Bridgestone Potenza RE030 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Bridgestone Potenza RE030 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews. Based on 0 + 1 road tests and 8 + 1,506 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Super Sport is ahead, 76–58

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Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Tests 75 · 1 test Owners 78 · 1,506 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 9 in 2017 Motor Mag UHP Tyre Test (dry handling)

“Damn. 295s on Style 359Ms? That's pushing it a bit, isn't it? I so desperately wish Michelin would make a 285/30 PSS. I'm running 275/35s now, and while I like the extra rubber on the road, I don't like the increased sidewall height over the OEM 265/35.”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 59

    Dry

    Pilot Super Sport +22
    81
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza RE030Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 63 (est.)77
    Reviews found online5587

    Potenza RE030: 60% × 62.5 (est.) + 40% × 54.8 = 59

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 77.1 + 40% × 86.6 = 81

    No road tests of dry for Potenza RE030. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).

  2. 56

    Wet

    Pilot Super Sport +20
    76
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza RE030Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 59 (est.)73
    Reviews found online5180

    Potenza RE030: 60% × 59.5 (est.) + 40% × 51.4 = 56

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 72.8 + 40% × 80.1 = 76

    No road tests of wet for Potenza RE030. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).

  3. 56

    Comfort

    Pilot Super Sport +16
    72
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza RE030Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 65 (est.)≈ 70 (est.)
    Reviews found online4375

    Potenza RE030: 60% × 64.6 (est.) + 40% × 43.1 = 56

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 70.2 (est.) + 40% × 75 = 72

    No road tests of comfort for Potenza RE030 or Pilot Super Sport. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    70
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza RE030Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)–≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online–75

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 67.3 (est.) + 40% × 75.3 = 70

    No road tests of noise for Pilot Super Sport. The test half is the tested tires’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests.

  5. 67

    Treadwear

    Pilot Super Sport +1
    68
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza RE030Pilot Super Sport
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 67 (est.)≈ 67 (est.)
    Reviews found online6970

    Potenza RE030: 60% × 66.6 (est.) + 40% × 68.7 = 67

    Pilot Super Sport: 60% × 67 (est.) + 40% × 70 = 68

    No road tests of treadwear for Potenza RE030. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

    No road tests of treadwear for Pilot Super Sport. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

  6. 49

    Handling (owners)

    Pilot Super Sport +32
    81
    Why this score
    SourcePotenza RE030Pilot Super Sport
    Reviews found online4981
Scores at a glance
Bridgestone Potenza RE030 vs Michelin Pilot Super Sport: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryBridgestone Potenza RE030Michelin Pilot Super Sport
Relative Score 58 76
Dry 59 81
Wet 56 76
Comfort 56 72
Noise – 70
Treadwear 67 68
Handling (owners) 49 81

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score

Potenza RE030

Pilot Super Sport

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Potenza RE030

Pros

  • Exceptional tread longevity and durability
  • Reliable and consistent dry road grip
  • Strong, stiff sidewall construction

Cons

  • High levels of cabin road noise
  • Poor traction and handling in wet conditions
  • Tendency toward understeer
All owner themes in the Potenza RE030 review

Tire B Pilot Super Sport

Pros

  • Phenomenal dry grip and cornering stability
  • Precise steering response and excellent road feedback
  • Better-than-expected tread wear and mileage for a performance tire

Cons

  • Reduced grip and traction in cold weather (below 15°C)
  • Mediocre performance and tendency to aquaplane when tread wears down in heavy rain
  • High price point compared to some alternatives
All owner themes in the Pilot Super Sport review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Bridgestone Potenza RE030

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Positive

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is widely praised by the community as a benchmark high-performance street tire offering outstanding dry grip, sharp cornering capability, and decent ride comfort for daily driving. Many drivers note that its successor, the Pilot Sport 4S, improves upon it—especially in cold and wet conditions—while several users highlight downsides such as poor winter/snow capability, premium pricing, and eventual rubber degradation or tread cracking as the tires age.

r/cars ·1 upvote ·2016-09-30

“The Michelin PSS are great tires. I am currently running Michelin (PS3s) on my sport bike. But a more budget-minded summer tire I like for a DD car is the Yokohama s.drive. I got over 26k miles out of my last set on an S5 (some twisties, but no track use). The s.drive is cheaper, quieter, and I believe a little lighter than the PSS. The s.drives do give up grip to the PSS, for sure, but that depends on how hard you push your car on the street, if you're going to be doing track driving with these tires, how much you like being able to break it loose, and the type of car these would be going on. For a car I want to regularly exercise on weekends, I'd go PSS. For a DD that just needs to feel better than it would on an A/S tire, the s.drive is a good balance.”

rennlist.com

“I bought my 2006 C2S last September. It came with Pirelli P Zero Rosso N spec tires that were 3 years old and had about 80% of tread life remaining. I drove about 8000 miles and relaced them yesterday with Michelin Pilot Super Sports. They grip much better than the Pirellis. The biggest surprise is the car is now much much quieter than it was. I had no idea how noisy the old tires were until I got rid of them.”

rdforum.org ·1 upvote ·2016-09-06

“Re: Best summer tires & Best winter tires! I run PSS on my M Roadster during the summer and do a couple of weeks each summer of some very fast paced driving with our car club on mountain roads. I have tried a number of tires over the years and PSS for me have the best balance of wet and dry traction with a great feel for how close you are to the edge of performance. I have been getting 2 years on the rear tires and 3 years on the front tires. Another brand of very good winter tire is Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's.”

Top themes
#Dry grip and cornering#Comparison to PS4S#Poor snow performance#Tread life and wear#High purchase price#Age and cracking issues#Daily driving comfort

Based on 364 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Potenza RE030 B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport
CategorySummerSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—50
Rim diameters—17″ – 23″

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone Potenza RE030

Michelin Pilot Super Sport

Winner: Michelin Pilot Super Sport — better handling, dry and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score. Bridgestone Potenza RE030 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 8 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 81 vs 49 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 81 vs 59 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 76 vs 56 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Super Sport scores 72 vs 56 on comfort.

Tire A · Bridgestone Potenza RE030
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Super Sport

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Potenza RE030 or Pilot Super Sport?

Which is better in the wet, Potenza RE030 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 76 vs 56 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Potenza RE030 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 81 vs 59 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Potenza RE030 or Pilot Super Sport?

Michelin Pilot Super Sport, 72 vs 56 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Potenza RE030 or Pilot Super Sport?

Neither, by our numbers: 67 vs 68 on the treadwear score, within 3 points.

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology