Ok.. So I just got the E34 a few weeks ago. The car came with two sets of stock 15" Basketweaves... one set off the car with worn ContiTourings.. and the other set on the car with Nokian Hakkapeliitta NRWs. Now here's my problem:

Couple of weeks ago when it rained some, I found myself fishtailing ALL over the place. Granted, I'm not exactly easy on the throttle, but sometimes even just going up a hill in a straight line I get the rear end all over the place. I'm pretty certain I've got an LSD (tested it on the side of the road with right side on gravel and left on pavement, and I got chirps coming from the pavement side and I took off without wheelspin) and I'm running those Hakkapeliittas. I learned to drive years ago in a 1977 Chevy Caprice and that thing wasn't nearly as loose in the rear as this is. I would have thought with the BMW having a higher percentage of the weight over the rear it would be better. Is this common for E34s?


My next question is sort of related, so I'll not create a separate post. The Nokians as well as the Conti's exhibit a similar wear pattern. They tend to wear more pronounced on the outside edges (both front and rear). Could this account for the fishtailing? On the Nokians I've got at least an eigth of an inch before I hit the wear bars on the tires, but the outside edge has nearly no sipes left. Could this account for my poor wet performance (haven't had snow yet, so don't know how good/bad that'll be.)

I'm debating if I should spring for some new Nokians this year or if I can just accept that the car handles this poorly in the poor weather and just hold off until next winter.