Quote:
Originally Posted by Diesel_Dave
I'm a little confused by things now. I was all excited by #385 (Bridgestone Dueler Alenza HL P265/70R17) which has a RRC of 6.2. Then I saw what appears to be the same tire as #149 with a RRC of 9.54. As far as I can tell the only difference is that #385 is listed as OE market (original equiptment), whereas #149 is the REP market (replacement). #385 also was reported by Bridgestone itself, whereas #149 comes from "CEC-B".
Seems like a huge difference for the same tire!
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I am hoping you realize that the tires are different. #385 - the OE tire - is the tire as designed to meet some OEM's specs, where #149 - the Replacement market tire - was designed for the replacement market. They are NOT the same tire.
It is common for tires to start out as a Replacement market tire, then a program to supply a tire to an OEM comes along and the tire gets redesigned to the OEM's specs - which are a lot about RR and not much about treadwear. The Replacement tire would be completely replaced by the OE tire.
It is also common for the opposite to happen - OE tire first, then when the OEM no longer wants the tire, the tire gets changed to Replacement standards - which means a better wearing tread compound.