Here are the initial drive-home impressions of the RE970AS. A mix of curvy suburban back roads and fresh macadam highway. Temps in very high 90s. Total mileage is under 100 miles.
So these first observations should be taken with considerable salt until the tread settles in.
However, I think I have enough time in to say that the RE970 is a good compromise between the DWS and the A/S+ for comfort, noise and steering response/tracking. The 970 does not have the razor sharp feel of the Michelins, but is not slightly vague feeling like the Conti can be at times. It thankfully covers road impacts almost as well as Conti, as opposed to the Michelin, which could be jarring at times. The 970 has a tendency to noisy thumping over bumps (vs. the Michelin sometimes ringing), but nothing bad. All in all a very comfortable ride for a 40 series, with very good steering feel and response.
As I was looking for a slightly more relaxed ride without giving up too much handling, if the 970s continue like this once broken in they will have accomplished that goal. It seems a slightly softer feeling tire than the Michelin, but in a good way.
No hard handling or breaking observations to report, as the treads are not settled in. These are easy scrub-in miles. But the vehicle has completely acceptable breaking modulation and distances right out of the box.
Some qualifiers:
1. I have owned the Contiextremecontacts on this model, but have only driven the DWS on other vehicles I do not own.
2. I have owned the Michelin PS A/S on this vehicle for over 6 years, but have only driven the PS A/S+ on other vehicles I do not own. My Michelin comparisons are to examples fairly new.
Some other initial issues:
These tires were road-force balanced and the car aligned. The vehicle generally tracks arrow straight and vibration-free through hwy speeds.
1. The steering wheel is now off-center by about 3-5 degrees (just enough to annoy). That is being corrected next week, and could have affected steering response and feel.
2. While road force balancing should have caught any radial pull issues, the vehicle has a new tendency to drift right ever so slightly on long straights. While it is likely just a road crown drift, the tires are being completely rechecked next week just to be sure. I have had radial pull plagued Bridgestones in the past. One tire needed more weights than I like to see - the others look like they needed almost none. If any are bad, they are ALL going back for another brand. I expect very high manufacturing quality and low-agg at this price point.
Another thing I do not like are date stamp impressions that extend over 1/8 inch deep into the sidewall rubber. Small holes. Never seen that before on any tire, and not happy about it on an XL 95W rated 40 series sidewall. I have messages out to confirm that this is an acceptable manufacturing detail. These 970s are Mexican not Japanese made.
More should follow later once the above issues are ironed out and more miles pass.
