Tire recommendations

C

CYCLONE2

Member
Hello,
I'm sure this has been covered a bazillion times but here goes-------

Suggestions for new tires on my 2005 Z4 3.0 with 18" wheels.

I don't want the run-flats. I would like decent longevity. The car only gets driven Spring,Summer, and Fall. No winter driving. Great handling isn't at the top of my list since I'm not a very aggressive driver. My hope is to have a tire that grips decent, rides smoothly, and is pretty quiet.

I've got about 24,000 miles on the original run-flats. The fronts still look pretty good but the rears are down to the wear bars and the inside edge of the rears are cupped. I could probably get away with just getting the rears replaced but I've got to think the rubber has probably getting stiff although they visually look OK and I don't see any dry rotting. I remember reading about guys being happy with tires other than the run-flats.

Thanks-----
 
It's not advisable to mix rfts and non rfts apparently. Tye wall being a different structure etc. I'm very pleased with the Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics on mine, though they've been superceded now. Falkens are a popular choice.
 
Sticks said:
It's not advisable to mix rfts and non rfts apparently. Tye wall being a different structure etc. I'm very pleased with the Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics on mine, though they've been superceded now. Falkens are a popular choice.
Click to expand...

I'll check out both of those suggestions. Thanks. I didn't mean I thought about mixing tires, I was just thinking replacing the rear tires with the original tires on the rear. 2 rear run-flats being cheaper (I think) than 4 of anything else. I do remember "Falkens" being talked about in the past.
 
Falken 452s are very popular due to being rather good and very cheap. The price has been going up as these tyres used to be equally popular with enthusiasts of numerous other cars. They don't offer any rim protection and they have rather flexible sidewalls so turn-in isn't as good. They wear at an average rate.

Vredesteins are the other popular choice, and are the ones I have on my car. They're still ludicrously cheap, but they have rim protection and the turn-in isn't really compromised. I've found them to be excellent - especially in wet weather. Can't really comment on wear. Reviews elsewhere show the tyres as having average wear. I got all 4 tyres for about £50 less than 2 rear Bridgestone runflats. However my rear runflats were still pretty new (the fronts were down to the wear markers), so I've stored them for the future in case I wish to sell the car. It's easier selling with RFTs than not sometimes.

Regardless of the tyres you get, non runflats make a marked difference to the ride quality as well as tramlining. When first installed, you'll get a 'floaty' feeling at 70+. After 300miles or so the feeling will dissipate and you'll have great grip at all times - this is just the tyre bedding in due to the aggressive camber on Z4s, especially the rear. There are tyres that are biased to quiet, low rolling-resistance, however I'm not sure you'll be able to get them in 18" size. Generally 18" wheels signify 'sports', especially with a 255/35 profile. Goodyear Eagle NCT5s and Bridgestone Turanzas are 'touring' tyres, they'll grip well enough while being quiet. I don't rate the Goodyears, but the Bridgestones are fine. To be honest if quiet is important, you're best fitting 16" alloys - large tyres always make more noise.
 
Boogle said:
Falken 452s are very popular due to being rather good and very cheap. The price has been going up as these tyres used to be equally popular with enthusiasts of numerous other cars. They don't offer any rim protection and they have rather flexible sidewalls so turn-in isn't as good. They wear at an average rate.

Vredesteins are the other popular choice, and are the ones I have on my car. They're still ludicrously cheap, but they have rim protection and the turn-in isn't really compromised. I've found them to be excellent - especially in wet weather. Can't really comment on wear. Reviews elsewhere show the tyres as having average wear. I got all 4 tyres for about £50 less than 2 rear Bridgestone runflats. However my rear runflats were still pretty new (the fronts were down to the wear markers), so I've stored them for the future in case I wish to sell the car. It's easier selling with RFTs than not sometimes.

Regardless of the tyres you get, non runflats make a marked difference to the ride quality as well as tramlining. When first installed, you'll get a 'floaty' feeling at 70+. After 300miles or so the feeling will dissipate and you'll have great grip at all times - this is just the tyre bedding in due to the aggressive camber on Z4s, especially the rear. There are tyres that are biased to quiet, low rolling-resistance, however I'm not sure you'll be able to get them in 18" size. Generally 18" wheels signify 'sports', especially with a 255/35 profile. Goodyear Eagle NCT5s and Bridgestone Turanzas are 'touring' tyres, they'll grip well enough while being quiet. I don't rate the Goodyears, but the Bridgestones are fine. To be honest if quiet is important, you're best fitting 16" alloys - large tyres always make more noise.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the helpful insight.
 
I've just replaced the Conti Sport Contact 3s on the M with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asyms and they're a vast improvement over what was supposed to already be a premium tyre.

More comfortable, more grip and lighter too.
 
If you want a comfortable, long treadwire tire - go with the Continental DW

For sporty, great grip, performance summer tires, go with Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. If those are too pricey, take a look at the Hankook V12s.
 
I found out that there were different tire sizes in years 2006 and 2007 in brochures. Is it a mistake or a BMW engineers decided to make tyres 255 now instead of 245. Please answer.
Ws1C0ne.png
 
I have eagle F1's on the mini. I'll probably put the same on the Z4 unless there is a cheaper alternative which offers similar performance.

As for mixing tyres. It's fine to do so. So long as it's the same axle. I had runflats on the rear and non runflats on the front of the mini before switching to all 4 non run flats.

Also on the zed currently I have runflats on the front and non runflats on the rear.

You get problems when you have a mix on the front or a mix on the rear. Same axle is fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom