Tires for BMW M3

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Nephets

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I'm having a difficult time deciding which tires to go with on this car. I understand its not a 'square' set up. with 225/45/17 up front and 245/40/17s out back.

This car is a weekend fun car. So I'm not that concerned with longevity all though I don't want a tire that will be dead after a weekend of abuse... my pockets arent that deep.

I do want to do some autox stuff, canyon carving (aka, rural back roads) and stuff like that.

I've thought about some Nitto INVOs, but I hear they get 'greasy' when they get hot and start to slip n' slide around an autocross course.

So any recommendations?
 
So far from 1010tires.com there are a couple of options for your M3. Bfgoodrich supersport A/S all season performance tire that would suit your needs. The other option would be the Bridgestone potenza GO19 grid.
 
Thanks prizm. Taking a look around that site, they have a lot of different brands. I am looking for summer tires as the car wont be driven hard during the winter... (too much [censored] salt and sand this state is loving to use for its emergency responses to snow)

Then main thing I'm looking for is Dry traction, durable sidewalls, neck breaking grip, and of course, good wet traction

Its been several years since I bought 'performance tires' so if the new all seasons fit the bill I'll snag em up...
 
Originally Posted By: jaj
Michelin PS2's. They'll do everything you want to do provided it's not in winter.


I agree with this. The Michelins are the best I have felt on the E36 M3.
 
I also would suggest the new gen Michelin Pilot super sports.

BUT, please take a look at the Hankook Ventus V12's. These are raved about on the BMW boards and are surprisingly cheap.

For God's sake, no all seasons on that car!
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I also would suggest the new gen Michelin Pilot super sports.

BUT, please take a look at the Hankook Ventus V12's. These are raved about on the BMW boards and are surprisingly cheap.

For God's sake, no all seasons on that car!


^^^YES, AGREED!

Although I can vouch for the BFG SS All Seasons being the absolute BEST handling, responsive turn-in, ultimate grip all seasons I have ever owned in 38 years of driving, they are still all season tires!!


Four more suggestions to add to the list (I did not check for your sizes, so I'm not too sure on that) are; The Falken Azenis RT-615K, Dunlop Direzza D1 Star Sport, Hankook Ventus RS3, and the Nitto NT-05.
ALL are 'street touring class' autocross, 140-200 treadwear, Max performance tires, but should NOT be used in the cold (Max performance summer tire!).
 
I loved the PS2's and replaced them with Continental Extremecontact DW (or somesuch) because they were cheap and rated as highly as the PS2's on TireRack. I have regretted the change in every aggressive turn since - totally changed the handling character of the car from high grip with progressive oversteer to low grip with plowing understeer. To top it off, the DW's aren't wearing out very fast and I don't want to buy new tires until the old ones are done.

I have not tried the new Super Sports, I am not clear if they are the replacement for the PS2 or where in the range they fit.
 
Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
I loved the PS2's and replaced them with Continental Extremecontact DW (or somesuch) because they were cheap and rated as highly as the PS2's on TireRack. I have regretted the change in every aggressive turn since - totally changed the handling character of the car from high grip with progressive oversteer to low grip with plowing understeer. To top it off, the DW's aren't wearing out very fast and I don't want to buy new tires until the old ones are done.

I have not tried the new Super Sports, I am not clear if they are the replacement for the PS2 or where in the range they fit.



They are, and are supposed to be better than the PS2's.
 
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
nor be allowed to freeze (as shouldn't ANY ultra high/Max performance summer tire!).


Not to hijack, but what's the deal with this? Not in use below say, 45F, I get that. But not allowed to freeze?
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
nor be allowed to freeze (as shouldn't ANY ultra high/Max performance summer tire!).


Not to hijack, but what's the deal with this? Not in use below say, 45F, I get that. But not allowed to freeze?


The technical issue is the types of rubbers used in ultra high performance tires are more prone to cracking in cold temperatures than the types of rubbers used in other types of tires. This has to do with "Glass Transition Temperature" where the rubber undergoes a change of state. Not the gas/liquid/solid change of state we are all familiar with, but something akin to that. Here's a link to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_transition_temperature

I think "freezing" is an overstatement, but there are times where the outside temperature in the US gets cold enough for this to take place. If I had a set of tires that I was storing, I'd make sure they were protected from this - and to state it as "above freezing" would be an easy way to remember this.
 
One of my buddies had a cold weather cracking problem with a set of used r-compounds. He had them behind his garage out of the sun but they got a couple -30C nights and cracked badly in the shoulder area when he used them in the spring. Not cool!
I had different R-comps in my shed for the same temperatures and no issues so its pretty tire specific.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
nor be allowed to freeze (as shouldn't ANY ultra high/Max performance summer tire!).


Not to hijack, but what's the deal with this? Not in use below say, 45F, I get that. But not allowed to freeze?


The technical issue is the types of rubbers used in ultra high performance tires are more prone to cracking in cold temperatures than the types of rubbers used in other types of tires. This has to do with "Glass Transition Temperature" where the rubber undergoes a change of state. Not the gas/liquid/solid change of state we are all familiar with, but something akin to that. Here's a link to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_transition_temperature

I think "freezing" is an overstatement, but there are times where the outside temperature in the US gets cold enough for this to take place. If I had a set of tires that I was storing, I'd make sure they were protected from this - and to state it as "above freezing" would be an easy way to remember this.


^^THANK YOU CR for explaining it MUCH better than I ever could have!
thumbsup2.gif


I feel that I may have ruined the compound on both a set of 100 treadwear Nitto R2s, and even a set of 200 treadwear BFG g force KDs by leaving them on much too late into the (dry, but VERY cold, and not-garaged) winter season.
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
nor be allowed to freeze (as shouldn't ANY ultra high/Max performance summer tire!).


Not to hijack, but what's the deal with this? Not in use below say, 45F, I get that. But not allowed to freeze?


In March 2008 about two weeks after BMW Canada released the V8 powered M3 for sale, the Vancouver dealers all received an emergency "STOP DELIVERY" alert that hit my dealer about 30 minutes after I picked my new M3 up. They phoned me at home and I had to return the car the next morning.

While they didn't know the cause at the time, the problem was that a bunch of new M3's had cracks in their tires between the tread blocks. After a couple of dealers reported it to BMW when they found the defect at PDI, BMW decided that until they knew what was going on that no M3's were to be delivered, and those that had been had to be returned for a tire inspection.

I was lucky and my car didn't have the problem.

In the end it turned out that severe cold weather on the prairies had cracked the tires on M3's shipped across the country by train from Eastern Canada. Most BMW's come with all-season tires but the M3 came with Michelin PS2's. I don't know how cold it was when it happened, but there were news reports of "severe cold" on the prairies, so maybe -40 or so.
 
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