Bridgestone RE002 vs. Yokohama S Drive?

[Alvis]

Hi guys,

Any recommendations or experiences you can share on a Bridgestone RE002 vs. a Yokohama S Drive?

I'm currently running Michelin Pilot Proceda Sport 2, but unfortunately they don't make the new Pilot 3 in the 205/50/15 size (I'd have to go back to the stock 195/55/15).

Any opinions, just shout 'em out!

Cheers,
Alvis :thumbsup:

[EG30]

Preceda's one of the best tyres made by Michelin considering it's meant to be a midrange performance tyre below the Pilot sport range. Very refined, quiet, predictable, plenty of grip wet and dry and doesnt lose much grip over its life unlike many others.

Bought a set of S drive for our dc2r 4 years ago and been regretting the purchase ever since. S drive not even close to the performance of KU31 let alone the new RE002.

The grip even in the dry was so below par that I no longer enjoy pushing the otherwise well handling stock dc2r around corners.

Evo magazine did a tyre test few years back and it finished dead last and the only thing good about the tyre is the low noise and low rolling resistance which I fully agree.

Unless you are seeking fuel econ and low noise and you like your tyres to grip hard, AVOID.

Pretty old design too ie they came out before the RE001 and the tread pattern looks like a copy of the now superceded b/stone G III with more grooves/sipes on the tread blocks. Reviews of Re002 from this and other forums suggest it's a decent improvement over the RE001 so to answer your question Re002 it is.

[CRXDEL501]

i had RE002 on my dc2r.. i loved them.
real grippy tyres. cant really say anything bad about them.

[ericl33]

isn't the S drive the predecessor to the ES100's?

if so, S drive any day......






in saying that, I've never used them, used the ES100 though and it was very good both wet and dry.

[Alvis]

Thanks very much guys, great to hear your thoughts :) leaning to the RE002; but what is the difference between the RE002 and the RE11?


link: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Size/15-Inch-Tyres/205-50-15-Tyres.htm

[Alvis]

I think I found my answer for anyone who else is interested:

"Overall Test Results Highlighted:

WRX's :

Bridgestone RE002 : Neutral Handling, Great Grip, Very Little Road Noise
Dunlop SportMaxx : Slightly Better Feedback, Slightly Less Grip, I nconsistent feel, Alot of Road Noise
Michelin Pilot Sport : Decent Level of grip, Tendancy to feel the car wanted to oversteer more, very quiet.


PDF at bottom of review as well... although it is from Bridgestone themselves, but still the tests seem to back up their claims: http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=493484


Sounds like a goer... so far best price is from Jax $205 and get one free if you buy four - good deal??

[EG30]

Thanks very much guys, great to hear your thoughts :) leaning to the RE002; but what is the difference between the RE002 and the RE11?


link: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Size/15-Inch-Tyres/205-50-15-Tyres.htm

RE11 is a trackable street tyre with chunky tread blocks and heavily reinforced sidewalls at the expense of ride quality and noise. Other tyres in the same category include AD08, KU36, Dunlop D1 ( new D2 just released ), RE11A ( RE11 update ), Hankook RS2/3, R1R etc.

Pics of our RE11 tyres ( 205 45 16 ) next to the S drives (195 55 15 )

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/7746/img5948ra.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/img5948ra.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Price of a set of RE11 landed would be around $850-900 from tirerack.com plus fit and bal; vs $615 for the deal from jax ( presumably fitted and bal ). Fair bit of difference in % and $300 odd in absolute terms. Gripwise there will be big difference between the two; with the RE11 making car lot more chuckable than the RE002.

Scans of the Evo tyre test I scanned few years back and posted on this forum many times:

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/3537/evo0002.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/189/evo0002.jpg/)
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/7906/evo0001.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/33/evo0001.jpg/)

[DreadAngel]

RE11 are same level as that of the AD08, Z1 Star Spec, etc...

They're the softest street tires around and the highest level of grip for street tires.

They do sacrifice lifespan and potential other things like road noise etc for absolute grip.

RE002 are just performance street tires, better grip than average tires but still retain most of the good passenger tyre attributes [quality ones do anyway].

There is no contest in grip and performance, the RE11 will walk all over the RE002...

Also don't get confused with the RE11S, those are Semi-Slicks which are replacing the RE55S

[Alvis]

Thanks again EG30 and DreadAngel, appreciate your thorough responses :thumbsup:

It sounds like the RE002 would be perfect for my little D16 - a quality tyre that is both street-grippy and street-comfortable :)

+1 rep

[EK1 Civic]

Most tyre places will let u noe that the re002 aren't good in the wet. Places I went to are drifters/track enthusiasts and all said the same thing, the re002 randomly snap and lose traction in the wet. Mates got em in his car, there fine all round, but i wouldn't be a smartass in the rain with them. Wet grip isnt tat great

[ericl33]

nitto?

the ones Taleb tires are selling?

I would consider them next.

[Spunkymonkey]

From personal experience..agree RE002 not that great in the wet....they are an ok all round tyre (have them on my crx with b series)....I prefer my dunlop sport maxx on my dc2 as an overall....having said that..it's just for a d series so should be fine....that reminds me we did have the RE002 on our d series civic before it got written off....again it was ok lol....

[Alvis]

Off memory, didn't the EM1 come from factory with Dunlop SP Sport tyres (195/55/15)?

Any thoughts on the SP tyre?

And how come no one uses P6000s?

[Spunkymonkey]

Off memory, didn't the EM1 come from factory with Dunlop SP Sport tyres (195/55/15)?

Any thoughts on the SP tyre?

And how come no one uses P6000s?

Don't think the EM1 came with dunlop sp sport maxx's. These tyres only been around the last few years. Before the sport maxx's you had the Dunlop Direzzas and a long time before that you had the FM901s which were awesome in their hey day....

as for why no one uses P6000s....maybe price?

I don't mind spending more money on tyres, brakes and sussy but that's my preference.....everyone has their own budget...

Yokies I've not looked at recently mainly because of the cost compared to other similar spec tyres from other brands, plus it's been a while since I needed tyres lol

[Alvis]

I agree - everyone has their budget. But you can do all the mods in the world and they'll count for nothing if your tyres are rubbish imo.

For the street, the RE002s might not be the absolute best, but for a D they seem like a good compromise between performance, comfort and quality.

But in saying that I would buy Michelin's again without a doubt... 25,000kms and still a bit in them which isn't too bad with spirited driving... just don't want to go back to a 195/55/15

[EG30]

Off memory, didn't the EM1 come from factory with Dunlop SP Sport tyres (195/55/15)?

Any thoughts on the SP tyre?

And how come no one uses P6000s?

When the EM1 as new the Dunlops it came with was only some very ordinary SP something something tyres; SP it's the family/series name like the potenza range in B/stone speak Or Eagle in Goodyear speak.

The premium range of Dunlop SP sport maxx, sport maxx GT+TT range starts at larger sizes than yours ie 18"+ for the Maxx GT range and 16+ for the old style sport maxx. In 205 50 15 the most performance orientated one from Dunlop is the Direzza 101 which is a pretty good tyre but getting bit long in the tooth ie came out in Jp in the early 2000s and many good value performance tyres had came onto the market in the last 5 years for less $. Couple with the fact that Dunlop ( along with Goodyear ) tyres dont get well discounted as often and as much as other major brands. Now and then at the Goodyear tyre centres they offer 4 tyres for price of 3 for Goodyear and Dunlop tyres but I dont find that dinkum of a deal ie you pay 3x full rrp and also the fitting and bal is on top for the 4th tyre.

Very few ppl would use P6000 in our cars in our sizes ( 14, 15" ) cos they are almost ancient relics!

They came out in the mid 90s as a replacement for the P600, huge improvement and pretty good all round tyre for comfort, noise, grip and durability and well suited to Euro cars at the time ie W124, W210 Mercs or E34, E36, E39 BMWs with 60 series profiles. It's a sport touring tyre and not a performance tyre and for what it is still good. But for the price of them they are dearer than KU31 with less grip in say 195 50 15 that are often discounted to $105 or so fitted each, and in 14" say 185 60 14 tyres like A drives are better and cheaper.

They are meant to be replaced with the P6 a few years back and the Pirelli au site stop listing the P6000 long ago and yet you still see the tyre being offered by many tyre outlets from time to time mostly on specials.

[Alvis]

Thanks EG30, yes, I remember when I bought my EM1 rims the guy said they were the original tyres because he changed his over and they were the Dunlop Sport - must have been the SP spec :)

Wow, I didn't know the P6000 was so old! Was probably good in its day, but I guess the game has moved on. You really know your tyres!

My local Michelin rep told me today to also look at the BF Goodrich G Force, as he said that's also made by Michelin; but after just doing a simply Google search many people seem unhappy with the noise levels from the tyre <http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Reviews/BFGoodrich/g-Force+Sport>, so even though it might be made by Michelin not something I'd consider as I'm not after a noisy tyre. Obviously he's just promoting what he sells.

Well, I'll get some prices over the next week and let you guys know what prices I can get :thumbsup:

[EG30]

Refraining from mentioning the G force sport as they are neither good at anything nor cheap; as well as the fact it's such an old tyre I expect them to be phased out by now.

Bought a set of BFG G force back in 2005/6 when my EG was still running the zc engine; back then there wasnt much choice ie..

Re001 wasnt out yet, B/stone only had the GIII which I wasnt keen on the tread flex for this car and the flagship tyre S03 didnt come in 205 50 15 anymore let alone in 195. Had a horrid exp with the Toyo Gu Wn's ie hugely noisy and vibration problems so I wasnt game to try the T1S/T1R range.

So it was between that and the DZ101 and I chose the BFG due to the Michelin link; I paid $140 or so fitted which was pretty good price at the time in 2005/6. Precedas just came out and they were $220 or so each and not knowing how good the preceda's were I couldnt justify the huge % difference in price.

The noise/drone can get annoying at certain speed ranges and the noise only got worse as they got worn. Ppl whinge about re001, conti csc1/2/3, re050 being noisy....they havent been using G force sport.

Switched to Re001 as soon as they were release and good improvement in every department and price I paid was around $135 each, re001 did have a vooooooo-ing hummm upon decel under brakes at certain speed range but as they wore down that disppeared.



http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4822/img4678eu.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/20/img4678eu.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[caruso_19]

Most tyre places will let u noe that the re002 aren't good in the wet. Places I went to are drifters/track enthusiasts and all said the same thing, the re002 randomly snap and lose traction in the wet. Mates got em in his car, there fine all round, but i wouldn't be a smartass in the rain with them. Wet grip isnt tat great

Really? i throw my RE002s into corners in the wet pretty hard. Hold up extreamly well.

[DreadAngel]

Wet weather performance is quite subjective as it has a lot to do with the way you corner and work the pedals & gears. If you're very smooth, you're able to 'lean' on the tires more to the edge of adhesion, however if you're quite abrupt, the tires will relinquish their grip very quickly or snap even as described above. My RE001s were better than the C-Drives in the wet overall, the RE002 meant to be improved in the wet compared to the RE001 =)

I've also seen these classified as Summer Tires too, if that's the case then you can't expect that much from their wet performance... I thought they were All-Season tires tbh hahaha

[r3ckless]

CBF reading any other posts, but I thought I'd give my input.

Been running Dunlop Direzza Z1 star specs in 235/45/17 on my car for a few months. Just put on brand new RE002 225/45/17 on the same wheels. Havnt driven the car hard at all, but noticed so far the really good street comfort from these adrenalins compared to the Z1 SS! absorbed bumps so much better then the previous tyres.

Having said that, I'll still go back to Direzzas haha

[Alvis]

Decided to go with the RE002s - got them fitted and balanced yesterday.

Initial thoughts on first few ks are a little harder ride than the Pilot Preceda 2's I had on there before (notice the bumps a touch more), but somehow they feel more planted - maybe it's just the harder ride making me feel that... not sure yet, haven't really really pushed them too hard.

And for some reason, they seem to bulge out more at the bottom when you look straight down at the tyre compared to the Michelins I had on before...?