|
Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
01-02-2007, 07:29 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 3385
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Golden, CO
Vehicle:2002 WRX WRB |
Bridgestone RE960 AS: one tire quiver for Colorado
My tire needs for Colorado are:
- good pavement performance (good tossable handling as opposed to maximum lateral Gs) - good wet performance - good gravel performance - good snow/slush performance I used to run 215/45-17 Bridgestone SO3s in the summer and 205/60-15 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 performance snow tires (on OZ Racing rally wheels) in the winter. The trouble with that strategy is that whenever I drove fast on gravel mountain roads in the summer, I wanted to put my snows back on, as the S03s suck on gravel. So the past year I ran the M3s on the OZ 15" wheels year 'round. I got where I preferred the gravel rally car look. The M3s are reasonably good on pavement and very good on gravel and snow. They are also much cheaper than the S03s and get comparable wear (20,000 miles.) But the trouble with that strategy is that M3s wear quickly on hot pavement, so I lose about half the tread in the 15,000 miles/year I drive on pavement and then they are only so-so in the snow. So I read with interest the positive reports about the Bridgestone RE960AS and decided to try a set. So far (after only 40 miles, still not worn in) I am extremely happy. On dry pavement, they turn-in better and lane changes are much crisper. The sidewalls are firmer than the M3s and the tread pattern has more rubber. The steering feel is nicer, too. On packed snow (the remains of Denver blizzard) they grip as well as the M3s did. Granted, I am comparing them to M3s with only 1/2 tread left. Overall, the car is much more fun to drive on pavement and I don't feel like I gave up much snow performance. This is consistent with the Tirerack and Car and Driver tests showing that good all-seasons are just a tick behind performance snows in the frozen stuff. The RE960s have a 400 treadwear, so I should get 30-40,000 out of them, and I'll have decent tread depth through two winters instead of one. I'lll report again when they wear in-- they should get even better in the dry--- and after I spend some time driving over the mountain passes in the snow. Superg
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
|
01-02-2007, 08:49 PM | #2 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 7327
Join Date: Jun 2001
Chapter/Region:
NWIC
Location: Seattle, WA
Vehicle:2008 Mazdaspeed3 2006 Wrangler Sport |
Well, no snow on them yet, but they seem to work terrific in sub-freezing roads, near-freezing wet roads, as well as rain/dry. These are great tires.
|
01-02-2007, 11:55 PM | #3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 133608
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: SLC, UT
Vehicle:2007 STI Ltd. |
Agreed on all accounts. I put my 960AS's on a week ago; i have just over 400 miles on them. Great in snow so far (1-3"), much more quiet than the re070's on the road, no tramlining, and they have reasonably stiff sidewalls that don't ruin the handling of the car. They also seem to grip the roads at low temps (we haven't been above 35* yet since mounting them).
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
FS: NJ:::4 Good Bridgestone RE960 All-Season tires | WRXDriftR | Tri-State Area Private Classifieds | 3 | 02-10-2010 09:05 AM |
FS: 2x 205/55/16 Bridgestone RE960 A/S tires (NY) | txl146 | Tri-State Area Private Classifieds | 1 | 12-30-2009 08:42 PM |
Bridgestone RE960 or Nitto Neogen tires? | digii3 | Tire & Wheel | 1 | 10-24-2008 08:28 PM |
SF Bay - 04 Silver STi BBS with Bridgestone RE960 Tires | WRXCSTI | Wheels/Tires | 12 | 07-31-2008 03:55 PM |
What size is your bridgestone RE960 tire? | eggeegg | Tire & Wheel | 5 | 04-08-2007 04:51 AM |