Looking for tire recommendations for Z4.

brunhuber · Post by **brunhuber** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:16 pm

Hello,

I have a Z4 3.0i with the 18" wheels. The tires that came with the car are runflat Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT. I was wondering what people thought about these alternatives:

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP
Pirelli PZero RFT

As well as this non-runflat alternative:

Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

I would use them for spirited street driving along with the BMW autocross program. Thanks!

--Norbert

dngo · Post by **dngo** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:32 pm

Norbert,

I assume that you do not drive the Z4 in snow or that you have dedicated snow tires and wheels as the tires you list below are quite bad in the snow. My personal choice would be the RE-01Rs. IIRC they are the cheapest of your choices and they are some of the best dry weather tires available. They also have excellent grip in the wet.

If you decide to move to non-runflats, you will likely notice improved ride quality as well. Your car has lifetime roadside assistance for tire issues, right?

Dave

brunhuber · Post by **brunhuber** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:46 pm

Hi Dave,

Yes, I use dedicated snow tires. They are great in the snow! I'm a big fan of dedicated tires over all-season ones.

I don't know if I have lifetime assistance. I have to check because my 4 year maintenance program is over now, so maybe the roadside assistance is too. Nevertheless, I pay for Allstate's roadside assistance anyway and was going to get a can of the BMW tire repair goo, so I'm not too worried about not having runflats.

If I do decide to go with non-runflats, would you consider other extreme summer performance tires aside from the Bridgestone's I listed? I chose those based on the good reviews on tirerack.com.

--Norbert

dngo · Post by **dngo** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:49 am

The other high end performance tire I would recommend for dry grip is the Yokohama Advan AD07, but I am not sure if it is available in the sizes you need.

Dave

brunhuber · Post by **brunhuber** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:31 am

You are correct Dave, those don't come in my size. The only other one listed in the "extreme" performance category for me is:

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec

Thanks for all the advice so far.

--Norbert

dngo · Post by **dngo** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:46 am

The Dunlop is brand new and I have not heard anything about them yet. I heard good things about the previous version of the Direzza Z1s, though.

Dave

jont · Post by **jont** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:49 am

brunhuber wrote:
Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

I would use them for spirited street driving along with the BMW autocross program. Thanks!

--Norbert

NO! Do not buy them, especially if you're in the D class for our autocrosses

mmarv · Post by **mmarv** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:46 am

jont wrote:
brunhuber wrote:
Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

I would use them for spirited street driving along with the BMW autocross program. Thanks!

--Norbert
NO! Do not buy them, especially if you're in the D class for our autocrosses

Don't worry, Z4 stock is in C class.

Can't comment on any runflat version of PS2's, but the non runflats have great grip wet and dry. They are however vaporwear.

jont · Post by **jont** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:52 am

mmarv wrote:
jont wrote:
brunhuber wrote:
Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R

I would use them for spirited street driving along with the BMW autocross program. Thanks!

--Norbert
NO! Do not buy them, especially if you're in the D class for our autocrosses
Don't worry, Z4 stock is in C class.

Well, in that case, the RE-01Rs are great tires! Best street tires I've ever owned.

mmarv · Post by **mmarv** » Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:56 am

jont wrote:
mmarv wrote:
jont wrote: NO! Do not buy them, especially if you're in the D class for our autocrosses
Don't worry, Z4 stock is in C class.
Well, in that case, the RE-01Rs are great tires! Best street tires I've ever owned.

GREAT! I still haven't bought this season's tires, and on street tires I'm in D

sab0276 · Post by **sab0276** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:02 pm

Hi Norbert.

I would not recommend the run flat's due to increase in weight and decrease in ride comfort and performance. I would also advise against using the can of goo to fix it unless absolutely neccesary. That stuff can be very difficult to remove from the rim when you replace the tire. Instead just use AAA or other roadside assistance if possible.

If you want the stickiest summer tires that are good for autox, there are several options. I'll list them in order of what seems to be the general consensus of the best being first.
Yokohama Advan AD07 (180TW)
Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec (200TW)
Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R (140TW)
Toyo Proxes R1R (140TW)
Falken Azenis RT-615 (200TW)
Hankook R-S2 (200TW)
Kuhmo MX (220TW)

More than likely you will be able to reduce this list based on tire size availablility. You may want to consider going to slightly wider sizes if possible (check Bimmerforums).

You will sacrifice tire life with going to one of these tires as most have a TreadWear rating of only 140-200, but there really aren't any other street tires that can touch these in terms of performance.

Other options with sligtly higher TreadWear (and slightly higher costs) are the GoodYear GS-D3 and the Michelin PS2. These may be better all around tires (comfort, noise, etc).

-Scott

sab0276 · Post by **sab0276** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:22 pm

Edit: I just checked TireRack for your size and I'd recommend the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec. They are about $30/tire cheaper than the RE-01's, and they perform about the same in the dry and the Z1's are better in the wet.

Click on the link above, then click on Tests, then click on Test Result Charts for specific info.

-Scott

p.s. All of this information assumes you are in C class. If you get bumped to B class, then you will need to get these.

brunhuber · Post by **brunhuber** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:37 pm

Scott,

Thank you again for considering my question so carefully. The Dunlop's sound great and a 200 treadware rating would actually be a boost for me since my runflats are rated at 140! I just have to try to convince my wife that she's just as safe with normal tires and AAA than using the runflats. Any pointers?

Interestingly enough on my tires, the rears are far more worn out than the fronts. I don't do burnouts (honestly!) so I was pretty surprised by this. Is this common? I thought the fronts get worn out the most since they have to turn the car too.

--Norbert

CT88 · Post by **CT88** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:49 am

I can't help with the convincing the wife part, but from what I've read and driven, the RE01R seems to be a pretty nice tire for AutoX.
I run the Potenza RE050A Pole Positions because they seem to have better wet traction which I thought would be a good idea as my car doubles as a daily driver.

And, I think Scott meant to say you need these tires if you are in B class

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... r+T%2FA+KX

As for tire wear, from what I understand it is normal for your rear tires to wear faster as those are the ones that are being used to move the car, especially if you have a rear-wheel drive car. The power is being put down to those tires and they need to grip the road and put a smile on your face as you mash the pedal to the floor. (honestly I never go faster than 10mph below the speed limit, I like to keep safe)

-Chris

sab0276 · Post by **sab0276** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:04 am

Just tell her that getting the car flatbed towed to the dealer/tire place is a lot more safe than trying to continue on at 50mph on deflated runflats.

-Scott

New Jersey BMW CCA

Looking for tire recommendations for Z4.

Looking for tire recommendations for Z4.

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Re: Looking for tire recommendations for Z4.

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Re: Looking for tire recommendations for Z4.