Bridgestone Potenza Sport vs Potenza Race vs RE-71RS 

with the addition of the continental sport contact 7 continental has proven that it can combine wet grip with dry grip in a way that blew your mind in your uhp test video. with the continental ultracontact NXT Continental wants to combine Wet grip(A), fuel efficency (A) and low noise (69 db). i cant wait for the test, i really hope you can test it soon, it will sell in europe in september already. I hope its good a dry breaking as well... if you cant say anything about it, maybe you can wink wether you test soon or not.

Do you test in Ivalo? Looks like the winter test track here. As a car person I was interested in working for the company. I run 3 sets of tyres here. Winter studded, Vredestien Quatrac 5 and summer tyres depending on alloys……Finland is complicated weather wise so I find 3 sets of tyres suit the car better.

@@MattinLapland sure do, fairly often too.

Noooo. Kids need to learn from an early age that tyres are super important, for cars or even for their tricycle or bicycle with stabilisers!😂

Haha it’s not porn , well maybe tyre porn?

Pure tire porn. My daughter can't see it until she's 16.

Coffee at late night?!

@@fer1306 plot twist, he's putting them to bed at 11am

I would love it if you put some reviews on www.tire-reviews.com as that is some good data the site doesn't have!

thanks for the review haha. sounds right!

Glad you enjoyed it :)

Turanza and Ecopia make also for good tires...Not the best harcore tire but so light and efficient and so much grip on wet, braking etc...that would be good to really see difference...

:D

Glad you like them!

There's data on the site :) But I plan on doing it soon too.

:D Get a review on www.tire-reviews.com !

Yes, yes it would

Yes please!! 👍

:D

Bridgestone Potenza S02 was one of the first tires I fell in love with.

@@tyrereviews The S02 was the OEM fitment on the SW20, I remember the first SW20 I bought came with them on the fronts and A022's on the back. But by the time I came to replace those tyres you couldn't get either of them in SW20 sizes.

I hope you enjoyed it!

:D

Can you get the RE71RS?

@@tyrereviews unfortunately not. We miss a lot of great tyres in France.

I live in Taylorsville now!

I’m shopping for my S2000 too! Leaning towards Potenza or Continental Extreme Contact

@@tyrereviews Awesome! I'm up a bit further North. I'll keep on the lookout for more UMC content!

@@fhowland 👍are you running the stock staggered setup?

Ran Conti ECS on my S2000. Great grip. Slow turn in feedback. Putting on some RE’s after hearing how razor sharp it feels.

No problem, which ones are in your market?

@@tyrereviews Potenza Sport, Re71RS, ive not seen the Potenza Race in singapore yet.

@@pravinlucasofficial8149 Owning a car in Singapore is INSANE!!! 😱 I've watched Hagerty's video on Singapore's car culture and your government is absolutely nuts! I feel for you guys ✊😔

@@niikon thank you man! No matter where we're from, It is a passion for cars that we all share! Thank god for that! 🍻 🤜🤛 Props to Hagerty for their excellent content!

My 435i came from Singapore with re71

Glad you're getting on with them. They're really well mannered considering how the tire looks!

@@tyrereviews Yep! They're very nice, especially at the autocross events. I have a couple of track days coming up here in early October; I can't wait to get a personal best lap time with these.

Are they noisy? Can you compare them between Michelin PS4S and Toyo Proxiesr888r's? I can't daily the Toyo's because of way too much noise.

@@bokiNYC I don't even notice the tires making any noise out of the norm... Only cracks in the road get them to make any sound. Smooth roads are quiet. IMO they're really good for daily driving, especially with what they are really meant for.

Plus if you have a co-driver, the Yokohamas really limit how many "good" laps you'll get especially if the heat has very few drivers. Your first or second lap (depending on which driver went first) might actually be your best lap on a hot day. I haven't had that problem with the RE-71RS, once they get fired up (usually 1 lap) they give consistent grip throughout the rest of the day so you can really focus on your own driving instead of worrying about what state the tires are in.

I'm hearing in the bigger sizes the RS isn't much slower than the A052 and lasts wayyyy longer

Look on the bright side, you're getting snacks instead of lube.

What wheel? That's a huge saving, I want to make a video on it.

@@tyrereviews That is the Litespeed Racing RS5RR, a 5-split Y spoke with cutouts in the spokes for more weight savings. The wheels are CNC machined to whatever specs are required and you can get whatever color you want in gloss, satin or flat. You have a choice of materials from(heavier to lighter): standard forged aluminum, their proprietary forged aluminum, forged magnesium(the one I got) and a carbon fiber. The carbon fiber was only a miniscule amount lighter but was significantly more expensive. The wheels I got were the stock fitment for my Z: 19 x 9 - F & 19 x 10 R. The front wheels weighed exactly 14.2 lbs with the rears very slightly more. My stock Rays aluminum wheels weighed about 23 lbs, which was not bad for a wheel of this size. I verified the weight differences in looking at the different densities of aluminum and magnesium. My rear Michelin PS Cup 2 weighs about 6 lbs less than the OEM Bridgestone Potenza S007, so I've shaved about 15 lbs off the rear corner weight compared to what the car came with. In the near future, when I have to do a brake job on the car, I'm going to replace the one-piece all steel rotors with some Akebono two-piece ones with aluminum hats and take off an additional 10 lbs on the front and 5 lbs in the rear. Eventually, when all the excess unsprung mass is off, I will get some good coil overs that have separately adjustable compression and rebound damping and have the car corner balanced and the damping optimized for the lighter suspension. Some additional info: the manufacturing lead time is 2 months and the owner, Patrick, keeps you informed of the build process. He requires 50% down and the balance is payable after completion. The wheels were flawless, with no defects or damage whatsoever. The boxing and packing materials were first-rate, with the wheels amply protected from damage that might occur during shipping. One other point, the magnesium alloy used is not the same as the old alloys used years ago. This alloy comprises calcium and some other elements that make the magnesium self-extinguishing in case there is a source of ignition sufficient to ignite the metal. If the ignition source is removed the magnesium will not continue to burn; I wanted hot wheels but not that hot. This was a lengthy reply but I hope it was helpful. Keep up the good work on these fantastic tire reviews.

@@videomaniac108 thanks for the deets, that's really appreciated. I'll get in touch with them and see if they want to colab on a project.

@@tyrereviews That would be very 😎

@@tyrereviews It would be great for you to do a handling comparison with your subjective impressions, along with any quantitative handling differences, where the only variable is the wheel weight. It would also be interesting to see how much of a difference the lighter wheels, along with a lighter set of tires, would make in handling, braking distance and 0 to 60 acceleration. That would be a nice treat for our inner geek selves.

Thanks! IT wasn't in the video, and I don't really have an answer. Bridgestone told me it would take a while to warm up so I did the first and second laps around 80% then I felt like it came in halfway though the third, so I was only about 2 tenth down. It was a very hot day.

Glad it was helpful!

Tell me your vehicle and circuit etc. I've had a few people say the wear on the Race isn't as good as the Cup 2, but tests seem to agree with you.

@@tyrereviews 981 GT4 with track setup. Tested at my local track Autodrom Grobnik which has a quite abrasive surface. Cup2 would get its outer edge eaten in 2 track days, the Potenza Race was still gripping excellently after 3, and the wear was very uniform.

@@tyrereviews one slight negative is that they don’t make it in 295/30/20 which is why I drive a 305/30/20 on mine. Whereas I can run a 305 Nankang AR1 no problem, the Potenza Race does rub on compressions due the massive curb protection.

So how much kilometers did you drive the race until they were finished? Two months seems quite short for a semi slick? Thank you!

Race last full TD so lets say around 60laps x 4,3km. After 60 laps they were finished good only for trash. Cup2 if i went all intotal black out last only 8 laps. So in this 5 months i destroyed 2 sets of Race and in 1 set of PS4S witch i used them for DD. Now, i was without tires so i ordered GY super sport R witch is direct competitor to Race and CUP2 but i havent tryed them yet. They have very stiff sidewalls and are noisy and uncomfortable. This is just first impresion after 20km. For more i need to wait for some serius drive or some TD if they will wait it.

Hi @@fabjan86 , Im very interested on this. I'm looking to buy the Potenza RACE, but I have the feeling they are not very stiff on the sidewall, and I'm very demanding on sidewall stiffnes.... Which has stiffer sidewall, the RACE or the GY Super Sport R??? .. not saying noise or confort (I know its related), just steering feeling (sidewall stiffness) Also interested on grip comparison Thanks!!

@@Romassj2 first impresion on steering wheel was on both, RACE and SSR waw very responsive especialy compered to PS4S witch were mounted before on the car. Car just turn immediately. CUP2 is in this category last. M2 is still parked so i still didnt do any km with GY. But by grip i think Race is in front, in steering fell and turn, i think GY is first. Soon will be first serius test for SSR. I just need to wait that 15th of March goes by becouse of the law for winter tyres.

@@fabjan86 Thank you very much! I will still be interested on your reviews I will ask you at the end of March!

I used to be obsessed with the Potenza SO2 on my SW20 MR2 Turbo!

That's great . My PS4s in the rears only last about 6k miles.. don't ask me how that happens 😅

If you haven't already, please put a review on the site :) www.tyrereviews.com/submit.htm?match=Bridgestone-Potenza-Race---Tyre-Reviews-and-Tests

How much kilometers did you drive on the Potenza Race already? Thank you!

Did you put those on stock 7.5" wheels or got new set?

@@ruturaj47 I put 225s on 18x9” wheels

@@ruturaj47 I have 235/40 R18 on 7,5x18 and 245/40 R18 on 8x18. Pictures in my igram, link is in my channel info.

I'll add it to the list.

on a flight there now!

@@tyrereviews that's what's up! If at all possible ask Bridgestone if they can bring an updated RE11S to the US, even if it has to be under Firestone

Well if that's not a glowing recommendation I don't know what is!

pressures depends on the test, for road tires they're testing at sticker cold, for this test my target with 36 square hot which is a little over sticker. I think I ended up around 37/38

Are the RE71RS noisy for a daily?

@@bokiNYC I would say they are marginally noisier than a performance road tyre. Compared to any semi slick tyre i have driven on though, they are whisper quiet by comparison. They don’t have any of that whine that regular semi slick tyres have. Definitely liveable every day for an enthusiast

Yup, Utah motorsports campus!

@@tyrereviews Ya, I used to watch televised racing there. There is a section called ... The Snake, I think, where things would get spicy especially as Calvin Fish would say if there is any _argy bargy_ lol.

I Definitely need to do more with yoko tires

,Pretty much inverse to the dry performance in this test, so potenza sport the best and very good in the wet

I have used Cup 2, RE71RS and Potenza Sport. For me Cup 2 has the slowest steering response.

Buy RACE. Much better than CUP2 conn.

Thanks you two , I'll try them this time

I use the quatrac pro in the autumn/winter/spring here in north america, and I love them. No, they're not a dedicated winter tire, but my AWD Alfa can handle it.

Sometimes that's doing to the compound changing, but it can also be down to heat, as less tread depth means less movement so it doesn't warm up as well.

@@tyrereviews the new quatrac pro+ promises better wet grip, snow and low rolling resistance, i hope it doesn't come at the expense of the dry performance .I recall in your test where the quatrac pro stood out against the Potenza Sport in the wet, even though the latter was new

@@francescoruggiero1025 The Quatrac Pro, and Hitrac, are phenomenal in the wet. I would assume that the pro+ will do just as well. Dry is just ok. It's a squishy tire, so you lose the sporty feel.

@@FizzGiGG55123 the same steering feel of pilot sport 🫣

They might actually fare better. I bought a set of Potenza Sport when they were pretty new and took them on track in my Nissan and the shoulders were gone by the end of the day to the point they were pretty much illegal for road use. The track tyres above might take the heat generated from track use better. Not prepared to gamble another £800 on Bridgestone for now though and their aftersales support when I complained about the extreme wear was non-existent.

yeah i do get what you are saying. I believe it is the heat. When they go past a temperature in the track they wear extreeeemly fast. Possibly the Race one could handle the heat better and hence last longer @@gazman9468

The first two are made in Europe and are specifically designed and made for the European market, whereas RE71RS is made in Japan as far as I know. The latter might only be available from specialist motorsport tyre importers? Perhaps try the Yokohama Advan AD09 or A052, which should be available from Yokohama motorsport tyre dealers in the UK. A052 and RE71RS should be very comparable, with AD09 a little more road biased and harder wearing.

@tassielorenzo7070, yes the A052 is a Lotus recommended tyre for the track, which is an option, albeit they are quite expensive here in the UK and it's getting on a bit in terms of tyre design. Not many Elise owners here run that tyre. More are on the R888R. I've looked for the AD09 tyres, but it's a more road based UHP tyre, furthermore in the UK it's not available in Elise S2 fitment sizes. So that means the option avaliable are R888R, AR-1 and AO52, for semi slick track biased tyres. I had thought about the Accelera 651 Sport, but they seem to me to be more like the tyres I've already got that are Nankang NS2-Rs (a "50% road/50% track" kind of tyre). I'm more interested in a tyre like the RE-71RS which looks to be a good fourth option for sprint racing/time attack. @tyrereviews is meeting with Bridgestone, so why not ask the question I thought.

I'd like to see the review on LingLong tires please! 😂👍

A good question. Think of the Race more like a cup 2, so it would be better on track and for fast road use, but then you also get the drawbacks which is less wet performance and higher cost per km. The Supersport is very good value.

@@tyrereviews so on a purely performance based standpoint, these would be better right? Excluding the cost factor.

@@rmartoyes for pure grip the Race is better, the Supersport would lap at a similar pace to the Sport.

1000% will

@@tyrereviews especially their wet performance. I'm in a similar position to you where I need a dedicated winter tire. I'd like to go to the track but most of my miles will be daily driving. I need to know which tires don't feel like a huge compromise to daily drive, while still being trackable. A lot of the endurance 200's struggle in the wet, which is important for street driving

​@@tyrereviewsalso, the extreme contact force are another competitor. They're also similar to the Hankook rs4s so that'll be a huge benefit for the car track day community

No idea sorry, I'd check out a forum or facebook group to see what people have got on.

@@tyrereviews yeah I'm getting so many different answers

interesting question. Runflats certainly give better support, but I thought with drag you wanted everything to be on the softer side to launch? What are people using? I assume there's a lot of PS4S etc?

What's that a rear of?

@tyrereviews rear of 996 GT2, lots of 996 gt3 and 996 turbo guys also running this size, plus the muscle car/restomod guys. Big Falken rt660/615k+ guy but more options the better! Michelin still only sells us a PS2 in this size :(

@@993GT I almost asked if it was the rear of a 996!

@@tyrereviews we need options! 😂

@@993GT That unusual tyre size life! You should be able to find lots of racing tyres in 305-325x720 R18 though if you are willing to run those. That's almost the most common size of racing tyres for GT cars. Maybe lightly used Carrera Cup slicks?

I didn't have enough time to test that so you're probably a better person to answer that :) Bridgestone told me to aim lower than book but for testing we have to keep everything the same for fairness.