CP

Hi,

I had a set of 4 new SO3s installed in 2005. 285sx18s in the rear. Now the rears are down to the wear bars, but the fronts are just fine. Ideally I would like 2 rear tires to wear out the whole set, then switch away from SO3s completely.

Unfortunately the SO3s are long gone. So would any RListers have a set of 265x18s or 285x18s for sale? If so, I'd love to buy them from you.

If that's not in the cards, what tires would you folks recommend?

As usual, thanks for the education.

CP

24FPS

ring john @ wheel enhancemnt in l.a.

did the same you're trying to do pong. recently got some new rears b/c the fronts were not bad @ all (are tough to come by now). he & i love these tyres. i run the 285's too.

i imagine w/ the ruf you can burn thru rears in weeks

there is the replacement for the so3.. the bridgestone potenza re050a pole position. i actually think their cheaper than the so3. avail @ tirerack, etc.
tbh: have not hear anyhing on the tyre yet...

think you will hear alot of peeps here suggest the so2a's (which are 'n'rated if you care)...
but i kinda like the more agressive tread designs in addition to the perfomance factor.

CWay27

Humm that is news to me..... I also need rears in 265/35/18.

The new RE-01R have 265 but no 285.

24FPS

think i'll be goin' so2a's or w/ a diff. brand altogether for the next set... they don't seem to be z rated either & are on "special" on tire rack. weird, wonder if the replacements will be discontinued too. wtf is bridgestone doin' w/ their line?

CP

I spoke with both Wheel Enhancements and Tire Rack. They both recommend the Bridgstone RE050A. That is different than the SO2A and is supposed to be a much better tire. Cheaper too.

Anyone has comments on the RE050As?

Thanks.

CP

jberb55

Regarding the RE050A, were their recommendations specific regarding pole positions or the non-pp? Your post sent me surfing for tires, and TR has the non-PP 285s on closeout for $155... In the 225/285 combo:

All non-PP: $728
All PP: $950
PP front, non-PP rear: $662

If the non-PP is somewhat decent, you can get a whole set for less than the price of a couple rear PS2s. I'd like to hear anyone's experience with the non-pp tires as well.

24FPS

i'd go for it pong. a full set imho.

tread is more like the so3's than the so2a's. still i would not mix tires...

kind of a waste for your fronts though... maybe a tiki or lister is in need for some fronts?

bol

CP

I am still researching this.

Here are the user ratings for the RE050A Pole Positions.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....+Pole+Position

Here are the user ratings for the RE050A regular (non Pole Positions).

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Potenza+RE050A

Since I average 2 sets of rears to one set of fronts, I may opt for 6 tires of the non PP: 2 fronts ($418), 4 rears ($620). Total $1,038.

For the PP sets: 2 fronts ($352), 4 rears ($1,196). Total $1,548. Say 50% more.

In each case, it could last me about 3 years worth of driving.

The thing is that the non PP tires are discontinued. If I don't grab 4 rears, I'll end up in the same boat I am with my SO3s today.

What to do??????

CP

993 Guy

I'm in the exact same boat as you with my S03's and it kills me to have to buy a full set when I only need two rears.

I went through this exercise a few weeks ago and in the end it looks like a full set of the new Bridgestones will be the way to go.

I'm still running my worn rears...gotta make a move soon.

porschespeeddemon

If anyone is interested in Continentals, I have some nice, although used, Contisport Contact 2's 225/40/18 and 295/30/18. Lemme know if these spark any interest!

CP

Update,

Spoke with Luke of Tirerack. I have dealt with him many times before and respect his input. He knows his stuff.

He told me for my case, I can put the RE-050A Pole Position in the back, and the tread patterns are close enough to the SO3s to have zero issues. He said the 050A PPs are superb tires, and should do very well in my case.

I usually do not mix front-rear tires. But in this case, I trust his advice. There is a first for everything I guess.

CP

Randy 1

So not to go grave digging, but that's what happens when you use search...

I read this a few times, and never got a clear explanation what the difference was betwixt the RE050A and RE050A PP's. I'm looking at the tread design on TR, and don't see much difference whatsoever. Anyone go bargain hunting and figure out a difference?

FYI, the price difference for an S or 4S is $182 before tax. Non-PP's are still on closeout at TR.

jberb55

Randy,

Check out this post in the wheel & tire fourm: https://rennlist.com/forums/wheel-and-tire-forum/311776-993-tire-mixing.html

Damon at Tirerack says there is a slight difference in tread pattern between the two 050As.

Personally, I'm confused with Luke's advice (via CP's reply), as the S03 pattern looks very different (to me) than either flavor of the 050A. If that combo is OK, two different 050s F and R can't be that bad. But I'm no tire expert and didn't sleep anywhere near a Holiday Inn Express last night.

good luck

InTheAir

I've been researching tires recently and I'm definitely leaning toward the

225/45R17 and 255/40R17 Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position

I've heard nothing but good things about them. I'll probably order them in a couple of months for installation a month or two after that.

CP

Now that this thread is up again, here is an update.

I put new 050A PP in the rear. I went to Roger Kraus Racing for install and alignment. Branden Krause (Roger's son) is the master mechanic for wheels and alignments. He is also a semi-pro racer. He looked the treads over and felt that it is no issue putting the 050A PP in the rear with the S03s in front.

He did the work and then took the car out for a thorough test drive, and loved the way it is.

I have since driven about 500 miles on this combo, with quite a bit of twisty runs thrown in for good measures. The grip and performance is perfectly fine by me. I guess I will need new tires in about 6k-7k miles. I will go full 050A PP at that time. Unless something better hits the market by then.

CP