New tyres installed today

[five_seriesmsport 0]

just had some new tyres installed on our 1999 BMW 540i Motorsport, They are good year eagle F1 A2's and what a difference.The car is much smoother and they are really quiet. They aren't run in yet but can only get better.When we got the car it had 235/45/17 tyres all round different tread patterns aswell and it drove like a lump and a sack of potatoes the rear tyres are 255/40/17 and front are 235/45/17 and the rear view of the car with the fatter tyres looks great . Just to let everyone know we are very happy with them, These cars are great

[swordfish 30]

Thats good to hear that Goodyear continues to make good tyres. I've heard new F1 Directional 5 are very good too. Can anyone confirm that?

[Apex 693]

Have the same tyres (235/35/19) fitted to my car, agree they are very good, they have fantastic wet and dry grip, they are cheap and have a brilliant 300 UTQG.

Only thing I don't like is the lack of steering feel they give on my particular sports focused car, they have constructed them with a lighter carcass and softer side wall in an attempt to lose weight from the tyre and increase fuel economy, i'm guessing this would be less noticeable on a BMW, especially coming from crap tyres but it was very noticeable on mine coming from a Continental SC 5P.

Good to hear you are enjoying your car and good to see you are fitting quality tyres.

[swordfish 30]

What about Bridgestone RE-02???

[five_seriesmsport 0]

I looked into the re002 tyres and they dont do a rear tyre in the 255/40/17 only the front in 235/45/17, I was told i could put re002 on the front and re001 on the rear and I said no. And anyway they had run out of re001 so they would not be an option. I also looked at the toyo tyres aswell and they could only do one size in the front and couldn't do the rear so Goodyear it was and they are German made too.I just couldn't put cheap tyres on a quality car like this if that was the last option. Going for good drive over weekend to central to scuff them in it should be a good drive. I have heard that the bridgestone potenza re002 and re001 tyres are really good and if I was able to get the sizes I wanted i would have gone with them.

Edited September 20, 2012 by veeeightbeemer

[swordfish 30]

I'll be running 225/45/17 on the front and 235/45/17 on the rear. What makes it hard for me to choose is that I had Symmetric Goodyear F1s for the last 2 years and totaly loved them, so there should be a good enough reason for me to swap to Bridgestone RE-02, which I've heard are awesome!!!

Edited September 20, 2012 by swordfish

[Apex 693]

"Only thing I don't like is the lack of steering feel they give on my particular sports focused car, they have constructed them with a lighter carcass and softer side wall in an attempt to lose weight from the tyre."

Exactly why I do not like them, their predecesors , the directional versions and many other mid range tyres , the lack of feel comes from soft shoulder construction which is cheaper and easier to do.

And it becomes more pronounced as the tyres wear, If you want precision, consistent handling and great turn in these are not your tyre.

Fine if you just trawl around in traffic , crap if you actually "Drive"

There is no fuel economy gained here, probably the opposite.

The biggest gain is that you now have the correct sizes fitted so the car now handles as designed.

Its not that much a downside and only a few people will even notice or use the tyres to that level, they review very well in all the tyre tests even beating the Continental and Bridgestone on occasions witch leads me to believe they must behave differently ob differently cars, my car relies heavily on the outside of the front tyres and that's where most of the wear occurs, these tyres just feel a bit numb and rubbery.

I brought them based on wear rating and then price, at half the cost of the Continental and equal ratings in most tests its hard to ignore them.

[Tristan 338]

I looked into the re002 tyres and they dont do a rear tyre in the 255/40/17 only the front in 235/45/17, I was told i could put re002 on the front and re001 on the rear and I said no. And anyway they had run out of re001 so they would not be an option. I also looked at the toyo tyres aswell and they could only do one size in the front and couldn't do the rear so Goodyear it was and they are German made too.I just couldn't put cheap tyres on a quality car like this if that was the last option. Going for good drive over weekend to central to scuff them in it should be a good drive. I have heard that the bridgestone potenza re002 and re001 tyres are really good and if I was able to get the sizes I wanted i would have gone with them.

Could you not get RE002 because they don't make them or there are none around?

I've had Bridgestone Adrenalin RE001s on all corners of my 530i M ... Now after one needed replacement and the VERY (as in none) limited stock in New Zealand (and only 6 in Australia) I've got RE001s and 1 RE050 on a back corner. Admittedly, I can't feel a difference... The RE050 is supposedly a top tyre .. And got it for $75 too so can't argue with that.

When I used RE001s on all corners, I did so for about a year and a half. They're very good tyres (IMO).. Good turn in, pretty good wet performance. They're quite progressive and give good road feel. On some NZ road surfaces they can be very noisy, and they also seem to wear quite quickly.

I'd buy them again if they were available! The RE050 I have looks good.. Can't comment on a full set-up but it could be a contender for a next tyre.

I've heard a bit about how Toyo T1Rs aren't up to the weight of a 530i, let alone a 540i.. Not idea of the validity of this statement but could be worth looking into in the future, if you decide to look at Toyos.

My 2c.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Tristan