Are Bridgestone Potenza S001 tyres any good?

[fuelboss]

My last MK7 GTI came with Potenza S001 tyres and when I changed them to Eagle F1 series 3 I thought they were quieter. I now have a new MK7.5 face-lifted GTI again fitted with Potenza S001 all round. Wheel size is 18".

I would be interested in opinions on these Bridgestone tyres particularly in terms of noise and ride quality. I am convinced that this face-lifted model has far more cabin noise that the original 2014 MK7 GTI. Now whether that perceived increase in noise is from the tyres or elsewhere I am unsure though of course road noise is generated through the tyres. I have only had this car for a week or so and I am reluctant to spend out on replacing tyres but I will do so if there is a noticeable benefit particularly relating to noise.

 

[TheWombat]

Per my post in the R forum today, my opinion is they are, ahem, sub-optimal. Less than ten thousand miles on my OEM set and they're toast. Tread is worn nearly through, edges are chopped up (by bad roads, to be sure, and I'm not sure if any other tire would have fared that much better, but still), making warbling noises at high speeds. Your experience may benefit--I live in a place with bad roads, rough terrain, and occasionally extreme weather, so you might have better luck. And the R is heavier, so it abuses the tires a bit more I think. But I really was not happy with the Potenzas before I had these issues.

 

[Jozh]

I have 18" with the S001 and they are pretty noisy. Though I haven't had other tyres on the car to compare them to yet.

 

[fuelboss]

Koni Actives Shocks & Goodyear Eagle F1's - what a difference!

I purchased Koni Active Part No. 8245-1327 rear shock absorbers several weeks ago and fitted them to a recently purchased 2018 Golf 1.5TSI 150bhp GT that I found was a noisy car. In my opinion the Koni’s did not suit that car very well as the 1.5TSI has quite a compliant ride so I removed them and refitted the OEM shocks. Due to a continuing cabin noise issue and after much debate I was able to exchange the car within the terms of sale for a new GTI. Yesterday I had the Koni Actives fitted to the GTI and what a difference it makes. I believe VW are guilty of fitting poor rear shocks as was the case on the original MK7 models along with noisy & hard Bridgestone S001 tyres plus little rear end sound deadening.

I have now fitted Silent Coat sound deadening to the spare wheel well, rear wheel arches and under the bench of the rear seat. I also replaced all tyres to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3. By doing all of that which should not be necessary on a new car I now have comfort & quietness in a great car. I am very pleased I purchased the Koni’s and would highly recommend them for the Golf, particularly the GTI as without any doubt they really improved the rear end comfort even before I fitted the Goodyear tyres. The original shock absorbers on these golfs are made by Sachs and do produce a kind of rattle at slow speeds over ruts and ridges etc but the Koni’s are excellent and do not make any noise at all.

In my view if you have ride comfort or cabin noise on the new facelifted Golfs they you could do no better by at least replacing the shocks and tyres. My first Golf was MK7 GTI and now the 7.5 facelifted model and these simple changes made on both cars make a considerable improvement.

 

[morgan]

But you wouldn’t recommend the Koni on a Golf?


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[Jasons6930]

FYI, i swapped out the sachs rear shocks for the Bilstein B4s and it made no difference at all to the knocking on the rear end.

I took it to the dealer and took the tech out and he said the usual 'they all do that sir'.

Anyway, after he said that, i told him i had replaced the shocks with the above and his answer was 'that's odd as changing the shocks normally stops it'.

On Saturday, i will be taking to a chap i know at another dealer and he said he would look it over and check to make sure everything is torqued up properly.