235/45 & 255/40R17 tyre options

[Eagle 1662]

Im running 17x8 ET20 on front and 17x9 ET26 on rear with the above sizes. Im having problems finding anything i like in both these sizes

I was originally going to go for RE002 as i liked the 001's but they dont make them 255\40\17, i could fit a 245\45 but its not ideal and may possibly rub with my lowered suspension.

Looked in RE050A which they do in 235/45 97W and 255/40 94W(94 seem highest rating they do according to Firestone shop and Bridgestone nz stock lists) while id prefer a higher load on the rear this seems a good option provided they can source them. Will find out on Monday. Cost would be around 1400k mark.

Other options im looking or looked it to:

Michelin PS2 - made inquires and am waiting on replies but having them in stock in those sizes when PS3 are out i think i may pushing my luck? and i have no idea what they cost. PSS and PS3 arent available in 255\40\17 either.

Toyo T1 sport - ive had T1R.PX4's and CT01 and while they are a decent tyre the sidewalls were way too soft and that was on lighter cars too.

Pirelli P Zero - None of the locals to stock Rosso's which id want only Nero and from what ive read they wear quite fast

Continental ExtremeContact DW - $1350 inc gst from tirerack + possible custom broker charges and archaic wire transfer banking setup(why the f**k dont they have credit card?). One of the cheapest 235/255 options on their lists and seems like decent tyres. I have CS3 and like them but no way id want to price them up in NZ

Ideally id like to get rid of the staggered setup and run 17x8 all round but buying decent alloys and then decent tyres would be more than id want to spend at the moment and i need tyres soon.

Any thoughts appreciated

[Eagle 1662]

Yeah i run 25mm front and 20mm rear swaybars which is alot more neutral than stock with staggered setup but id still prefer the benefits of a square setup over it.

Where did you get your RE050 from if you dont mind me asking? I want to compare some prices. Found a net price list which lists them @ $250ea for 235 and $330 for 255's which alot cheaper than anywhere in Hamilton.

[Eagle 1662]

Benefits to me

Easier to get tyres in 235/45

Cheaper tyres

Able to rotate(which ive never done or had to do myself due to my driving style and use)

More netural\less understeering(which may be a good thing depending on your use, like you said easier to get the back to break traction

I don't need the extra rear traction in a 535i

[Eagle 1662]

I'll wait till i get new tyres on and take it to the track for passing final judgement but as i said i like how its setup at the moment and it should be alot better with new tyres.

Cheaper and way more selection of tyres are main reason i would switch, seems like any good options in 255 17 are becoming less and less and i would have to switch to 18's which look too big on E34's imo

[euroriffic 609]

I had 235 and 255/40's on my 328i when I got it but then went to 245's all round as they were cheaper. The 235's were nexens and the 255's maxxis. The 255's were about 300 each and 235's were about 350-400 as were an uncommon size. Were pretty good tyres, still do a good skid in the wet though...

[Eagle 1662]

Appears to more high end tyre selection on 18's, im guessing due 18+" rims and wider tyres become more common on new higher end cars

[westy 614]

You could use 245/40 and 225/45 instead as the e46 sport uses?

[Eagle 1662]

They run 7.5" F and 8.5" R dont they? If so i would be running a small stretch and they are only 91 load rated anyway

[Eagle 1662]

I got the car on standard sport suspension with standard 23\15mm bars and which naturally under steered anyway but the staggered made it worse like you describe, adding bigger bars helped but i really need new rubber have a better idea.

I see the benefits of a properly setup stagger but i still think it would benefit a car with decent power alot more than mine, im guessing thats why it came standard on the M cars which have the suspension tweaks and power to match.

One day ill hopefully run both at trackday to see for myself

[Eagle 1662]

Rang around and it appears to be no 050A in 255's in the country until mid February so if i can find some 17x8's between then i will go for them.

$270 each for the 235's and $350 for the 255 were the best prices i found @ Grey Lynn.

I wouldn't recommend buying 17x9's if you plan on running on good tyre

[westy 614]

E 36 staggered set up is 7.5 by 17 inch rim front and 8.5 by 17 rear

with 225/45 front and 245/40 rear

standard load rating requirement IS 91 for and E36

E39 runs 8.5 front and 9.5 rears in a 17 inch rim

with 235 on the front and 255 on the rear

Load rating is 94 hrear 97 front

running 225 and 245 on an E39 would be ugly and a bit light on load capacity and probably not great in the handling.

For the understeer

If the staggered set up was fitted with standard sway bars then it will understeer as both the E36 and E39 standard setups run a smaller rear bar to make the front sledge early to make it hard to provoke rear generated oversteer.

With the staggered set up you can go up a size on the rear relative to the front and the HUGE benefit is you get a LOT more drive out of corners,

Think I ended up with 27 on the front and 22 on the back plus full konis and dropped it 15 mm front and 10 rear made an exceptinal daily drive (P.S. it Was manual)

I said E46 and pretty sure he said E34.

Helps to read.

[Eagle 1662]

050 are only available in the 235 with 94W rating and no 050 in 255. The S001 which replace 050A are still a few mths away and the only available tyre for 255\40\17 is a Porsche 911 S02A @ 500 each. Its just a bad size really

[Neal 545]

Have you considered Bridgestone Re-11 s ? Not sure if bridgestone nz stocks them anymore , but you can get your size via tirerack. Not cheap but stick like ..... Good upgrade over the re001 /002

[kiwi535 538]

i used to run a SQUARE set up on my 535 i with "sport" suspension.It was as per factory i think.It handled fine for me and with the lsd i never suffered from lack of rear end grip.although my driving style is maintain speed rather than heavy acceleration and braking.If thats what you want i believe a 5 series is the wrong car.

The only downside to a really nice feeling car to me was a tendency to wear the outside of the fronts and the inside of the rears.When the fronts started to show signs of that i used to put them on the back and new ones would go on the front,as ussually the rears were nearly gone.The last few sets of tyres i had were falken 452 i think

Edited January 14, 2013 by kiwi535

[Eagle 1662]

Yeah dont think they do as didnt see them on the list. I think the RE11 might be a bit much extreme for a mostly daily driver and like you said would cost a fair bit by the time you add shipping, gst etc.

[Eagle 1662]

Never had a problems with wear myself, no obvious uneven wear and backs usually have had 1-1.5mm less than the fronts when ived replace all 4. M5 sway bar setup is a alot nicer in the bends.

[antil33t 90]

I have GT Radial HRX 245/40/18 all round...

I always though GT Radials were crap, but they seem fine. I have a less powerful E34 though.

[Eagle 1662]

2 different outlets rang Bridgestone NZ and they said they had nothing but the Porsche ones. Im sure they would of mentioned the 050 as an alternative if they could get them.

I may have found some suitable 17x8's, i just have to check the condition of them so ill be going 050A's in 235 all round if they check out

[kiwi535 538]

2 different outlets rang Bridgestone NZ and they said they had nothing but the Porsche ones. Im sure they would of mentioned the 050 as an alternative if they could get them.

I may have found some suitable 17x8's, i just have to check the condition of them so ill be going 050A's in 235 all round if they check out

452 and a newer 453 available in 235 45 17s

[Neal 545]

I have GT Radial HRX 245/40/18 all round...

I always though GT Radials were crap, but they seem fine. I have a less powerful E34 though.

Mike Eddie an co were running these on the e90 M3 to help keep costs down. The grip on the hot laps was very good 4 up. Goes to show how good some tyres are at a modest price (good driver no doubt also helps)

[Eagle 1662]

FK452 are not much cheaper than 050's and id trust the Bridgestones more. Load rating on the Falken is also quite low.

Ive had HRX in 15" that came with an E34 i bought and yeah i agree 100% with what you said antileet but at the end of the day you aint paying that much per tyre for a superior one.

[Eagle 1662]

All sorted on some 17" BBS RN. Tyres are real quiet and sidewalls are nice and stiff, just need to rack up some k's and wear them in now.

They took awhile to balance, fit and invoice me so they dropped the price to $1040 for 4x tyres and nitro filled them, real good deal.

Insert crappy cell phone picture

Edited January 17, 2013 by Eagle

[antil33t 90]

Ive had HRX in 15" that came with an E34 i bought and yeah i agree 100% with what you said antileet but at the end of the day you aint paying that much per tyre for a superior one.

Yeah I'm told they are about $300 each. I didn't get a choice, they just came basically new on a set of wheels I bought.

those look sweet, nice car!

[kiwi535 538]

All sorted on some 17" BBS RN. Tyres are real quiet and sidewalls are nice and stiff, just need to rack up some k's and wear them in now.

They took awhile to balance, fit and invoice me so they dropped the price to $1040 for 4x tyres and nitro filled them, real good deal.

Insert crappy cell phone picture

good result.