Bridgestone SO2's - Page 1 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

SO2 Pole Positions are/were standard fit on TVR's for ages so we have a fair bit of experience of them! However, they have now been superceded by the SO3 and the jury is still out on these. Opinions seem to range from "much better in the wet and the same in the dry" through to "Asolute crap". To compund the issue TVR are now fitting Toyo Proxies as standard on Tuscans (and I assume Cerberas) giving the imprression that PW doesn't like SO3's however this could well just mean he has fallen out with Bridgestone (as unlikely as it may be for PW to fall out with a supplier!) R...

There are 2 kinds of SO2's. Pole Position's are the later version of the SO2 but are not 'N' rated. Porsche offically only approve N rated tyres, not that it matters I've used both on my 964RS and the difference is negligable. SO2's have been superceded by the SO3 and I have only heard bad things about them. The tyre place I use tell me that Bridgestone are still making 'N' rated SO2's but for not much longer, as a result they've been stockpiling SO2's for the past few months. As to the question of are they any good? It's all down to personal preference & how you drive your car, but IMHO I think they're the best road/track combination tyre available. Dry Grip is excellent, wet grip very good, the only downside is they are a softer compound than say a Michelin so if hammered they do wear quicker. >> Edited by paulc on Friday 15th March 12:58

Thanks for your replies. I have fitted the porsche rated SO2s and am more than happy. I have also fitted 25mm wheel spacers to fill the arches. This unfortunatley has resulted in the tyre catching the wheel arch over hard acceleration or bumps. I've spoken to a specialist and they are going to use a machine (dont know what exactly) to roll the wheelarch lip up to prevent this from happening any further. Has anyone any experince of this technique?

I have noticed no one here ever talks about Pirellis...are they crap, or is it simply that Bridgestones are state of the art performance tyres?

Pirelli P Zeros are still pretty good. I don't like SO2s because I think they are overpriced. I use Goodyear Eagle F1s on my Lotus Carlton, and think they are good value (at least in my spec), perform well and leave nice tread patterns through puddles!

What do you mean "overpriced"? I pay my Pirellis £120 each...

In answer to various queries raised: 1. I have used Conti Contact Sports on a 964 for the past year or so and have been very impressed with the handling (never aqua planed etc once) although they did wear out very very quickly (possibly a right foot related disease but then again, we probably all suffer from that) 2. Agree with Domster, SO2's a great tyre but almost always the most expensive (and I've seen loads of reports to say that other manufacturers, inc. toyo, have as good or better performance in the wet and dry, although SO2's usually slightly better for both). 3. PAC, wouldn't recommend the wheel arch rolling technique, will work but best left to the Nova GTi boyz trying to squeeze 20" rims into a hole made for 13's. Unless you car is modified already (in which case it'll make no difference) it just adds one more thing for a potential purchaser claim isn't standard. Why not just return the spacers and get 20mm ones instead? Laters

Scottster, thanks for reply. Took car out today and no rubbing at all. Can't understand why? Will see how it goes over next few days. I too used to use the Contisports but 5000 miles later they were in an awful state. I didn't think the SO2's were badly priced at £210 for the pair incliding VAT, balancing etc. Just to finish off, followed a beautful 964 turbo home. I want one!!

So does Domster...... but we don't need to mention that in case he gets upset

Depends on the wheels, thom. On my Boxster S with 18" rims the tyres come out at £780 for a full set. £195 each. Ouch! And thats at Micheldever tyres - reknowned cheap tyre facility for Hampshire!

Mine are standard 16'...so I guess the price is right compared to British prices, but actually the Pirellis happen to be more expensive here than Bridgestone, Continental, etc. >> Edited by thom on Wednesday 27th March 16:51

Tyre prices vary greatly depending on wheel and spec. I have always found S02s prohibitively expensive compared to Goodyear Eagle F1s, same with P zeroes. However, some specs are cheap for the S02s and expensive for F1s. I would even be tempted to try Toyo Proxes or Falkens, as these have quite a good reputation now. Yokos are still good. Maybe a nice A021R if they do them in your spec, or A032R for dry use! Rgds Domster

I've had SO2's and P Z0's on my 993TT and I have to say I prefer the SO's. The only problem is that once they are half worn, they wear out quicker. If you don't mined spending the each few hundred quid I get them again. Much much better in the wet than the P0's, about the same in the dry - maybe less presise/more progressive.

Hello all, i'm a regular reader of this column, but unfortunatley not technically minded (just love driving my car)!! I own a 3.2 carrera and need new rear tyres. I've heard people talk about the Bridgestone SO2's and was considering getting them. Has anyone had any experience of these. I currently have Contact contisports which I was fairly pleased with but they only lasted 6000 miles. Thanks