Which tires? For durability mainly....

[Jamie]

Hi,

Im soon to be purchasing some 18" BMW EVO 2 rims with tyre sizes of 225/40/18 all round

I have various options in the package (from rochford tyres on this occasion, if anyone else knows where I can get this deal cheaper, please let me know - id prefer someplace where i can get em fitted also, so not ebay!)

The standard deal is £565 for 4 wheels, fitted and balanced, with 5mm spacer and with 225/40/ZR18 GT Champiro or 225/40ZR18 Kuhmo or Nankang W rated (169mph)

GT Champiro (http://www.gt-tires.com/tire.asp?cat=Passenger+Car&sub=All+Season+Ultra+High+Performance&pat=CHAMPIRO+HPZ-40 )

Anyone heard of this brand?

For £50 extra I can get 2254018 Dunlop FM901 (169MPH),

For £100 extra I can get 2254018 Toyo Proxes T1's (169MPH),

For an extra £125 I can get Avon ZZ3 (169MPH),

For an extra £170 I can get 2254018 GEF1 GSD3's,

For an extra £200 I can get 2254018 Michelin/Dunlop/Conti (169MPH).

An earlier post someone (stock323saloon?) said thet would provide pirells in the std deal? Im gonna email them again, but upto now the above are the deals available

SO - what do you recommend for the best durability overall? Im not too bothered about a performance tyre, just an over all good all rounder which will last and not wear out after 10k miles! Oh yea, and rim protection would be a bonus..

Any experiences would be great!

Thanks

Jamie

[peppernick]

what do you recommend for the best durability overall
If this is the primary concern, there's only one brand MICHELIN. If you use then sensibly they can last up to 16-20k miles from new. So you may save money in the long run. However, if you get a puncture that is not repairable, Michelins are £££££ to replace, especially if you just buy one.

You can also try www.montyswheelsandtyres.com for good and nearly new tyres, they are cheaper than buying brand new. Durgesh just picked up a set of used Toyo with good life for very reasonable money.

Just IMO, tyres are the only 4 contact points between your car and the road; hence your safety. Try not to go for really cheap tyres. Nankang and Kumho do reasonable tyres for eg: Kumho Ecsta but they may not be good all rounder (dry, wet and damp) but you should not buy tyres by just going on how cheap they are.

[Stock323iSaloon]

Hi Jamie,
My colleagues have bought 3 sets of alloys from Rochford and every time they have been supplied premium brand tyres at standard prices (Pirellis and Dunlops) and i donno why they quoted that they are 'premium'. personally, i won't go for Kumoh/Nankang/GT Champions. u may find this site useful when choosing your tyres but basically I'd say 'you get what you pay for' :D I have Michellin Pilot Sports with rim protection and it's saved me a few times already


http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres_uk
http://www.tirereview.com

[Jamie]

Hi Jamie,
My colleagues have bought 3 sets of alloys from Rochford and every time they have been supplied premium brand tyres at standard prices (Pirellis and Dunlops) and i donno why they quoted that they are 'premium'. personally, i won't go for Kumoh/Nankang/GT Champions. u may find this site useful when choosing your tyres but basically I'd say 'you get what you pay for' :D I have Michellin Pilot Sports with rim protection and it's saved me a few times already


http://www.blackcircles.com/tyres_uk
http://www.tirereview.com

Cheers - ive emailed him and asked him what the deal is on the above [cool

[westside]

also dude as per my previous pm on e36 coupe get 255/35/18 up the rear not skinny 225/40/18 :eek:

[Jamie]

also dude as per my previous pm on e36 coupe get 255/35/18 up the rear not skinny 225/40/18 :eek:


Yea, - but the problem is that if i do this, i cant rotate the rims when they start to wear uneavenly - in order to make them wear evenly....

Or cud i get 255 all round?? [hmm [hmm

[westside]

dude 255 on the front would be HUGE stick to 225 the rears should really be 255 thats what they come with from the factory but its up to you :-) i just think there look really skinky from the rear

[Jamie]

dude 255 on the front would be HUGE stick to 225 the rears should really be 255 thats what they come with from the factory but its up to you :-) i just think there look really skinky from the rear

Cool - i think its being sorted with someone else you know! And im feeling falkens at the moment

[Afif]

Yea, - but the problem is that if i do this, i cant rotate the rims when they start to wear uneavenly - in order to make them wear evenly....

Or cud i get 255 all round?? [hmm [hmm

why would they wear unevenly?

[Mits]

Sometimes when you lower a car the tyres start wearing out from the inside, always had this problem on my E36. No one could ever get the set up right as it was'nt standard M3 or Schnitzer.

Thats why i'm not sure about lowering on my M3, tyres wearing out in 5k miles at £1k at time can get expensive.

If done correctly with an alignment afterwards i'm sure it would be ok, but Nick/Kav will confirm.

[Afif]

Ahh right didnt realise he was having it lowered. Alignment should sort it. Although i remember the dude at feltham tyres saying my camber was still slightly off on each side but thats because its lowered. He said it shouldnt matter to much since its gone opposite way on each side which has more or less balanced it out [hmm. I havent noticed any uneven wear as of yet though :).

Yea if its that bad (5k miles!) then definately not worth it unless its your sunday drive :p.

[Jamie]

why would they wear unevenly?


Its a standard thing - the tyres on the side where the power come from (so back in BMWs case) will wear quicker than the front

[RDG 40]

from my personal experience i found falkens that your looking at very skitty 225's all round on my last e36, im now running dunlop 9000's on e46 and there superb, i cant speak for everyone but go the best tyre you can afford not only is it safer its easier on you driving.

[peppernick]

Sometimes when you lower a car the tyres start wearing out from the inside, always had this problem on my E36. No one could ever get the set up right as it was'nt standard M3 or Schnitzer.

Thats why i'm not sure about lowering on my M3, tyres wearing out in 5k miles at £1k at time can get expensive.

If done correctly with an alignment afterwards i'm sure it would be ok, but Nick/Kav will confirm.
If you re-align the car, your tyre should wear evenly even if you go for the most aggressive drop. However, factory camber bushes are not fully adjustable and have a limit to how much they can compensate. Beyond that point you need aftermarket ones but your tyres should still wear flat across even if you're 1cm off the ground.

[peppernick]

Also, I would not like to keep using the same tyres for any more than 12-15 months. Even though the threads are still plentiful, rubber/synthetic rubber will harden when exposed to moisture, water and sunlight and after a while, they loose their tackiness. When that happens, no matter how much thread to have left, you'll still be skidding. Threads are there to disperse standing water, the rubber compound provides the grip.

[InvIs Inc]

i got falkens for my rear and u really need 2 watch out for the wall cause it tapers in mega and my lip is hanging out now and it looks a lil strectched so make sure u get big enough size 2 cover the lip....

[Defector]

Don't get the ZZ3s

They don't grip all that well and they're SO loud [thumbsdow

Im running conti sport contacts up front but they will need changing soon.

Just put some khumo Ecsta Supras on the back. They are a bit budget but they grip well and seem to be nice and quiet at the moment.

If you want dirt cheap and last forever try the Nangkangs at:

www.rochfordtyres.co.uk

:D

[westside]

Feltham tyres is the place i always go to if u have a subtle drop like 15mm at the rear you should be ok with them being able to adjust the camber and toe the bigger drop at the rear the harder it is to bring camber and toe back into the fctory settings thats why i never really like to lower peopeles car more then 20mm at the rear but at the end oif the day i can only advise :D

[westside]

just to add you can buy rear arms that give you mega adjustment if you really wanna go more then 20mm so its not a total loss