Tyre recommendations for E39 530i Msport please..

[Ian 5]

A newbie with car currently on Maxxis (235/45x17 front & 255/40x17 rear different patters)

Would prefer a performance orientated set of matching tread.

Have been offered Conti MC5 so far as perhaps the only option....what are others running and cost please?

Cheers

Ian

[qube 3570]

Michelin ps4

Bridgestone Potenza re003

Price will vary but shop around plenty of deals to be found

[Ian 5]

1 hour ago, qube said:

Michelin ps4

Bridgestone Potenza re003

Price will vary but shop around plenty of deals to be found

Many thanks...According to Bridgestone, the re003 is not available here in both sizes...

[Eagle 1662]

Was a few years ago now but i found it hard to get anything decent in 255-40-17 in NZ that had a reasonable price. Ended up ditched the staggered setup and going square, heaps more options for 235-45-17.

[aja540i 1906]

Whatever you get make sure it has a high load rating (100+), the rear suspension in the e39 will chew out the inside corners pretty quickly otherwise.

[NZ BMW 368]

When I had an E39 I ran the 235 45 17 all round. 

Tyres are always such a fraught topic on all forums with everyone preferring their own setup. 

For what it's worth across all my cars I've always had good luck with Goodyear, Dunlop and Hankook. I tended to prefer a touring tyre over hardcore performance as I felt it suited the driving we have here in NZ whilst still retaining good performance in the corners. 

Given the age of the E39 now the best thing you can do is make sure all the suspension bushes are in good shape for handling. 

Edited March 5, 2017 by NZ BMW

[kiwi535 538]

and rotate the tyres regularly to try to even out that rear wheel  outside edge wear. which you can do with square non directional set ups

Edited March 5, 2017 by kiwi535

[Herbmiester 923]

Bridgestone S001 is available in 255/40/17 its a good tyre. 

[Ian 5]

2 hours ago, Herbmiester said:

Bridgestone S001 is available in 255/40/17 its a good tyre. 

Thanks...but looking for same tread pattern front and rear. Cheers

[Herbmiester 923]

15 hours ago, Ian said:

Thanks...but looking for same tread pattern front and rear. Cheers

I have run different tyres front and rear for years, its not a big deal if the tyres have similar performance specs. 

[NZ BMW 368]

15 hours ago, Ian said:

Thanks...but looking for same tread pattern front and rear. Cheers

Are you saying you want them all to be the same size or the same tread pattern? Because tyres can be difference sizes but have the same pattern. 

[aja540i 1906]

1 hour ago, 3pedals said:

Staggered tyre selections are hard to come by but well worth the effort.

Disregard the comment about 100plus load rating and rotation - set the car up properly and you will require neither.

 

Care to share how you set up your e39 to get rid of that uneven wear? I am genuinely curious.

[aja540i 1906]

In my experience the tyre wear on my lowered e36 is not anywhere near the same ballpark as the wear on my stock height e39, I was replacing 2-3 sets of rear tyres for every set of fronts and the most drastic improvement by far was after changing to a higher load rated tyre, im not saying it will make up for worn bushes or bad alignment, but for me there was no downside.

[NZ BMW 368]

4 minutes ago, 3pedals said:

You asked me to explain - I did

There are several "downsides"  to using  higher load rated tyres  and  the best combination will be optimised suspension and optimised tyres.

P.S. Chinese 100 load rated tyres are not the same as Euro 100 load rated tyres .

We ran 94 on the rear and 97 on the front for perfect wear with  Koni sport adjustables + + + + + ++  for more than 150,000km

That's pretty incredible longevity, is that mainly open road driving? 

[kiwi535 538]

3 minutes ago, NZ BMW said:

That's pretty incredible longevity, is that mainly open road driving? 

i am quite sure that is more than 1 set of tyres!

.My e34 535"is" (motorsport suspended) always wore the rear tyres on the inside ,and always wore the front outsides.I kept the bushes in good order,kept the tyres at correct pressures and had alignments done at places recomendded by  welly bmw people.I didnt drive harshly or hard.i always swapped front to back about half way through i got about 40 k from ussually bridgstones.BUT i had to swap them front to back otherwise the rears would wear out,on inside.edge

[Ian 5]

8 hours ago, NZ BMW said:

Are you saying you want them all to be the same size or the same tread pattern? Because tyres can be difference sizes but have the same pattern. 

Thanks,,,but I meant what I said 'the same tread pattern'.

The wheels are factory staggered, and I intend to keep it that way.

I am a confessed newbie as far as E39s are concerned, but have learnt a thing or two about tyres over 40 yrs of motorsport involvement and have my preferences re alignment, tyre pressures, rotation , load ratings etc etc.

[kiwi535 538]

40 minutes ago, 3pedals said:

Well it was never correctly aligned then was it ?

P.s it was 6 sets of tyres

i dont know.As i said i took it to several places and always tried to ensure that they used the correct specs.I did not try to alter anything.I assumed that the "sport" specification placed performance over tyre life...probabaly for the same reason as BMW do NOT recomend to rotate tyres 

[Herbmiester 923]

BMW alignment specifications for my E46 wear the front outside edge and the rear inside. On the US E46 forum this is discussed at some length. You need more front camber which you can get by punching out the front strut tower detent pins. (same on an e36). Lowering you car below Msport ride height can exacerbate these problems on some BMW's. E90/92 etc can have less than desireable geometry when riding below M sport height.

 

Edited March 6, 2017 by Herbmiester

[NZ BMW 368]

7 hours ago, Ian said:

Thanks,,,but I meant what I said 'the same tread pattern'.

The wheels are factory staggered, and I intend to keep it that way.

I am a confessed newbie as far as E39s are concerned, but have learnt a thing or two about tyres over 40 yrs of motorsport involvement and have my preferences re alignment, tyre pressures, rotation , load ratings etc etc.

Well then you should be able to buy those Bridgestones in the two sizes you need, it's that wider back size which is the harder to find one... 

[qube 3570]

Not trying to pour gasoline on the fire but Andrew's E39 Touring is a manual. 

[Herbmiester 923]

2 minutes ago, qube said:

Not trying to pour gasoline on the fire but Andrew's E39 Touring is a manual. 

Well his reasons for tyre wear will drop no doubt. 

[Ian 5]

12 hours ago, NZ BMW said:

Well then you should be able to buy those Bridgestones in the two sizes you need, it's that wider back size which is the harder to find one... 

If it was that easy, I would not have posted...Bridgestone do not have a single model of tyre in both sizes in NZ, according to Bridgestone.

Sorry to have started a debate on tyre wear/alignment etc...

[Herbmiester 923]

Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2s (in your sizes) were on my 335i when i bought it. The rears were a bit worn so hard to say how good they were but the fronts gave good steering response and the car felt agile with them on. With S001s on the rear and Hankooks up front it did understeer a bit but I suspect that is due as much to the chassis setup as anything.

[qube 3570]

Have you tried pirelli or continental? Or if you dont mind something a bit lower end, dont pass up falken ze912. Thats what i have front and rear on my car and they are fine for normal driving. Available in almost every size and cheapish too compared to the more performance brands but still much nicer than chinese ones.

[Herbmiester 923]

1 hour ago, Ian said:

If it was that easy, I would not have posted...Bridgestone do not have a single model of tyre in both sizes in NZ, according to Bridgestone.

Sorry to have started a debate on tyre wear/alignment etc...

Don't worry about the debate, its par for the course round here.