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Thread: Street Tire Choices - HOT

  1. #1
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    Street Tire Choices - HOT

    I'm looking for some DD street tire recommendations. I live in the Palm Springs area where it seldom rains and can reach 120 degrees in the coming few months.

    Having recently spent thousands bringing my 1999 back to life, I'm looking for somewhat of a value tire rather than popping $650 on some Michelin PSS's. But I do want to enjoy my new car.





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  2. #2
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    $650 is pretty much par for the course. Get the Michelin PSS or 4S. You aren't gonna save more than $50-100 max by cheaping out since the mid-range tires are nearly as expensive, and those are great summer tires which would be fantastic where you are. As for temperature, it doesn't really matter. You aren't tracking it so you won't be getting it hot enough to melt the tread just from street driving, even if it's 120F.
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  3. #3
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    I like the Bridgestone Potenza S-04

    https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...sition/p/36228

    I'd also look into these Continentals...
    https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e&autoModClar=

    I wouldn't cheap out too much on tires... you get what you pay for in performance/longevity in a way. And your car will be far more enjoyable on a good tire than some cheap one with bad performance. On a car with sharp reflexes like an M3, you really feel the difference.
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  4. #4
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    Square or Staggered

    Can you educate me as to the pros and cons of each approach? Obviously if square, you can rotate which should help longevity...also obvious is the fact the car wasn't designed that way.

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  5. #5
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    its confusing. on my 95 ltw with oem wheels we went from staggered tires to squared. on my 98 3/4/5 we put 17 inch bbs wheels on with staggered tires.

    id be lying if i said i understood why - i never go to the track, as you can tell

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by jprottas View Post
    Square or Staggered

    Can you educate me as to the pros and cons of each approach? Obviously if square, you can rotate which should help longevity...also obvious is the fact the car wasn't designed that way.

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    Easy, if you have the OEM staggered wheels (17x7.5 front, 17x8.5 rear), get the 225/45 and 245/40 staggered tires. If you have a square set of wheels that are 17x8.5 or 17x9, go for a square 245/40 setup.

    For street use there's not a big difference. Gas mileage will actually be a bit better with staggered because of the skinnier tires up front to push around. The main benefit of going square is to even out the grip front/rear to make the car balanced and less prone to understeer. Yes you can also rotate tires front to rear, but unless you run excessive camber/toe that shouldn't matter too much on the street. Personally, I have a staggered set of all seasons on my OEM wheels, and then a square set of 17x9's with summer/track tires on them for the 5 months or so of the year when it's consistently above 50F here.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


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    There's a famous saying that goes something like:

    "Be mindful of what comes between you and the Earth; always buy good shoes, good tires, and good sheets."

  8. #8
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    i live in Alabama and i am using Hankook Ventus V12s they are great. its been a year and they drive really good.
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    Quote Originally Posted by jprottas View Post
    I'm looking for some DD street tire recommendations. I live in the Palm Springs area where it seldom rains and can reach 120 degrees in the coming few months.

    Having recently spent thousands bringing my 1999 back to life, I'm looking for somewhat of a value tire rather than popping $650 on some Michelin PSS's. But I do want to enjoy my new car.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
    When running normal camber I got over 30k miles from PSSs.

    They may cost more, but they will last longer than anything even close to their levels of performance.

    From a long-term running cost perspective, they're one of the cheaper tires on the market until you start really buying cheapo garbage tires. Which would detract from the "enjoying" you mentioned.

    I know PSSs aren't THE BEST you can get, but they're close and in my experience last dramatically longer than anything even close to them.

    And $650 is a GREAT deal on them, btw.

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  10. #10
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    Sumitomo HTR Z III are good alternatives to pilot sports in my experience. About the only downside, they're slightly louder. Grip wise, I couldn't really tell a difference.

    https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...odel=HTR+Z+III

    Pilot Sports are overrated in my view. They're no where near as grippy as competition tires, and only marginally or not any grippier than other summer tires.

    Your $650 price, is that out the door (mounting and balance) or just the tires? If out the door, that's a really good price; I would buy PSS tires in that case.
    Last edited by earthwormjim; 04-24-2018 at 12:57 PM.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by blckstrm View Post
    When running normal camber I got over 30k miles from PSSs.

    They may cost more, but they will last longer than anything even close to their levels of performance.

    From a long-term running cost perspective, they're one of the cheaper tires on the market until you start really buying cheapo garbage tires. Which would detract from the "enjoying" you mentioned.

    I know PSSs aren't THE BEST you can get, but they're close and in my experience last dramatically longer than anything even close to them.

    And $650 is a GREAT deal on them, btw.
    +2. I have a non-staggered set on both my 99 M3 and 04 M3. Likely one of the best all around street tires. Amazon is getting $710 for a set of 245/40-17.
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    Those Sumitomo HTR Z III mentioned look like a good value to me. A street only car I would try those.

    Staggered is fine on the street my car felt fine to me till I took it to the track and was at or above the limit then they had to go.

  13. #13
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    These get a good rating on Tire Rack...Firestone is owned by Bridgestone I believe...

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C8YUN3Y...v_ov_lig_dp_it
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gene V View Post
    These get a good rating on Tire Rack...Firestone is owned by Bridgestone I believe...

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C8YUN3Y...v_ov_lig_dp_it
    I came back to this thread to post these exact tires...

    They are rebadged Bridgeston R005's from overseas. Given how happy I've been with my Bridgestones, I don't think these would be a bad choice at all. And very much in the op budget. That said PSS for $650 isn't bad at all.

    https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1280922
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    Quote Originally Posted by earthwormjim View Post
    Pilot Sports are overrated in my view. They're no where near as grippy as competition tires, and only marginally or not any grippier than other summer tires.
    They're some of the better 300TW performance summer tires you can buy, and generally not too expensive. Sure, they don't compare to the stickier more track-oriented 200TW tires like the Hankook RS4's that I have (or Dunlop star specs, RE71R's, etc...), but they will also give a smoother and quieter ride, last way longer, and don't degrade in cold temperatures. I strongly discourage anyone from putting 200TW or lower tires on a car which is only driven on the street, unless money is no object.
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  16. #16
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    Basically don't buy a 200tw tire just to say you have it. Only buy them if your going to use them. Basically they are for high power or track days etc. I had a set of PSS, they are great, I got just under the 30k mile life out of them. Maybe 25k but I drove extremely aggresive (tail of dragon etc). Would buy them again. Also will add that they are simply the best rain summer tire too, never had issues until past the wear bars. Anything below 20 degrees rendered them useless too.
    Last edited by Mklock; 04-24-2018 at 06:30 PM.

  17. #17
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    A set of PSS is well worth the $650. They're very grippy for street tires, and they last quite a while. Best overall tire I've ever owned.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    but they will also give a smoother and quieter ride
    This is important on Southern California roads.

    I like Pilot Super Sports because they grip well and ride well in all conditions I've encountered in SoCal. They do thump a little harder than other tires over expansion joints but for most inputs they're well-damped- you don't have the skittishness from mid-corner bumps that some of the other ultra-high-performance summer tires have.

    The Continental ExtremeContact Sport has good ratings, especially for ride quality. I have no experience with them. You should be able to get them for around $570/set.

    America's Tire has a set of PSS in 225/245 for $634 and they have a $70 mail-in rebate when you buy four tires, so your tire price would be $564 plus tax, mounting, and balance.
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  19. #19
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    You get what you pay for in tires generally - grip, wear, turn-in, braking, etc. Michelins last the longest by far. I like Michelin, BFG (sister co of Michelin), Bridgestone, Conti, Pirelli, maybe Yoko and General (sister co of Conti) and Dunlop (sister co of Goodyear). For a DD tire I like the all seasons as they last longer than summer tires with less noise. Riding on Michelins now. Read the reviews on Tirerack and look at all the specs of the tires. The Sumitomos are super narrow while the BFGs are super wide.

  20. #20
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    I think the PSS are a little over rated. I have run them on my 08 535xit and my 08M3. I think the ECS are a good value. Not far enough behind the PSS to notice, maybe a little more comfortable, just about as lightweight, and cheaper. That said, I might try P4S on the 08M3 next. But the 08 535xit may get another set of ECS.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
    I think the PSS are a little over rated. I have run them on my 08 535xit and my 08M3. I think the ECS are a good value. Not far enough behind the PSS to notice, maybe a little more comfortable, just about as lightweight, and cheaper. That said, I might try P4S on the 08M3 next. But the 08 535xit may get another set of ECS.
    What about treadlife?

    I understand there are better 200 TW tires, and I understand there are cheaper 300TW tires that are almost as good, but the Michelins are the only ones I'm aware of that come with a mileage guarantee (because they do actually last).

    -Josh: 1998 S54 E36 M3/4/6 with most of the easy stuff and most of the hard stuff. At least twice. 271k miles. 1994 E32 740il with nothing but some MPars. 93k miles.

  22. #22
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    My last set of Pilot Sport 2's (predecessor of PSS, and very similar tire) lasted between 25-30K miles on the street, and that included at least 3 track days on them as well. For street use they should be good for over 30K miles consistently, which is great for a tire which performs as well as it does.
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  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by blckstrm View Post
    What about treadlife?

    I understand there are better 200 TW tires, and I understand there are cheaper 300TW tires that are almost as good, but the Michelins are the only ones I'm aware of that come with a mileage guarantee (because they do actually last).
    I did not get 30k out of PSS on either the 08M3 or 08 535xit.

  24. #24
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    I know my dad's 2008 M3 eats tires as well. I imagine an E36 with less power and weight should be a bit gentler in general, though it depends a lot on alignment as well.

    Excessive toe+camber will kill any tire. What I see often is people running more negative camber than stock, but they never bothered to reduce their toe from the stock settings which are deliberately high toe-in (in front) to make the car easier to handle in varied conditions on the street. In the rear you want toe-in, but if you lower your car and don't have adjustable lower arms you can end up with more camber than you want. Both these cases drag the tire shoulders and can cause a lot of wear.
    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 04-25-2018 at 06:24 PM.
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