impulse buy, I hope I chose right, Opinions?

[GREENMOBSTER]

Out on a whim I just bought some tires for my new wheels, and did absolutely no research on tires. These are the tires I bought:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Direzza+Sport+Z1+Star+Spec&partnum=14WR7Z1SS&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

I hope I just didnt make a $570 mistake. There is an $80 rebate on these, thats why I bought them, but they look like decent tires. Opinions?

[GunnerNell]

I'm no expert, so you should await responses from the guys who know. But you seem pretty anxious, so let me at least put your mind at ease. From what I've been reading you've bought fairly good tires that should give you good service. I think (not sure) these were part of a TireRack comparison recently, and while they did not come in first, or perhaps not even 2nd or 3d, they performed well overall. It's just that they were up against some heavy, and more expensive, competition. Good luck; I think you'll like 'em.

[Gatekeeper]

Star specs are one of the best tires for the buck... but why did you get 215's?

[Gatekeeper]

Star specs are one of the best tires for the buck... but why did you get 215's?

[GREENMOBSTER]

Because i want tires to fit my Mitos and not have to raise my car up. If i dont like the size ill sell and get bigger. If i tracked the car or other id have bought bigger. I drive tje car twice a week.

[BenFenner]

You lucked out on getting great tires.

[scooper]

those are supposed to be really good tires for the first 10-15k miles. I think they only last 20k miles tops. At 10k miles they're supposed to be noisy but then again they're max tires. Enjoy the ride!

[GREENMOBSTER]

I drive the car 15 miles per week so in guessing these are gonna last awhile.

[D. Hitchcock]

Excellent all around summer tires. I'm on my second Daily Driver set on my e30.

Happens to be one of about four or five competitive street tires for SCCA's Street Touring Autocross classes.

d.hitchcock

[GREENMOBSTER]

Well I guess my impulse buys are good bec ause I bought my mitos on a whim not knowing anything about wheels. Just thought they would look good on my e36 m. Come to find out they are one of the best looking wheels for an e36m

[montaillou]

These are very good summer tires. Just put on my second set and I do research before I buy.

Had considered going with another manufacturer just to try another tire but when you compare price and performance these just win out. That said, if I didn't live in a climate known for rain I might have tried another tire as I feel that there are several tires of comparable ability in dry but not so many that do as well in dry & wet.

As for mileage: My first set had about 20k miles when I changed them. They still had about 3/32 to 4/32 tread left and if one was of the notion to be more frugal I probably could've gotten another 3k - 5k out of 'em.

[Gatekeeper]

Because i want tires to fit my Mitos and not have to raise my car up. If i dont like the size ill sell and get bigger. If i tracked the car or other id have bought bigger. I drive tje car twice a week.

Sorry, didn't mean that to sound confrontational, didn't know the situation so I questioned it. but yes, those are great tires and if you drive that amount, they'll last you a couple years

[GREENMOBSTER]

No problems man, im getting heat for the tire size but ultimately its my vehicle and I dont want to raise it up. You didn't come off as confrontational at all. No worries :)

[m3cliff]

I've loved two and half sets of star specs.
The noise is better than most tires in their category.
Their wet grip and manners are best in their category.
Wear is about the same as most of these types of tires, but then if you wanted great wear then you're looking at the wrong category of tires.

I'm not sure I'd want to use a 215, but if you have to you have to. I've run 235/40-17 and 245/40-17s all around but I preferred the 245's.

I think you'll like the response, grip and overall handling of them, but don't expect 20k (If you get close to 20K you are using them very easily and could get less expensive and longer wearing tires).

Good luck.

[lithium726]

FWIW, my rears (245/40) were shot (and by shot I mean the belts were visable) after about 12k miles.

Fronts still had a good amount of tread. I would say you'd get 15-18k out of a set if you rotate and drive aggressivly.

[garzabemer]

You might have a bad rear bushing which is causing u to eat up the tire. Check ur bushings, they are some of the neglected parts that ppl overlook

Also u may have excessive negative camber which most bmws tend to have that. Camber arms will fix that. A friend of mine had a 2001 330I coupe with 18in Beyern wheels. 255/35/R18 in the rear. The inside of his tire was eaten up. But he said he liked the way the car looked with wheels bowing in. Do u know how to install camber plates in the front? I have a 93 318is coupe with bavarian autosport coil-overs and 17in M-Sport wheels. 225/45/R17 in front and 245/40/R17 rear. A shop wants to charge me $100 to install the plates. Should I let them do it instead of doing it myself?