HaulinAshe
Well-known member
This may be the shameless and redundant way of increasing my post (whore) count, but I want to have one thread containing the entire test for reference. So here goes...
My experience with the front BT-021 seems to concur with others'. My tire handled well as long as it retained its shape. It definitely is not multi-compound like the rear, and Bridgestone clearly states that.
I had to purposely combine a balanced mixture of slab, sweepers and tight twisty roads in order to avoid the "trapezoid" shape that was showing up. That shape was caused by running slabs (flat middle) and then twisties (flat sides). This made the front turn-in with a definite "twitch". So I picked an hour or so of sweepers and purposely pushed hard. The front tire ground itself back into the nicely rounded profile similar to the original one.
At 2,900 miles, the front BT-021 was clearly into the wear bars, had most of its original profile intact, yet was completely worn out at 3,136 miles.
The rear BT-021 had an average remaining tread depth of 1.8 mm with an average of 0.8 mm before contacting the wear bars. With a rated tread depth of 6.35 mm new, this means I used 4.55 mm tread in the 3,136 miles. Assuming linear tread wear, this leaves approximately 689 miles before contacting the wear bars, and 1,258 miles before running slick. I believe that to be a fairly accurate assumption based on my experience with the tire. I was expecting it to be a 3,600 mile tire to the wear bars and probably a forced change at 4,000. My experience and the data supports those numbers.
The wear data places the BT-021 rear in the upper 1/3 of tread life for rear tires I've tested. It also places the BT-021 front at (or damn near) the bottom of the ranks for front tires. Only my "bad experience" with a defective Avon comes to mind as shorter. The front BT-021 definitely required the most active management of tread life and contour of any tire I have run. You cannot leave it alone and get consistent handling. You have to purposely mix up twisties, sweepers and slabs to retain a reasonable handling profile/shape.
In short, I really like the rear BT-021 and would perhaps place it in an overall 2nd place when considering handling, tread life, predictable behavior and other factors. On the other hand, the front BT-021 is officially "off my list". I'd rather play with someone else's sport tire if 3-4,000 miles is all I want from a front and I would not expect to have to work so hard to enjoy it.
My experience with the front BT-021 seems to concur with others'. My tire handled well as long as it retained its shape. It definitely is not multi-compound like the rear, and Bridgestone clearly states that.
I had to purposely combine a balanced mixture of slab, sweepers and tight twisty roads in order to avoid the "trapezoid" shape that was showing up. That shape was caused by running slabs (flat middle) and then twisties (flat sides). This made the front turn-in with a definite "twitch". So I picked an hour or so of sweepers and purposely pushed hard. The front tire ground itself back into the nicely rounded profile similar to the original one.
At 2,900 miles, the front BT-021 was clearly into the wear bars, had most of its original profile intact, yet was completely worn out at 3,136 miles.
The rear BT-021 had an average remaining tread depth of 1.8 mm with an average of 0.8 mm before contacting the wear bars. With a rated tread depth of 6.35 mm new, this means I used 4.55 mm tread in the 3,136 miles. Assuming linear tread wear, this leaves approximately 689 miles before contacting the wear bars, and 1,258 miles before running slick. I believe that to be a fairly accurate assumption based on my experience with the tire. I was expecting it to be a 3,600 mile tire to the wear bars and probably a forced change at 4,000. My experience and the data supports those numbers.
The wear data places the BT-021 rear in the upper 1/3 of tread life for rear tires I've tested. It also places the BT-021 front at (or damn near) the bottom of the ranks for front tires. Only my "bad experience" with a defective Avon comes to mind as shorter. The front BT-021 definitely required the most active management of tread life and contour of any tire I have run. You cannot leave it alone and get consistent handling. You have to purposely mix up twisties, sweepers and slabs to retain a reasonable handling profile/shape.
In short, I really like the rear BT-021 and would perhaps place it in an overall 2nd place when considering handling, tread life, predictable behavior and other factors. On the other hand, the front BT-021 is officially "off my list". I'd rather play with someone else's sport tire if 3-4,000 miles is all I want from a front and I would not expect to have to work so hard to enjoy it.
