The Potenza RE97AS is Bridgestone's Grand Touring All-Season tire developed for the drivers of luxury coupes, touring sedans and sporty crossover vehicles looking for a bit more performance from their all-season touring tires. Designed to provide a blend of both tire categories, the Potenza RE97AS combines touring tire fundamentals with the enhanced steering feel of performance tires, as well as all-season traction, even in occasional light snow.Potenza RE97AS tires feature a high-grip, high-silica content compound molded into a symmetric tread design to blend long wear with all-season traction. The footprint is optimized to promote even contact pressure to enhance wear and traction while stiffened shoulder blocks backed by a continuous rib enhance steering response and cornering capability. Independent intermediate and center ribs are separated by circumferential grooves to improve water flow through the footprint to help resist hydroplaning while lateral grooves, notches and sipes create biting edges that increase traction in light snow.The tire's internal structure includes twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wrapped nylon to enhance durability while reducing tire weight and rolling resistance.