Tire Time for the e46

[Cody]

Some of you have already seen my lack of rear tread. I'm looking for a set of four new for my 02' 330i. So far I'm choosing between 255/25/18 Continental DWS, Micheline Pilot Sport A/S Plus, and Pirelli PZero Nero all season (which are $300 less). Any pointers?

[kcook]

what size rim do you have?

[TorinoCobra070]

Hmmm if I remember correctly, and I might not, Andrew J had the DWS' on his Integra and hated them. Pretty different cars though.

[JustinG]

you sure its a 255/25? are you staggered? I assume you want only All Seasons?

[Jake]

25 profile? What are you smokin' bro? I'm going to guess it's a typo and you meant something more like 35. 255/35/18 is stock rear tire size for the ZHP wheels.

I've heard good things about the Pirelli's I think. No idea on pricing for your size, but I like my Kumho Ecstas on the 535. They're an aggressive-ish all season with decent treadwear (360 or 400) so they'll last a while. Haven't driven them in snow yet but they do great in the rain.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I hated my Pirelli Pzero Neros, and their junk on my friends car as well. Little grip, wear out prematurely. I know your stuck on all-seasons but why? I liked my Kumho Ecsta ASX, and if I was daily driving but still wanted spirited feel, the tire I would choose would be the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo (not an all-season.

[JustinG]

+1 on ASXs for a great all season, and Pirellis suck donkey balls. Casey had em on her focus, sucked, other people I know have had numerous pirellis, all with the same result, absolute garbage.

[Cody]

Typo on that 255/35/18. I'm looking for all seasons because I'm considering in the long run buying new wheels and better track tires. Those tires aren't the only ones I'm looking at definitely open to suggestions.

[SlimKlim]

All seasons are generally junk. If I were you I'd get a decent summer tire on those nice ZHP wheels you have and use them as your "track tires" too, then get a smaller set of snow tires to run from like Nov-Mar.

The trouble with all seasons is they aren't really good at gripping on dry pavement cause they want to be good in cold weather, but they aren't good at that either, so its a whole bunch of compromises.

I used to run two sets of wheels on my car, one with super low treadwear hankook RS2s, one with all seasons. The car still sucked in the snow, and you don't want to drive around on crappy all seasons when you could have your good tires on, so I ran the RS2s all summer. Long story short, I ran out of tire in about 10 months, sold the other wheels and all seasons, and replaced them with S-drives. Decent treadwear, almost as grippy as the RS2s, and I'm just careful in the winter/don't drive in snow.

[DavidL]

Like Joey said- the real solution is two sets of wheels/tires.

If you want to really get into autox etc, that's the only way to go.

[Cody]

So our 330ci and 330i both have fresh shoes. Ci with Pilot Sport A/S plus and I went with the Pirellis Pzero Nero. Of course the compromise from the S-drives is immediately noticeable but it's not that drastic. Not quite as responsive as s-drives but hardly a change in dry grip and a noticeably smoother ride. I'd also have to say that when comparing the Neros and Pilot Sports I don't see a large difference in dry performance that justifies the extra $300 Michelins.