Bridgestone DriveGuard RFT Run Flat 255/35R18 94W All Season Tire

I have about 22-23k on this DriveGuard tires, and I can honestly say they are THE BEST tires I've ever owned. This car came with Continental tires from the factory, and they worked, but didn't do anything specially great. I would consider them a middle of the road tire. Since then I had a set of Goodyear's which had a good price, but were really sub standard compared to what I was used to. Those were then replaced with a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4's. They were definitely an upgrade over the first two sets of tires, and I was happy with them for the most part. Winter traction was so-so, then they didn't last as long as I had hoped, but no real complaints. Then came the DriveGuard tires. What an upgrade! First thoughts is that the handling (cornering, breaking, high speed driving) was greatly improved over what I considered very good Michelin tires. These DriveGuard tires can corner MUCH faster and harder, and provide great feedback and confidence as they reach their limits. While doing so they also provide a excellent ride quality. I was a little concerned about going to a run flat tire and expecting a harsher ride and more noise. I was pleasantly surprised to see how far this technology has come. The DriveGuard's are very quiet, have great quality, and aren't overly hard or harsh. They truly drive like a premium touring tire should. Now on to bad weather. Through the first two winters, it was obvious that these are better in snowy conditions than the previous tires, including the "all mighty Michelin's" . They cut through deeper snow with ease. They seem to be as good if not better than any of the other all season tires when it comes to light snow, slush, messy icey conditions. Very please. Wet weather is no issue either. These stop very well when it's raining. No ABS activation or sliding under hard breaking. They are very predictable and give you the extra grip when needed in emergency braking situations. I have experienced any issues with hydroplaning either. Lastly, they seem to be wearing very well. There are no signs of uneven or accelerated wear so far. I expect them to get to the 60k warranty mark with the wear so far. I absolutely love these tires! In fact when I saw they offered a new DriveGuard CUV tire, they instantly were installed on our Honda Odyssey which has been very hard on tires. The Michelin Defender tires that were on our van were toast after about 45k, on a 90k tire. It eats up tires. So far the CUV version has been great on the Odyssey even though we haven't put too many miles on them as of yet , but I have no doubt that they will be just as good and should last longer than the previous tires. I used to spend the extra money on Michelin tires due to their reputation, but I think that we are now a Bridgestone Family, and DriveGuards will be coming with in the year for our third vehicle. One last note:. I did end up getting a flat tire and drove about 20 miles on it to a tire store. It did exactly what it was supposed to. The car feels very safe and drives normally even with the flat. Definitely was a nice safety feature since it was thunderstorming when it happened. It's hard to put a value on such a great feature. Given that these tires were priced competitively with the other top tier tires, it's hard to go with these.

I've had my BMW 328i for 7 years and finally switched to the Driveguards after sticking with the Contiprocontact SSRs it came with. It's completely changed the car. Within the first mile I could tell a huge difference in ride quality and road noise. It's much less harsh and noticeably quieter than the Contis. Once the usual tread squirm went away after the break in period (about 100 miles) I could also tell a huge difference in traction in both dry and wet conditions. I do some spirited driving in the mountains and the grip these tires deliver is miles better than what the car came with. It has grip that inspires confidence and you can really push these much harder than you'd ever expect from a run flat. I'll put it this way... get these tires and you can unlock a lot of potential in your car. It's also much better in the rain, especially at highway speeds. I've put a bit over 6,000 miles on these, including city driving for my commute, a lot of highway miles, and a few trips to some mountain roads. They don't necessarily look brand new but they don't show any signs of wearing out anytime soon. Honestly the only downside is a slight reduction in fuel mileage, but if you care about how your car rides and performs it's a small price to pay. In the weeks following my switch, my MPG decreased from 25.7 to ~25.1. It's now in the mid-24s but there are most likely other factors contributing to that decrease. I don't regret it at all though. So to sum up: these are literally better in every measurable way except for there being a slight drop in MPG. I promise you that it's worth it.