It’s been more than a decade since Bridgestone released a new Potenza Adrenalin product, but now a new tire is hitting the road – and it’s setting its sights squarely on the Michelin Pilot Sport 5.
The new Potenza Adrenalin RE005 was developed specifically for enthusiasts by Bridgestone’s Asia Pacific team Daily Sparkz was invited to experience it first-hand at the company’s test site in Thailand.
Interestingly, Australia was one of several markets that decided to skip the RE004 when it launched elsewhere in 2020, as local representatives felt it didn’t progress far enough compared to the RE003.
However, that’s not the case with the RE005, and there was a palpable sense of pride and confidence from the Bridgestone team at the regional launch, which took place at the company’s premises a few hours north of Bangkok.
It’s fair to say that the Michelin Pilot Sport range has been the standard among enthusiasts since the Super Sport set the benchmark in 2011, and the folks at Bridgestone are clearly aware of that.
During a tour of Bridgestone’s product development center – where dapper-looking people in white coats use specialized machines to test connections, grip, durability and longevity – Daily Sparkz discovered a set of Pilot Sport 5s among stacks of Bridgestone tires, all destined for lab testing.
For comparison: The Potenza Adrenalin RE005 is designed as a high-performance road tire for driving enthusiasts and their neighbors. For those who occasionally spend a day at the track there is the Potenza Sport, while the Potenza RE71 is a road-legal semi-slick for dedicated track vehicles.
Bridgestone brings more than 50 sizes to Australia, from the Honda Integra Type R DC2 with 195/55R15 to the HSV VE GTS, which has 275/30R20 on the rear axle.
The most popular sports cars, hot hatches and performance models are covered, including the Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, the Subaru WRX, the Ford Mustang and several generations of the Mazda MX-5.
When developing the RE005, there was a long list of characteristics that the folks at Bridgestone were pursuing – but the two main points they seemed to focus on were handling and confidence.
Handling, both in terms of grip and the way the tire responds to driver inputs, and a high level of driver confidence in the tire’s performance.
The test
Bridgestone ran three tests for us to evaluate the RE005: high-speed performance, low-speed maneuverability and a wet track – the final test involved a variety of corners and speeds on a short track.
The high-speed test was carried out with three Toyota GR86s and allowed a direct comparison of the RE005 with the RE003 and, curiously, the Michelin Pilot Sport 5 – in that order – with long corners at 100 km/h, quick lane changes at 120 km/h and a slalom at 80 km/h.
While the RE003 offered a good level of grip, there is a significant generational leap to the RE005 (two in reality), with the new rubber offering a smoother ride on rough surfaces, better responsiveness and consistent grip.
When pushing, the degree of tire slip on the RE005 was very linear, giving the driver peace of mind that the tire would respond predictably at almost any reasonable speed and load.
It’s probably worth noting at this point that this author purchased a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 5s for his BMW M5 in late 2024, so they were already familiar with this tire and its capabilities.
Still, it took longer to familiarize himself with the Pilot Sport 5 in the third GR86 – even after he had already completed five laps of the track in identical vehicles. I was as surprised as anyone.
There is no doubt that the Michelin tires have excellent turn-in, but after the first bite there seems to be a bit of a dead end in terms of traction and response before they build up grip again. The result was more micro-inputs on the steering – constantly testing where the traction level was in this narrow but critical range.
On the same surfaces, at the same speeds and at the same pressures, the Michelin tires were also significantly louder than the new Bridgestone tires.
On the coned autocross style track we had to complete a slow slalom before putting together some tight corners, hairpins and a few wide turns.
For this purpose, we were provided with two Tesla Model 3s – one with the RE005, the other with the Pilot Sport 5.
This test wasn’t anything revelatory, but rather confirmed what I had already experienced at higher speeds: the Michelin tires had a stronger initial bite, while the Bridgestone tires delivered a strong and consistent level of traction as the steering angles increased.
Only once did the Tesla experience slight understeer, but that had more to do with an absurd attempt on your part to enter a tight corner at a speed that would have demanded a lot from an F1 car. All in the name of science, you know?
In the last test, two BMW 330e sedans were equipped with a set of RE003 and RE005.
However, this was not a small splash of water on the track, but rather a thick layer of water pouring over the track, mimicking a torrential downpour in an area with poor drainage.
While the RE003s broke traction pretty much where you’d expect, causing the electronic stability control to kick in – simultaneously with my own steering and throttle corrections to ensure the car and I were working against each other to correct the same problem – the RE005s had a much higher level of grip and maintained it for longer, while also regaining traction almost immediately.
All of this meant significantly less intervention from both the vehicle and the driver, almost going so far as to cause the tire to regain grip on the sodden road before any significant correction could be made.
And this was not behavior that could be considered “responsible driving” on a wet public road. Reduce the value to a reasonable level and the Bridgestones’ available grip margin is considerable. But where’s the fun in that? I had also given myself a mission.
After a long day of passenger princessing, the Bridgestone attendant sitting next to me in the 330e looked like he was ready for a Red Bull or two. So I made it my mission to awaken him through the “joy of driving”…
He didn’t speak much English, but I could tell by the way he gripped the dashboard with his fingernails that he was impressed with my skills.
But I couldn’t accept all the honors. While Bridgestone claims dry braking is improved by eight percent compared to the RE004, the RE005 sees a 10 percent improvement in wet conditions – and wear life is also four percent better.
However, compared to the RE003, the RE005 offers seven percent better dry grip and 12 percent better wet grip.
This is not just a tire for sporty cars, as the conscious use of Teslas shows. According to Bridgestone, the RE005 has a 25 percent better rolling resistance coefficient (RRC) than the RE003, making it a sensible choice for electric cars too.
In theory, this means that the new Potenza would be able to make another quarter turn with the same amount of energy that the motor needed to complete a full rotation of the old tire. Contrary to popular belief to the contrary, rolling resistance is not directly equivalent to traction.
Daily Sparkz’s interpretation of the Bridgestone Potenza RE005
New cars come with all sorts of electronic gadgets designed to keep you out of trouble, but tires are the first line of defense, and it’s been fascinating to see firsthand how far these compounds have evolved over the last decade.
But tires can also play a big role in how much fun you have on a winding road.
The folks at Bridgestone said they were aiming for handling and confidence with the latest generation of Potenza Adrenalins, and while our time with the RE005s was short, it’s clear they took the time to fulfill that brief.
Engineers and executives at the Japanese tire maker were obviously proud and excited about the RE005, but the mere fact that they were willing to offer back-to-back comparisons with the Pilot Sport 5 says a lot more than just numbers on a page.
That takes some courage and conviction, and while Continental did something similar when it launched its MaxContact MC7 in 2024, pitting it against the RE003, Bridgestone didn’t bother covering its competitor’s logo at that event.
Overall, the arrival of the RE005 is good news for enthusiasts as it means there is another real competitor to the Michelin. Increased competition (and availability) is good for everyone.
Without spending a day on Alpine roads, we can’t quite say the Pilot Sport has been dethroned – but our limited experience with the new Potenza has been very encouraging and suggests there isn’t much daylight between the two. For a high-performance everyday driver, the RE005 might even have an advantage.
The ability to drive “enthusiastically” has a lot to do with your confidence in your car’s performance, and that’s arguably the biggest selling point for the Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE005. The consistent grip, responsiveness, feedback and performance in the wet, as well as a quiet and comfortable tire for commuting, make the RE005 a very attractive option for anyone with a fun car in the driveway.
The Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE005 is available in more than 50 sizes from 15 to 20 inches with prices starting at $226. For more information, visit the Bridgestone Australia website by clicking here.
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MORE: Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE005 introduced for Australia
