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-   -   What tires to buy? (http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=36555)

XMcBainX 06-27-2012 03:36 AM

What tires to buy?
 
I have seen many threads about wheels, but few about tires. I have 2 sets of wheels/tires, one for all-weather driving and a set of snow tires. Both sets are worn and are in need of replacing, but I can only afford to buy one set until next year. The all-weather tires are the ones being replaced first, and they will have to function through one winter season. So the question goes out to you all...

What tires should I buy for my ti?:help:

I value a quiet/comfortable ride, and decent tire life. Most importantly I love driving my ti hard on those curvy New England roads!:joy:

geetarspaz 06-27-2012 04:33 AM

BF Goodrich 225/50/16. That's what I use all year round.

These were put on by the previous owner who put about 10,000 miles on them. I put 16,000 miles on them and they still have 50%+ tread left. In the snow, they aren't too great, but I'd say its a lot more of the car's weight/RWD that poses more of a problem than the tires compared to some heavy duty 15" snow tires. I'm not too familiar with snow tires, but these have had a good amount of asbuse- I live in the suburbs of Philly so these have seen better days, but still maintain. They have a ton of traction when dry, and are very quiet.

jca 06-27-2012 04:41 AM

Take a look at Uniroyal Tigerpaw all weather tires. I like them on my wife's Z3 as well as my ti. Good value in my opinion.

spidertri 06-27-2012 01:31 PM

Continental DWS are the best all season I have driven on. They have soft sidewalls, are quiet, and very comfortable. They won't be a great performance tire though, can't expect that from an all season.

geetarspaz 06-27-2012 11:40 PM

Go to bimmer dealership ask the broski's there

cooljess76 06-27-2012 11:45 PM

What size? If you need a low profile tire for 17" wheels, I recommend the Yokohama Parada spec2.

geetarspaz 06-27-2012 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetarspaz (Post 333041)
Go to bimmer dealership ask the broski's there

by that i ment jessie! :cool:

cooljess76 06-28-2012 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetarspaz (Post 333045)
by that i ment jessie! :cool:

Lol, I'm just saying that they're the best bang for the buck IMO. I think I paid about 100-120 apiece for mine. I've read mixed reviews, but personally I like Yokohama tires. Michelins offered the best traction for an all season street tire, but they wore really quickly. I didn't like Khumo's at all, they almost killed me. Toyo's had excellent tread life, but didn't offer very good rim protection. Yokohama's had decent tread life and offered great rim protection. I really want to try a set of Hankooks next, but for the price I find it hard to pass up a set of Yokohama Paradas.

geetarspaz 06-28-2012 12:15 AM

My traction is pretty bad in the rain, on any gear if I give it a quick hard gas the car can totally spin out of control.

zoner 06-28-2012 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cooljess76 (Post 333046)
Lol, I'm just saying that they're the best bang for the buck IMO. I think I paid about 100-120 apiece for mine. I've read mixed reviews, but personally I like Yokohama tires.

I'm running the Yokohama 'S-drive' tires on my ti and after about 5k miles, I love 'em! I think they're a little softer compound than the Paradas, but the road noise, handling, and traction are all superb so far. I paid about $140/ea. for mine (235/40-17). I agree that they get mixed reviews, but I've run Yoko's on a few of my cars and have always been impressed with them.

They're definitely not all-season tires, however. If you're looking for a solid all-season tire, I'd go with something like Continental or Nokian.

macilona 06-28-2012 03:07 AM

you might want to investigate Nitto tires as well. this is a brand focused on high performance, and is well regarded by experienced track instructors. they have a couple of all season designs----i have the neogen, and have enjoyed the tire over 3 years. it has a tread that is designed for wet weather and also for the camber that lowered suspensions create, so that the tread wears evenly. the price is very reasonable, and you can find them at discounttiredirect.com, which is a well known national tire chain, and they also provide extensive reviews from other users. they carry all the nitto styles, so you can compare sizes and pricing, along with the reviews. the nittotires.com website has descriptive information about the different tires .

cooljess76 06-28-2012 11:36 AM

The ad on the top of this page was for a $100 visa gift card with the purchase of 4 tires installed @ America's Tire/Discount Tire. Only good for 1 day though:

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fin...260126:9839134

Biolite 06-28-2012 01:10 PM

+1 for Yokohamas. I've been running a set of Yokohama ADVANs for about 30k now and they have been great. Previously I've ran some Kumhos (cheap, I'd stay away from) and Nittos. Nittos are nice, but a bit overkill for general driving. I wouldn't spend the money for them anymore unless I was constantly on the track or or auto-x. The 60k mi ADVANs are totally worth it in my opinion.

PAPizzaGirl 06-29-2012 04:05 PM

Thanks for posting XMcBainx. I have the same question, and wondering 2 other details specific to my own sitch.
1) does the answer for tires change based on the amount of driving done? i.e. my TI is a second car so i don't drive it as often...
2) wheel annoyance - - i have the originals wheels from when i bought her. they "seem" fine but the BMW decals that were in the center over time i guess fell off :( I really don't want to get new wheels just for the BMW logo but it looks dumb since they fell off! Options ?

zoner 06-29-2012 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAPizzaGirl (Post 333157)
Thanks for posting XMcBainx. I have the same question, and wondering 2 other details specific to my own sitch.
1) does the answer for tires change based on the amount of driving done? i.e. my TI is a second car so i don't drive it as often...
2) wheel annoyance - - i have the originals wheels from when i bought her. they "seem" fine but the BMW decals that were in the center over time i guess fell off :( I really don't want to get new wheels just for the BMW logo but it looks dumb since they fell off! Options ?


With regard to your first question- most people buy tires suited to the type of driving they do, not the amount, unless, of course, you're using your car as a 50+ mile a day commuter, in which case a high performance tire would be impractical since it would wear out in a relatively short time. If the car is just and occasional or weekend driver and you're not a very aggressive driver, you're probably fine with a decent all-season or highway compound that you can probably get 40-50k miles or more out of.

With regard to your second question, you can get new OEM wheel caps from Tischer BMW for about $11.50/ea. The caps are universal for just about all 3 series BMW wheels and can be found here.


Welcome to the forum! :)


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