Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS Performance
Overall Rank
The Potenza RE980AS by Bridgestone is a all-season tire with an overall rating of 4 / 5. This places it in spot #45 among the 91 all-season tires we’ve reviewed.
Dry Performance
Dry Performance Rank
The Potenza RE980AS received a Dry Performance rating of 4.5 / 5. This ranks it #39 among the 91 all-season tires we’ve reviewed.
Considering this, you may be underwhelmed by its performance on dry roads. However, it may perform well in other categories.
Wet Performance
Wet Performance Rank
The Potenza RE980AS received a Wet Performance rating of 4.3 / 5. This ranks it #36 among the 91 all-season tires we’ve reviewed.
This is a decent rating, buyers are typically pleased with its performance on wet roads and hydroplane resistance.
Comfort Performance
Comfort Performance Rank
“Comfort” performance relates to the tire’s quietness, and smoothness. Better ratings will keep tire ‘roar’ or road-noise to a minimum. Great for luxury cars, or anybody looking for a quieter cabin.
With a Comfort Performance rating of 4.1 / 5, the Potenza RE980AS is ranked #51 among the 91 all-season tires we’ve reviewed.
This rating implies the tire is louder than most on the road, and/or typical buyers of this tire were generally used to quieter and smoother tires. It’s likely Bridgestone was not focused on reduced road noise for the Potenza RE980AS.
Treadwear Performance
Treadwear Performance Rank
Treadwear performance is a measure of how well the tire matched up to customers’ expectations of how many miles they will last. Keep in mind, this rating can be influenced significantly by users giving it 1-star or 5-stars because expectations were too extreme. Maybe their last set of tires lasted 100,000 miles and they now think all tires will last that long (that’s extremely rare). Or perhaps their alignment was really off, causing them to wear out in only a few thousand miles.
The Potenza RE980AS received a Treadwear Performance rating of 3.7 / 5. This ranks it #67 among the 91 all-season tires we’ve reviewed.
With this rating, most buyers were not very happy with how long this tire lasted. If you’re looking for a long-lasting tire, best pick something else.
UTQG Rating: What does 500 AA A Mean?
The UTQG Specification is also relevant to discuss here. This is a specification provided by the manufacturer after testing. The rating for this tire is 500 AA A. There are three parts to this specification: treadwear grade, traction grade, and temperature grade (in that order).
Treadwear Grade
The treadwear grade for this tire is 500. This treadwear grade is pretty average. It is neither very soft or very hard, and should last a respectable number of miles.
Traction Grade
The traction grade for this tire is ‘AA’. This is a great rating, and implies the tire can handle high g-forces before starting to skid.
Temperature Grade
The temperature grade for this tire is ‘A’. This rating refers to how well the tire dissipates heat at high speeds. If the tire gets too hot at high speeds, it may come apart. Keep in mind, these speeds are very high, and any tire manufactured these days is capable of maintaining highway speeds up to 80mph.
This is the highest temperature grade rating. An A rating here suggests the tire is temperature-stable at speeds over 115mph. Slow down!
Snow & Ice Performance
Snow/Ice Performance Rank
Snow and Ice performance is tested on a specifically designed track to simulate these environments. These ratings represent how confident drivers in these conditions felt on these tires.
The Potenza RE980AS received a Snow & Ice Performance rating of 3.1 / 5. This ranks it #56 among the 91 all-season tires we’ve reviewed.
These tires did not perform very well in the snow and ice category. If you do see these conditions often, we recommend looking for a different tire. If you only occasionally see light snow, just be cautious on these tires when you encounter it.
Off-Road Performance
Off-Road Performance Rank
The off-road ratings represent how satisfied other drivers were in these conditions. These conditions could include anything from dirt/gravel roads to extreme offroading/bouldering. If you intend to use these in more extreme conditions, we always recommend checking individual reviews on TireRack.com for specific examples.
The Potenza RE980AS is not rated for off-road conditions, we do not recommend attempting anything beyond casual dirt roads on this tire.
Treadlife Warranty
Bridgestone does offer a treadlife warranty for this tire. You should see a time-frame and mileage provided in the ratings on this page. Note that this is a ‘whichever-comes-first’ scenario. So if it’s listed as 3 years, 50K miles – they can be warrantied as long as they are less than 3 years old AND have less than 50K miles on them. Manufacturer’s generally determine if a tire is claim-able for warranty by measuring remaining tread depth. See the documentation for the tire for more information.
