Bridgestone Potenza RE88 All Season

Bridgestone stopped the production of the potenza re71 (the best tyre ever in 175/60R14, I drove them for 55,000km each, 110,000km total), so I was obliged to buy this awful looking tyre hoping to find the same feeling. They are rock solid like re71 and it seems to have the same tyre, a bit less performant in the wet.

Long lasting if treated decently without losing softness of the rubber (30,000km and they are still ok).

They give positive feel through corners, and have high levels of grip, particularly in the wet (not bad in snow either). Also they are reasonably quiet and when they do let go it's very predictable.

Although they don't look like much, they deliver where it matters, if you can afford them!

The Bridgestone Potenza RE88 All Season came fitted on my 4 Opels from new. Have never been happy for over 200,000 kms totally. The new preformance was never any better than used (worn). The bad points I've pointed out to have diminished my cars overall performance and driving pleasure. I am happy that I finally changed over to GoodYear.

I had Bridgestone Potenza RE88 All Season Tyres on my nissan 200SX, the grip from them in the dry was excellent. Not once did they let me down under braking, cornering or accelerating.

In the wet is another matter, granted the grip in the wet from the front end was still excellent, however the rear wheels had a tendancy to break away under acceleration VERY easily leading to many a corner/roundabout being driven in a sideways fashion.

After many a scary moment I replaced the rear tyres with Bridgestone RE720's which highlighted the inadequacies of the RE88's in the wet on a RWD car. For FWD cars the tyres are very good both wet and dry, but on a RWD car I would never put them on the rear wheels as they break away far too easily with no warning.

Bridgestone Potenza RE88 All Season:

I asked for a tyre that combined the excellent grip and handling in the dry I had come to know with Yokohama tyres, but I asked also what would be the best in the wet. These tyres are exactly that. However, if looks are important then these won't impress you. They could be anything! They have a boring looking tread like any other tyre. Not Assymetric, not directional. But these tyres deliver the goods - especialy on those greasy slippery roundabouts. I had ONE PAIR (only) of these, on the front. I pushed it too hard one day on a wet slippery roundabout - it was the rear end that started to slide (my car is fwd). OK, I thought, it must be the character of the car. But when I swapped round and put the Bridgestones on the back - it's now the front that slithers about on the wet corners - and the back stays totally anchored down! I can't wait to get an additional pair so that I have all 4 wheels the same. These are a very safe and secure purchase. Given the excellent tyre wear I have had so far I would say they are very good value for money.