Replacing one Bridgestone Potenza OEM summer tire

[Milkdudd]

Unfortunately I need to replace one OEM Bridgestone Potenza summer tire on my 2017 ST. I picked up a nail at the absolute edge of the tread. One more half inch and I wouldn't even have run over the nail. I'm retired with two other cars so I hardly ever drive this. Believe it or not it just recently turned over 1,000 miles. Not a typo. It only comes out of the garage on nice days in the summer. The OEM tire is a Potenza RE050A. Apparently it's out of production. In my time zone the dealers are all closed now so tomorrow I'm going to call my Ford dealer to see if they may have one in a warehouse somewhere. If anyone knows where I can get a new one of those that's great. Other than that I'll have to try and match it as close as I can to a different tire model. I hate doing that but I'm not going to replace all four tires that are basically still new just to have a match set. Any help greatly appreciated

 

[Capri to ST]

Unfortunately I need to replace one OEM Bridgestone Potenza summer tire on my 2017 ST. I picked up a nail at the absolute edge of the tread. One more half inch and I wouldn't even have run over the nail. I'm retired with two other cars so I hardly ever drive this. Believe it or not it just recently turned over 1,000 miles. Not a typo. It only comes out of the garage on nice days in the summer. The OEM tire is a Potenza RE050A. Apparently it's out of production. In my time zone the dealers are all closed now so tomorrow I'm going to call my Ford dealer to see if they may have one in a warehouse somewhere. If anyone knows where I can get a new one of those that's great. Other than that I'll have to try and match it as close as I can to a different tire model. I hate doing that but I'm not going to replace all four tires that are basically still new just to have a match set. Any help greatly appreciated

When my car had a thousand miles on it, I also had to replace one of the OEM Bridgestone Potenza tires. At that time they were readily available, and I just got one shipped in from Tire Rack. However, I looked all over for those recently when replacing tires, and did not find them anywhere. You will find some websites that will initially show them as being available, but when you click on them it'll say something like out of stock, call for ETA. This was at I believe discount tire direct. I called them a few times, and they never had any ETA.
I don't mean to be discouraging, and I hope you can find one, I just wanted to share my experience in not being able to find them. Good luck. Let us know what you find, I'd be interested.

 

[Jabbit]

Your tires are very close to needing replacement because of age. Might want to spring for a full set. If you ever want to sell that car please let me know!

 

[rallytaff]

I had the same problem when one of my Riken tyres got damaged. Couldn't find one for love nor money. Ended up buying a new set of 4 Lionhart tyres. I'm on my 2nd set. Love them!

 

[Milkdudd]

Your tires are very close to needing replacement because of age. Might want to spring for a full set. If you ever want to sell that car please let me know!

I appreciate your response. In my case however this car has always been stored in the garage. It's been my experience that if you keep things out of the sun they seem to last almost indefinitely. We just had to replace tires on a different car that had all kinds of tread left but had dry rot with cracked sidewalls, so I do know what you're talking about. If I knew then what I know now I would have bought an extra one of the potenzas assuming someday I might need it. Living in Metro Detroit, fast twisty roads unfortunately don't exist near me. I wonder if the fact that I don't push it to the limits if there is a tire close enough in tread design and compound that I could swap just the one out without asking for trouble. Anyone have ideas about that?

 

[SteveS]

There are none left of the RE050. Best bet is to buy a pair of ultra-performance summer tires if money is a concern, or a full set if not.

 

[rallytaff]

I would never do a mix and match on tyres! I scrap all of them and buy a completely new set. It hurts but not if you end up crashing and hurting yourself!

 

[cidsamuth]

I'll probably get ridiculed for this, but . . . I had to replace one tire on my SHO, and those Michelins are also discontinued. I actually resorted to buying a used tire on eBay in order to get a match. There are plenty of dealers on there with good reputations and satisfaction guarantees. Just find one that guarantees the tire and the reported tread life.

In my case, the tire I got is arguably in better condition than the other three, so I can't complain. I use a mobile installer who doesn't mind doing used tires . . . some installers get nervous about it.

 

[rallytaff]

I just hope you don't get inspected after an accident and the police find that you have an unmatched tyre on your car! I would NEVER do that under any circumstances!

 

[cidsamuth]

I just hope you don't get inspected after an accident and the police find that you have an unmatched tyre on your car! I would NEVER do that under any circumstances!

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read on the internet today. You trollin?

 

[Jabbit]

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read on the internet today. You trollin?

It's true. Source: I am a tire.

 

[rallytaff]

That's the most ridiculous thing I've read on the internet today. You trollin?

You must be one of the younger ones who think they know everything! Northern Virginia eh?

 

[rallytaff]

I'll probably get ridiculed for this, but . . . I had to replace one tire on my SHO, and those Michelins are also discontinued. I actually resorted to buying a used tire on eBay in order to get a match. There are plenty of dealers on there with good reputations and satisfaction guarantees. Just find one that guarantees the tire and the reported tread life.

In my case, the tire I got is arguably in better condition than the other three, so I can't complain. I use a mobile installer who doesn't mind doing used tires . . . some installers get nervous about it.

I hope your family doesn't travel anywhere with you in a car! I know I wouldn't!

 

[SteveS]

You'd be surprised how many cars are driving around on mismatched used tires. It's very commonplace. Unless you live someplace where there are no poor people.

 

[rallytaff]

Then you wonder why there are so many accidents due to losing control due to lack of grip! Yeah, that makes a lot of sense - NOT! I've been around for long enough to know that your tyres are the most important accessories on your car and make sure that they're in good working order, NOT a mish-mash of differing tread patterns and different brands! Do you ever see that on race cars? I thought not! They do it for a reason! Like I posted, I trashed 3 nearly new tyres because I couldn't find a replacement for the damaged one. It's my life and I won't risk it by saving a few bucks by getting a cheap and possibly inferior tyre!

 

[Dialcaliper]

You'd be surprised how many cars are driving around on mismatched used tires. It's very commonplace. Unless you live someplace where there are no poor people.

There are plenty, and also plenty of tire shops that deal exclusively in used tires. All fine and good if you just commute to work and it never rains, but don’t expect to have the car handle well or predictably with totally mismatched tires. People who can’t afford new tires have my respect, but it comes across as odd in the same breath as looking for tire performance or handling behavior similar to any sort of benchmark (like the OEM summer tires)

If you want a car that’s both safe to drive and *also* expect performance handling your options are:
1) Replace the damaged tire with a new identical tire shaved to matching tread depth
2) Replace at least an axle pair with a new pair of tires
3) Buy a full new set of tires.

A 4th option is if happen to be able to find a matching used, identical OEM tire ideally with similar tread depth (which are discontinued) - a few people probably have some floating around. Note that even tire shops that shave tires will not shave a used tire, as there’s a small risk of contact with embedded debris that could damage the shaving machine and it’s not worth the risk.

But random mismatched tires, especially used ones are not really among the “safe” or “performance” options.

If all you do is cruise around town, the bare minimum is a matched pair of front tires to ensure your car doesn’t pull to one side during a panic stop. Otherwise, one of the three options above are your best bet

 

[Jabbit]

Then you wonder why there are so many accidents due to losing control due to lack of grip! Yeah, that makes a lot of sense - NOT! I've been around for long enough to know that your tyres are the most important accessories on your car and make sure that they're in good working order, NOT a mish-mash of differing tread patterns and different brands! Do you ever see that on race cars? I thought not! They do it for a reason! Like I posted, I trashed 3 nearly new tyres because I couldn't find a replacement for the damaged one. It's my life and I won't risk it by saving a few bucks by getting a cheap and possibly inferior tyre!

You say that but then you buy Riken and Lionheart tires. I would call those cheap and inferior.

 

[rallytaff]

You say that but then you buy Riken and Lionheart tires. I would call those cheap and inferior.

They might be cheap but they are definitely NOT inferior! I will put them up against your choice of superior! By the way, spell LIONHART correctly in future!

 

[rallytaff]

There are plenty, and also plenty of tire shops that deal exclusively in used tires. All fine and good if you just commute to work and it never rains, but don’t expect to have the car handle well or predictably with totally mismatched tires. People who can’t afford new tires have my respect, but it comes across as odd in the same breath as looking for tire performance or handling behavior similar to any sort of benchmark (like the OEM summer tires)

If you want a car that’s both safe to drive and *also* expect performance handling performing your options are:
1) Replace the damaged tire with a new identical tire shaved to matching tread depth
2) Replace at least an axle pair with a new pair of tires
3) Buy a full new set of tires.

Unless you happen to be able to find a matching used, identical OEM tire which are discontinued, which a few people probably have some floating around, random
mismatched tires, especially used ones are not really among the “safe” or “performance” options.

If all you do is cruise around town, the bare minimum is a matched pair of front tires to ensure your car doesn’t pull to one side during a panic stop. Otherwise, one of the three options above are your best bet

Finally, someone else with some common sense.

 

[Jabbit]

They might be cheap but they are definitely NOT inferior! I will put them up against your choice of superior! By the way, spell LIONHART correctly in future!

Many tires are superior. Was on mobile so autocorrect changed it from Lionhart.