I was looking for RE070 in sizes other than the stock STi size, but I couldn't find any. Is the RE070 specifically made for the STi???

Chieh

No, but it has no other applications in the US market.

The JDM spec C's are getting 235/45R17 RE070s. Perhaps in the future, bridgestone will make other sizes available to us in the US but for now you can only get them in 225/45R17.

They are extremely heavy tires though... If you are just looking for a wider tire that has most of the same handling as the 070, check out the 040 or the 050 - the 050 will have better wet traction too.

It is specifically made for the STI actually. The only RE070 sold in the US is the orginal equipment tire for the STI, and all orginal equipment tires are specifically made for the vehicle they go on (not that you couldn't use them on something else if they fit). There won't be anymore sizes until the tire gets put on a different vehicle or Bridgestone decides to make an aftermarket version.

all orginal equipment tires are specifically made for the vehicle they go on.

not exactly accurate ....... but, on some specialty vehicles (like the STi)there are specific tire requirements which are determined by the vehicle manufacturer and tire companies do make the tires to meet those requiremnts. Now if you look at the WRX .... the RE92 is not a "special" tire for that model

I work for a tire company and I can tell you we get custom requirements for each and every application we build for the car companies, not just the high performance ones. For example both the Civic and Sentra have a P195/60R15 RE92, but they're not the same tire. All OE tires are custom designed for a specific car unless the customer wants to be able to install them on multiple cars (usually because they're building them on the same assembly line and they only want 1 type of tire). While a line of tires (ie Potenza RE92) share some common elements there are construction differences for each OE application. The allowable tire vibration is also usually lower for an OE application too. The different construction and tighter controls is why the OE version of the tire usually costs more than the aftermarket one (the Subaru P205/55R16 RE92 is $142 at the Tirerack versus $136 for the standard aftermarket version of the same size). That's not markup just becuase it says Subaru. It costs more to make.

a majority of car manufacturers buy the least expensive tire that meets the minimum requirements ... if you work for a tire company you should know that .....

and the OE WRX tire is also the OE tire on these vehicles as well
'95 Plymouth Laser RS
'05 Saab 9-2X
'98-'05 Impreza 2.5RS
'02 - '05 Outback Sport

"For example both the Civic and Sentra have a P195/60R15 RE92, but they're not the same tire. "

Luke, I think this guy is trying to say that the same model tire made as OE might be a different model per application. Say for your example the RE092 for the 9-2x might be different in construction to the WRX. which would be false... there would be no way to classify the tires just because it's OE for different makes and model cars....

in some cases 'yes' they are different but, that is the exception not the rule. The cars I listed use the exact same tire

Although tire size and model may be the same, the individual spec for different vehicles is usually different.

Simply because an OE does not use an expensive tire for a particular application does not mean a great deal of work and preparation did not go into that tire. They may use similar specs on similar vehicles, but each platform generally has its own unique OE tire selected for that vehicle.

I would agree that all versions of the Impreza, and 9-2x that use the RE-92 use the exact same version of the RE-92. However I would not agree that it's the same tire that's on the 1995 Plymoth Laser RS.

I said tires are custom designed for their application. The application for the Subaru P205/55R16 RE92 is the entire Impreza lineup minus the STI. The application can be pretty broad. For example it can include the pickup and SUV version of the same platform. The application is determined the car company though, not by the tire company.

When a car company is looking for a tire for a particular application, as you said, they are often are looking for an inexpensive tire. They will not however just except an off the shelf version of the tire. They want it customized and they have the pull to do that and still get the tires for cheap. The Plymoth Laser tire may have been the starting point for the Impreza tire, but it the construction would have been modified based on the Subaru requirements (and the preferences of their evaluators). Bridgestone doesn't design a single P205/55R16 Potenza RE-92 and then sell it to anyone who wants that size of that tire, the car companies would never let them.

I would agree that the tires are different. The 03 V6 Tiburons with 17's came with Michelin PS. We replaced a the original set with a new set and the new ones, while appearing to be the exact same model, had much more grip than the OE tires. (no it's not that the tires were old and I was used to how they felt) I then heard that Hyundai was using PS tires with different compounds than what could be bought aftermarket due to lower costs.

The tread compounds often are different for the aftermarket version of a tire. Cost is just a small part of that though. The main thing is that the car company has different priorities for tires than the average consumer does when they're looking for replacements. The car companies are always very concerned with rolling resistance but the consumer probably doesn't notice a small change, and usually improving rolling resistance hurts handling. On the other hand most consumers are much more concerned about how long the tires last than the car companies are. So a lot of times the compound is changed for the aftermarket version to enhance attributes that a typical person will really notice.

The tread compounds often are different for the aftermarket version of a tire. Cost is just a small part of that though. The main thing is that the car company has different priorities for tires than the average consumer does when they're looking for replacements. The car companies are always very concerned with rolling resistance but the consumer probably doesn't notice a small change, and usually improving rolling resistance hurts handling. On the other hand most consumers are much more concerned about how long the tires last than the car companies are. So a lot of times the compound is changed for the aftermarket version to enhance attributes that a typical person will really notice.
These definitely didn't last any longer...15000 miles.

back on topic, i have been using 215-45-17 re040s for the past 2 weeks. same low treadwear rating as the 070(140). can't tell u much about wet performance, since today is the only wet day, and i'm at work.

honestly, skip to the S03, get the proven wet performance and the better treadwear rating. 070s are lucky to get more than 12000 miles out of.

The '0' after RE indicates a tire that is OEM specific to a particular vehicle....the STi gets the RE070....the EVO gets the RE046 and the RX8 gets the RE0xx(don't remember what, ATM), and there are others....that's how it was explained to me, anyway....

scotty, that's pretty funny stuff. It's even funnier because EVO's don't use bridgestone tires and the RE050 comes in countless sizes that are not OE applications.

scotty, that's pretty funny stuff. It's even funnier because EVO's don't use bridgestone tires and the RE050 comes in countless sizes that are not OE applications.


....oooppppssss....sorry Nick...mixing my tires...but it's one of those....mebbe it's Yoko that's that way.... :rolleyes: :o :lol:

I'm not sure about the Yokohama line... I know the A028 is a porsche OE tire and the A046 is the EVO tire, but then you have things like the A048 which is an R -compound race tire. hrmm..

I believe the RE070 comes on the Ferrari Enzo also, but in a different size. They wouldn't be for 17" wheels though. I maybe misinformed all together though.

Adam

No the Enzo comes with a 19" Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Scuderia tire.

245/35-19 front and 345/35-19 rear.

I stand corrected.

Thanks.