Bridgestone tyres on RC300H F-Sport 19" wheels

Juicedrinker · April 23

Hiya, long story short I have switched back to summer tyres (Bridgestone Potenza's) from my Goodyear Vector 4 Season tyres as we should (at least in theory) be getting warmer weather here in the South form now.

The Goodridge have been phenomenal throughout the Autumn / Winter especially in the rain with all the standing water and I would of left them on but they are adding approx 10% to mileage recorded and as I ramp up my distance covered during the Spring and Summer did not want to over record mileage during this time.

Within the first few metres of driving my car I could not believe how hard the ride is now in that it picks up every ridge / nuance in the road surface whereas the Goodyear were a very comfortable tyre.

The pressures are spot on 2.4 front and 2.5 rear, I appreciate these are XL tyres BUT my Goodyear were appropriate for the weight of this car too, has anyone else found the Bridgestone's harsh on their RC?

DavidCM · April 23

I've had a long history with Bridgestones....since 2007,every car I've bought has had Bridgestones.First was a Porsche Cayman..loads of punctures on the rear and fronts survived , although they started to crack between the treads.The rears were about twice the width of an average tyre so I suppose they had twice the chance of getting punctured.

When I retired I sold the Porsche and bought 2 new Mazdas CX7 and MX5...both with Bridgestones..they were ok...the MX5 was still on its original tyres when I sold it 9..10 years later...with no cracking. although I suspect this was due to low mileage and being garaged.

Then bought the RC in early 2022...again with Bridgestones!Last service and MOT,the very inside of the rears were very badly worn to the stage where they needed replacing.This time I switched to Continental SC7.I think they are better,but until the front Bridgestones need changing in a few months ,I can't be certain .Rabbers also has an RC and has a full set of Continentals and is very pleased.

Linas.P · April 23

The Brigestone Potenza simply isn't great tyre, especially the ones that came originally with the car. I can't really compare like for like as the only had 2 sets I had one mine were Dunlop Sportmaxx SP001 (or something like that) and then Brigestone RE050A which came on facelift and were better than original S001. In short - I never really had modern and good tyres, both Dunlop and Brigestone that came from factory were basically obsolete tyres on the day car was sold. RE050A is actually good high performance tyre suitable for track use, but it is way too grippy for daily and has horrible fuel economy (I think it is rated F). S001 - is just obsolete entry level tyre for OEM to cut costs. So everything was compromise... and generally speaking Brigestone Potenzas and Turanzas that came on Lexus cars IS250, IS300h always had rather poor reputation, so I am not really surprised to hear your experience.

Why are Goodyears adding 10% of mileage - did you buy smaller sizes? Because to be honest I if I had All-Season on 300h I would keep them all year round, as it isn't really performance car that requires UUHP tyres to handle in summer and more modern All Seasons are probably better than old Brigestones.

Also it could be the case that sitting unused over the winter they got little bit stiff, same applies to new tyres, so you basically shouldn't judge their ride and noise for first say 500 miles, then sometimes they do become more compliant... that said I kind of doubt it.

The only Brigestone that is worth considering would be new Potenza Sport, which basically replaced RE050A, but it is also UUHP and compromises you have to make just doesn't make sense on 300h which doesn't really benefit from 9Gs or whatever in the corners.

Rabbers · April 23

2 hours ago, DavidCM said:

… .Rabbers also has an RC and has a full set of Continentals and is very pleased.

Yes, I’m looking forward to switching back to my Conti SC7s next week after driving on winters since last October (as it turned out merely prudentially given the snowless and practically frost-free weather). I have become a firm Conti fan on the basis of the SC7s virtually faultless all-round performance on the RC300h compared to Dunlop SportMaxxes, Bridgestone Potenza 050s and Pirelli PZeros. The Contis are far superior to the Dunlops and Bridgestones in terms of grip, stability and quietness, though only marginally better than Pirellis in just about everything except ride comfort, for which they might be considered a little too firm. If I had to pick one outstanding feature of the Contis I would say it is their ability to transmit a feeling of precision at all speeds.

Juicedrinker · July 10

On 4/23/2024 at 12:33 PM, Linas.P said:

The Brigestone Potenza simply isn't great tyre, especially the ones that came originally with the car. I can't really compare like for like as the only had 2 sets I had one mine were Dunlop Sportmaxx SP001 (or something like that) and then Brigestone RE050A which came on facelift and were better than original S001. In short - I never really had modern and good tyres, both Dunlop and Brigestone that came from factory were basically obsolete tyres on the day car was sold. RE050A is actually good high performance tyre suitable for track use, but it is way too grippy for daily and has horrible fuel economy (I think it is rated F). S001 - is just obsolete entry level tyre for OEM to cut costs. So everything was compromise... and generally speaking Brigestone Potenzas and Turanzas that came on Lexus cars IS250, IS300h always had rather poor reputation, so I am not really surprised to hear your experience.

Why are Goodyears adding 10% of mileage - did you buy smaller sizes? Because to be honest I if I had All-Season on 300h I would keep them all year round, as it isn't really performance car that requires UUHP tyres to handle in summer and more modern All Seasons are probably better than old Brigestones.

Also it could be the case that sitting unused over the winter they got little bit stiff, same applies to new tyres, so you basically shouldn't judge their ride and noise for first say 500 miles, then sometimes they do become more compliant... that said I kind of doubt it.

The only Brigestone that is worth considering would be new Potenza Sport, which basically replaced RE050A, but it is also UUHP and compromises you have to make just doesn't make sense on 300h which doesn't really benefit from 9Gs or whatever in the corners.

Hello, yes you are correct the Goodridge Vector 4 Seasons were 255 instead of 265 as that is the largest they offer and following using our system at work (I work in motorsport) it produces an MPH of +10%. Knowing how particular some main dealers are I didn't want them making a song and dance about the tyres being 255 instead of 265. Regarding the Bridgestone 'stiffness' I had thought of the fact they were sitting but I store them at work in a temperature controlled building and they are not stacked and turned every week. I've done 1,500 miles since they were put back on and all ok but then again I may of just got used to the feeling. In October I will see how the Goodyear feel when they go back on. Oh the reason I took the Goodyear's off is I assumed we were going to have a really hot summer like last year and they are noticeably 'soft' in those conditions especially around all the country roads that I have to drive every day, I have them on my partners car but she only drives short / local journeys and motorways etc are in my car.

Oh and I TOTALLY agree regarding your comment about the 300H not being a performance car, with the ECVT transmission and its huge hybrid weight its the complete opposite / boring.

hondansxr · September 21

i have recently replaced the front tyres of our rch . i went for maxxis 's new EV tyre , this car is way too slow for a 160+mph tyre , lexus prob fitted it as they have a contract with bridgestone , the maxxis have performed superbly and are quieter than and cheaper than bs. and are way in spec for load speed ect.