Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position Introductory Track Drive

Tires tested:
Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position – Ultra High Performance All-Season

The new Potenza RE970AS Pole Position Ultra High Performance All-Season tire has a tough act to follow. It is the replacement for the popular Potenza RE960AS Pole Position, which has been a strong performer in our tests, and is well-liked by consumers with over 16 million miles reported on in our consumer survey results. But nothing can last forever. New technologies are developed and competitors release new challengers.

Bridgestone has carefully tuned its design over the past two years of development, and their internal testing shows measurable improvements in dry, wet and snow traction as well as rolling resistance versus the outgoing Potenza RE960AS Pole Position, while maintaining the level of ride quality and noise comfort.

As an introduction to the Potenza RE970AS Pole Position's performance capabilities, several members of the Tire Rack team were given an opportunity to experience the wet traction and handling of the tire before it was available to the public. We compared the Potenza RE970AS Pole Position and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus on a wet autocross course, using 225/45R17 tires on BMW 328i sedans. The tight and challenging layout featured several low-speed 180 degree turns linking straightaways punctuated by lane change maneuvers.

A water truck was used to wet the track, resulting in some variation in how wet the surface was for each tire. But even with that the Potenza RE970AS Pole Position (driven with more water on the course than the Pilot Sport A/S Plus) felt as if it had better ultimate cornering power in the tight 180s, and was able to accelerate a little harder coming out of the tight 180s on the run down to the next corner.

Our time on the new Potenza RE970AS Pole Position tires during this preview was limited, and didn't provide the opportunity to get to know all of the tire's characteristics. We're looking forward to a comprehensive Real World Road Ride and Performance Track Drive at Tire Rack in the summer of 2011.

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