Tires for '01 530i Sport - P235/45 ZR17

[1st time BMW buyer]

Looking for some advice on tires....

I have an '01 530i Sport that just turned 80,000 miles. I bought this car in 2005 with 14,000 miles and it was corporate lease. The tires had never been rotated so I had 2 worn out tires, and 2 like new tires. Since then I've been replacing tires 2 at a time instead of all 4.

I've been buying the Michelin Pilot Sport @ approx $250 each since then. However, I tried TOYO once a while back because they were a little less, but I didn't like them. They seemed to ride rougher, and defintiely noisier, and the cost savings was maybe $20-$30 per tire which wasn't worth the savings to me. The tires last me about 20,000 miles and I don't drive that agressively. The car is mostly a "run around the burbs" car more than anything.

It's time for 2 more tires and I am trying to see what alternatives are out there. The size is P235/45 ZR17.

Anyone have any opinions on a comparable tire at a lower price?

I found the following and wonder if anyone has experience with these....

Goodrich G-force T/A for $185 each
Dunlop SP Sport 8000 for $125 each (Wow... $125 ???)

Both are significantly less expensive- and the Dunlop is ridiculously cheap (in comparison). The car has the Sports package so being lower to the ground, I know I get more noise and a rougher ride....and I'd like to find a tire that is pretty much comparable to the Michelin Pilot Sports in terms of noise and ride, but less expensive. I mean, I can get 2 Dunlops above for the price of 1 Michelin. If they're only going to last 20,000 miles anyway, I may have been wasting my money for a few years now.

Would love some feedback/thoughts/opinions on suggested tires -- and any feedback on the ones I listed above so I can decide if they are really a consideration or not.

Thanks in advance for your help .....

[bubba966]

If you're looking for a comparable ride & noise level to the PS2's look at the Pilot Sport A/S+. Not really any cheaper, but they'll last close to 50k miles which is a good bit more than the PS2's.

I've had both PS2's & PS A/S's in 235/45/17 on my '95 540 M-Sport. Ride is very slightly smoother on the PS2's. Noise level seems about the same.

I'll probably go with the A/S+ next time around just for the longer life. I like the PS2's slightly better, but when they don't even last half as long and cost the same it makes me question whether that last tiny bit of dry pavement performance is worth the hugely extra cost.

Have also heard that the BFG G-Force Sport's are good in that size on an E34 M5. And I do really like BFG tires (they're the same company as Michelin anyways), but haven't tried the G-Force Sports out yet.

[Tiger]

I have three sets of General UHP Exclaim... great traction, super quiet and good comfort ride. Outstanding tire for the price.

[Sixdown]

I have three sets of General UHP Exclaim... great traction, super quiet and good comfort ride. Outstanding tire for the price.

I thought otherwise. I have General Exclaims on my '98 528i and feel their traction is lacking. They are pretty quiet but aren't good in rain or in sharper cornering. I have heard good things about Bridgestone and Dunlop SP Sport. Don't even touch other Dunlops.

After having Yokohama on previous cars, I am impressed with them, but have no experience with them on BMWs.

[xspeedy]

Check out tirerack.com, as they have customer reviews for pretty much all of what they sell.

[Tiger]

Are you sure you got the Exclaim?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Exclaim+UHP

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....aim+UHP#Survey

I find the survey very correct on the tire performance... and it is rated #4 in this category.

What have you done to your suspension and steering components? I find after 100K miles, alot of stuff is worn out and will cause alot of problems that you may attribute to tire problem.

On all my cars, all suspension and steering works are redone.

[1st time BMW buyer]

Thanks all for your thoughts and feedback. Sounds like it may be worth a shot to try one of them and see what they're like. I think I'm leaning toward the BFG - but I'm going to check into each one some more and see what kind of feedback they have about them specifically.

[bubba966]

Thanks all for your thoughts and feedback. Sounds like it may be worth a shot to try one of them and see what they're like. I think I'm leaning toward the BFG - but I'm going to check into each one some more and see what kind of feedback they have about them specifically.

I've run BFG Traction T/A's (V rated) on a '95 525iT and really like those tires on a touring. Tire rack has those in 235/45/17. For some reason I don't recall seeing them in that size at Costco when I've looked for that size for my car.

Anyways, I've really liked the Traction T/A's on the various cars I've tried them on. Would certainly look into those if you don't want to spend a fortune, have good traction, quiet & smooth ride, and have tires that last (current version is a 60k mile tire if I recall properly).