Brian C.
02-18-2004, 10:07 PM
It's been a little over two weeks since I had them installed so I thought I'd tell you all what I think.
This was the first set of tires that I've needed since I've owned the '95 525ia. I've had it almost exactly 3 years and after about 38k miles the ContiContact Tourings that came new with it were about 90% gone. I had no complaints about the Continentals. With my normal driving being 80% on smooth flat highways, they were quite, smooth and handled well in wet weather. That cold wet stuff, I can't tell you about. So when I needed the new shoes I was torn about what to buy. But after a bit of research on Tire Rack's website...a good place to compare!...and a few recomendations from friends, I decided to price some of the db's in town. Nada. Zilch. I couldn't find a set in a 50 mile radius of me.
I wasn't too keen on buying tires on-line, at least there was no sales tax, but a phone call to Tire Rack explained to me how it all worked. For those of you that don't know how it works, let me assure you that it couldn't have been easier. You go on-line and select what tires you want. There's a link that will show you all of their approved installers in your area. You just pick the most convenient to you, and Tire Rack ships your tires to the installer by FedEx. You call the installer and let them know that your tires are coming and set up an installation time. Prices are pretty well set for normal work with extras only as needed. If you don't like their quote, you can go get YOUR tires and leave if you want.
I had mine sent to a local Goodyear place and between installation, weights, new valves, and old tire disposal, etc, it came out to $28/tire. Added to the $71/tire price for the P225/60R15 95V's, that's $99 a shoe. No too shabby I thought! I have the OE 15" basketweaves and even though I would have liked a set of 17"-ers, the budget didn't allow for new wheels too so I'll live with these for another 30-40k I guess.
So buying and installing was as easy as it could get as far as I'm concerned. And as far as feel, I'm very happy also. As advertised, they are very quiet. So quiet in fact that now I'm a little concerned that my exhaust sounds louder than before. But I believe that Bentley states, "Noise reduction is directly proportional to stereo volume increase." So I don't have to worry about that right now. :p They are very grippy on corners. I've past most of my lead-foot driving days, but I can feel better cornering without touching the brakes. We had a real toad-strangler here last week and wet-grip was excellent. That is very important in an area that can easily get 2-4" on many summer afternoons.
So all in all I'm happy with the results. I haven't done any extended highway driving yet, but I'd bet that my milage will pretty much stay the same. For a guy that tends to avoid putting tools to my car if I can avoid it, this was a success. And I didn't do any of the work!
I hope this helps anyone who hasn't gone this route before.
Brian C.
'95 525ia
This was the first set of tires that I've needed since I've owned the '95 525ia. I've had it almost exactly 3 years and after about 38k miles the ContiContact Tourings that came new with it were about 90% gone. I had no complaints about the Continentals. With my normal driving being 80% on smooth flat highways, they were quite, smooth and handled well in wet weather. That cold wet stuff, I can't tell you about. So when I needed the new shoes I was torn about what to buy. But after a bit of research on Tire Rack's website...a good place to compare!...and a few recomendations from friends, I decided to price some of the db's in town. Nada. Zilch. I couldn't find a set in a 50 mile radius of me.
I wasn't too keen on buying tires on-line, at least there was no sales tax, but a phone call to Tire Rack explained to me how it all worked. For those of you that don't know how it works, let me assure you that it couldn't have been easier. You go on-line and select what tires you want. There's a link that will show you all of their approved installers in your area. You just pick the most convenient to you, and Tire Rack ships your tires to the installer by FedEx. You call the installer and let them know that your tires are coming and set up an installation time. Prices are pretty well set for normal work with extras only as needed. If you don't like their quote, you can go get YOUR tires and leave if you want.
I had mine sent to a local Goodyear place and between installation, weights, new valves, and old tire disposal, etc, it came out to $28/tire. Added to the $71/tire price for the P225/60R15 95V's, that's $99 a shoe. No too shabby I thought! I have the OE 15" basketweaves and even though I would have liked a set of 17"-ers, the budget didn't allow for new wheels too so I'll live with these for another 30-40k I guess.
So buying and installing was as easy as it could get as far as I'm concerned. And as far as feel, I'm very happy also. As advertised, they are very quiet. So quiet in fact that now I'm a little concerned that my exhaust sounds louder than before. But I believe that Bentley states, "Noise reduction is directly proportional to stereo volume increase." So I don't have to worry about that right now. :p They are very grippy on corners. I've past most of my lead-foot driving days, but I can feel better cornering without touching the brakes. We had a real toad-strangler here last week and wet-grip was excellent. That is very important in an area that can easily get 2-4" on many summer afternoons.
So all in all I'm happy with the results. I haven't done any extended highway driving yet, but I'd bet that my milage will pretty much stay the same. For a guy that tends to avoid putting tools to my car if I can avoid it, this was a success. And I didn't do any of the work!
I hope this helps anyone who hasn't gone this route before.
Brian C.
'95 525ia