which tyre to get???

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

Hmm.. been having a bit of difficulty choosing what tyres to run on the M3 and have come up with a few options, but am after a little help. Everywhere I call tells me their tyre is the best performer and so I go round in circles.

I'm looking for a pretty high performance tyre that will be mainly for 'dry road conditions' and have heaps of grip.

Id like to know the performance of each tyre, and if it's worth paying $x amount more for a tyre, or if the performance of each is pretty much on par with the others. Any feedback from personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

All tyres are 215/40/17 - to go on 17x8.5 rims

A ) Bridgestone RE001 - $290ea

B ) Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (price unknown)

C ) Goodyear Eagle F1 - $220ea

(any other sugestions??)

Cheers,

Laurence

Edited August 28, 2008 by Old_Skool_Bmw

[Apex 693]

I have had all three, and would defiantly go with the Dunlop’s. The Goodyear’s are very good in the wet but are let down by their nosiness compared to the other two. Much of a muchness though really.

[Apex 693]

The Dunlop Direzza DZ101 are also very good.

[E30-323ti 66]

Hmm.. been having a bit of difficulty choosing what tyres to run on the M3 and have come up with a few options, but am after a little help. Everywhere I call tells me their tyre is the best performer and so I go round in circles.

I'm looking for a pretty high performance tyre that will be mainly for 'dry road conditions' and have heaps of grip.

Id like to know the performance of each tyre, and if it's worth paying $x amount more for a tyre, or if the performance of each is pretty much on par with the others. Any feedback from personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

All tyres are 215/40/17 - to go on 17x8.5 rims

A ) Bridgestone RE001 - $290ea

B ) Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (price unknown)

C ) Goodyear Eagle F1 - $220ea

(any other sugestions??)

Cheers,

Laurence

I don't like the bridgestones, they run 'skinny' to suit the 'dress-up' market and we don't get the good RE01R's here, just the big jump upto the RE55s.

Dunlop SP Sport Maxx would be my pick of the above, but from memory are quite $$

Goodyear, is that the same as the GS-D3, if so, no thanks.

Last I bought were Conti Sport Contact II's (245/40), and I loved them, they are a lot quieter than the Japanese tyres, and they stuck well.

OT, but IMHO 215/40 on a 8.5" rim is too stretched to get the 'best performance' out of a tyre.

A 235/40 would be a better fit for the width or if the rolling Diam. is too much for you, consider a 245/35.

I have wide* 225/45 RE070's on 8.5" & 9.0" rims and would consider them borderline on the 9's and perfect fit on the 8.5's thats on the E30 btw.

*wide = wider than a 245/40 and almost the same tread width as a 240/625 slick

My 2c for the day

ps. As Apex said, the DZ101 is an option, great value for the money, I got some for the wifes car 215/45 R17 were $190ea.

pps.

In this pic the E30 has 215/45's on 8" rims (Bridgestones), it's hard to see but they are quite stretched.

Wider rim & lower profile wouldn't be good.

Fine for a piece of... Nissan Laurel Drift Hack which no one gives a... about, but please not on a +$50k E30 M3

[/End ranting, Sorry]

Edited August 28, 2008 by E30-323ti

[Apex 693]

Yep, the Dunlop Sport Max were running at over $500 each for 18’s when I got a set and to be honest were overrated for the vehicle I stuck them on, the Direzza’s would suit the M3’s power and weight nicely.

Continental are good but on last sett I had the fronts wore out and failed a WOF after 9,000km!

GS-D3 were rated best tire two years running when independently tested by wheels magazine.

[JiB 0]

Have used all three. I'd rate them:

Sportmaxx

Adrenalin

Eagle F1's

But the Adrenalin's were the quietest, and if you commute more than spirited driving then go for the Adrenalins, they handle poor roads better than the Sportmaxx's too.

EDIT: Just realised it's an E30, if noise is not an issue then try the Hankook z212. If noise and money isn't an issue then Yokohama AD07's. You'll need to speak to an importer about these though.An equivalent in Bridgestone is the RE01R's, again, you'll have to speak to an importer about these.

Edited August 28, 2008 by JiB

[zenetti 0]

The new Eagle F1 Assymetric arrives here in the next month, it has been getting rave reviews around the world. I can check it out at work tomorrow to see when they arrive if you like. I also have alot of Sport Maxx tyres in stock, when you have decided on the exact size you want let me know and I will work out a deal for you and you can pop in to our Wgtn branch.

PS what size tyres are OE on the E30 M3?

PPS have you thought about Toyo's?

Edited August 28, 2008 by zenetti

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

OEM for the M3 was 205/55/15 - 606.5 diameter, 1905 circumference.

Laurence

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

I'd like to get the Sport Maxx but don't think that they do the right size (rolling circumference).

Only thing I can find with same rolling size is 245/35/17 in Eagle F1 (product code: 4039057).

How would that tyre size go on an 8.5" mag??

Do you stock these at your store?

Laurence.

[JiB 0]

215/40R17 will also go well on a 17x8.5. It's a more common size and same rolling diameter.

[Creaver 55]

215/40R17 will also go well on a 17x8.5. It's a more common size and same rolling diameter.

"All tyres are 215/40/17 - to go on 17x8.5 rims "

[Mike 1]

245/35 is fine on that size rim, probably better than the 215's. IMO if you've got the width why not use it

Edited August 28, 2008 by Mike

[Guest Simon*]

IMO if you've got the width why not use it

+1

[bravo 34]

I have Sport Maxxs on my e30. My second set, so yes, I think they are very good. I think they set me back less than $200 a tyre (205/45/17).

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

Thanks heaps for the help guys

I think i'm going to be pretty limited as to what tyre I get if I keep the overall circumference the same.

Sport Maxx, Toyo or Yokohama would be nice but problem is they don't make them in the right size

Laurence

[kiwi535 538]

Thanks heaps for the help guys

I think i'm going to be pretty limited as to what tyre I get if I keep the overall circumference the same.

Sport Maxx, Toyo or Yokohama would be nice but problem is they don't make them in the right size

Laurence

i think "the right size" can vary a little bit,esp considering most speedos read low any way.So if you get a slightly higher dia you will be nearing the correct speedo reading...I think you also need to consider a more common size laurence.You dont want to be stuck in say gisborne on new years eve because you can t get a relatively uncommon size...235 45 17 is a common size.What is the "plus two" fitting for the original tyre size zenneti??

[JiB 0]

I just thought because the M3 is not awfully heavy and it doesn't have all that much torque, fitting a really wide tyre could be detrimental?

Even with a skinnier tyre, the contact patch size would remain the same - only the shape changes. But a wider tyre will cause more rotational drag because of the shape of the contact patch and would also be heavier.

But hey, I'm no expert. I only speak from my playing with tyre sizes on my old car which was a low torque, high powered NA as well.

@ E30-323ti, A 215/40R17 is rated for a 17x8.5, so it is technically not stretching the

@ Creaver, I was replying to Old Skool Bmw's post regarding the 245/35R17's

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

Kiwi535.. after checking with a few people today I did find out that 245/35/17 is only avaliavle in 1 type of tyre which has now been discontinued..

Might lean towards a 235/40/17.. they are bringing the new Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetic tyre out in this size.

It's a little bigger RR but only 2.1% bigger.

Laurence

[bravo 34]

Well within WOF spec.

[zenetti 0]

215/40R17 or 245/35R17 are the 100% correct upsize tyres, but as mentioned the 245/35/17 is getting quite hard to find. laurence seems to have done all the hard work for me . I was actually going to suggest going to a 235/40/17 if you wanted something slightly taller but have been beaten to the punch. The F1 assymetric is at the top end of the price tree but will still be well under $300 a tyre

cheers

Johno

[Old_Skool_Bmw 0]

just to update this thread..

After checking out a number of tyres I've decided to go with the TOYO R888 235/40/17 all round.

225/45/17's would have been a little more ideal but were pushing the 5% threshold allowed so staying with the wider/flatter tyre.

Hmm.. might pay to fit an oil baffle to prevent oil starvation on sharp corners with these puppies

Will try to get pics posted in the next few weeks once they are fitted.

Laurence.

Edited September 24, 2008 by Old_Skool_Bmw

[Silver Fox 43]

Same tyre we use in the Race series on the E30's.

Would highly recommend as a track come road tyre, stick really well, wet or dry, and we drove to manfield on them as well with no problems.

[Mike 1]

any idea on how bad the wear is for normal road driving?

[Silver Fox 43]

Not really, we get a full season on the track out of ours, including to and from meets, and track days and testing. Roughly 400 laps at 3k's per lap, so about 1200 k's of race use. Your tyre man should be able to help, Jonno?

Must admit, they're slicks by then tho.

Edited September 24, 2008 by Silver Fox

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

I don't like the bridgestones, they run 'skinny' to suit the 'dress-up' market and we don't get the good RE01R's here, just the big jump upto the RE55s.

Interesting, because my local guy just quoted me $250 fitted each for new RE01-R's in 205 50 R15

Ive found a few sets second hand on TradeMe and theres some pretty new looking ones on random cars at the various car dealers