I recently had a flat tire and replaced my stock tires with some Bridgestone Driveguards. I've decided I'm not happy with them and want to go back to the stock ContiSportContact 3 SSR tires. When I look on tirerack.com there are two versions, and as far as I can tell the only difference is the speed rating. One is W, the other is V. Does anyone know what comes from the factory? Though I should probably just get the cheaper one since I will never reach those top speeds.

 

Cheap is good.

 

OEM are V

 

Thank you!

 

V is rated at 149 mph and for Sport sedans, coupes and sports cars

W is rated at 168 mph and for "exotic" sports cars.

Y is rated at 186 mph (exotic sports cars).

V is fine for the MINI all models. H is fine for all base Coopers.

If you have to pay more for W rated then choose the V.

The speed rating is not for "your top speed", it is a relative indicator of the tire being made to handle higher temperatures generated by higher speeds.

 

What did you not like about the driveguards? I recently got them and prefer them over the continentals in ride comfort and noise.

 

Honestly I think their just too smooth. I don't like the lack of road feedback through the tires. I also feel like there is too much sidewall flex, especially in turns.

 

There is a big difference in harshness, the conti's were really bad for me near their end of life (~22k rotated every 5k) but maybe I'm getting old. I don't need to feel every pebble and expansion joint I run over. The driveguards still have the "run flat sharp turn-in response" which I like. I still take turns at the same speeds as the conti's and the tires hang on just fine, but I'm still in the honeymoon period so my impression of them might change. Hopefully they'll last longer too.

Hope you find tires that are the right fit for you. My next project is hopefully some koni FSD's while they are still on sale for spring.