E91 Replacement Tires ??

[RealM3E30]

Blizzaks are coming off this week, what is everyone putting on street cars these day's, runflats ?? Or are you depending on AAA ?? What brand, model are you leaning towards ???

[jont]

Blizzaks are coming off this week, what is everyone putting on street cars these day's, runflats ?? Or are you depending on AAA ?? What brand, model are you leaning towards ???

I'm driving an e46, so no runflats will ever touch it.

I just replaced my blizzaks with summer tires. I purchased a set of Dunlop Z2s, which are the replacement for the Direzza Z1 Star Spec. It's hard to say what I think of them, because I've only driven about 60 miles on them so far. I'm liking their feel, but they aren't really broken in, yet.

What are your requirements for a set of tires? traction, longer life, etc?

[RealM3E30]

Jon, daily driver, not looking for crazy mileage but more than 25k, we had the stock conti's on. R

[RAYADAM]

Continental Conti-pro contacts SSR run-flats work just fine on the E9x non M vehicles especially if you are sporting the 17in wheels. they are quiet,handle well and decent traction all season. with a piece of mind when you have no spare tire.
I am too not a real run-flat fan ,but for a daily commuter , they work fine . yes I'll admit ,they do come with a price.

[kbsilver]

I agree with Ray. When replacement time comes on the 335d, I was planning on sticking with the OEM Conti runflats. I have never exceeded their capabilities and personally give them high ratings in all categories understanding they will never be as smooth running as non runflats. Projecting using wear rates, it appears as we will get 35K miles out of the rears and 70K from the fronts (17" set-up).

But I will say that with all the supposed tuning BMW does with springs and shocks, they did not get it right. Rear shocks in particular are too soft and car can get an oscillation going under certain road conditions (non sport set-up).

[afadeev]

I agree with Ray. When replacement time comes on the 335d, I was planning on sticking with the OEM Conti runflats. I have never exceeded their capabilities and personally give them high ratings in all categories understanding they will never be as smooth running as non runflats. Projecting using wear rates, it appears as we will get 35K miles out of the rears and 70K from the fronts (17" set-up).

But I will say that with all the supposed tuning BMW does with springs and shocks, they did not get it right. Rear shocks in particular are too soft and car can get an oscillation going under certain road conditions (non sport set-up).

I don't know guys, you could not pay me enough money to run run-flops.
I disliked them so much that I just bought a new set of wheels over the winter to go with proper summer for the E90. Wheels + top of the line summer tires (not available as run-Flops) will cost you as much as a new set of under-achieving RFTs!

I had "buy summer tires for E90" on my to-do list for this week, but this reminds me to get on with it.
The summer tires will be either:
(a). Michelin Pilot Super Sport
(b). Bridgestone RE11a (have old RE11's on MCS and love them)

Any votes for either?


YMMV,
alex f
'08 MCS (ex-Runflops)
'11 335ix (will be ex-Runflops in about 2 weeks)

P.S.: I bought <ContiComfortKit> from TireRack as a piece of mind to go along with the performance of the non-RFT tires.

[staianoa]

I went through lots of tires on my e90. I liked the original RE-50 RFTs quite a bit for traction and feel in Germany (lived there for a few years) and even on the track (N'ring and NJMP) but not so much in Jersey (pot holes killed three in six months). I switched to RE-01s which were great on road and track and same forRE-11s after that. Then switched to Dunlop Dirizza Star Spec which were 98% as good as RE-11s for 75% of the price (about $300 cheaper a set). I never got more than 15,000 out of a set and often much less but that was track and autobahn driving in addition to regular commuting. All of them are useless in even the slightest hint of snow. I have Pilot Super Sports on my E46 330i and PS2s on the M and they both are about the same as the Bridgestones (though more expensive). Probably will end up with RE-11a's when it's time to replace. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope that helps!

[afadeev]

I went through lots of tires on my e90. I liked the original RE-50 RFTs quite a bit for traction and feel in Germany (lived there for a few years) and even on the track (N'ring and NJMP) but not so much in Jersey (pot holes killed three in six months). I switched to RE-01s which were great on road and track and same forRE-11s after that. Then switched to Dunlop Dirizza Star Spec which were 98% as good as RE-11s for 75% of the price (about $300 cheaper a set). I never got more than 15,000 out of a set and often much less but that was track and autobahn driving in addition to regular commuting. All of them are useless in even the slightest hint of snow. I have Pilot Super Sports on my E46 330i and PS2s on the M and they both are about the same as the Bridgestones (though more expensive). Probably will end up with RE-11a's when it's time to replace. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope that helps!

Thanks, Andrew.

I don't know how many other people in the club care about non-RFT tires, but it's a slow day at work.
I ended up going with a set of Michelin PSS's. Mostly because the RE-11a's are still not available in my size (only 18" size available is 245-40-18, which is too tall).

First impressions - the sidewalls and the ride of PSS's feel softer then the old RE-11 tires, but the dry traction is great. As a comparison, the 18" PSS's ride WAAAAYYYY smoother then 17" Run-Flops. And they are lighter. And grip way better. And cheaper.

Dry traction comparison vs. old RE-11s is too early to call, as PSS's are still wearing in. Perhaps 4/21 will help.

alex f
E90 335xi now on PSS's

P.S.: Michelin is running a $70/set promotion on all tires right now.
P.P.S.: Bridgestone and Hankook also run promotions, but theirs do not apply to any of their good tires.

[MTROIS]

I can't say enough good things about the Michelin PSS... But since this is for your beloved darling Bob, get her the run flats as Ray suggested.

[RealM3E30]

Thanks Marc, I went with Non/Run Flats and a Premium AAA Membership.

[dbcafy]

Went to the Michelin PSS from the Pirelli P-Zero. Saved $100 per tire. Everything looks good so far. I always have some type of Auto Club in case of emergencies.

Dave

[currencydog]

I switched from Run flats to conventional tires and the car rides much better ( Pirelli P zero nero all seasons) and then bought the mobility kit from Continental found on tire rack. Of course you could buy a spare tire kit from Bav Auto. Even 4 conventional tires and a spare kit will be cheaper than 4 run flats and provide a better ride.