The OEM RE050 Potenzas are awful tyres. Grossly over-priced, deafeningly noisy on coarse chip surfaces and thrum like a bass guitar on undulating hot-mix, fast-wearing, skittish and unpredictable in the wet and tram-line on longitudinal ridges like nothing I've ever had, regardless of set pressures. You'd think being so soft they'd have a halfway decent ride but they feel like you're sitting on a barn door dragged over a stubble-field.
I got 37,000km out of mine but still had 1mm of legal tread, including one track day. I rotate and balance every 10,000 service. I was glad to be shot of them and wouldn't ever give them garage room again.
I've had friends with a variety of cars fitted with OEM RE050's, from Subaru, to MPS6 to a Holden Caprice, plus myself, all of whom had their cars back to service or tyre fitting or aligning centres, complaining about steering wander and tram-lining that turned out to be solely attributable to the tyres.
The current Sumitomo HTRZIII's are simply galaxies ahead of the Potenzas. Quiet, sensibly-priced, comfortable, no tram-lining, grippy on corners and predictable, great in the wet. They transformed the car, made it sidestep like a polo-pony and much more enjoyable to drive.
BTW, my daughter has ~60,000km on the Potenzas on her MPS3 but she drives it very gently.
Last edited by Doug_MPS6; 19-01-2010 at 02:18 PM.
CP_e Standback & PNP; CP_e 3" SS Downpipe; Corksport FMIC with Top-mount K&N filter & OEM Ram CAI; Turbosmart BOV; Dashhawk; Prosport Boost Guage; JBR solid shift bushes; DBA 4000 Wiper-Slot front rotors; Hawk Ferro-Carbon HPS Street front brake pads (@ 69,000km); Sumitomo HTRZIII's in 225/45 x 18