Tire Rack Consumer Review of the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position

Initial Review, 4,500 Miles on Tires
June 05, 2014

These are a great 3 season tire. If you live in areas of frequent and prolonged snow/ice and I would pair these with snow tires.

I was down to getting either this tire, the Continental Extremecontact DWS or the Michelin Pilot A/S 3. At the time of purchase the Michelin had a lot or reports of a harsher ride and increased noise. The Continental had reports on the audizine forum of a weak side wall and multiple members experiencing a blown side wall. The biggest complaint on the Bridgestone was poor performance in the winter.

I have a separate winter tire for use from November to April here in Colorado. However, I did not want to use a summer only tire due to our occasional late spring snow storms and the occasional summer snow storm in the mountains. I also wanted a tire that would have better tread wear then a summer only tire.

I am very happy with this tire. The steering response is very crisp. Road noise is minimal or at least not beyond a normal level the degrades from your drive. Cornering is great when I am aggressive in the corners, off/on ramps or around the roundabouts. I have never felt more connected to the road in wet weather then I do with with this tire.

I only have two bad comments on this tire.
1) yes the winter/snow/ice ability is poor to average on this tire. If you are cautious you will do fine, but coming from snow tires and using these in one of our recent spring snowstorms and I was reminded quickly that you can't be aggressive in the snow with these.
2) I get flat spots on these when I park overnight. Its less evident when the weather is above 80 degrees F. It takes about 1 mile till the tires round out again.

Overall a great tire that I would buy again. I took off a set of Pirelli P6 all seasons with only 10,000 miles on them because they were so loud and harsh. These tires are so much better.