E46 Motorsport rears

[red89mx 0]

Hi All

Had a flat this morning on the E46 330i msport and whilst additional air seemed to do the job have taken the wheel off to for inspection (can now drive to a tyre shop for new tyres). I am running the standard msport rear setup of 245/40/17's.

Removing the wheel I noticed tyre cracking (around the outside) that I had seen on pre-purchase inspection but conveniently forgot about for the past 3 months. See attached photo. Irrespective of any puncture/slow leak I assume that both rears will need replacing (both rears have the cracks - car was a fresh Jap import).

Have read the car and driver 05 review courtesy of a forum link (http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/tires/tire_test_the_quick_and_the_tread_comparison_test/(page)/1) and noted reviews from owners of the Nexen, Toyo T1R and P Zeros.

All existing tyres on the car are Continental ContiSport contact 2's, I note that these did well (only beaten by the Eagle F1's ) in the C&D review. Admittedly it was a performance orientated review and no comments were made re noise. Any reasons I should not continue with these? (note: have not priced them yet)

Driving style - I like to push country corners when conditions and the co-pilot allow, otherwise mellow. Interested in experience/suggestions for replacement tyres.

[JiB 0]

We use Potenza RE001's on our E46. But can only compare them to Pirelli's as haven't tried others. The RE001's are a lot quieter and there's heaps more confidence in both wet and dry. Can definitely recommend them, unfortunately I don't know what they retail for, so I'm not sure if they're value for money.

They were better in all areas than Toyo T1R's and Goodyear F1's on my old car if that's any help

[red89mx 0]

Thanks - in between posts doing some additional research.

Noted the wheels data from 07 (http://wheelsmag.com.au/Tyre_Test/Wheels+2007+Tyre+Test.html?open&template=domWheels&pagenum=2) Goodyear Easgle P1 PR indicate they won overall in the 18" large rear wheel drive class - although looks quite a close run thing.

What do you find better about them (Potanzas) than the Pirelli's?

The continentals are meant to be good in the wet.....but during the heavy rains 3 weeks or so ago driving from Coramandel to Wellington - the 330 aqua planed a lot. Put it down to wide rubber and rubbish roads, never been so keen to see coarse chip as I was that afternoon.

[JiB 0]

Much quieter and better response. Haven't had any problems with wet, huge water channels in RE001. I have never worn down F1's before, but friends have said they're next to useless when past halfway?

I reckon on the road you won't really be close to the limits on T1R's, F1's, RE001's, Yoko Advans, Conti's, etc. So maybe pick the one that best suits your budget? Though, I'd probably go for the Advans, RE001's or Conti's personally, I found the T1R's and F1's have too soft a sidewall for my liking.

My 2c

I'm sure Zennetti and other more knowledgable forum members will be along shortly.

[zenetti 0]

Tyres are such a subjective issue and we tend to go round and round in circles on this issue. What one person likes, another doesn't and everyone has had differing experiences. There are so many good brands out there it really is going to come down to your own personal experience. Directional tyres have reached their development potential so they really cannot improve on what is already out there. Asymmetric tyres are what all major manufacturers are going towards now as they offer 'tunability' and performance. The RE001 is definitely a great value for money tyre and is very quiet and offers great levels of grip.

[martyyn 2]

....we tend to go round and round in circles on this issue....

HAHAHA, Im here all week...try the fish

[Apex 693]

Went for a drive yesterday in the 328ci equipped with over half worn Goodyear Eagle GD F1’s and I can assure you they still work very nicely on a country back road.

I don’t like the amount of noise they generate and they provide a lot of feedback threw the steering wheel, this is great when going hard but annoying when cruising.

They have worn well, lasting 35,000km so far and have excellent wet weather grip. I would rate them as compromised, they lean to heavily towards performance and lack comfort.

Seems you’re looking for a good all-rounder, something that isn’t too focused on sports driving but isn’t going to squeal and slide on that favourite motorway onramp or roundabout.

Maybe have a look a Dunlop SP Sport 01, we had these on out Astra and I found them to be a great all-rounder, they could handle a good thrashing on a back road or track but still deliver a smooth ride and minimal noise. Best of all they lasted over 50,000km. They are expensive though.

[martyyn 2]

Maybe have a look a Dunlop SP Sport 01, we had these on out Astra and I found them to be a great all-rounder, they could handle a good thrashing on a back road or track but still deliver a smooth ride and minimal noise. Best of all they lasted over 50,000km. They are expensive though.

Here's an example of the subjective part of Johno's post. I had the SP Sport 01's on my e38 and I wasnt impressed at all. Quiet yes but for the money I expected them to last an awful lot longer than 18 months and only around 14k kms.

Johno's post made a lot of sense. Ask 12 people on here and you will get 12 different suggestions. Do some searching on this forum and do some overseas research if you really want to, but I havent driven anywhere else in the world that uses the course chip we have over here so Id take it with a grain of salt !

[Apex 693]

Subjective yes, that’s why I was recommending looking at a tyre that I had found good on a car the same size weight and power as his car.

I find it hard to believe they were the same, I have a mate that is still running two of his four after 60,000km, they are a recent tire from Dunlop, when did you have them?

I did four track days and lots of hard driving on mine and they were still fine after 40,000km.

[pjay 8]

+1 for Toyo T1R's.

Buy from Hyper tyres - around $160/ tyre

[Apex 693]

Here's an example of the subjective part of Johno's post. I had the SP Sport 01's on my e38 and I wasnt impressed at all. Quiet yes but for the money I expected them to last an awful lot longer than 18 months and only around 14k kms.

Johno's post made a lot of sense. Ask 12 people on here and you will get 12 different suggestions. Do some searching on this forum and do some overseas research if you really want to, but I havent driven anywhere else in the world that uses the course chip we have over here so Id take it with a grain of salt !

Looking at reviews you are correct, they appear to wear down quick in some applications?? I don’t get it because I found mine to be fantastic, I seriously give my tyres a hard time, much much harder than your average person and ours lasted what seemed like forever.

My mate Steve and I started joking about his because they refused to die! The Tires were standard fitment on the Astra SRI-Turbo.

T1R's are great, have them on the e30, they are wearing very very quickly though, I have already had them properly rotated (tire off LHF to RHR and vice versa) after 3,000km.. Very much a focused performance tire with a fast wearing compound.

If you can get them for $160inc in 17" you are doing well, thats less than wholesale

[pjay 8]

Yus they are made of a very soft compound. But at just over $600 all up for all for corners, I can afford that.

They are on trademe from Hyper for $180 ea, but if you go in directly they cost less

[zenetti 0]

Yus they are made of a very soft compound. But at just over $600 all up for all for corners, I can afford that.

They are on trademe from Hyper for $180 ea, but if you go in directly they cost less

Are you sure you have the right size? We get the same price as Hyper and they cost more to buy than the price you are quoting.

Unfortunately all the overseas reviews don't take into account our rather unique road surface here. As Martyn suggestes our coarse chip tends to wear tyres alot more aggressively than overseas roads.

Jumps off the merry-go-round

Edited March 22, 2009 by zenetti

[pjay 8]

Nah 205's

[red89mx 0]

Thanks all - agree tyres are a personal preference, seeking NZ usage on E46 BMW. Suspect that as JiB identified most of the mid to top tyres will do the same job on the road.

Have Toyo's on a 4x4 and am happy , but recently saw a full set of high end Toyo's trashed on a hard driven Celica GT4 within 12 months (mainly sidewalls and unrepairable punctures) so a little gun shy re their longevity.

As a former motorcyclist, well respect the ability of grippy soft tyres to save my life...but with four on the road happy to trade a little grip for wear and or quietness. Would like 25k road life and aiming at a $250 -$350 range.

Question - given the contisport fronts are still very good can they be retained if moving to a different set of rears, initial queries have the new contact2's in the $550 -$600 range each, seem a little steep based on reviews on this forum etc.

[red89mx 0]

Thanks all

Needed to make a decision and stop analyzing it to death. Had a chat to Johno (Mag&Tyre) very informative, thanks for the time.

Had decided to go with the RE001's when the local tyre guy near work offered me the new Asymmetric Eagle F1's for the same price. Given that they seemed to be in the next class seemed a good deal, apologies to Johno - like supporting folk who share knowledge.

3pedals - quite possible the car has been in transport/storage for a period and had under inflated rears. Picked it up from Auckland as fresh import late last year B4 effects of dollar dive came through. Cracks primarily on outer rim of rears only, noticed then during a hoisted pre-purchase inspection and mentally tagged to replace at a convenient time.......should have been priority pre MP3 changer and towbar.

Ordered b4 reading your comment on the Goodyears. Will see how they go, and if any significant negatives will post back. Thanks for the pointers - get shop to check suspension/rear alignment etc during process.

[ewie 0]

I'd be keen to see your feedback on the F1's.. my 02 318ti M-Sport arrived from Japan this week and I had a look at it as soon as it arrived at compliance.. among the things I wanted attneded to was the tyres.. they passed WOF.. barely IMO because the rears especially were starting to wear on the inner edges. I reckon I've got about 6 months life left in them.

I test-drove a 316ti Msport earlier in the week and the tyres the guy had put on it made it track like crazy.... not sure what they were but I'll try to find out.

[red89mx 0]

I'd be keen to see your feedback on the F1's.. my 02 318ti M-Sport arrived from Japan this week and I had a look at it as soon as it arrived at compliance.. among the things I wanted attneded to was the tyres.. they passed WOF.. barely IMO because the rears especially were starting to wear on the inner edges. I reckon I've got about 6 months life left in them.

I test-drove a 316ti Msport earlier in the week and the tyres the guy had put on it made it track like crazy.... not sure what they were but I'll try to find out.

F1's seem OK. Bit of noise on coarse chip (suspect this is no different to the previous). Have not had a chance to see how they track in heavy rain I suspect will not have the full story till I pony up and replace the unevenly worn contis from the front and have all 4 as F1's. Had a puncture last week, seems F1's not nail proof.......thankfully in the center and repairable.

Gave the car a good workout over the Paekakareki hill the other weekend and was very composed......still thinking about suspension mods but other priorities have taken the $$$ recently.

As a newbie on good performing tyres recommend you take good local guidance - I only got the F1's as priced the same as the RE001's I was looking at picking up. No science and until I try RE001's will not know if it was a good decision.

[tsamb 0]

My 530 is on 12 month old F1s at the moment. I've done 15000km in them and I can't complain. Before I bought them I read that they were a bit noisier than competitors, but I haven't noticed it -- it's waaaaaay better than the run down tyres that were on there before I got the Goodyears.

They look like they are wearing very well for 15000km, too.

I had originally wanted Dunlops, but couldn't find any anywhere in the staggered M Parallel sizes. (255/40, 235/45 R17)

[red89mx 0]

OK

Front tyres are ready for replacement - found a good gouge on sidewall today so need to be a priority this week.

Will look at putting the Goodyear F1's on front as well....wonder if the $$ has gone up since they did well in the Aussie test?

Rears have been wearing well with about 12 k on them.

Anyone had some reasonable F1 prices for 225/45 R17's recently?

[lidistick 70]

I got 4x Adrenalins for $209 incl for 235/45/17.

If you have read Motor mags latest tire test, same laptimes with the F1 Asymmetric. Equivalent or better dry cornering and slalom. marginally slower in wet slalom/corner and equal on brakes (dry).

So if you drive like a demon in the wet, get the F1.

[red89mx 0]

Ta

A quick review of what I could find was the following order.

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric

2. Dunlop SP SportMaxx GT

3. Continental SportContact 3

4. Maxxis Victra i-Pro

5. Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE001

6. Federal Supersteel 595

7. Marshal Matrac FX

Have not seen the article. Not against the re001 - they were my choice last time but F1 price was the same down here in Welly so went F1 on rears. If cannot get the F1 in 225/45/17 or too much $$$ will seriously consider the RE001's as do need a new set of front feet. Already know the conti's are out of the $$$ budget.

Must stress I am no expert and probably could not tell the difference between any of the above for most of my driving.....but want good wet weather holding with a reasonably powerfull rear wheel drive car.

[red89mx 0]

:wacko: ahhhhh

Well things went a bit downhill on the tyre front this week.

Got the tyre checked out and was advised to replace it asap for safety reasons (The cut was a 25 x 15 mm triangle on the sidewall down to the canvas) by a reputable shop down here..

Seems that there are no F1's on the correct size in the country at the moment and no ETA, and RE001's are out of stock until after Jan 17.

Local tyre guys had Pirelli on special so went with PZero Rossos....during the fitting they indicated one of the rears (not the one with the plug after 1st weeks nail) had a bulge in the sidewall and needed to be replaced (checked to see if it was manufacturing fault....but said it looked to be impact damage)....so three tyres today (the F1 rear size was available).

Again thanks Jonno for the time and advice earlier in the week....I know Sh*t happens but have not had that much luck with the F1's (puncture, bulge and supply issues).

Tempted to get another new F1 to keep everything in sync....anyone want a set of 12k F1 rears (one with a small bulge - apparently) for $250? ....plenty of tread .....good for some track days