Tyres Tyres

[Mike 1]

I haven't used the GSD3's yet but I only hear good things about them. I'm tossing up between them or t1r for my next set.

Edited March 25, 2007 by Mike

[dc2r 0]

I have a brand new set of Dunlop SP sport maxx, awesome tyres, rate along side Eagle gsd3's, check the FS section.

[allan 295]

running 17" 8j rims a stock type for a 530i I think, have michelin pilot preceda 235/45 r17 94v on the rear and yokohama advana- o46d 235/45r17 93w on the front bloody noisey on smooth seal the yoko's . looking for the impossible nice and quiet and don't wear out Ha Ha!!! have looked at pirelli, michelin, toyo, and goodyear plus others havent made any decision yet still gathering info and trying for prices as well thanks for the other type to consider

[bravo 34]

Running Sport Maxx's - good tyres so far. Previously had Dunlop SP 9000 DSST's (runflats) poor ride and awesomw handling, grip and turn-in.

When I put new Sport MAxx's on the Rear and worn SP 9000's on the front the rear went all loose and flighty. Swapped front to rear and problem went away. now the Maxxs have had a couple of hundred km on them they are fine on the back. Suspect if I had all four Maxx's it wouldn't have been an issue.

On an e30 205/40/17's $170ea incl. GST balanced and fitted. Point to note - I am also running excessive negative camber and get around 30,000km to a set.

Edited March 25, 2007 by bravo

[M325is 0]

Hi guys

I am new to this forum but can not believe that no-one has mentioned a Goodyear Eagle F1. Any reason for this? I am the sales manager for a wheel and tyre co, and we do a huge amount of work for car dealers in auckland. Most of our customers are european car yards and funnily enough about 60% of that is BMW work. We put the Eagle F1's on as many cars as we can, and we have not had one bad comment about them. They are a very quiet tyre, exceptional in the wet, and seem to last very well. In fact we are so confident about them we buy over 100 at a time!

Having sold both tyres, personal opinion ( and customer feedback) says that the Eagle F1 is better than the toyo. The sectional width of a toyo is very narrow compared to a goodyear. Don't ask me why, but if you put a toyo 235 and goodyear 235 side by side the goodyear is definitely wider, although in theory they should be the same size. Maybe this has something to do with the shoulder design?

I use Eagle F1 215/45/17 on my bimmer I drive reasonably hard, cornering etc rural/state roads. and I too believe these tyres are great! Brilliant in the wet also, they are quite sticky and dont like loosing traction as often as other tyres I have tried. They last about 20,000miles. Have had to get puncture repairs at least every few months as im terrible for not looking out for nails/screws/debri on the road but they just keep on going and going and going. So for $1000 I think thats bloody good!

[cainchapman 0]

I had the Goodyear F1 on the 540 and they were pretty good value for money. Worked ok in the wet. But chewed them out quickly cornering fast and tracking the car.

[M325is 0]

When I first put them on my car I drove to Taupo and raced a few times in a day, the tread started to get little balls of rubber forming on the edges and they handled very well, 20,000miles later and they are on the verge of replacement. So I think they are a very good allrounder.

[cainchapman 0]

Ah, but Deb has managed to get 15,000km out of 'R' compound tyres. And they perform much better. But they were twice the price too. And noisy.

[M325is 0]

Big difference between 15000km and 32000km.

[cainchapman 0]

Big difference between the weight of a toy 3 series and a V8 5 series too.

[zenetti 0]

Treadwear figures and ratings system is unreliable and out of date. Good sticky tyres with reasonable wear tend to be around 220 and AA traction rating,

Eagle F 1 is a tyre I would put in the mid range , not and Ultra high performance and directional behaviour on a BMW not the best. Cain may wish to comment as he had them on the 540.

Looked at the sport max as well but info I got put no par with T1 R and below SO 3

Perhaps I am being misunderstood.I wasn't suggesting that the treadwear figures are the be all and end all way to tell how good a tyre is or isn't. I was just suggesting that it is a nice and easy way for someone who does not know alot about tyres to get a comparison between brands.

eg Dunlop Sportmaxx has treadwear 240 Traction AA and temperature A

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 has treadwear 280 Traction AA Temperature A

so it would be reasonable to expect that a goodyear should last slightly longer.

It is simply a nice easy way to describe a tyre in layman's terms

[zenetti 0]

We have just put 97 rated P zero nero on the front of the E39 and they feel significantly better than the 93 rated that came off - time will tell.

The 97 and 93 you refer to is the load index, the higher the number the greater weight they are able to support. this is probably one of the reasons why they feel better.

Also new tyres will always feel better haha

[Shucks 0]

Kimmie -- does the P zero Nero come in 245-40-17 looking at a a staggered set up for my car or is the next size up from 235 a 255?

245 40 17 only comes in the Rosso or the Dragon, however we don't bring the dragon in to NZ as it doesn't have the DOT passing code.

Pirelli make a 235 45 17 or 255 40 17 in the nero and are available in NZ.

[Shucks 0]

I had Rossos when they first came out and they were fantastic but serious money and did not suit the car too well, I have changed the suspension set up to be almost identical to an M 3 (E36) so they may work now.

What would I expect to pay for 235 -40 - 17 fronts and 245- 40- 17 rears in Rosso now?

Also I find it ironic that you can not import the Dragon because it does not have the "DOT" code yet thousands of other people are importing second hand tyres that are only suitable for landfill and selling them to the public.

Yeah disgustingly true, we only do things the legit way, at the end of the day it's your life and our reputation and we like to keep those alive and well.

I wouldn't have a clue about retail pricing sorry we're the wholesaler only, what area in NZ are you from, I could point you in the direction of your local dealer?

[Shucks 0]

Steve and Murray at Shore Performance are awesome, I'd stick with them.

[kiwi535 538]

Wht about a Wellington Dealer,we have a freindly Dunlop guy,I used to use Warren Cain(s?) but he is in Aussie now(he recommended the GIII,s.Cain makes a good point,5 Series BMWs are heavy cars...

[lidistick 70]

http://www.eurotuner.com/techarticles/160_...uide/index.html

What a resource and such a long read.

Goodyear F1 GSD3 came out tops followed by Yokohama Advans.

[lidistick 70]

Agreed, but none of the opinions above (the posts) are based on any scientific measurement.

You run your tires at 36psi because subjectively they feel better. I run mine at 38psi because that's where they feel best.

At the end of the day, its bloody difficult to be totally objective with tires but its a good reference anyway. They did have some objective data especially braking distance for each tire so its there but not part of the verdict.

Cheers.

[zenetti 0]

P.S. depending on what you have (car wise) you might consider going up a wheel diameter size and down in profile to reduce your tyre pressures, I found I was losing too much damp/ wet traction at 38 PSI

I don't understand your logic here? going up a wheel size and reducing your tyre pressure? surely when you go up in diameter and the associated tyre profile ( aspect ratio) decreases you would increase your tyre pressure. Maybe I have just misinterpreted what you are trying to say.

As a general rule of thumb if you go from a 16" wheel with a 50 series tyre which most people run at around 32 - 34 psi up to an 18" wheel with a 35 or 40 series tyre you would increase your tyre pressure to 36 - 38 psi as the sidewall is so much less and you need the extra pressure to help prevent sidewall damage, pinch flats uneven tyre wear, etc.

ps: as a general rule of thumb we recommend running 45 series 17" tyres at 36psi on 5 series because as 3pedals said before they are a relatively big heavy car

Edited April 7, 2007 by zenetti

[lidistick 70]

3pedals, I have the same car as you do. E36 328i. Running 18x8" BBS RS. 225/40/18.

I've tried going lower than 38 but there's too much flex in the sidewalls, especially because I'm running Toyo Proxes CT01. Car does feel loose when road is wet/damp but i think its because of the tires and not because of the tire pressure. I regularly go up SH29 (Kaimai's - every weekend), and this is the best compromise. the handling of the car in the dry with 36psi was 'wooly'.

Probably need new bushes....... but that in itself is another thread

[lidistick 70]

The proxes CT01 are not the best. The side wall is too soft, but they are a cruising tire and not for NZ roads. I'll change tires when I get the opportunity but not yet.

I've just checked the tire size calculator and if I did go 225/35/18... its too low. My speedo will read too high. Ideal is 235/35/18.

I don't believe the tire is too narrow for the rim. I've checked and the recommended rim width is 7.5 - 9.0".

I too do not believe in the stretched tire look. But if you see it, its not stretched at all.

Cheers.

[zenetti 0]

Lidstick - you are correct in your tyre size calculations - we put a 225/40R18 on most E36's we do and a 255/35R18 at the rear if we run a staggered setup eg 8's at the front 9's at the rear. the tyre is not too narrow for the rim 8" is about 200mm. Also the CT01 is a touring tyre - designed for comfort and quietness - hence the softer sidewall.

If you were going to be pedantic about your speedo and gearing being out, think about this. A new tyre generally has 8mm of tread and a worn out tyre has say 1.5mm. In effect you have lost 13mm off the diameter of your tyre. That tread that has disappeared will affect the speedo, and gearing etc. Ever wondered why a police officer will generally give you about 10% leeway when clocking your speed.

3pedals - a lower profile performance tyre by nature is always going to be stiffer in sidewall construction than a higher profile tyre so I disagree with your point #3. show me a 35 or 40 series tyre with a 'softer' sidewall than a 50 or 60 series tyre. I also don't think comparing a tyre on your ute to a perfomance tyre is a true comparison. They are designed for toally different purposes.

I also said as a general rule of thumb MOST people and MOST people probably do drive their car to the dairy or to work or whre ever, and are happy to cruise along with factory recommended tyre pressures. We are not all PERFORMANCE ORIENTED drivers. Your opinions are valuable but at the end of the day they are just opinions much like mine and personal experience sets these opinions.

Hopefully they are all taken at face value and not as being a hard and fast rule.

[allan 295]

hello guy's having a good discussion are we. I asked for tyre info it seems to have gone beyond that point and so I wish to call it a day. I thank you all for your input. It is a large subject open to a lot of conroversey and IMO's. Have had a look in the manuel of the 530 and the pressures stated are for a vehicle with four adults on 235/45 r17 94w/y is 2.3bars or 33psi in the front and 2.8bars or 39psi in the back. for 5 adults and luggage 41 in the front and 48 in the rear. if that is what the manuals says who are we to disagree with the vehicle manufacture spec's.

[zenetti 0]

well done that man (3pedals) great to have a constructive conversation (albeit by web) with someone who doesn't get all uptight the moment their point of view is discussed. As allan said he wishes to put the matter to bed now, cheers

[Jazzbass 1]

I've learned that people like 3pedals really do know their stuff and although we agree to disagree on some points, such as gearboxes I greatly respect his knowledge. Therefore, I've learned to read posts from such people carefully and stow away the knowledge that I've gleaned from them accordingly.

However, each of us have different views and different needs and ways of doing things. For me, although in a fit of absolute stupidity I've found (some ridulous speed) on the speedo on the desert road recently, I 'normally' am a careful, law-abiding driver and my needs for my car are to be a comfortable cruiser. Since my needs are as a cruiser, my tyre wants are mainly around comfort and low road noise (I take great pride in having my car as quiet as possible). With that in mind, the last set I bought were Dunlop SP 3000s and they've fitted my bill perfectly. They're nice and quiet, give a comfortable ride (standard factory 16" weaves) and it looks like they're going to last more than my expected 2 years, so for me and my style of driving and my requirements - they're a good tyre. They still cost around $1200 fitted, balanced and wheel alignment etc. (I am of the school where a set of tyres is always accompanied by a full wheel alignment).

Are they good as a high performance tyre for you? Probably not, but I don't need that.

Maybe Alan doesn't either?

Edited April 12, 2007 by Carl