If you ever find yourself standing trackside at Norwell Motorplex, with the Queensland sun doing its best to melt your face and a fleet of identical coupes buzzing past like caffeinated hornets, you’ll quickly realise two things.
First, race tracks are not places for the feint-hearted. Second, if a tyre can survive a track like this with its dignity intact, it’s probably worth a closer look.
Which brings me to the new Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE005, the long-awaited replacement for the RE003 which has been with us for 11 years.
That’s not a product cycle; that’s a geological era. Civilisations have risen and fallen in less time. Entire automotive trends have come and gone. Yet here we are, finally being handed the RE005. (And no, Bridgestone did not offer any explanation about what happened to the RE004.)
Ahead of it hitting the market, Bridgestone Australia flew us out to Coolangatta for the preview, and from there bussed us to the Norwell Motorplex in the Gold Coast hinterland for a proper test of these new treads.
Norwell is owned and operated by Paul “The Dude” Morris, a renowned motorsport veteran who, along with Chas Mostert, famously co-drove the #6 Ford Performance Racing FG Falcon from the back of the grid to victory at Bathurst in 2014.
Along with being a supremely talented wheel man, Paul also happens to be a terrific host and a fountain of A-grade knowledge about cars, circuits, and tyres.
As you may imagine is customary at these kinds of events, there were a lot of tyre industry buzzwords being flung around on topics like “improved rolling resistance”, “enhanced compound technology”, and “sustainability in design.”
It’s all worthy stuff, no doubt, but also a bit… brochure. I don’t think anyone has ever leaned over to his mate at the pub and quipped: “You’ve got to try these tyres, the rolling-resistance is unbelievable.”
But, as we soon discovered, low rolling resistance is right up there with grip when it comes to the kind of desirable attributes you want in a tyre.
In simple terms, rolling resistance is the energy consumed and force opposing a tyre as it rolls, mainly caused by the tyre deforming (flexing) under weight and dissipating energy as heat. Less resistance (aka “low rolling resistance”) means less drag, which in turn means better fuel economy, or more range if you drive one of those silent, soulless electric things.
The new RE005 has around 25 percent less rolling resistance than the RE003, which means a car fitted with Bridgestone’s new treads uses less power and less fuel for every kilometre travelled.
It’s not orders of magnitude, but at a time when unleaded has smashed through the $2.20 per litre barrier and shows no sign of pulling up, every little bit helps, right?
Along with being a win for any driver who cares about their bank balance, even car-hating Greenie’s must acknowledge the environmental benefits of burning fewer hydrocarbons.
Speaking of Greenies, Bridgestone has done the automotive equivalent of donning a leather apron and growing a man-bun by adding soybean oil to its tyre compound mix. Yes, soy! In a tyre, Atticus!
There are also some recycled materials blended into the mix to create what Bridgestone says is one of the most environmentally friendly performance tyres on the planet.
So, efficiency: tick. Longevity: tick. Planet-saving credentials: tick. But none of that matters if the new RE005 drives like a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel.
To prove that this isn’t the case, Bridgestone let a bunch of motoring journos and associated hangers-on (that’d be Yours Truly) loose on Norwell’s challenging 2.1km circuit in a fleet of Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins, appropriately shod in RE005 rubber, with a BMW 2 Series idling patiently on the skid pan to showcase wet-weather handling.
The first exercise in the sweetly-balanced Toyota coupes was the slalom, where tyres go to confess their sins. Cold grip, turn-in response, and balance are all laid bare between a line of cones that look innocent-enough until you start threading them at speed.
This is where things got interesting. Bridgestone had fitted one car with a rival brand for benchmarking purposes, and to say the difference was noticeable would be like saying an unmuffled Gen III V8 makes a bit of noise.
The RE005 didn’t just edge the ‘Tyre That Shalt Not Be Named’, it properly smoked it, stamping its authority even before the Bridgestone had got up to its optimal operating temperature.
The grip was there, immediate and assured. Turn-in felt sharp and predictable with minimal understeer, and there was none of the vague hesitation you get with a sub-par road tyres. In a car like the 86, which is known for its playful chassis, a tyre that allows you to carry more corner speed and lean harder on the front end in a turn is exactly what you want.
Next came the braking test, where the instruction was to barrel into a coned-off section at speed before standing hard on the brake pedal as if trying to squash a cockroach. Morris is a Queenslander and I’m a New South Welshman, so I wasn’t quite sure if the insect reference was a veiled reference to our respective states’ simmering State of Origin hostilities, but I digress…
Tyre manufacturers love numbers and the numbers say the RE005 delivers seven percent better wet braking and 12 percent better dry braking than the RE003.
The seat of the pants impression feel backs up the data, with the RE005-clad 86s feeling rock solid throughout the exercise. There was no nervous twitching or other untoward characteristics under hard braking. Just firmly reassured deceleration that made one think, “I probably could have come in hotter.”
This poised confidence continued out on the main circuit where the 86’s sweetly-weighted steering fed back a reassuringly intimate picture of what was happening at road level.
What stood out most wasn’t just grip it was communication. The quality steering feedback encouraged supreme confidence in what the front end was doing, which in turn meant I could focus on a clean cornering line, rather than making multiple corrections.
To be honest, the combination of car and tyre probably made me look like a better driver than I am, but that’s just between us.
After a handful of laps and with confidence climbing, we were diverted to the skid pan for a brutal reality check. Slippery and unforgiving, this is the sort of place where a driver’s dignity goes to die.
In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Buckling into the BMW 2 Series with its turbocharged engine, I did what any red-blooded bloke would do: planted my right foot and waited for chaos to ensue.
But it never came. There was no wild snap of oversteer. No frantic flashing of traction control lights. Just grip; relentless, almost smug levels of grip.
Lap after lap, the Beemer stayed composed, predictable, and dare I say it, easy. Which is both impressive and slightly annoying, because it robs you of the opportunity to blame the tyres when you inevitably get it wrong. Which I eventually did, but that’s another story for another day…
To paraphrase Neil Armstrong, Bridgestone’s new Potenza Adrenalin RE005 is “one giant leap for mankind”. Well, that might be over-egging it a bit, but it is a terrific tyre.
Faster where it matters, more efficient where it counts, and more environmentally friendly than you might reasonably expect from something designed to be driven enthusiastically, the RE005 ticks plenty of boxes.
It’s also available in more than 50 sizes, meaning there’s a good chance your local tyre shop will have one to suit your needs, whether it be a classic or something more contemporary.
