New Tire Time

[Tigershark48]

Time to replace the rubber?

Actually the treads look pretty good, but the tires are 1998 on the front and 1997 on the rear. I tried digging a fingernail into the surface and it was like pushing on a piece of hard plastic. Tires are Riken Raptors. Great looking pattern, especially mounted on the roadster.

Looking at Michelin Pilot Sport 4S based on multiple reviews. Not as sexy and a lot pricier than the Rikens, but much higher rating in most categories.

Opinions?

[Adker]

Bottom line on a tire selection is how do use the car, DD, track, or weekend tour. For a DD look at Continental's Grand Touring All-Season PureContact. Did a event at VIR with a student who ran these tire for his daily drive and for DE events (instructed group). I really liked how they performed, wet and dry.

[Potes]

I recommend getting those michelins

[rboehl]

Go to Tirerack and read there tests of various tires. The Michelin tires are great but pricey but there are others that are close in performance and can save you hundreds.

[Mr Bingley]

I agree, it just depends on how you use your car. But, when you say the tires are 1997 and 1998, do you mean they were manufactured in those years, or is that some other measure I am not familiar with?

[DimrBimmer]

I agree, it just depends on how you use your car. But, when you say the tires are 1997 and 1998, do you mean they were manufactured in those years, or is that some other measure I am not familiar with?

It reads as the tire manufacturing. Makes one believe that those are original tires. This almost makes one ask, how many miles on the car? If original tires of 20+ years still have thread on it...

[jclausen]

I have the Michelin premier a/s they have an excellent wear ratings and are summetrical whithmeans the inside and out side thread design are the same so they cam be flipped on the rim. And I drive my car home from work on this beautiful 8 mile curving road that I also ride my motorcycle on and the tires are really good wet or dry

[z3forlife]

I had new tires mounted and balanced yesterday. I ended up having the dealer do the work. I was skeptical if it would be worth the dealer shop rate but was pleasantly surprised that they solved a slight oscillation I had been fighting since I bought my M. I knew they balance at a higher speed and didn’t want to wait for another shop to fit me in. It was $165 well spent. I’ve had prior balancing done on hunter machines but no one else was able to get it right

[Tigershark48]

Lots of good advice which is the norm on this forum.

Answers to questions:
1. 2000 M Roadster
2. 20k original miles one owner in near perfect condition.
3. Riken Raptor ZR tires - 7/32” remaining tread depth
4. DOT Y97RN8R0 and Y98RN8R0 front and rear on each side of car.
5. Tread surrounding surface very hard almost plastic feel, cannot penetrate with thumbnail
6. Plan on summer weather pleasure touring stints approximately 75 miles/outing varied hills, curves, straight blacktop.

I can’t find any cross reference on the DOT numbers that clearly verify the year. I assumed 1997 and 1998 which does seem odd on a 2000 model car.

Given my future driving plan, this would likely be the only set of tires I buy. Reading various reviews, especially Tire Rack, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S appears to be the premier choice in all the categories I would benefit from. Smooth and quiet with topnotch traction.

Edit: I just found a Craigslist ad for a pair of used Riken Raptor XRs with a picture showing the date code after the DOT number. My tires do not have this code anywhere on them, inside or outside.

Picture:

[dadmog]

Put Pilot Sport A/S 3's on my 98 M Roadster last year, and loved them for all around use, mainly as DD. (This after having Dunlop OEM, Kumho , Goodyear F1, Yokohama) That said, put Continental DW06 A/S on my 330i recently and like them...quieter, slightly softer ride, but don't respond to steering inputs as crisply as Michelin.

[rkulman]

Just put Firestone Indy 500 tires on my 99 m roadster as per BimmerBreaker's recommendation. $500 out the door mounted and balanced plus a $40 mail in rebate. Went directly to Firestone. Not a track guy but like canyon driving. So far so good. Happy driving.

[Tigershark48]

Indy 500s are my second choice. Since I don’t need All-Season, the remaining top rated choices at Tire rack pretty much fall according to cost.

I have a query in with Tire Rack to help me age my present tires. I found out Michelin introduced the Riken Raptor ZX in 2005, so they still could be close to 14 years old. Obviously not 97 or 98 like I first speculated. They have a decent rating and are considered an especially good high performance tire for the money($300/set). They also look great on the Z. But, if they’re over 10 years old, they’re going to be replaced.

I’m confident a new set of Michelins and new poly subframe bushing should put the car on another level from where it is. Not that I’ll know the difference with only 80 miles of experience with it. When the upcoming driving season hits, I plan to have everything up to snuff.

I appreciate all the feedback here.

[gfish]

You can't go wrong with the Michelin's. Our new ride, a 2000 Z3 has brand new Michelin Pilot Sport on it. The ride is incredible. Our old car, a 2000 Z3 with 128K miles had an off brand...maybe Continentals??? Don't really remember. Anyway, the ride is totally different. Could be the poly subframe bushings...but I'm convinced it's the tires.

- - - Updated - - -

One more thing...I just priced the Michelin Pilot Sport and they are not really that pricey. I was surprised.

[Mr Bingley]

I can’t find any cross reference on the DOT numbers that clearly verify the year. I assumed 1997 and 1998 which does seem odd on a 2000 model car....Edit: I just found a Craigslist ad for a pair of used Riken Raptor XRs with a picture showing the date code after the DOT number. My tires do not have this code anywhere on them, inside or outside.

Ok, I feel better--Rikens aren't OE and all I knew was that your Z is an ///M, which means 1998-2002, so I was really puzzled as to how a 1997 tire got on there and is still on there. OE tires were likely replaced at 15K miles so the Rikens probably have 5K or so on them. What are your temps out there--they may soften up quite a bit when they warm up.

[Tigershark48]

gfish,
Michelin Pilot Sport are about $900 with install if ordered from Tire Rack. Pretty pricey.

MrBingley,
Temperature in my attached garage is around 50 F right now. During the summer outside peak temp pushes 90. So yes, they may soften up. If Tire Rack dates the Rikens under 10 years, We’ll give them a chance through June.

[Adker]

Date code in the picture, 2718. First two numbers are the week, second two are the year. Looks like the tire were made on July 2018, seem they were replaced before you purchased the car. If they were the original tires, they would be hard as a rock and down right dangerous to drive in cold/rain.

[BimmerBreaker]

10 years is still too old for a tire man... be careful if you decide to keep driving on those...

Now, my .02...
I run Riken Raptor ZR's on my E36 M3's - they are good handling when dry (not quite indy 500/michelin PSS levels) and more importantly for me with those cars - easy to do donuts in and cheap enough to not care about! They are not great in the rain though, but as long as you aren't trying to track your car in wet conditions, they are more than fine for wet street driving. For a very cheap throwaway option these are hard to beat

Indy 500's are my #1 choice though for cars I really love and drive hard. My Z3 S54 coupe and E39 525it are both on Indy 500's and my E36 M3 will be after the S54 swap is done as well

I think anyone who buys Michelin PSS or equivelent, without trying the Indy 500's, is a bit foolish For almost half the money, you get a tire that is 95% as good. The indy 500's are pretty new to the scene so I think a lot of people in the US are hesitant to try them or already have their favorite tires and don't want to stray. Tires tend to be one of those things - I've seen the same people here making the same recommendations for years before the indy's even existed here...

The Indy 500 is relatively new to the US but existed in southeast asia as the Bridgestone Potenza RE003 for yeaaaars. So they are already very reputable and well known tires in that area of the world. Firestone just started rebranding and importing them a few years ago.
Read a bit about em here: https://www.bridgestonetyres.com.au/...drenalin-re003

Tire tech has come a LONG way! For those still hooked on Michel Pilot Sports... maybe at least try to drive a car with indy 500's and see how they compare. Worst case scenario you like them and next time you buy tires you save a bunch of money...

Date code in the picture, 2718. First two numbers are the week, second two are the year. Looks like the tire were made on July 2018, seem they were replaced before you purchased the car. If they were the original tires, they would be hard as a rock and down right dangerous to drive in cold/rain.

That's not his tire, its an image he pulled from google showing the date stamp that he can not find on his tires

[gfish]

Hey Tigershark48...

$900 for the Michelin Pilot Sport? Sounds a bit high. I priced them at around $590. Then again, my Z3 might be a different size than your M3. Dunno.

Good luck.

[sijray21]

You can't really go wrong with the Michelin PS4S tires of you're willing to spend the money on them.

I have a set of General G-Max RS tires on my current 16" stock 5-spokes. They've been great so far, especially considering the under $80 price point. However I did order a set of aftermarket wheels and they're getting the PS4Ss mounted on them.

That being said, finding of date could be tricky. Any tires made in the year 2000 and later should have the date. I bet the code is somewhere. Check out this example where it is the 51st week in 2007

Looks like Michelin introduced the riken raptor zr model in 2005, so if these are your tires there should be a date code and '05 would be the oldest version of that tire model.

https://www.moderntiredealer.com/new...rformance-tire

[SunzOut]

Date code in the picture, 2718. First two numbers are the week, second two are the year. Looks like the tire were made on July 2018, seem they were replaced before you purchased the car. If they were the original tires, they would be hard as a rock and down right dangerous to drive in cold/rain.

Agreed, OP's current tires are only a year old.

[Tigershark48]

More good feedback. Thanks.

1. The date stamped picture is not my tire. It’s a different Riken Raptor I saw on Craigslist. My Raptors do not have any date stamp anywhere.
2. BimmerBreaker Thanks for the heads up on tire age, if Tire Rack can pin down what year my present tires are, I’ll have a better idea what to do. Five years or less, see if I like them. Pushing 10 years, replace. I would not replace with Raptors in spite of how much I like the looks. Tire rack price on Indy 500s is $500 and Pilot Sport 4s tires are $800. Installation on both is extra, of course. Something to think about. Both good tires.
3. gfish My car is a 2000 Z3 M Roadster, not an M3. My tires are probably the same size as yours. Where did you see them for $590? Tire rack has them for approximately $800. Installation will probably add around $100.
4. sijayray I understand the date stamp and it is nowhere to be found on my tires. Picture a tire with the date stamp never applied. That’s mine. I understand Michelin introduced the Riken Raptor ZR in 2005. And, yes, they should have the date code as you pictured, but they don’t. Weird. I appreciate your reinforcement for Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. All owner reviews are 5 star. Hard to argue that. Thanks.
5. SunzOut. The 2018 date stamped tires are not mine. They’re a picture from a Craigslist ad I copied as an example of how it should be date stamped. My tires do not have a date stamp like the picture anywhere on them.

[gfish]

Hello Tigershark48...

Walmart, $147 per tire, free shipping. You may find them at discount tire stores for less.

Good luck.

[pine1000]

I got Pilot Super Sports from Tire Rack and had them installed at my local dealer. They are great tires. If these are the only tires you will buy for the car why not go all out.

Be careful where you have them mounted. There is a specific procedure to mount tires on the rear roadstar rims. I printed out the instructions and supplied these to my local dealer and they still scratched one of the rims. You can see the details on page 59 of this PDF: https://www.weber.edu/WSUImages/auto...n%20Manual.pdf

[Tim95M3]

Indy 500's are my #1 choice though for cars I really love and drive hard.

I'm glad to hear this. I bought a set for my coupe just based off of pricing and reviews. They just showed up today from TireRack. Now I'm even more interested in getting them installed.

[Tigershark48]

Update on tire age:

Tire Rack replied and said without a date stamp, there is no way to date them. If the tread is hard in warm weather, they may be expired. If they’re gummy, they are likely fairly new and good to go.

In the meantime, I emailed the dealer I bought the car from that they were selling on consignment and asked if they knew the tires age. I got an immediate response stating the tires are presently 2 years old and his service techs wrote them up in their inspection report as being in excellent, like new condition. They also reported the fluids were fresh.

So, providing I’m satisfied with their performance, I won’t be replacing tires anytime soon. When I eventually do, I plan on going with the Michelin Pilot Sports.

Thanks for all of your responses.