Home > Auto Racing Tire Reviews > Bridgestone RE-11 Tire Review
05/01/2012 - Bridgestone RE-11 Review
by Brett Setliff, for RacingTireGuide.com
TEST VEHICLE AND TIRE:
Car: 2010 Mazda Miata Touring
Tire: Bridgestone RE-11 (215/45-17)
Wheel: Stock MX-5 Wheels (17")
Mods: Koni Yellows and Hotchkis Swaybar Kit
Date: Summer of 2011 and early 2012
Where To Buy: Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 at THE TIRE RACK
DESCRIPTION:
The Potenza RE-11 is an Extreme Performance Summer tire developed for enthusiastic sports car, sports coupe and performance sedan drivers. The Potenza RE-11 is designed to combine traction, handling and driving control with good noise and ride comfort. The Potenza RE-11 is tuned for dry and wet conditions, but definitely not snow or ice.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS (Sunday May 01, 2011):
A few weeks ago I had the factory shocks and swaybars swapped out with some aftermarket parts from Koni and Hotchkis. This really transformed the handling of the car, so I figured it was a good time to change tires. The factory Bridgestones are OK, but I wanted the stickiest street tire I could find, so after a little bit of research I decided on Bridgestone RE-11's.
I went with a size that is slightly wider than the factory tires... 215/45-17. I've got a few hundred miles on them now and so far I'm very impressed. They are very quiet on the highway and seem to offer a ton of grip... more than anybody should ever need on the street that's for sure. I guess there's a reason a few autocrossers I know swear by these tires.
UPDATE (August 2011):
I just returned from a week long 1800 mile road trip that took me through 5 states... Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. I spent the majority of my time running the twisty backroads of Virginia and Tennessee between Wytheville, VA and Johnson City, TN. The Miata worked flawlessly the entire trip and now I know why certain car magazines have voted this car to their 10 Best list for many years in a row. The Bridgeston RE-11 Tires worked great and provided an amazing amount of grip. They are ultra quiet on the freeway too, which is rare in a high performance tire. After about 5000 miles on the tires, I couldn't be happier. Sure, they are one of the more expensive performance tires on the market, but in this case you really do get what you pay for.
WHERE TO BUY:
>> Buy the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 at THE TIRE RACK