Nice article on the S03

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/news/10207c.htm

 

this quote is reassuring..

'UNI-T AQII, the newest development, incorporates a variety of improvements to the earlier UNI-T and UNI-T AQ technologies to give drivers even stronger wet or dry performance, both when the tire is new and when it is worn.'

 

Will they cost AAAAL (an arm and a leg), be VRP (very reasonably priced), or WIWIG (worth its weight in gold)?

Wonder who went acronym-crazy at that company!

 

Who's going to that Bridgestone event in Texas?

Whoever goes, please try to find out what you can about these babies!

I'd like to know:

o how does the dry grip compare to the SO2?
o how does the wet grip compare to the SO2?
o how does tread life compare to the SO2?
o what sizes of SO3s will most closely approximate the front/rear bias of the Honda OEM SO2s?
o how much?

Any other facts we need to gather?

Thanks,

Ted

 

exactly what i want to know.

 

No, it's an entirely new and different tread design.

That said, judging by looks alone, I will be very surprised if it grips as well as the S02's, as there are more grooves and less rubber on the road on the S03. I think wet performance will be superior, though.

 

Here's the news from the Drive & Learn event:

No direct driving comparisons were made. The S-O3 is an entirely new design to replace the S-O2 PP.

It is unlikely to have better dry traction than a new OEM S-O2. Due to the new compounds in the tire and dual compound tread design the tire should heat cycle better and therefore provide somewhat better dry traction than an aging S-O2. The S-O3 PP has over 2 square inches less contact patch than our OEM tire due to the wider groove spacing and narrower width.
Many improvements were made to the wet handling capabilities of the new tire. The wider grooves, textured rain channels and dual compounds should make a superior rain tire that maintains it's grip longer than the old PP. The treadwear rating 180 (AA Traction) seems to indicate the possibility of longer life. A rim protector is molded into the tire to protect our wheels from curb scuffing. No price points were mentioned. The sizes appear to mirror those previously available. No direct replacement of our OEM proportioned tire is available in S-O3 although the standard size is offered.

We will have to wait and see how they perform and what they cost. It should make for a great wet season tire and I suspect the dry handling will not be compromised too much.

The OEM tire should be available as the S-O3 is not intended as a replacement and the OEM tires are distributed somewhat differently. A Bridgestone rep is in contact with with one of the Austin club members to explore the possibility of setting up a group buy on OEM S-O2's through an interested distributor.
A local tire retailer sold another set of OEM S-O2's this weekend for a reported $100.00 each, $25 dollars lower than their lowest previous selling price. Unfortunately they were the last two in stock.
If this is possible I suspect other retailers have some room to improve pricing for us.

 

Originally posted by cdelena:

After the Bridgestone sessions driving on the new RE950

 

Originally posted by amartin:

Well... I figured I'de start this thread...

Many of us were there (about 7-8 S2K people and 1 NSX).

In short (others can add the fun details and pictures):
1) It was a blast
2) We got to see Bad-a55 Ferrari's run around the track
3) Ragging on someone else's car really is fun
4) Sondra is a cone magnet
5) S02PP's >and< S03's will SUCK and Bridgestone guys advise u stay with OEMS02's
6) A group buy for OEM-S02's at discounted rates will be coming in a few days.

-- Aaron

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by svann
[B]A local tire retailer sold another set of OEM S-O2's this weekend for a reported $100.00 each, $25 dollars lower than their lowest previous selling price. Unfortunately they were the last two in stock.