Like a few people on here I was struggling to choose which to go for next. I had RE040's on and had no problem with them apart from the grip in the wet.
I've had Toyo's before and never found them to be a problem but I really do like the stiff sidewall of the Bridgestones so I decided to go for the RE050 A CZ. After a couple a weeks worth of driving I thought I do a little review to help people who are stuck on what to get.
I only replaced the fronts, the rears are still 040's with about 6mm of tread left. I have no suspension or engine damping mods (yet).
As expected they offered very little grip straight after fitting and they also seemed to offer no feel through the steering, after a few miles this soon cleared up. The first thing I noticed is that the ride is quite a bit harder than the RE040's, which was a bit of a surprise to me as both tyres look identical.
Now they're worn in I've had a good chance to see how they stand up against the RE040's. The biggest difference is the initial bite. When on the 040's the front would have an initial moment of understeer before biting, the 050's don't have this they bite straight away, this makes them feel more responsive. The overall grip levels in the dry are fantastic, I never had any issues with the 040's but the 050's just feels more stable and gives you more confidence in the front end of the car.
It's not just in the dry that these tyres excel, they're very good in the wet. Now we all know it's a powerful front wheel drive car and traction in the wet is always going to be an issue. My 040's were quite worn so a wet comparision is a bit one sided. The 050's are fantastic is this area. Throttle control as always is needed when accelerating but it's the grip round corners that makes them so good. When you're putting the power on you have supreme amounts of confidence that the front isn't going to understeeer and push you into a hedge.
Noise level is the same and in all honesty who buys this car for a quiet ride? I've had them on 2 weeks so wear rate is impossobile to compare.
Cost - I'm of the opinion that you cannot go cheap in the field of tyres, a fast car needs good tyres, good tyres = expensive. I got mine from mytyres.co.uk and they were £88 inc VAT per tyre, and although I had to pay an extra £15 per tyre postage to the Isle of Man they were still far cheaper than any of the local garages could offer.
Overall IMO the 050's are a very good all round tyre and a definate improvement over the 040's.
Hope this helps.
I've had Toyo's before and never found them to be a problem but I really do like the stiff sidewall of the Bridgestones so I decided to go for the RE050 A CZ. After a couple a weeks worth of driving I thought I do a little review to help people who are stuck on what to get.
I only replaced the fronts, the rears are still 040's with about 6mm of tread left. I have no suspension or engine damping mods (yet).
As expected they offered very little grip straight after fitting and they also seemed to offer no feel through the steering, after a few miles this soon cleared up. The first thing I noticed is that the ride is quite a bit harder than the RE040's, which was a bit of a surprise to me as both tyres look identical.
Now they're worn in I've had a good chance to see how they stand up against the RE040's. The biggest difference is the initial bite. When on the 040's the front would have an initial moment of understeer before biting, the 050's don't have this they bite straight away, this makes them feel more responsive. The overall grip levels in the dry are fantastic, I never had any issues with the 040's but the 050's just feels more stable and gives you more confidence in the front end of the car.
It's not just in the dry that these tyres excel, they're very good in the wet. Now we all know it's a powerful front wheel drive car and traction in the wet is always going to be an issue. My 040's were quite worn so a wet comparision is a bit one sided. The 050's are fantastic is this area. Throttle control as always is needed when accelerating but it's the grip round corners that makes them so good. When you're putting the power on you have supreme amounts of confidence that the front isn't going to understeeer and push you into a hedge.
Noise level is the same and in all honesty who buys this car for a quiet ride? I've had them on 2 weeks so wear rate is impossobile to compare.
Cost - I'm of the opinion that you cannot go cheap in the field of tyres, a fast car needs good tyres, good tyres = expensive. I got mine from mytyres.co.uk and they were £88 inc VAT per tyre, and although I had to pay an extra £15 per tyre postage to the Isle of Man they were still far cheaper than any of the local garages could offer.
Overall IMO the 050's are a very good all round tyre and a definate improvement over the 040's.
Hope this helps.
always used 010's on my DC2 and they where fantastic everywere and even on full track days 8)