Bridgestone EP500 tires

[I3drivei3]

Hello,
I am a new 2015 BMW i3 REX owner. I have coded it with all the bells and whistles and added the traffic lane assist (good under about 45 MPH). It's without a doubt one of my favorite cars I have ever owned. I also loved my Merkur XR4TI. This car is similar in that its a bit quirky and if you see one in the parking lot, you know it's yours.

I picked up some Bridgestone EP500 tires so I have spares when the time comes to change them. Just wondering, does anyone have any concerns about Bridgestone deciding to stop making tires for our car?

 

[alohart]

Just wondering, does anyone have any concerns about Bridgestone deciding to stop making tires for our car?

No, because Bridgestone still makes the original low rolling resistance tires for 2000-2006 Honda Insights of which only ~15k were sold in the U.S. out of only ~20k worldwide compared with ~45k i3's being sold in the U.S. out of ~250k worldwide. There likely aren't more than 10k Insights still on U.S. roads, yet that's a big enough market for Bridgestone to continue making its tires. The relatively tiny 165/65R14 Insight tire doesn't fit any other vehicle sold in significant numbers in the U.S. similar to the i3's tires.

When Bridgestone discontinues making Insight tires, I might start worrying.

Insight owners are complaining about the huge price increases for their Bridgestone tires just like we are, so we're unfortunately not alone.