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Tires: Performance upgrade

4K views 28 replies 9 participants last post by  peterkulesza 
#1 · (Edited)
Well I havent actually picked up my M3 yet but I already have a few things planned. One of the first things im going to do is change the tires. The current tires have tons of tread left, but th elast time thye were changed was 1998!!!! Fucking 7 years ago, shows how much it was driven.

Well two things hurt tires, miles, and time. And I dont plan on driving on 7 year old tires for long.

Hell, I dont even know what size tires. I have stock 10 spoke BMW Motorsport wheels with whatever tires.

What, honestly, do you recomend for performance. Im not looking for cheapo tires. But im not looking for pirelli $$$$$$$. I want a decent tire, lets keep it about 200 or less please. Personal experience will also be very appreciated.

Also, what size tire is usually standard on my car (235/40 R17 if I remember correctly), and how much larger do you guys think i can go with my stock wheels?

And finally what pisses me off the most is the rating scale. Whats this bullshit WYZ rating where Z means 150+ but W and Y are above 150. W is like 170 and Y is like 190.

WTF get rid of Z.

Thanks,

Eric
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Z is kind of like the kill all end all... Indefinite. Well, at least from what I've seen.
W and Y are probably only tested to their respected listed limits - still ridiculously high though.

The kind of tires depends on what you want them for... are you running the stock standard tires? REALLY high performance summer, or REALLY high performance all season?
You can get the pzero nero m&S's for under $200, and they're (IMO) probably the best bang for the buck when it comes to a mixture of performance and all-season drivability.
If you're looking at summer performance tires, it's not going to be pirelli... I had a list somewhere, I'll look at it when I go home. But you better be prepared - those things suck at about 40 degrees F and below when it comes to grip. They literally freeze up. Alos, the stock Dunlops suck monkey butt. And you might as well drive furious in them because they'll go bald in like 7000 miles.
You're getting an ///m? I didn't know this! Congrats! e46 or e36? If you say e46, I'm only going to hate you a little bit.


EDIT: I reread your post and I'm a moron.
You're obviously getting an e36.

In that case, all the information I supplied is pertinent.
Unless you had your wheels changed from stock, you should be running 225/45's in front, and 245/40's in back. Yup. No tire rotation, so you're looking at changing more often. Oh well. Comes with the turf.
 
#3 ·
Congratulations with your M3 Eric! You really deserve it ;)

Here is a very useful link for some more information: http://www.bmwmregistry.com/faq.php

Get from my website the original brochure from the 97 or 98 model (yeah it's the euro version)

Good luck and show us some pictures!!

Pieter
 
#6 ·
Yeah i think 95's had 235 all around

then 96-99 had 225 245 because of certain suspension addins and camber and whatnot added in 96.

You think I can go with a fatter tire? I want to maintain my ability to rotate so you think 245 at all corners will work?

I have similar rims to you. I have the BMW Motorsport ones while you have the ///M ones.
 
#7 ·
Ug. These rims SUCK for cleaning.
Anyway, normally I'd say it would be safe to go + or - 10 in the tire width... but you're looking at low profile tires... In my experience that leeway was only safe on something like 185 width or MAYBE 190 width. I'm not sure what the lee-way is on such a stiff and small sidewall as well. The prognosis doesn't look good.
PS - another tire that's gotten some rave reviews is actually the BF-Goodrich KDW's... The expensive ones with the interesting tread pattern. Of course, those are a bit pricey as summer tires, but I don't recall really what the pricing was.
Suffice it to say, pretty much whomever you go with (kumho, yokohama, pirelli, BF-goodrich or Michelin, in ascending order of preference), you will probably see an upgrade. I was looking at Kumho MX's to replace my rears eventually, but those tires are geting mixed reviews - but they're CHEAP.
 
#13 ·
When I drove an E39 528i and bought 18" M5 wheels, I wrapped them in Sumitomo HTR+ rubber. I got those for just over $200 each, but I'd suggest they're worth the extra money because their wear and traction ratings are absolutely excellent. I found them to have great traction whether in dry and warm, cold and wet, or cold and ice. When I totalled my car, I had put over 20,000 miles on them, and the rears had about 40% of their tread left, never rotated. I tend to drive my car pretty hard, so that was impressive to me.
 
#16 ·
It does depend a lot on width (girth, snicker snicker).
Like my sig says, I'm running the pirelli's on my staggered wheels, and they were $650 including install (I don't have a lift or the machinery for low profile tires). Probably the best bang for the buck for all season performance - only the michelins are better, but them's is expensive.
The ultra high performance pirelli's are probably what are scaring you... THOSE are expensive.
 
#19 ·
peterkulesza said:
i got dunlop racing wets, on sale at tirerack for $115 a piece (235/40 x 18).

best tyre i've ever had on a street car, beats the crap out of pilot sport 2. lasts a season, about 10k miles.
Wow! Too bad I don't trust Dunlops. Also, 18"s are larger than stock :(
10k might be a season for you... 20k is a season for me... :(
 
#20 ·
yea it is money. but the tires are awesome, progressive breakaway, fantastic traction. i gained about 15mph on a turn i used to take at 50 mph with bridgestones washing out.

wet in this case is not really wet, like a rain tyre. this is a racing compound tire, so wet is basically damp. they WILL hydroplane. if they were not "wet" they'd have no groove in'em at all....
 
#21 · (Edited)
Ah. I was referring to the all-season Michellin Pilot Sport A/S as the best all-season tire. But they are butt expensive; supposedly they have an obscenely high treadlife though. As I had done, it's probably more economical to get the Pirelli Pzero Nero M&S's if you're going for all season tires. If you read my old review, you'll find that they were a lot stickier than the stock Dunlop summer performance tires that came with the vehicle. And this from an all season tire with a long treadlife.

As for summer only tires (which you're probably interested in), woah. I'm doing a search now and it looks like Yokohama came up with some new tires. Hmm... might have to check those out.

Well... no info at tirerack. That site's got some serious issues.
 
#23 ·
I think those are top of the line, period (if those are the right pole positions I'm thinking of)... but they are pricey, and probably won't last too long... Summer tires, of course. I really like their look :)
 
#24 ·
Best tires for street and track are the Michelin Pilot PS2s. I have tracked my 98 M3 with them and driven in heavy rain, in bumpy New England city roads (Boston) and have had zero problems. The tread life isn't the greatest if you use them on a track and on the street, but they are amazing!!! Quiet, Smooth, and grip like nothing I have ever seen on a treaded tire. Hell I have run cars with race tires that couldn't hold on a track like these things could. If you have the money (you get what you pay for) and want the best tire on the road splurge on the Pilot PS2s, you will not regret it. I will honestly say though, never tried snow in them, My M is parked for the winters!
 
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