M roadster tire frustration

[tistan]

I'm so frustrated trying to buy new tires. Either I find a really good sale on one size, then the other size is full price, or one size is in stock and the other is out of stock. I've spent 3 hours so far trying to find tires. I may end up trying the Nexen sur4 just because they are in stock for both sizes. I don't really want to break the bank on price because I am replacing a set of michelins with about 60% tread remaining due to dry rot.

[328 Power 04]

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...rue&vid=005608

[zellamay]

I did a lot of reading and chose the Continental ExtremeContact Sport. It's the new one that just came out in 2017. Seems you can get all sizes. Discount can get them, even thought they're not advertised on their site. About $200/tire by the time you add it all up. All I can say is that they grip like glue. I removed BF Goodrich GForce tires, which were old and worn, and the difference was amazing. With the BFGs, the tail would slide out at 3/4 throttle. It was fun, but a little scary and definately reduced my ability to exit a corner compared with the Contis. With these tires, it slides very controllably at full throttle only.

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[Mar48]

^ This

Hankook Ventus V12 are a cheap option from TireRack as well

[rf900rkw]

Sumitomo HTRZ3 . Under $100 a tire (before tax/shipping), last okay, stick really good, wet and dry. And has Z3 in the name. Win.

[e30topdown]

I buy tires from both Tire Rack and tires-easy.com. More and more I find the pricing better at tires-easy. I just priced a set of Hankook Ventus V12 tires (2- 225/45 17 and 2- 245/40 17) shipped to Savannah, GA, for $450.06. It includes "free" road hazard coverage.

At tire rack they were $480 shipped to your town. Or you could pick them up nearby at their Midway, GA, distribution center for $417. I run Michelin PSS on my M Roadster, and they are $640 if you pick them up yourself.

I have Nexen tires on my wife's SUV and my e30 and 318ti, but I'm not sure I'd put them on the roadster or the coupe. But I like them on my daily drivers and the e30.

[BimmerBreaker]

I have HTRZ3's on the M coupe and I dont love them when Im driving 9/10 - they squeel and moan and cry - but anywhere else they are good.

Best $$/performance compromise tire to me is the BF goodrich g-force sport. I think the original g-force sport is discontinued but they still make some in the g-force line. V12's are also great value tires but not the best in inclement weather, whereas the HTRZ3's and BF g-force can both handle wet roads reasonably well.

[KBH22102]

I bought staggered Michelin Pilot SuperSport in standard M sizes for $560 shipped and mounted at Costco (when they had their regularly scheduled $70 Michelin promotion).

[MRFAST]

If you have a Discount Tire or some other national outlet that is local to you, call them. They can often have the tire sourced and in their store by 10:00am the next day. It helps if you live in or near a large city that will have multiple stores. Even if they don't have them local they can often get them within 3 days.

[tistan]

I was trying to get the best bang for the buck. It seem the Nexen's are very similar to the hankook rs3 that are discontinued. I don't care about life of the tire, it will dry rot before It wears out. I am going to upgrade to 18" wheels next time around. I want a 5 star wheel with a lip because I think that is a trademark of the m roadsters. Since that doesn't seem to be the popular style, it is impossible to find in anything less than a custom set of wheels. That will have to wait until next go around as I also made an appointment to get my sub frame reinforcement done, which cost about the same as the custom wheels.

[Tim95M3]

Sumitomo HTRZ3 . Under $100 a tire (before tax/shipping), last okay, stick really good, wet and dry. And has Z3 in the name. Win.

This. I run these from onlinetires.com. $80 something a piece plus shipping, and they're great.

[tistan]

I ended up going with the Firestone Indy 500. They seem like a really good tire for the price. I should have them in the next few days and then I can give impression. I ended up with stock sizes because the 255 is back ordered everywhere.

[Mr Bingley]

I was trying to get the best bang for the buck. It seem the Nexen's are very similar to the hankook rs3 that are discontinued. I don't care about life of the tire, it will dry rot before It wears out. I am going to upgrade to 18" wheels next time around. I want a 5 star wheel with a lip because I think that is a trademark of the m roadsters. Since that doesn't seem to be the popular style, it is impossible to find in anything less than a custom set of wheels. That will have to wait until next go around as I also made an appointment to get my sub frame reinforcement done, which cost about the same as the custom wheels.

I'm sorry to hear the RS3 is discontinued--that's what I run and I love them. So long as you don't drive in wet conditions, or below 60 degrees or so, they can't be beat for stick per $. The V12's were good too, but the RS3's are better. I think I have two seasons or so left on them at 3K per year--with two seasons on them now, that's about 12k miles I expect out of them. If they're back on the shelves two years from now, I'll buy them again--they simply don't break loose--they don't even think about it.

[tistan]

More frustration on the way. I got my tires on Firestone Indy 500. I went with stock sizing because the 255 were sold out. To me the 245 seems a little narrow compared to the Micheline. The 225 look right. Next time I would probably go with a 255/40 out back and 225/45 up front. On the plus side, the tires stick like glue and are quiet. Now the frustration, I took it to one tire shop to mount and balance. I got there and hour after they said they would be done and they were just starting on the first tire. They were beating up the wheels pretty bad so I went to the manager and he decided they couldn't do it without more damage. I took it to Goodyear and explained that I already had on shop start to mess up the rims, and if they didn't have the right equipment I would take it somewhere else. I get back to the shop and they guys in the back were all too eager to help me load up. I wanted to check to make sure tires were correctly installed. I then notice a long 10" section of paint missing from the wheel. I also noticed instead of popping the center cap from the back, they just took a screw driver to it and gouged the paint. Then on the spokes they clamped something that gouged every wheel. I a paid $160 for mount and balance, which I thought was highway robbery, and got a complete screw up. Now I have to take the wheels back to them so they can send it to their guy to refinish.

[Mar48]

That's why I don't use the big chain stores for mount/dismount. They have people there that don't know what they are doing...

[Randy Forbes]

For around $180-$190, I have the local BMW dealer mount/balance the wheels/tires. In well over a decade (>10 years) not a single personal or customer's wheel has been damaged.

What's that worth to you?

Did it never occur to anyone that BMW might know how to handle BMW wheels; they don't want to be doing warranty replacements (or refinishing) on wheels all the time.

[Wertles]

That's too bad. I'm a complete rookie tire mounter/dismounter at my buddies shop on his equipment and although they were not the easiest tire to mount, I don't remember anything crazy or unique about mounting the tires. A little patience goes a long way.

[MartyBtoo]

For around $180-$190, I have the local BMW dealer mount/balance the wheels/tires. In well over a decade (>10 years) not a single personal or customer's wheel has been damaged.

What's that worth to you?

Did it never occur to anyone that BMW might know how to handle BMW wheels; they don't want to be doing warranty replacements (or refinishing) on wheels all the time.

I'm glad this has worked for you for all these years. A while back I tried going to the local BMW dealer to get the rear tires on my M Coupe changed; as soon as I told them that I wanted new tires on my Roadstars they declined to do the work and referred me to their outside tire service.

Marty

[tistan]

For around $180-$190, I have the local BMW dealer mount/balance the wheels/tires. In well over a decade (>10 years) not a single personal or customer's wheel has been damaged.

What's that worth to you?

Did it never occur to anyone that BMW might know how to handle BMW wheels; they don't want to be doing warranty replacements (or refinishing) on wheels all the time.

Simply put, Goodyear is a minute from my house, the BMW dealer is 30 minutes. It was more of a convenience factor, and I assumed the big chain specializing in tires would have top of the line equipment to prevent damage. By the way they pried my center caps, I would bet it was more user error than machine.

[pine1000]

I'm glad this has worked for you for all these years. A while back I tried going to the local BMW dealer to get the rear tires on my M Coupe changed; as soon as I told them that I wanted new tires on my Roadstars they declined to do the work and referred me to their outside tire service.

Marty

What is the difficulty in getting tires mounted on the rear roadstars?

BTW, I just called my local dealer (Hendrick BMW) and they quoted $30/tire to mount and balance tires from TireRack.

[rf900rkw]

You need to be smarter than the average tire.

[Randy Forbes]

What is the difficulty in getting tires mounted on the rear roadstars?

BTW, I just called my local dealer (Hendrick BMW) and they quoted $30/tire to mount and balance tires from TireRack.

For one, the wheels don't have a drop center, and large diameter/low profile tires aren't known for flexible sidewalls

[MartyBtoo]

For one, the wheels don't have a drop center, and large diameter/low profile tires aren't known for flexible sidewalls

Plus the not so minor detail that they have to be mounted with the outer flange in the tire machine clamps, which can make it very easy for an overzealous tire idiot to strip the finish off of them. I know this from experience!

Marty

[KeysCoupe]

Have you ever looked at the raised safety bead on the roadstars that the tire bead snaps over? Its assymetric, and there is a specific position where the installer is supposed to start the process from. Do you think the average tire-jockey has a clue?
-Donny

[cleanerPA]

Don't rear Roadstars have to be mounted on the machine upside down to work properly? Something weird like that. At least they are still replaceable. Do that on a Porsche Fuchs and you're "fuched"


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