OEM Tyre Choice

Street

Street

Senior member
 Newcastle
Site Supporter
Hi all, can someone reassure me and that I'm not going mad.
I need to replace the rears on my MR running standard 224's. Stock tyres 255/40/18. Spirited road driving like us all I guess but no track use.

None of the usual tyre favs (PS4S, CS7 etc) are available.

It feels like I'm left with:
- Michelin Super Sports < Old tech now
- Michelin PS5 < UHP tyre and seems acceptable. Do I really need UUHP?
- Goodyear Eagle F1 Super Sport < Great price but mixed reviews.

Tyre variants like 265/35 dont seem to turn up anything new.
Am I missing a trick or any obvious ones I'm overlooking?
 
The moment I posted I think I cracked it.
265/40/18 - CS7 and a great price.

3mm ride difference and less than 1% difference.
 
yep 18" 255/40 & 225/45 are pretty rare hoops these days.
It's a shame to increase the width with a standard car but if it were me I would be looking at the fairly ubiquitous 265/35 and 235/40 setup. Almost all tyres are available in that denomination (apart from ad09 as of yet :( )
edit
front ps4s
But you're right they don't do 265/35 anymore. I'm sure they used to, maybe they're finally bringing 18" PS5S online, I'm not sure.
 
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mmm-five said:
265/40r18 is what I run in the rear of mine.
Click to expand...
What do you have on the front 235/40's?

I'm chuffed. Halfords can supply and fit this Thursday and unbelievably it worked out cheaper (with a corporate discount scheme) than CamSkill to just supply which is my usual goto. £312 all in.

Just need to shake the magic money tree for front discs and pads now :D
 
Goodyear F1 Eagle A6 are available in 255/40 R18 here £180 delivered, ideal for spirited road driving, just not quite up to the standard of the CS7's for outright grip. ASDA Tyres also have them at £196 fitted
 
I fitted Kumho Ecstas to my car in 2021 and they proved more than equal to my capability.

Had to change the rears this year and hadn't allowed enough time to get them before a trip to Scotland so I bought a pair of 265/40 Hankook Ventus for £292 and they were fine on 2 Scottish trips and a rainy weekend in the Lakes on the National.

My car had MPSS fitted when I bought it in December and they had so little grip in the cold and damp I wouldn't rate them better than ditch-finders! :eek:
 
You aren't the first person I've heard say that Mr Tidy about MPSS.
I'm starting wonder as I get a little older and wiser whether all of these tyres would out perform my capability and nerve!

Speaking of which.. that post pushed me to 1000 posts and I'm now a 'Senior Member'. How fitting! Just a few million more to catch the rest of you :D
 
Just to add. I had MPSS on my M240i (as a one year old car) and they squirmed everywhere even when accelerating in the summer. I changed the wheels and are on much better PS5s. I have Kumho Ecstas on my E89 and they are fine. And night and day better than the Bridgestone RFTs. That decision took me four years (of terrible handling)!
 
Street said:
What do you have on the front 235/40's?

I'm chuffed. Halfords can supply and fit this Thursday and unbelievably it worked out cheaper (with a corporate discount scheme) than CamSkill to just supply which is my usual goto. £312 all in.

Just need to shake the magic money tree for front discs and pads now :D
Click to expand...
Standard size 225/45r18 on the front.

The slightly larger rears also has the benefit of making the speedo more accurate - still about 2% over-read above 100mph though, but better than the original 5% over-read (all verified vs GPS on a German autobahn).

I liked the way the PSS handled/performed, as when they came out in 2012 they were better than anything else available, but things have moved on a bit in the 13 years since and I’m not sure I’d put them on the car today as there are better options (SC7, PS5, PS4S, F1A6, et al). I wouldn’t say they were dangerous or bad as I’ve done cold/frosty days on them at Oulton and Nurburgring and survived (the tyres/car gets a 20-30 minute trip from home/hotel to warm everything up and the tyres do perform well once warmed up, even on a cold track)…but initial grip is terrible, so don’t hoof it off the drive or you will end up in the neighbour’s living room, sideways…but I’m not sure any summer tyre can claim to offer instant grip at 0°C.
 
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I found the MPS4s the opposite to the MR Tidys views on Super Sports. TBH I had SS on my 224s and didnt find them ditch finders but maybe yours were on the older scale as they are super old now.

The MPS4s to me are too sticky the car has lost a bit of it character that I enjoy. Maybe its because the S varient are designed for the higher end sports cars these days with much more power than the Z4M has like 5-700+hp. Maybe the standard 4 would have been better.

I like that the back end steps out a little and you have to try pretty hard with the MPS4s for it to have the Z character.

I had Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta on it before and those gave a great mid-ground of grip but allowed the back end to wander a little.
 
Some of our guys are running MPS 5 on Ms and very happy…having ridden in one driven with elan can say they are very good on damp treacherous Scottish roads..
 
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