Tire: B381
Category: Passenger All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 260 A B / 240 B B
I can without a doubt say that this tire is not the worst one I've ever come into contact with , but that might be the only redeeming thing I have to say about this tire. Maybe that was too harsh. I mean, the B381 doesn't rank in the bottom 5 for the performance category, more like the bottom 10. But both the bottom 5 and 10 area pretty darn lousy in terms of traction. Ok, ok maybe it's not all bad, Bridgestone does make a low rolling resistance version of the tire that has been fitted to the Honda Civic Hybrid in the past. These tires are not made to be great,, in fact they've been "engineered" to be fitted to small and compact vehicles and to have a long life span. I can't really say Bridgestone put a ton of time into these, so let's just get down to brass tax.
What's truly extraordinary about the B381 is that for an original equipment tire, it will typically go well over 70,000 miles before needing to be replaced. Considering the cost of these tires, that is a bargain just as long as you don't encounter any snow or heavy rains. I think that is where many drivers have a falling out with this tire. Many other drivers also note that these tires are on the loud side, and offer a pretty stiff ride. At the end of the day, most people seem pleased with the treadwear and mile per gallon gains, but not much else. Might be a good tire to look at if you don't encounter a lot of adverse weather, otherwise you might want to check out a tire with better traction capabilities.
