Tire Opinions

B

baugelli

Member
 South Jersey
Greetings All,

I need to tap the collective wisdom of the forum here regarding tires. I've got one more winter to get through here in NJ and although we do not tend to get a lot of snow I do not plan on running RFTs again this winter and experienceing the bowel-wretching effect of going up/down a hill sideways. I was thinking about either purchasing a set of Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S all-season tires, which should be a nice change from RFTs, but am not sure how well they hold up to ice/snow. I'm saving my soon to be acquired RFTs (thanks Alan!) for warmer weather and when/if I turn the car back over after the lease. The questions at hand are:
A. WIll the Pirellis hold up well enough against any minor snow/ice accumulation?
B. Should I just use the RFTs in warmer weather and purchase a dedicated set of winter tires for October-April?
Thanks for all the advice!
-Brian
 
Tirerack.com will give you better advice than most here. I don't know enough about those Pirelli's either. FWIW, most performance tires are not recommended for use under 40deg F, some slightly higher, some slightly lower. I live in eastern Kansas and we don't get much winter snow (as opposed to my hometown of Chicago), however, I change my tires from my max performance Goodyear GS-D3's to Blizzak snow tires. If past history teaches me a lesson, the snow we get here comes in multi-inch snow falls. RFT's offer little help although they can be used in colder temperatures than max performance tires. I re-mount my tires during the Thanksgiving break and then take them off late Feb/early March. I'm ready for any surprise snows and I save some mileage on my everyday tires. btw, I have my snow tires mounted on BMW style 71 rims.
 
20ducks has given you about the same advise that I would offer as well. I usually mount my dedicated winter tires once the first snow begins to fly or the daily temps are not going much above 40F. I have a set of inexpensive 8 X 17 inch rim that I purchased on close out from Tire Rack. (Same size as BWW Type 71 but don't look as kewl.) Going from the run flats to even dedicated winter tires you will notice an immediate improvement and come spring you will not want to put the RF's back on. Hope this helps... :)
 
EVO just did a tyre review in their latest issue. They tested a good range of about 10 or 12 different makes of tyres, including the much loved Michelin PS2s, along with tyres from Vredstein, Kumho, Dunlop, Pirelli and Yokohama. The latest Goodyear F1 Asymmetric came out highly in about 75% of the tests (from memory), in both dry and wet conditions, and was praised for it's progressive break-away and predictability, on top of having some of the best wet and dry braking and grip (lateral g) score.

I'm definately going to look into some when the PS2s run out, as they did seem very impressive from their write-up. Incidentally the PS2s came about 5th, let down by their wet weather performance.
 
Hi Brian - You have far more serious winter conditions in NJ than I do in the NW, but I always use a dedicated set of winter wheels in the colder months. For us its a combination of almost constantly wet winters with temps that are consistently in the low 30s with low 40s for highs and more than a few instances of icy conditions. Heavy snow is quite rare for the roadways down in the lower elevations west of the Cascades.

I have a set of winter wheels in transit right now from Tirerack with Pirelli Sotozeros for tires and some cheapie rims for the slop. For more serious snow conditions in a high performance tires I have had excellent results with Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22s and Nokian WRs. I'd buy either of those 2 tires again in a heartbeat. The Pirelli's I am getting aren't quite as serious for snow but if we get any of that I will snarf my wife's X3 for the day anyway :D
 
I just fitted a set of Dunlop SP WinterSport M3 tires on my OEM rims (225/45/18) and should be plopping them on the M pretty soon (BTW, I'm selling my summers). I've heard great reviews on this tire, and it's supposed to handle wet conditions quite well too (which is the type of weather here). I think I may have gone overboard with the tires, since it rarely snows here, but being that Emma's my daily driver, I'd rather be too prepared than not.

I've had experience with Nokian branded Hakkapeliita-Qs on my previous ride, and they served me quite well. I dunno if they still even make this tire.
 
I had a set of the Dunlop SP WinterSport M3 tires on my old Honda S2000 and had no complaints about how they handled our NW winters at all. I only went for the Pirelli Sotozeros because I have a set of those on my wife's X3 and love how quiet they are while still doing an excellent job for winter driving in our area.
 
So what happens if we run a oem runflat in less than 40 degree weather? Will it just not perform good (pretty much know that one :) ) Or will the tire be more likely to fail in some way? I don't really plan on keeping the car in cold weather (not that cold here in Vegas) but I may want to go spend a weekend snowboarding in the mountains so that's why i'm asking.
 
You have very little to be concerned about with the RFTs as long as you stay down in the desert elevations, but once you head up into the hills with temps in the low 40s and below you need to be very careful. Almost all summer performance tires have a rubber compound designed to give you nice adhesion when they are hot - with the trade off of basically having the consistency of hockey pucks when they are cold.

RFTs take this one step further by having almost no sidewall give at all and this amplifies the hockey puck consistency even further. The end result here is that your car will slide without offering any feedback that you are approaching your now meager limits of adhesion. Wet and near freezing temps are a recipe for disaster for our OEM tire compounds. The tire won't physically fail, but it will most certainly fail to deliver on the task of providing traction when you need it the most.
 
Ah ok. That makes sense. Chances are I won't be driving the car in the snowy mountains at any rate due to the summer RFT's, but I like to be prepared :D Thanks for the info.
 
Wow, thanks for all the great info. I'm starting to lean towards the dedicated winter tires option, either Blizzaks or Dunlops. For those of you who use the Blizzaks, which ones did you purchase, the LM-22 RFTs or one of the two speed rated (HR vs VR) LM-25s?
 
Guys, i am going to throw an unknown into the equation here, FALKEN FK452, not sure if this tyre is available in the US but i went onto this tyre when i ditched the RFT's in November last year and quite comprehensively say they are the best tyre i have ever had, my previous 330d Sport ran RE040's, PS2's, Conti's, and i stand by the 452's hand over fist, they make all the rip off branded stuff look decidedly weak in ALL areas. I drive my car reasonably hard, have done two track days this year with another booked for October and these tyres are awesome, quite simply the best kept secret in the tyre world at the moment. I am also a member on http://www.bmwland.co.uk i have expressed my opinion on there many times about these tyres and many members have taken the acid test and bought them, not one has a bad word to say and many agree this tyre is awesome in all conditions. One of the Moderators regularly visits the Nurburgring in his E46 M3 and will never have another tyre on his car.

You just need to get past the brand snobbery to realise what these tyres are about, and the final plus is that you will find they cost about half that of a set of Michelin's etc, my Z4 255/18 rear and 225/18 fronts cost £320 for a set of four, :wink:
 
Falken are sold in the US as well. Locally where I live Sears and one local tire dealer carries them and I don't trust either of these dealers to touch my rims. Locally these tires run around 175 US dollars which is quite a bit less than PS2's and less than F1's. I have known a few individuals that have tried Falkens and were very happy with them with the possible exception of tread wear.
 
hi plowy,i was trying to find the falkens you were talking about but cant get the bigger rear size,where did you get them from for that fantastic price?
 
WLH said:
Falken are sold in the US as well. Locally where I live Sears and one local tire dealer carries them and I don't trust either of these dealers to touch my rims. Locally these tires run around 175 US dollars which is quite a bit less than PS2's and less than F1's. I have known a few individuals that have tried Falkens and were very happy with them with the possible exception of tread wear.
Click to expand...

Exception of tread wear ???, I don't find they atre wearing any quicker than anything else i have had, have done 10K and have about 5mm front and 3/4mm rears, bear in mind about all of my mileage is local stuff, if i was motorway driving i expect it would be considerably better..
 
Shameless plug here, but if anyone is considering checking out Tire Rack would they do us a favour and click the link on the home page... it takes you to the same site and you pay the same prices, but they give us a small kick back if you purchase from them... and every little helps :D
 
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