Which tires would you choose??

[pdxbmw525i]

Hi fellow BMW owners,

I've got some new #58 Rondell wheels (17 inch) in my garage just itching for some new tires. I've been doing some cost comparisons on the internet and have decided on four different tires. I'll start with the cheaper ones and move up in cost. (I have no experience with any of these tires, my car has Michelin Pilots on them - good tire but cost more than I want to pay for new ones. Spent my money on the wheels instead.) First ones are the Kumho 712's, they seem o.k. for the price, Next are the Falken GRB-451 tires - these are the ones I'm leaning towards- look good, sporty, Third are the Nitto 555 tires - these were my first choice but after reading some of the comments on this website regarding these tires - they are probably my last choice now. And finally the Yokohamas AVS ES100 - these would max out my wheel and tire funds, but I know that these are quality tires...oh well.

I'll probably order my tires thru Americas Tires Direct (Online) since they have free shipping and better prices. The tire dealers in the Northwest don't have the tire sizes and brands that I'm interested in.

I was planning on buy 235-45-17's all around for my '93 525I, No mods done on it, but I am planning on putting in a performance chip after I get my wheels and tires installed.

I've noticed that some of you have wider rear tires than the front ones. I'm assuming that you probably have your BMW's tricked out for performance.
Should I buy wider rear tires instead of purchasing all four of the same size tires or should I not even worry about it, since I don't plan on modifying my car other than adding a chip.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks in advance,

Israel V.

[Hector]

I have 17" ZIEX 512 and as I have harped on before, these tires were rated #1 by consumer reports issued last November.

The GRB's have the AA traction which is the best, and this "silica combined with specially linked carbon molecules in the rubber..." that Sumitomo keeps bragging about is a reinforced filler. The presence of silica is a good thing but hard to incoporate in the rubber matrix but when incorporated successfully, you get a tire with reduce rolling resistance which in turn leads to increased fuel economy.

[Hector]

ntxt

[Tiger]

How about the new Avon at TireRack? That's the next tire I will buy... very reasonably priced... I have the Nitto 555 and would never buy them... they came with my car and I don't like them... good traction but very stiff tire and loud on local road.

[JeremyT]

what's the web address for the Americas Tires Direct place? I did a google search and turned up empty handed... thanks

[SharkmanBMW]

I have 17" ZIEX 512 and as I have harped on before, these tires were rated #1 by consumer reports issued last November.

The GRB's have the AA traction which is the best, and this "silica combined with specially linked carbon molecules in the rubber..." that Sumitomo keeps bragging about is a reinforced filler. The presence of silica is a good thing but hard to incoporate in the rubber matrix but when incorporated successfully, you get a tire with reduce rolling resistance which in turn leads to increased fuel economy.

[hlenoble]

what's the web address for the Americas Tires Direct place? I did a google search and turned up empty handed... thanks

If you are looking for Discount Tires Direct, try this link:

Discount Tire (http://tires.com)

BTW, I bought a package from them for my '90 535i. I bought 17" Enkei CP1 wheels with Hankook Ventus Sport 104 tires, including mounting, balancing, lugs, and shipping for under $800. To date I am extremely satisfied.

- Hal

[talltorontoguy]

Seems that most tires have a balance of those three items. If you get more of one you often have to give up something else.

My personal ideal preference would be a tire that pretty evenly balances these three things. I don't want to feel like I'm riding in a truck, but I also don't want to replace my tires every season, nor do I want to have to shout over the drone of noisy tires.

Anyone have a recommendation based on this criteria?

Rod

[Elekta]

Seems that most tires have a balance of those three items. If you get more of one you often have to give up something else.

My personal ideal preference would be a tire that pretty evenly balances these three things. I don't want to feel like I'm riding in a truck, but I also don't want to replace my tires every season, nor do I want to have to shout over the drone of noisy tires.

Anyone have a recommendation based on this criteria?

Rod

Michelin

worth every penny, and you'll get more than 20k miles or your money back

[Chip]

What are people using on the track. I'm thinking of picking up some cheap 16" or 17" wheels off ebay and using this strictly for the track. But I don't want to spend a bunch of money for competition tires- trying to keep the price under $120/tire. Any suggestions?
Thanks-

[Bruno]

What are people using on the track. I'm thinking of picking up some cheap 16" or 17" wheels off ebay and using this strictly for the track. But I don't want to spend a bunch of money for competition tires- trying to keep the price under $120/tire. Any suggestions?
Thanks-

Whart I used to do is buying used R compound tires... I never bought any new R compound.

[winfred]

the 712 kumho's are ok by me, i am running the v rated (they have a w for a few bucks more) in 225/55/16 i just ordered 2 more for my virgina trip in a week and a half, they flat spot in the cold but even out in a couple miles

[Hector]

tire forums and such. I like to read up on it. Earlier in the year I bought a 17" RRS wheel package with the Falken ZIEX tires. Despite the consumer reports review on this tire, I really wanted to get the GRB 451 tires in the package but the supplier didn't have these tires and would've cost me more to have them in the package so I settled for the ZIEXs. I looked into the GRBs and therefore repeatedly saw what I quoted earlier on "silica..." from tirerack and 1010tires and so on, which BTW, the tire had gotten good reviews... I looked into it a bit more and found a great site on natural and synthetic rubber and booked marked it. If you like to read technical stuff like this then this is up your alley. HTH, enjoy...

http://www.rubber-stichting.ind.tno.nl/download.html