Another tire replacement candidate - Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

Originally Posted by VCuomo

I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the new tires I put on my 2009 370Z Sport/Touring - the Bridgestone S-04 Pole Position. I managed to get 26,650 miles out of the factory RE050s and it was time for baby to get new shoes!

I considered the Michelin PSS (pretty expensive, great performance numbers but probably not very good treadlife), Continental DW (inexpensive, but I was questioning the grip these would have), Bridgestone RE11s (also fairly expensive and probably not very good treadlife), Bridgestone RE760 (least expensive, but probably not as good performance as the S-04), and the Bridgestone S-04.

I settled on the S-04 because of their good performance for street use, lower price, and other folks' positive reviews. I don't track the car, so the more extreme performance advantages that the PSS and RE11s offer really wouldn't be of use to me (especially considering their price). I did want good grip (since I do drive the car aggressively at times), better treadlife, and a bit better price (approx. $1,200+ balanced, mounted, and including CA's f'd up sales tax and environmental fees), so the S-04 really seemed to fit the bill.

I gotta' say, I'm lovin' 'em - I like them way better than the factory RE050s! Turning the factory RE050 front wheels side-to-side always felt "heavy" to me, the S-04s feel just right. Interior road noise is definitely less. And that dreaded "crunch" noise that I (and others) got when turning sharp left/right at low speed is gone (the S-04s probably have stiffer sidewalls).

In short, if you don't track your Z and want a set of relatively inexpensive but high performance street tires that should give you good treadwear, you should definitely give the S-04 Pole Positions consideration.