I just put a new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport summer tires on my black cat and wow did it transform the car! The old Michelins that came on the car were 8 years old, but had less than 30K miles on them and looked like they had 1/2 tread life remaining. Upon close inspection the sidewalls were dry-rotted and due to age were annealed into round rocks.

The car never felt truly stable and wandered within the lane. There was also some low frequency body vibration at highway speeds. And the tire noise was so loud I couldn't hear the engine.

It turns out the right side front wheels were towed in and the rears towed out so it was constantly fighting itself.

So a four wheel alignment and four RE760s, rated in a Car and Driver summer tire comparison test as best for low noise and comfort and I've got a whole new car.

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 8 - Car and Driver

The ride is like the thread title - velvety - and they are so quiet now I can hear the clock hand move at speed. She even coasts better and I expect the mileage to improve with less rolling resistance.

Bottom line, I am super happy with these tires and highly recommend them for Sport and XJR applications. At $172 a tire they are well priced.

I'm going for a drive...

 

+1 for Bridgestone Potenza, been running RE50's for 2 years, better than the PS2's I used to run. Best tyre for the R imo.

 

Where did you get them for $172?

Tire Rack has the summer tires listed for $258.
Vector

 

Tire rack has the 255 40 18 re760 for $164 each

 

Do you think these deliver better ride quality that the Michelin Pilot Super Sports?

How do you think they would compare in terms of how many miles you could get out of them?
Vector

 

I got them at Tires Plus for $172 each. Yes Tire Rack has them for $164, but add $50 shipping for a set of 4, so Tires Plus is a better deal, plus they are a Tire Rack certified installer with some of the best install rates.

As for tread life vs. Michelin Pilot Super Sports, the tread wear rating for the Bridgestones is 340. The Michelins are 300. The higher the number, the more tread life.

When the car sits for a couple days they do develop flat spots that take a couple miles to smooth out.

 

I had RE760s on my 06 Mustang GT for quite a while, and can back up that they are a WONDERFUL tire for a daily driver. They are VERY quiet, don't tramline, ride very nicely, wear extremely well (I got ~40k HARD miles out of my set) and have decent grip and transitional response for the treadwear rating. The are in my top three most recommended DD summer tires along with the Kumho Ecsta LE Sport and Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110. The Kumhos are a little sportier but ride worse than the Bridgestones, whereas the Hankooks ride better and offer more grip but have inferior transitional response and don't last as long. I believe all three are within a shout of performing as well (or in certain ares, better) than the Pilot Super Sport while being FAR less expensive.

 

@ cat herder - what pressures are you running, I have 35/38psi and they don't flatspot, RE50's not RE760's tho, what's the price difference over your side of the pond?

 

I thought I would follow your advice here, so I just today took off my mostly worn Michelin Pilot Super Sports and traded them with these RE760s, but instead of the 255 40 18, I went with 245 45 18 for a little more sidewall for a smoother ride over bumps. I went the 245 instead of 255 so I could keep the overall diameter closer to original. These tires are a little heavier, but I did not notice any slower acceleration.

The RE760s are a much smoother ride. They are very precise, but not quite as responsive, close, but that may be mostly because there is now 100% tread vs being down to almost the wear bars on the pilots. Also I'm now running a 45 sidewall vs a 40 series.

I am glad I read this post and decided to try them.

I'm running them at 35 psi, they are very stable at this pressure, low slip angle in higher loaded turns. Very predictable.

They are not even broken in yet, but they have loads of grip.

Tire technology has improved in the last few years.