255/35/18 tyre brand advice

JSz4 · Post by **JSz4** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:40 pm

I've read previous posts re tyres but wanted some up to date advice as prices and models change, as do people's experiences.

I haven't replaced the tyres on my 2003 3.0 Z4 before, I bought it a year and a half ago fitted with Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas but the rears are now getting close to the limit.

Although the Z4 is my daily drive I also use it for long trips, always drive it in a 'spirited' fashion and plan to do the occasional trackday, maybe one a year. Therefore I want to get the best overall tyre I can, particularly for wet and dry grip and feedback and was considering the below models from Blackcircles:

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 - £125 (2017 EVO review overall tyre winner)

Pirelli P-Zero £115 (2017 EVO review 2nd place)

Continental Sport Contact 5 - £125

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 - £110 (2017 EVO review 8th out of 9)

I generally trust the EVO annual tyre test reviews but appreciate 225/40/18 tyres were tested on a Golf GTi with the same horsepower as the Z4, but different dynamcs.

http://www.evo.co.uk/volkswagen/golf-gti/18309/best-car-tyres-evo-performance-tyre-test/page/0/6

I'm leaning towards the Michelin having read how well it scored both objectively and subjectively in all categories. Doe anyone have any experiences of the Michelin on the Z4 or any other recommendations or suggestions?

Cheers

Jeremy

garibaldy · Post by **garibaldy** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:54 pm

I'd recommend the Michelin. Great price.

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:56 pm

I'll have 4 new Michelins fitted this weekend so will give you some feedback Vs the quite poor Pirellis on it currently.

Marlon · Post by **Marlon** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:57 pm

Goodyear Eagles or Vreds do the job very nicely in my experience

MACK · Post by **MACK** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:15 pm

Michelins for me failing that the goodyears, never had a bad experience with either. In the past cars I've had with pirellis were ok grip and handling wise, but those puppies like to wear fast!

LordOxygen · Post by **LordOxygen** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:17 pm

Avon ZZ5 are a decent buy, I'll be buying more when thr time comes.

Zoomer · Post by **Zoomer** » Tue Feb 13, 2018 11:21 pm

Michelin would be my choice as they tend to last longer as well as being very grippy. I have pilot sport 3s on my Zed and they are fantastic

craig3.2 · Post by **craig3.2** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:49 am

Michelin PSS or Vredesteins.....both great tyres for the size and in general.
Both have good trip wet and dry,etc and last ok too.
Only thing between them is price usually.

JakeGT · Post by **JakeGT** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:30 am

I'm needing new tyres and I'm being drawn to the Yokohama ad08r's. Has anyone tried these on a zed?

R60BBA · Post by **R60BBA** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:54 am

OP - where did you find 255/35/18 Michelin PS4s for £125?

Cheapest I've found is £134 from Tyreleader...

mjennings23 · Post by **mjennings23** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:17 am

craig3.2 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:49 amMichelin PSS or Vredesteins.....both great tyres for the size and in general.
Both have good trip wet and dry,etc and last ok too.
Only thing between them is price usually.

I wouldn't bother with the PSS now that the PS4 is about personally. The PS4 is much better in the wet and has 95% of the dry performance according to all the reviews I've seen (quite a lot!). Michelin themselves say the PS4 is effectively the PSS replacement, and the PS4S is another step up but only available 19" plus

ben g · Post by **ben g** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:01 pm

I always buy vredestein ultra vorti after struggling to find sessanta's anymore.

I went to hankook once, never again. Truly awful.

hopz121 · Post by **hopz121** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:06 pm

id match with whatever you have on the front (assuming the fronts are a good brand)

Steve84N · Post by **Steve84N** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:49 pm

I've had PS4 and F1.

The Michelins are better and what I'm using going forwards.

skelters · Post by **skelters** » Wed Feb 14, 2018 11:06 pm

I had Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on the Z4 when I got it. Found them very noisy.

In 2006, the previous Z4 i had Falken FK452 tyres, cheap and plenty of grip. They replaced the all time worst tyres ever fitted to a car by anyone, yes you guessed it, the original runflats on the Z4. You could feel your fillings rattling with the runflats. I was convinced they were magnetic as I had 3 punctures in 3 tyres in a week.

Changed the Falkens to the original Goodyear Eagle F1's. Excellent grip in the dry or wet and not too noisy.

On the current Z4 I changed from the Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 2. Managed to get 13 or 14 months out of the rear tyres before they were replaced!

Mate of mine has just fitted Eagle F1 Asymetric 3 to his Z4

One thing about the Eagle F1's is that the do seem to have a soft sidewall and you do feel some tyre roll if you're going round a corner in any spirited fashion. So I've heard!

Increased tyre pressures might fix that though.

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com