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Head-to-head Updated May 2026

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position vs Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position — Compared (May 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

VS
VerdictWinner: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position — better treadwear and comfort. Pick the Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position if handling matters most to you.
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Category breakdown

5 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Potenza S-04 Pole Position leads by 2
A
88
B
90
Why this score
SourcePotenza RE050A Pole PositionPotenza S-04 Pole Position
Tyre Reviews owners 90 90

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Potenza RE050A Pole Position leads by 1
A
74
B
73
Why this score
SourcePotenza RE050A Pole PositionPotenza S-04 Pole Position
Tyre Reviews owners 75 73

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Potenza RE050A Pole Position leads by 6
A
73
B
67
Why this score
SourcePotenza RE050A Pole PositionPotenza S-04 Pole Position
Tyre Reviews owners 85 67

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Potenza RE050A Pole Position leads by 23
A
63
B
40
Why this score
SourcePotenza RE050A Pole PositionPotenza S-04 Pole Position
Tyre Reviews owners 65 40

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Potenza S-04 Pole Position leads by 7
A
80
B
87
Why this score
SourcePotenza RE050A Pole PositionPotenza S-04 Pole Position
Tyre Reviews owners 80 87

Scores at a glance

CategoryBridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole PositionBridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
Relative Score 74 68
Dry 88 90
Wet 74 73
Comfort 73 67
Treadwear 63 40
Handling 80 87

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

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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position

The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position is widely regarded as a high-performance summer tire that excels in dry grip, handling, and steering responsiveness. While users consistently praise its predictable breakaway characteristics and value, the soft compound results in rapid tread wear, making it better suited for spirited driving than high-mileage daily commuting.

Pros

  • Exceptional dry road grip and handling performance
  • Predictable and progressive breakaway behavior
  • Strong value proposition, particularly when found on clearance
  • Improved wet weather performance compared to predecessor models

Cons

  • Short tread life due to soft rubber compound
  • Poor energy efficiency, making it unsuitable for electric vehicles
  • Increased road noise compared to all-season alternatives

Observations

  • Performance-oriented rear-wheel-drive vehicles like the Nissan 350Z/370Z and BMW models benefit significantly from the tire's grip and handling characteristics.
  • Electric vehicle owners report significant efficiency penalties and increased noise, suggesting the tire is poorly optimized for EV range requirements.
Tire B Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position

The Bridgestone Potenza S04 Pole Position is regarded as a highly capable performance tire that balances impressive dry handling with competent wet-weather traction. While users appreciate its surprising level of comfort, they note that this performance comes at the cost of rapid tread wear and occasional road noise.

Pros

  • Excellent dry handling and cornering stability
  • Competent performance in wet conditions
  • Unexpectedly high levels of ride comfort for a performance-oriented tire

Cons

  • Rapid tread wear rate
  • Audible road noise or humming on certain surfaces
  • Wet-weather performance is good but outperformed by some direct competitors

Observations

  • Users acknowledge that the accelerated tread wear is an expected trade-off for the tire's performance-focused compound.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position B · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
CategorySummer Max Performance tires—
Vehicle typePassenger Car / Crossover—
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Bridgestone

Bridgestone

Winner: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position — better treadwear and comfort. Pick the Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position if handling matters most to you.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position scores 63 vs 40 on treadwear.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position scores 87 vs 80 on handling.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position scores 73 vs 67 on comfort.

Tire A · Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position
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Tire B · Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position
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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

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