Product Review: Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE005
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Two million tyres. That’s a massive number which equates to 500,000 cars traversing Australian roads on a set of Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003’s. That’s even more impressive when you consider the total pool of registered passenger vehicles across the country sits at 15.7 million.
The RE003 was launched in Australia way back in 2007, an inordinately long lifecycle given the rate of change across many facets of motoring. It followed the wildly successful RE001, the first in a range of performance road tyres designed specifically for the Australia Pacific Region.
The inquisitive ones will ask what happened to the RE004? The answer is that whilst it does exist, it never made it to our shores. It was a decision by the local team in weighing up the balance of benefit that the new tyre brought about.
Suffice to say the RE003 enjoyed a cult following amongst enthusiasts; a compelling option for those who needed a tyre that provides equal measures of performance and daily tractability without breaking the bank.
Which is why I was more than a little excited to get to experience their replacement in the form of the brand new RE005 at Sydney Motorsport Park.
It’s not to say these are a motorsport tyre, because they aren’t – there are options in the lineup that are better catered to that. This includes the upcoming launch of the RE-71RZ semi slick track tyre.
Nonetheless, given the intent to cater for the enthusiastic road user, setting a bunch of guys and gals up to thrash them on track was both impressive and indicative of product confidence.
So, what’s changed?
In short, a lot. Missing an entire generation in the RE004 is one way to do that – but as a user of the RE003 on the ISF it’s good to see forethought across areas like longevity, rolling resistance and road noise.
That makes it sound like the tyre for a hybrid Camry, but it’s only part of the story. The reality is there has also been significant improvements across performance in wet and dry conditions.
The team claim a 7% enhancement in dry grip and 12% in wet. The earlier is likely due to compound and tread pattern. The latter retains an aggressive and wide block pattern, with an upright sidewall for improved turn-in and stability.
There’s also been a fair bit of work on wet weather performance, including a enhanced wet weather pulse groove on the inside edge to pump water out whilst rolling.
This comes along with 7% lighter weight, 4% increase to wear life and a staggering 25% improvement in rolling resistance. The latter is to improve suitability for EV’s, but it’s a benefit in anyone’s books really.
So, what’s it like then?
The buzz words and fancy statistics are great and you’ll see that everywhere. The proof is in the pudding, and we had three flavours on the day; Circuit, Slalom and Skidpan.
Whilst I’ve never driven the Isf with the RE003’s in anger on track (other than drag racing), I have leant on them on the street through twisties. It’s not really a fair comparison given the state of Sydney’s A-roads let alone B-roads, but it is what it is.
The vehicles of choice for circuit work on the day were Manual Toyota GT86’s on a small section of Motorsport Park. Speeds reached the end of third gear, so we weren’t at a huge pace. However, a good blend of sweeping, sharp and variable camber corners made for a great selection of conditions to shake down the new RE005.
After a warmup lap to familiarise, we were set loose with an instructor to get the most out of us, the car and ultimately the tyre. It’s fair to note these tyres were not brand new; far from it in fact, given they had been used at a media launch the week prior around Norwell Motorplex. The treads exhibited wear and flaring, all normal signs that come with pushing on track.
Despite this, I walked away from my first session more impressed than I could have imagined. What really struck me was the confidence on turn in.
They really bite and respond positively, which in turn adds the confidence to brake later on approach. The long and fast turn 5 was an opportunity to push with pace. What was uncovered was polished mid-corner grip and the ability to carry WOT through the APEX toward exit.
The GT86 was a good choice as a platform here – it’s not overpowered so its approachable. Its lively chassis helps to showcase the tyre perfectly – and is the exact type of car its designed for.
After ten laps there was no real sign of the tyre letting up or getting gummy as I may have expected. With guidance from my co-driver and up-and-coming racer Kruz Scott I was able to better my times yet again. Smooth is fast!
The skidpan was an opportunity to test the RE005 on a wet and smooth concrete surface; this time in an BMW M240i. With more power and weight this could have been a disaster. What was surprising here was the sure-footedness coming through the cone-marked track even through sitting water. The soft landings provided by ESC and Traction Control notwithstanding, I was genuinely impressed with how much pace could be carried until understeer raised its ugly head.
Truly confidence inspiring stuff – and a stack of fun to boot.
The final test was a slalom course setup on what many will know as the drift arena at Sydney Motorsport Park. Three automatic (yuk) GT86’s were fitted with 3 different tyres in matching sizes. One was of course on RE005’s, the second on Michelin Pilot Sport 5’s and the third on Pirelli Powergy rubber.
It was a novel way to gain insight into capability amongst the 3 different examples.
Looking back, I was surprised at how good the Pirelli was, especially given they are not a performance tyre. The Michelins provided more confident transitioning from one set of cones to the next and provided an improvement in stopping power.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how comprehensively better the RE005’s were. Turn-in bite was on proper display here, with an incredible level of confidence through the tight course.
We were never at a speed to risk any true type of calamity in this setting, with the focus on tight and sharp turns. Fundamentally, the Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE005 felt miles ahead in capability and confidence here. So much so that I wish I would have checked the tyres on the other two cars a little more closely.
The penultimate activity for the day was passenger seat ride as part of a set of hot laps with all the cars on track. It just so happened that I landed beside my instructor from the opening activity. The highlight was having Australian racing legend Paul Morris amongst the group. Kruz obliged to my request to pass the boss – a fun way to end a fantastic day.
Based on these short and curated tests, it would seem that Bridgestone have hit one for a six again with this latest iteration of the Adrenaline range.
Now to find a way to test one out a little more long term…
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