Bridgestone - Potenza RE92 Tire Review

The Bridgestone Potenza RE92 has been a good value in a performance tire for several years. I now have two different sizes of this tire on two different cars - both Subarus - and I also had this tire on my old Audi 5000.

My 1995 Subaru Legacy wagon had cheap tires on it when I bought it with 77,000 miles on the odometer. The tires soon needed to be replaced and I wanted something that would firm up the car's mushy handling, so I replaced the 185/70-14 non-performance tires with H-rated Potenza RE92 195/60-14 tires. As I expected, this firmed up the car's handling and did it without sacrificing comfort and noise.

(An H-rating is the lowest of the true performance tire ratings. The other performance ratings are V, W and Z, all of which indicate tires with stiffened sidewalls and significant speed specifications. S- and T-ratings are non-performance ratings and you can expect softer handing with such tires.)

I have now had these Bridgestone tires on my 1995 Subaru for at least 40,000 miles and they are wearing very well, although they have a treadwear rating of just 160. I run them at 33 psi and this has been good for handling, gas mileage and tire wear.
In addition to firmer handling and good wear, the 195/60-14 Potenza RE92s are quiet and have decent traction in the wet and snow. They are not outstanding in the wet and snow, but they are good and predictable.

I now also have a 2003 Subaru Legacy sedan, and it came with Bridgestone Potenza RE92 205/55-16 tires. Like the tires on my other Subaru, these new tires are H-rated. With a wider tread and a shorter sidewall, I'm particularly impressed with the crisp turn-in and handling. As far as handling and braking are concerned, the car feels pleasingly nimble on these tires. 

The Bridgestone Potenza RE92 is available in a wide variety of specifications and sizes. I checked the company's Web site (www.bridgestone-firestone.com) and this tire is available for wheel sizes from 13 to 17 inches, and performance ratings of H, V and Z. In addition, Bridgestone has versions of this tire with treadwear ratings of 160, 260 and 360, as well as pressure ratings of 35, 44, 50 and 51 psi. (My tires are all 35-psi versions but 51-psi tires might be useful for getting higher gas mileage. Usually, the higher the tire pressure, the better gas mileage the car gets.) All things being equal, I would get tires with a higher pressure rating.

My experience with the Bridgestone Potenza RE92 is positive. I like the comfort, low-noise, firm handling and decent treadwear. The tires have good traction and are predictable in the rain and snow. Braking performance is also good and the tires are reasonably priced, at least at The Tire Rack.