty sure the same things apply to the RE070.

First, he said that all of the Bridgestone Potenza RE040 models are designed for specific cars. If you look at the spec sheet for the RE040, you will see that every tire size is designed for a specific vehicle. They work with the auto manufacturer to match the design criteria of the car manufacturer for the tires (precise handling, dry traction, wet traction, etc) along with the characteristics of the car, including its weight, its handling (propensity towards oversteer/understeer, etc). Thus the 215/45ZR17 size is optimized for the Lexus IS300, etc. And tires which come in different sizes front vs rear for a given car are indeed optimized for that particular end of that particular car.

Also, I expressed to him the concerns that some have raised about how a tire such as the RE010 tire which was designed specifically for the ITR, might compare with a general-purpose tire such as the Bridgestone S-03 which is designed to be used on many vehicles. He said that it depends on the car in question. For example, with a family car like a Ford Taurus or Honda Accord, the design objectives of an OEM tire are geared towards that particular vehicle, and might seek to maximize ride comfort and minimize noise, while providing decent but not superb dry cornering traction. In that case, the driver who is concerned about performance characteristics such as dry traction and precise handling might indeed find that the S-03 performs better for his preferences than the OEM tire. However, he said that with a high-performance sports car like the ITR or NSX (or STI), the design objectives of the OEM tire are to maximize those same performance characteristics. As a result, the OEM tire that is designed specifically for that vehicle may provide better performance than a tire which is designed to be used on many different vehicles.

From this conversation, I would conclude that the Potenza RE070 in the 225/45-17 size is optimized for the STI - a 300 hp 4WD car that weighs 3250 pounds. When used on the ITR, it might perform quite well... but probably not as well as the tire that was designed specifically for the ITR, particularly considering the difference in weight between the two cars. Furthermore, that size tire has an outer diameter that is 6.5 percent larger than that of the stock ITR tire. That's a pretty significant difference, and is going to have a lot of negative effects - it will probably rub the fender wells, and acceleration will be poorer, since it will be like putting taller gears on the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
From this conversation, I would conclude that the Potenza RE070 in the 225/45-17 size is optimized for the STI - a 300 hp 4WD car that weighs 3250 pounds. When used on the ITR, it might perform quite well... but probably not as well as the tire that was designed specifically for the ITR, particularly considering the difference in weight between the two cars. Furthermore, that size tire has an outer diameter that is 6.5 percent larger than that of the stock ITR tire. That's a pretty significant difference, and is going to have a lot of negative effects - it will probably rub the fender wells, and acceleration will be poorer, since it will be like putting taller gears on the car.
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Excellent NSXtasy!!! Thanks VERY much for the input, I'll pass it on

 

yeah, good info, thanks for contributing

 

they're on the newest NSX-R also

yshi - who wanted a set when he saw these last year

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yoshi234 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">they're on the newest NSX-R also</TD></TR></TABLE>

I thought the new NSX-R has the same tires as the other '02-03 NSX models - which means the Bridgestone Potenza RE040, not the Potenza RE070. EDIT: Not true - see post below.

And, as with previous OEM tires for the NSX, the RE040 are corner-specific, so you have to buy a left front RE040 tire (215/40-17), a right front RE040 tire (same size) which carries a different designation from the left front tire, and the same for the rear RE040 tires (255/40-17).



Modified by nsxtasy at 10:03 AM 6/24/2003

 

i thought re*** was to identify factory tire http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...l.jsp - shows some other models such as re020, so i woudldn't find and other re*** better than re010.. there are better tires out there, such as s-03..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I thought the new NSX-R has the same tires as the other '02-03 NSX models - which means the Bridgestone Potenza RE040, not the Potenza RE070.</TD></TR></TABLE>

RE070
http://www.honda.co.jp/factboo....html

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

I think the Potenza RE-010's are CRAP. Pure crap.

In Arizona it's like fawking Disney's Escapades on Ice when I drive on these things. Probably different in other parts of country, but here daily temps are around 108; I can only imagine what the pavement temp is.

I need something that can handle higher temps.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by onyx00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think the Potenza RE-010's are CRAP. Pure crap.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think they're quite excellent. But I don't live in the desert Southwest.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by onyx00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I need something that can handle higher temps.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Perhaps R compound tires would meet your needs better... and you already have a set!

 

Yeah, but I can't afford ot use those on the street!

 

BFG KD's, or dont drive so fast?