Ditched Run Flats

[JackTup]

I searched and did not find what I was looking for. I could have not searched correctly, which may be the case so please forgive me if I am lame.

I was due for some new tires and looked at the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RFT tires for the 2003 E85, or tyres depending on your country of origin, and just could not bring myself to pay all that money for tram lining and a rough ride for the off chance of convenience of driving 50 miles at 50 MPH if I got a flat. So, I rolled the dice and purchased a set of Michelin Pilot A/S 3 Plus tires. I recently took a trip over 100 miles on all kind of roads and was amazed at the performance of these tires. Tires are a relative experience, but the Michelin Pilot A/S 3 Plus are a big improvement over the RFT Potenza's in my opinion. I am not saying these tires are for everyone, but they definitely make on the the driving experience less work for me and are a much more comfortable, less jarring ride that the OEM tires.

In all the years I have been driving, I have never had a flat that prevented me from getting to a place to repair it or replace it.

My rear tires were very worn. I did not notice until I was looking and saw threads. Since there is negative camber on the rear tires, they wear unevenly. This is where they failed. I say failed because I had a blowout. Luckily it happened when the Zed was parked in the garage. I heard a bang and realized the issue when I started the car and saw the LPS light on. Tried to fill but just heard air escaping. I am not blaming the tires. I had scheduled the replacement for the next day anyway, but it was obviously close.

So, for anyone looking for replacements, here is some info for you.

Dry Traction: Excellent.
Wet Traction: Good )nothing is perfect in wet conditions)
Handling Dry: Not as rigid as the RFT's but close
Handling Wet: A definite few steps above the RFT's (opinion only as my RFT's were half gone tread-wise when I got the car)
I purchased the P225 R45ZR 17 Y rating. It says 186 MPH as if I can get that high. Either way, fantastic tires. My wife even enjoys driving the car now.

Cheers

[kis]

Some more useful stuff here from a thread I made a while back. I noticed your comment above re the camber. Take a look at the thread regarding alignment info... and if in doubt the Z4 M alignment set up is a good default even for non-M Z4's

[JackTup]

Some more useful stuff here from a thread I made a while back. I noticed your comment above re the camber. Take a look at the thread regarding alignment info... and if in doubt the Z4 M alignment set up is a good default even for non-M Z4's

Thanks for this info. It cleared up some of my questions. I will look into the M alignment simply for the handling characteristics. My Zed has the M suspension option, at least it is listed on the build sheet. From my understanding it is tighter than the stock 03 E85 suspension. I don’t really have much to compare it to since I do not have access to another Zed 4. Your post has a bunch of very useful info. Thanks.