Bridgestone Adrenalin RE001 vs PP2 vs rest?

[Charlie Brown]

Has anyone done a tyre comparison between Bridgestone Adrenalin RE001 and Michelin PP2?
I need to pick the brains of those that have these tyres fitted to an MX5, not to a WRX or Skyline or Camry.

I'm just about to fit 4 new tyres and before I get some PP2s I though I'd investigate the alternatives in the 215x45x17 size, premium sports type range.

My driving style and use need to be taken into consideration when selecting a tyre. I never drive over the designated speed shown on the curve signs through the twisties, well maybe a little, but never more than double.
90% of my driving is from home to work and back. I don't want a tyre that sounds like my D01s. I want a tyre that will last 30,000 kilometres.

Here's my thoughts so far:

Michelin PP2 - $260 - The leader at the moment. I've had the PP1s on my last two MX5s and they were great. Far better than T1-Rs.

Bridgestone RE001 - $252 - mixed information from other forums on this tyre. Some say it's the antz pantz, others say its noisy but most would buy it again. It's locally made and some think that's a negative.

Bridgestone RE050A - $333 - a bit to exxxy for me.

Falken FK452 - $194 - I'm unsure if this tyre can be considered "Premium" or if it's more suited towards heavier cars than the MX5. The lower price compared to the rest would indicate that you only get what you pay for.

Pirelli P7000 - $210 - I know nothing about these. The Pirelli Dragons on my wife's Mazda 6 are noisy. P-Zero $$$$

I won't get Toyo T1-Rs again. The current ones have 35,000 up on them (in 20 months) with about 3mm tread left. They have gone off in a big way. Wet roads are now like driving on ice and in the dry they spin, slide and skip over the road when under little stress. When new they were 2 seconds slower around Wakefield compared to the PP1s.

So there you have it. Who has RE001's and what's your impression? Any other suggestions in the $250 per corner range that need investigating?

[philz]

Re001- LOVE THEM.

Very very good grip in dry, wet is also not bad.
Would buy them again.

In regards to noise, I haven't noticed anything "offensive".

[Steampunk]

My first track day with RE001 (195/50 R15) yesterday, and ...well.... I expected a bit more.
The superceded Grid III gave me more confidence, but it may be that I'm just not used to it. It does grip VERY well on the track and doesn't go mushy after 5-6 hot laps.
But I'm guessing you will seldom, if at all, use these for the track.

On the road, to me they are not noisy at all. Tends to grab white lines a little when you go over them though.
Great grip in the wet, but haven't dríven through any puddles.

Sidewalls are VERY stiff, so I guess you can run slightly lower pressures than usual to enhance comfort.

NMX516 replaced his PP2 with RE001 recently, shoot him a PM for a more qualified opinion.

[Hot Rodders]

RE001 here. Great tyre. Good grip both dry and wet. nice soft ride and very quiet. What size tyre are you wanting? I"ve got 15 and they were around $135 a corner from Tyre Power.

[Craig]

Very very happy with mine Phil!

[NMX516]

Well, here's a topic I know something about, and no doubt my reply will draw the ire of some, but that's their problem.

I had PP2's on mine for probably 18 months, did 8 or 9 (can't quite remember exactly) track days on them, and they were fantastic. Dry and wet grip were both excellent, and they are obviously a quality tyre. I wish I still had PP2's on my car, they are an excellent tyre.

Unfortunately, I bought a set of RE001's about 2 months ago. Long story short, I was considering selling the car at the time, needed new treads, they were $50 a corner less than the PP2's, and I'd read some rave reviews of them on here. The RE001's have now done two track days, and are shagged. On the first track day (@ QR), small pieces of the tyre broke away around some of the "slots" in the tread pattern. Yesterday at Lakeside, the problem got worse, and there are also now chunks missing from the outer tread edges of at least two of the tyres. Now, I accept that having gone over the edge of the ripple strip and through the grassed area beside the track yesterday may have caused some damage on any sharp objects such as rocks in the grass, or even the edge of the ripple strip, I don't accept that the earlier damage from my day at QR should have occured. The Michelins had also been "over the ripple strips" on more than one occasion, including at Lakeside, but NEVER showed any signs of tyre damage. It's not like one of the RE001's has a problem, all four of them do. In my opinion, the construction quality of them is woeful. Wish I'd never bought them, and am now seriously considering buying a set of PP2's asap to replace them, despite the amount of money I will then have spent on tyres within 8 weeks!!!

Also, as a comparison. When the PP2's went on, only two wheels required weights to balance them, and those that did were only 10 grams each. The RE001's - all four wheels have sizeable weights on them. The Michelins also gave a better ride, and felt smoother, giving the impression to me that they are much better made/quality.

Re my current problem with the RE001's, I think the comparison to the PP2's which I've had is fair, as both were inflated to the same tyre pressures, were the same size tyre, fitted to the same car, and were both used by the same driver with the same driving style.

That's my $2 worth. Buy the Michelins!


Anyone want to buy a second hand set of RE001's?? 195/50/15, Only done 1500 kms incl 2 track days.....

[AJ]

[off topic for a sec]hey gerard..........wanna think about a few of us getting together & hitting one tyre dealer for PP2's fitted???.........I've decided I've got about the best outta my PP1's & with the aud dipping steadily, figure better off to buy now while the price is still sane..........maybe we could even get Phil a set & ship ém down to him if we get the right price???.............let me know & we'll start an EOI on PP2's [/on topic]

go the PP2's CB

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks NMX516, just the information I wanted to hear. Strike the RE001s off the list.

I tracked the PP1s for their complete life and never had a problem with them. The woefully performance of the T1-Rs was the push I needed to go to R-spec tyres.
So now all I need is a quality road tyre and at the moment I don't think in the $250 price bracket that there is anything that matches the PP2.

[Garry]

CB,

I found the PP2's wet weather performance to be much more consistent than the PP1's. In the dry they need to be warmed up a bit before they're at their best.

[Boags]

I have Yokohama A-Drive R1s on mine; they will be in the price bracket you are looking at.

Now that they are on your list; strike them off it. The tread blocks are small and the tyre squirms quite a lot. It is a great performing tyre, but not in the league I expect for the money I paid.

I'll be buying PP2s next time around.

Boags

[Caffeine]

The RE001's have now done two track days, and are shagged. On the first track day (@ QR), small pieces of the tyre broke away around some of the "slots" in the tread pattern.

What pressures were you running the RE001's? Sounds like they were overheating.

[NMX516]

No worries CB.

Clive, a possibility. I've only asked one place so far, but got a price of $188 each - 195/50/15

Caffeine, 36psi cold on the QR day, not 100% certain re Lakeside yesterday as up until 2 hours before, I was going to use semi's so I hadn't bothered to check. Had put 38 cold in them a couple of weeks ago to try... I know I should have paid more attention to the pressures yesterday, but alas... The Michelins had 36psi cold in them every time.

[Alex]

wow, that's a bit high, I've only been running 30 but should step it up along with some camber because my sidewalls are getting a bit warn

[tbro]

I had a good look at Gerard's rear tyres yesterday as he did mine, and I'm stuffed as to why his tyres are falling to bits and mine are handling the track work brilliantly.
Both cars were aligned by the same person, presumably to the same specs, although I've had mine redone by someone else after the last QR trackday.
Both cars run 36psi. Gerard does track his car a lot quicker than me. Yesterday I recieved the comments on how much quicker I was doing lakeside, maybe alignment setting, but who knows?
We run different suspension setups.
My tyres were new at the end of 07 and manufactured 17 week of 07 in Japan. It maybe they have had time to cure before fitting.
Mine had also done approx 800Ks before being tracked and are fitted to 7 in rims.
I'm as happy as a pig in sh*t with mine,quiet, great wet and dry, generally a bloody good tyre.
But in saying all that I know i'd be pissed off if mine had done what Gerard's have done.

Terry

[rjastra2]

Do car tyres suffer from cold shear like motorbike tyres do? Cold shear is when you overload a cold tyre. Essentially bits of tread are ripped off the tyre.

Could the damaged RE001s be caused by loading the tyre up to quickly on the track before the tyre had warmed up?