Bridgestone Potenza RE-71 Tires

By Karl Shultz (krshultz@ix.netcom.com)
06/03/97

INTRODUCTION

Well, I'll get the first things out of the way...this is my opinion in this article, and nothing more. If you buy the tires I'm recommending and don't like them, I am not buying you new ones. None of the other editors on integra.vtec.net will either. So you've been warned.

Finally. The Michelins (yes, the stock XGT-V4s, in case you hate them as much as I do) are gone. Good riddance to bad rubbish I say. Unfortunately I just can't buy new tires without wearing out the old ones, so I stuck with the stock Michelins on my Black 1995 3-door GS-R for 32,000 miles, including an autocross. I will have to say that they wear pretty well. Whether that's good or bad is another discussion...

Having checked out all the requisite information, I had a narrowed down list. I had it down to the following tires, in size 205-50R-15:

• Dunlop SP Sport 8000
• Yokohama AVS Intermediate
• BF Goodrich Comp T/A ZR
• Bridgestone Potenza RE-71

THE PURCHASE

I bought The Bridgestone Potenzas, obviously, from a local dealer at a price of about 112 a corner. A little pricier than the Tire Rack? Yes. But I do like getting things from a local guy when I can, and lifetime rotation and balance is a good thing for someone who has very little free time. So the extra 40 or 50 bucks to get them locally was OK by me...do as you wish though. As of this writing they're 96 bucks a pop plus shipping (6 - 8 bucks per tire) from Tire Rack.

THE RESULT

Given their soft compound, especially for street tires, they are very sticky. They even feel sticky to the touch, no joke. Kind of soft. If you've ever been to an autocross and seen people drive with racing compound tires, you've probably heard the gravel being "picked up" by the soft rubber and thrown into the fender wells. The Potenzas do this just a little bit...more so, at least, than the Michelins did. My kind of tires. Additionally, these tires will not last very long, so be warned. The treadwear rating is 140AA, and the XGT-V4s that come with the car are about a 220. And these tires will encourage aggressive driving, so let the buyer beware. You are not buying Aquatreads here.

From what I have read elsewhere, other tires are probably available that grip fractionally better. I am not racing this car very much, a few hundredths of a "g" will not kill me. What I am interested in is the way the tires go from grip to no grip. It's here that the Bridgestones excel. They are very gentle when approaching the limit...you can feel, through the wheel, the pedals, the seat (everywhere you should feel it), the tires starting to slide out just a little bit. It just feels like a slow, steady loss of traction. No immediate snap into a slide, no squealing, no fuss. But damn it feels good. Fantastically progressive at the limit. They inspire a lot of confidence.

Worth mentioning is body roll. My car is entirely stock as it sits now. In high-speed corners, say over 40 mph or so, the body rolls so much now that I run out of suspension travel on the outside wheels. On a favorite ~60mph sweeper near me, the car leaned enormously when I attacked the turn. I was loving all the grip until I got to an area of the pavement, right near the outside of the apex, where there were some ripples in the road...not terrible ones, but noticeable. This really upset the balance of the car...I figure the suspension had maybe an inch, if anything at all, to go before bottoming out, and those ripples had the shocks well bottomed out. The cheapest way to fix this, I suppose, would be sway bars, which unfortunately take me out of stock class in the local club and into street prepared...which is another can of worms entirely.

OTHER FACTORS

• Added benefits of the Potenzas...first, they're pretty cheap. AVS-Intermediates, SP 8000s, all the other front runners were slightly more pricey.
• Marginally quieter than stock...I can't believe such an ill-performing tire as the OE Michelin could make so much noise on the highway.
• Better ride than stock. Yes, believe it or not, they ride a bit smoother. Not much, but you'll notice. Again, it's incredible that the Michelins didn't grip better than they did, given how loud and hard riding (IMO) they are.
• Good wet-weather performance. Again, remember we aren't buying Aquatreads here. But these tires have not acted strange in wet weather yet, and it poured today.
• Stock suspensions may be rendered inadequate with these tires on bumpy or undulating roads / courses. Sway bars are next on my list.
• For anyone concerned with appearance, they look a little smaller in diameter than the OE 195-55 size tires. Lowering springs will help this (and also help the aforementioned body roll).

CONCLUSION

Fantastic improvement to the car in 90% of my driving conditions. Sticky; tire wear may be a real concern. On a bumpy surface while laterally loaded, can really bring out the limitations in the stock suspension.

From: RyanDL (ryandl@vtec.net)
2/13/2002
I tried a set of RE-71s on my '94 Integra LS in a 205/50 ZR-15 on a 15"x7" wheel. They are the best tire I have ever used on the car, and I had tried Yokohama A509, Yokohama AVS-i, Pirelli P700Z, and Bridgestone RE-730. Their wear is a bit quick, but it is a small price to pay for such a wonderful tire. A bit noisy compared to the others I mentioned. Stiff sidewalls and sticky compound. I've used them at auto-x and driver's education track events with excellent results.

I also have tried the RE-730s in the same size. While they are a formidable replacement for the RE-71s, I don't think they have quite the dry grip, but they are very close. The wet grip of the 730s is much improved over the 71s. Also, the 730s are quieter. I didn't notice any improvement in wear, even though the treadwear of the 730s is 300 compared to the 71s 140. They had a good amount of track time, however.