Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

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Andy Beats
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Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

Anyone else driving a GTi with Bridgestones?
How are you finding wet performance?
Today's the first wet day since I got the car and I really didn't like the feeling they gave me.
Not a grip problem, per se, they don't slide around or spin excessively.
More of an insecure feeling at dual carriageway speed, like they weren't clearing water very well and aquaplaining wasn't very far away - didn't feel planted like my Beats did (Michelin cross climate on the front of that).
I'm talking legal speeds, not hooning on.
S_94
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by S_94 »

A lot of GTI owners on here and various Facebook groups have swapped their Bridgestones for something else. Mainly the Michelin PS4s (225's as their cheaper).

I swapped over and the overall driving experience was a lot better.
Andy Beats
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

Interesting
My Alpina D3 had Michelin pilot sports way back in 2010 and they were awful in the wet, the car was transformed by fitting Falken FK452 (at half the price).
I've avoided pilot sports since, although I'm willing to concede that was 10 years ago.
I'll be swapping to winters (whatever brand I can get used for good money) soon, so I'll see what difference they make.
I've also noticed the road noise with the Bridgestones is terrible.

EDIT - isn't there clearance issues with the 225??
There's quite the cost saving if 225 just slip straight on.
S_94
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by S_94 »

No issues with clearance for me. The guys fitting them were having issues getting air into them because of the valve size or something but got the job done in half an hour.

You also get a good protective lip with them. Would take some bad parking/driving to scratch the alloys.
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Andy Beats
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

Nice, 225 it is then.
I take it you stick with the 40 profile?
So a 4mm increase in ride height (90mm sidewall as opposed to 86mm)
S_94
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by S_94 »

Yep. 225/40 R18 Y (92).

Had mine from Black Circles.
Andy Beats
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

S_94 wrote: Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:01 pm Yep. 225/40 R18 Y (92).

Had mine from Black Circles.
Yeah looking there now, cheers.
Might bite the bullet and buy 4 x new ones, there's some decent deals.
Then just sell the standard ones for whatever I can get here or on fleabay.
Andy Beats
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

Can't decide whether to go for 4 x crossclimate @ £404 fitted, or 4 x Dunlop @ £356 fitted.
The crossclimates aren't a sporty tyre, but they coped well with me 'keeping momentum up' (cough) on my beats and they are snow rated.
The Dunlops are probably sportier but will be crap in snow and if it's a bad winter I'd have to spend again....
Decisions, decisions...
Nodster
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Nodster »

Yeah the standard Bridgestone tyre is not the best. I was hoping when I found out (before buying the car) that the Bridgestone Turzana that it was the newer T005 which is actually decent - https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Brid ... a-T005.htm However I was shocked to see it was the older model. So that came off straight away.

I went all seasons this time. Went with the Vredestein Quatrac Pros in 225/40 profile. They've been ace!

https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Vred ... ac-Pro.htm

I chose the Vredestein because it has an asymmetric tread pattern. So full snow performance is fine, not the best, not the worst but with this tread pattern it aims more for wet / dry handling, where the Vredestein is a strong performer.

Great review video here - with some brand new all seasons in the mix:

https://youtu.be/gHph1mDtCbQ

The new Goodyear Vector 4 Season Gen 3 came out the best. :)
monkeyhanger
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by monkeyhanger »

Those Bridgestones are so hard and slippery in the UK climate that they should be called Tombstones. First thing I do when I get a VW on Bridgestones is to swap them out, be it Turanza or Potenza. Lots of tramping, lots of noise, hard ride and poor turn in grip.

The compound is so hard, presumably they're great for track days. PS4s transform the car and your confidence in it

Clearance for minor rubbing can be an issue if the wheel arch liners are poorly fitted. Easily adjusted.
Andy Beats
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

Not noticed any actual grip issues with the Bridgestones, even hard acceleration/braking/cornering hasn't had them sliding any more than I'd expect from any tyre really.
We're at the point we're de-icing cars in the morning too. :(
But no denying they're noisy etc.
I'll see how the football coupon does this weekend before I decide to replace perfectly serviceable tyres or not. :D
monkeyhanger
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by monkeyhanger »

Andy Beats wrote: Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:58 am Not noticed any actual grip issues with the Bridgestones, even hard acceleration/braking/cornering hasn't had them sliding any more than I'd expect from any tyre really.
We're at the point we're de-icing cars in the morning too. :(
But no denying they're noisy etc.
I'll see how the football coupon does this weekend before I decide to replace perfectly serviceable tyres or not. :D
The back end got away from me in the Polo GTI+ when I had bridgestones on. I was moderately accelerating away from a major roundabout that's so big it's almost a straight line. The car was full, so plenty of weight over the back wheels, it was a dry day about 12C. A Golf GTD went past me at almost twice the acceleration I was giving it, without drama, and my back end flicked right out. I decided there and then that the Bridgestones had to go, and when the wife got hers, I switched her tyres over the day the car arrived.

You can make the Bridgestones tramp at 30% throttle in the dry and 20% in the wet With PS4s it's more like 70% in the dry and 60% in the wet.

You'll get about £160-180 for the set on ebay as lightly used (Merc B-class owners bought both our pairs) and if you hit a Michelin promo (like Costco regularly have) you could be paying as little as £320 for a set of PS4s.

The Michelins did fine for a Newcastle Winter. If you think those Bridgestones are bad now, just wait until the temps drop to freezing - it'll be like driving on a sheet of wet glass everywhere.

You won't believe how much more confidence you have in the car's abilities once you ditch the Bridgestones. First time I had these on a MK5 Golf, I couldn't believe how much better the car was when I wore them out and replaced them. I felt such a fool for living with a compromised car for 2/3 of my PCP term!
Andy Beats
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Andy Beats »

monkeyhanger wrote: Fri Oct 02, 2020 10:44 am The back end got away from me in the Polo GTI+ when I had bridgestones on. I was moderately accelerating away from a major roundabout that's so big it's almost a straight line. The car was full, so plenty of weight over the back wheels, it was a dry day about 12C. A Golf GTD went past me at almost twice the acceleration I was giving it, without drama, and my back end flicked right out. I decided there and then that the Bridgestones had to go, and when the wife got hers, I switched her tyres over the day the car arrived.

You can make the Bridgestones tramp at 30% throttle in the dry and 20% in the wet With PS4s it's more like 70% in the dry and 60% in the wet.

You'll get about £160-180 for the set on ebay as lightly used (Merc B-class owners bought both our pairs) and if you hit a Michelin promo (like Costco regularly have) you could be paying as little as £320 for a set of PS4s.

The Michelins did fine for a Newcastle Winter. If you think those Bridgestones are bad now, just wait until the temps drop to freezing - it'll be like driving on a sheet of wet glass everywhere.

You won't believe how much more confidence you have in the car's abilities once you ditch the Bridgestones. First time I had these on a MK5 Golf, I couldn't believe how much better the car was when I wore them out and replaced them. I felt such a fool for living with a compromised car for 2/3 of my PCP term!
I'll have to see what 'model' of Bridgestones I have, as they're nowhere near as bad as this.
No axle tramp at all in wet or dry, just smooth wheelspin.
Cornering grip and braking grip is fine, no worse or better than many other tyres I've tried.
Just noisy and that feeling they weren't clearing water at all well on a soaking dual carriageway.
If they were as bad as you describe, I wouldn't hesitate to change. :shock:
Simonz
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by Simonz »

Would VW knowingly fit dangerous or sub standard tyres to the Polo? If they are passed as fit for use BS standard then it may be down to individual preference. Not sure if there are any tyres that allow you to use full throttle in any situation without the car feeling unstable.
monkeyhanger
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Re: Standard Bridgestones / wet driving

Post by monkeyhanger »

Simonz wrote: Fri Oct 02, 2020 12:26 pm Would VW knowingly fit dangerous or sub standard tyres to the Polo? If they are passed as fit for use BS standard then it may be down to individual preference. Not sure if there are any tyres that allow you to use full throttle in any situation without the car feeling unstable.
Substandard is a matter of opinion. They meet specification and legal requirements, doesn't mean its a good tyre. On the UK Roads, my opinion is that Bridgestone's propensity for compounds that are ultra hard don't suit our climate. They might actually be a lot softer for use way down the South of Europe where it's generally a lot warmer, or on a track where they'll heat up nicely. Driven normally on UK British roads though?

This subject has been done to death on many VAG group forums and it's been shown that for pretty much the rest of Europe (France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Italy etc.) Performance Golfs don't get Bridgestones, but the UK does, and also it seems the Polo GTI for the RHD markets with 18" Brescias.

I was nowhere near using full throttle (more like 40% throttle) with fully occupied seating when the back end got away. At that point I wondered whether the Polo's handling was poor and begging for multilink rear suspension to stabilise it...but no, it was those awful tyres and the car was transformed when they were taken off.

There are many tyres that would allow you to use full throttle in multiple situations with good weather. Ever used full throttle to overtake someone? That's a pretty common full throttle manoeuvre that most of us gave done.

Pretty much everyone here that has made the change will tell you what a hugely positive difference ditching the Bridgestones has made.

I do wonder what leeway VW have for tyre use when gathering driving data for official use. I bet the 0-62 times weren't achieved with Turanza T001 tyres, nor tge fuel economy/emissions figures. Early UK Polo GTI press review vehicles were all shod with Michelin PSS tyres before being handed over to journos. Do you need to wonder why they didn't gave standard fit Bridgestones on?
Last edited by monkeyhanger on Fri Oct 02, 2020 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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