What tires should i use

[fushuman]

I have 205/50 R17 on the front and rear of my 97' 318i.
What kind of tires should i get for the rear since they are completely bald and i've been driving like granma when it rains, SCARY SH!T (my car fishtailed like 3 times already). Any suggestions for all season tires with excellent grip, specially for highway? should i get stock tires (continentals) or can i find better ones? and since i have 17's stock, should i go for a wider tire like 215/50 or 225/50?

I would really appreciate your help, guys

[dutchbmw]

The tires you have now are good ones. When you purchase wider tires (215, 225) they went slipperier when it rains! We call it aquaplaning.

[BlantonG13]

I liked my continentals. They lasted awhile and I never had problems. I have Bridgestone Potenzas on stock 15" wheels now and they are awesome. Goodyears are always good. Yokohamas, Toyos, Michelins all have their good points about them. I won't recommend Dunlops. I have had BF Goodriches on my integra and they were really good too. Do your research cause there are a lot of good tire brands out there. Find tires with a couple channels that can move water from underneathe the tire, they will usually have better grip.

[CiscoKid]

i hvae cooper... they are ass

[camnipotent]

What is your price range? If I wanted some bad ass tires, I'd go with Potenza or Yokahoma.

[Kevin325i]

I got Potenza G009s. They're pretty good and move water quite well. But I've never had any other tires on the car, so I can't honestly say if they're better or worse than anything. They've got a very predictible break (when the back end steps out) to them and I've never had a problem with rain traction. Plus they're like 60 or 70 bucks a piece. You can go wtih a 225/55/15. In my manual it says that's an alternate size, BUT it's VERY VERY rare tire size. I've got 215/60/15s right now they sidewall looks pretty massive.

Kevin

P.S. Dutch, it's "hydroplaning"

[dutchbmw]

Originally posted by Kevin325i@May 20 2004, 12:00 AM
P.S. Dutch, it's "hydroplaning"

Ok, it's almost the same...... Thanks a lot, I write it on my hard disk in my head!

[mstar]

i from experience can say the Bridgestones potenza SO3 are the tyre to have, also looking at the reviews they also agree they have excellent dry/wet weather performance. I have had them fitted on my 328 and i can say they are much better then the pirelli's and conti's i had before.

[Furious]

Originally posted by mstar@May 20 2004, 06:37 AM
i from experience can say the Bridgestones potenza SO3 are the tyre to have, also looking at the reviews they also agree they have excellent dry/wet weather performance. I have had them fitted on my 328 and i can say they are much better then the pirelli's and conti's i had before.

i agree, S03's are the best performance rain tire out there.

[fushuman]

Thanks guys i'm going to consider the Potenza tires,
but wait a minute!!! If i go with wider tires, say like 215's or 225's, there's less chance of hydroplaning, right?

[Kevin325i]

Yes and no. If you take your new 215s and inflate them to 45 or 50 psi, they're hydroplane worse. Or if you inflate them to like 20psi, again they're hydroplane. In my door jam it recomends 31 psi but i run 38 in the front and 35 in the back (doesn't really do anything, but it makes me feel special) and I haven't seen any hydroplaning, plenty of drifts in the rain though.

The moral of the story is, proper inflation = proper contract patch = little to no hydroplaning.

All this means nothing if you get some crappy wallmart brand tires.

Kevin

[camnipotent]

Hydroplaning also depends more greatly on the speed of your car. Less PSI gives you more square inches to displace the vehicle weight. You can hydroplane at any psi at about 35 mph. Just be a careful driver.

[Turbodefrost]

I have Toyo Proxes on mine. I love em, they can't lose grip; I've tried. Well actually, my back end slid out once when taking a 95 degree corner going 40mph. But that's cause my back right tire is a different brand and is balder than slicks, but I'm gonna replace it soon.