Tyre Advice(ditch RFT)

E

ell_p

Member
 Portsmouth, England
After getting a bit fed up with my runflats on my zed for reasons such as they are heavy and seem to follow the camber in the road which isnt a nice feeling my question is will changing all tyres make a lot of difference to the handling of my car?
I can speak of my experince on my bmw mini of changing to a runflat which did follow the cambers more but in the zed it is a bit twitchy at high speeds.

If you all suggest that this is a good idea then what tyres are best not only for handling but look good as well???

I have the runflat Bridgestones on at the moment which are rear 255/35/18 and on the front 225/40/18.

I really hope your comments will make this a worht while thing to do :driving:
 
There are loads of threads about changing if you do a search you will have all your questions answered.

The general view seems to be change to non RFTs for under £400 and enjoy the ride :thumbsup:
 
I have a set of Good Year Eagle F1 Asymmetric on my Z since a couple of months, i'm perfectly satisfied with them.
The weather here is extremely cold since the beginning of the week (we reached -10° C wednesday with snow), and the tyres behave perfectly well.
Of course, i did not drive IN the snow, just on cold roads... :p
 
What i'd like to know from anyone that's removed the RFTs, does it stop the tramling issue or is this just a trait of the Z4 set up? Apart from tramlining i'm very happy with the standard RFT set up.
 
*AL* said:
What i'd like to know from anyone that's removed the RFTs, does it stop the tramling issue or is this just a trait of the Z4 set up? Apart from tramlining i'm very happy with the standard RFT set up.
Click to expand...

Mine no longer tramlines... just a different brand on RFT though :D
 
*AL* said:
What i'd like to know from anyone that's removed the RFTs, does it stop the tramling issue or is this just a trait of the Z4 set up? Apart from tramlining i'm very happy with the standard RFT set up.
Click to expand...

It doesn't stop the tramline but it does make a huge difference.

The car now mostly goes in the direction that I want it to go. :thumbsup:

It will be the best £400 you can spend on your car.
 
I only swapped to Falkens mid week and due to work have been unable to put any significant mileage on them to scrub them in, or to experience any fast dual carriageways for tramlining.

Having run on OEM Bridgestones for near 2 years I can tell you already that it's certainly the best £400 I've spent on the Zed and it already feels like I have a new car under me just in the first 50 miles of mixed driving. No crashing and banging on potholes and ridges, smooth and 'pointy'

I will report more after I have some miles but there are dozens who have switched and all swear by them.
 
hmmm thanks for the replies, certainly seems to be a good idea soon i go for some falkens then or can anyone recommend the best to get, i hear alot of people talking about michilin ps2?? :?
 
I agree with the consensus. Lose the run flats. We all have our favorite non-run flats. I am on my second set of Goodyear DS-G3's and I do like them. One problem you might have is that the 255/35-18's do not seem to be available at this time. I simply went with the 265 for my second set of non-run flat rears. No problem.
 
ell_p said:
hmmm thanks for the replies, certainly seems to be a good idea soon i go for some falkens then or can anyone recommend the best to get, i hear alot of people talking about michilin ps2?? :?
Click to expand...

I have the PS2s and I certainly love them dearly compared to the Bridgestone RFTs. I have no regrets whatever about what I spent on them - especially compared to the cost of replacing one of the RFTs. So far I have never seen a post from someone who has both 1) ditched the RFTs for either the PS2s or the Falkens and then 2) worn those out and purchased the other brand and given us a comparison.

The end result is that both camps of tire fan clubs are having a great time since we dumped the RFTs and there is no useful review we can offer about what non RFT is The Greatest(TM) alternative. We can just both say we love the results.

:yeah:
 
I changed to Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics some time ago and am very pleased I did. I'd read a tyre tesy using a 3 Series in which they came out top. Tramlining is very much reduced, steering is more positive, if slightly heavier. Ride is much smoother using standard pressures.

I had GS D3s for a little while on my E46 and liked them. I have read though, that they have a softer tyre wall, have had some issues with distortion, and grey imports from China - whether the last two issues are related, I don't know. Given they're not a massive amount cheaper than Asymetrics, might as well stick with them.

I've not tried Falken's but they're very popular.

Btw, I found my local tyre fitting firm as cheap as online though he did warn me of the risk of damage to the rims when removing the rfts (4 year old). It was difficult but ok. Worth remembering when you choose where to go.
 
As has been said the Falken 255/35s (rears) seem to be unavailable. Not sure why.

I have the Toyo Proxes. The ride is much improved and the tramlining minimised. They cost me about £500 and look and grip fantastic 8)
 
What is the tyre life like FK452 > PS2...

On a different car I've often found budget > premium high performance tyres often improve in life more than anything else, so ultimately can work out cheaper.

The benefit of replacing cheaper tyres more often is that you always have newer tyres on the car, and if one gets damaged it is cheap to replace!

I'm very interested in seeing what mileage people get from them. My brother is getting some for his ST Mondeo as they are such good value (same as Z4 fronts iirc)

Dave
 
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