Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Review - A Good Buy? [2024]

Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Energy estimates that around 25% of the fuel consumption of a vehicle is attributable to the tyres. That's a lot, and it means that choosing fuel efficient tyres can save you quite a bit of money.

The Potenza RE050A tyres rank a D on a scale of A to E in the official fuel efficiency tests carried out by the EU (they call these rolling resistance tests).

Relative to an A grade tyre, expect to use an extra 0.3L/100km. This works out to $75 extra spent on petrol per year, based on a typical 12,000 km driven per year.

Comparison

Here's how the Potenza RE050A compares to similar tyres for fuel efficiency (1 = Grade E, 5 = Grade A).

Based on the comparison tyres we've selected, the Potenza RE050A ranked # out of 0 tyres.

Grip & Handling

We'll now take a look at how these tyres compare in terms of grip and handling.

A good measure of this is 'wet grip', which is an indication of how well the tyres will allow the vehicle to come to a stop in wet conditions.

The Potenza RE050A tyres rank a B on a scale of A to E in the official fuel tests carried out by the EU.

Relative to an A grade tyre, expect these tyres to require about an extra 2.5 metres to come to a complete stop when braking at 80km/h.

Comparison

For wet grip, they scored # out of 0 comparison tyres.

Noise

Another key factor to consider when choosing a tyre is road noise. Once you're over about 40 km/h, the dominant source of noise you hear is from the contact of your tyres on the road.

There is a surprisingly wide variation in the amount of noise each tyre makes.

The Potenza RE050A tyres produce 71.8 dB of road noise, which corresponds to a rank of B on a scale of A to C in the standardised testing done by the EU.

Expect these tyres to produce about 2 times as much noise as an A grade tyre (the decibel scale is logarithmic).

Comparison

For noise, they ranked # out of 0 comparison tyres.

Comfort

Based on the results of a number of tyre benchmarks, including those below, the Potenza RE050A scores 4 out of 5 for comfort.

• TireRack: Best in Max Performance Summer

For fuel efficiency, they score a grade of D, which is below average, though this isn't a super important factor.

More important is the wet grip, which gives you an indication of their traction and handling. In this regard, they get a score of B, which is above average.

Finally, for road noise, they receive a B grade, which is about typical.

In terms of data out of the US, they have the following UTQG ratings:

• Treadwear: 140
• Traction: A (scale: AA, A, B, C)
• Temperature Resistance: A (scale: A, B, C)