Bridgestone Potenza S04 Pole Position
05-23-12, 11:58 AM
#1
Bridgestone Potenza S04 Pole Position
Continental DW tires are gone
Bridgestone SO4 tires are on
At least a for now. Just drove 'em home from Discount tire. The stupid Continental sing is gone
Same sizing as the DW - 285/30/19 and 245/35/19. The SO4 rears are wider than the DW, so there is now some tire bulge in the rear, none in front. I don't believe the rear bulge is excessive and it's acceptable to me. Pict one shows the SO4 bulge, Pict two is the DW. The rest of the picts are back and front picts of the tread area. Corresponding picts of the DW is in my Continental thread.
Lou
Bridgestone SO4 tires are on At least a for now. Just drove 'em home from Discount tire. The stupid Continental sing is goneSame sizing as the DW - 285/30/19 and 245/35/19. The SO4 rears are wider than the DW, so there is now some tire bulge in the rear, none in front. I don't believe the rear bulge is excessive and it's acceptable to me. Pict one shows the SO4 bulge, Pict two is the DW. The rest of the picts are back and front picts of the tread area. Corresponding picts of the DW is in my Continental thread.
Lou
Last edited by flowrider; 05-23-12 at 12:06 PM.
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06-14-12, 09:40 PM
#9
Well, I have the S-04s for three weeks now. The tire bulge is reduced, the sidewall seems to be conforming itself to the wheel width. The S-04 is a heavy tire. 5 to 6 lbs heaver than my DWs and the stock Michelin PS2. The extra weight appears to be in the construction, the sidewalls are very stiff. The ride is a bit more stiff than the DW or the PS2 around town, but not at all unpleasant. On the Freeway, the ride is truly luxurious. Very quiet and smooth and the tires do a good job of soaking up the noise and feeling of expansion joints. Even though my F has been aligned twice, the DW had a pull to the right, not a severe pull, but a pull none the less. On flat pavement with no crown, middle lane on a three lane freeway, the car now tracks absolutely straight with no wander.
In tight maneuvers I have yet to break the rear end loose or cause tire squeal. There is absolutely no plowing. The car feels very neutral. There is a very slight sing at low speeds, but very tolerable. So far, these seem to be a great tire and a great match for the F in the 245/285 sizes.
Edit - added pict of rear sidewall from this morning. Maybe it's me, but I think the tire bulge is reduced, or maybe I'm just getting used to it
Lou
In tight maneuvers I have yet to break the rear end loose or cause tire squeal. There is absolutely no plowing. The car feels very neutral. There is a very slight sing at low speeds, but very tolerable. So far, these seem to be a great tire and a great match for the F in the 245/285 sizes.
Edit - added pict of rear sidewall from this morning. Maybe it's me, but I think the tire bulge is reduced, or maybe I'm just getting used to it
Lou
Last edited by flowrider; 06-17-12 at 09:51 PM.
05-30-13, 06:02 PM
#12
After seeing this pic I now understand. I was wondering how the S04 Pole Position even came close to the performance of the PSS considering it is several lbs heavier per tire and has a narrower tread contact patch. I see from the pic that the tread on each side is barely off the ground, which I guess means it contacts the ground under cornering with a slight flex.
05-31-13, 07:52 AM
#14
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So the interesting question is: does this in a 285 perform as well as or better than the 275 PSS? With that buldge, I'm not sure how track worthy this is, unless it is on a 2012 rim.
05-31-13, 08:18 AM
#15
It's been a year now and I'm just as happy with the S-04 as I was on the day they were installed. I recommended these to a friend in town who's lowered on BC coils and they work for him too. I haven't brought them to the track, but on aggressive maneuvers on the street they work very well. My F handles far more neutral with the 245/285 combo and the understeer so noticeable with the stock sizes is considerably reduced. I still luv 'em.
Edit:
You're right about the tread widths. I just looked at the specs on the TireRack web site and the tread widths are depicted as follows:
S-04, 245/35/19 - 8.7"
PSS, 245/35/19 - 9.2"
S-04, 285/35/19 - 10.1"
PSS, 275/35/19 - 10.2"
And, as you indicated the S-04's are heaver too.
S-04, 245/35/19 - 27 lbs.
PSS, 245/35/19 - 23 Lbs.
S-04, 285/35/19 - 30 lbs.
PSS, 275/35/19 - 26 lbs.
And in the Car & Driver Max performance tire test the PSS came in at No. 1 and the S-04 came in at Mo. 2.
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...omparison-test
And TireRack users rate the PSS No. 1 and the S-04 as number 2.
If the PSS had been available in the 285/30/19 size, I certainly would have considered them, but IMHO, the 275/30/19 is just a wee bit undersized (in diameter). So I went with the S-04. Upon a year's reflection, I made the right choice, for me
Lou
Edit:
After seeing this pic I now understand. I was wondering how the S04 Pole Position even came close to the performance of the PSS considering it is several lbs heavier per tire and has a narrower tread contact patch. I see from the pic that the tread on each side is barely off the ground, which I guess means it contacts the ground under cornering with a slight flex.
S-04, 245/35/19 - 8.7"
PSS, 245/35/19 - 9.2"
S-04, 285/35/19 - 10.1"
PSS, 275/35/19 - 10.2"
And, as you indicated the S-04's are heaver too.
S-04, 245/35/19 - 27 lbs.
PSS, 245/35/19 - 23 Lbs.
S-04, 285/35/19 - 30 lbs.
PSS, 275/35/19 - 26 lbs.
And in the Car & Driver Max performance tire test the PSS came in at No. 1 and the S-04 came in at Mo. 2.
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...omparison-test
And TireRack users rate the PSS No. 1 and the S-04 as number 2.
If the PSS had been available in the 285/30/19 size, I certainly would have considered them, but IMHO, the 275/30/19 is just a wee bit undersized (in diameter). So I went with the S-04. Upon a year's reflection, I made the right choice, for me
Lou
Last edited by flowrider; 05-31-13 at 09:11 AM.