Home > Auto Racing Tire Reviews > Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R Review
04/10/2008 - Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R Review
by Brett Setliff, for RacingTireGuide.com
TEST VEHICLE AND TIRE:
Car: 2007 Subaru WRX TR
Tire: Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R (225/45ZR17)
Wheel: Factory WRX Wheel (17x7 ET55)
DESCRIPTION:
The Potenza RE-01R (with the "R" signifying Revolutionary) is the Extreme Performance Summer tire member of Bridgestone's global family of Potenza performance tires developed for enthusiastic sports car, sports coupe and performance sedan drivers. The Potenza RE-01R is designed to provide high levels of traction, responsive handling and driving control in dry and wet road conditions. The Potenza RE-01R is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
After we picked up our 2007 Subaru WRX project car, we wanted to replace the factory tires with something better suited for autocross and spirited driving. The current hot tire for the SCCA Solo Street Touring class happens to be the Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R so we figured it would be a great choice. We went with the 225/45ZR17 size and had them mounted on our factory WRX wheels.
Wow! These tires are probably the best we've ever had on a street car. Grip is awesome and noise is minimal...what more could you ask for with a street tire? For autocross, they work great...even better than our previous favorite, the Falken Azenis. We've had minimal experience with them on wet roads, but they seem to handle it pretty well.
UPDATE (9/10/2008):
We recently spent about 3 days with our WRX in the Deals Gap, North Carolina area and our RE-01R's were a great choice for the challenging twisty roads that criss-cross this area of the country. We made several runs up and down the infamous Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap, which is a section of US129 with 318 curves in 11 miles. Our RE-01R's worked flawlessly the entire trip and might just be the perfect tire for this type of driving.
HOW TO BUY:
This tire has been replaced by the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 Tire
