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Car Forum / BMW Cars / August 2005330Ci - time for tires...
I have 2002 330Ci with sport pkg. Ran over a screw & the very slow leak in my RR tire is becoming a very fast leak. Have about 24k on the tires & could probably get another 10k out of them, but I've had this tire repaired twice & it's still leaking so I'm thinking about replacing just the rear pair for now. So a couple of questions: 1. Is it wise to replace just the rear tires (assuming the fronts are really OK for another 10K or so)? With that much wear on them, would the difference between the new rears & used fronts be a problem? I'm mainly concerned about handling/safety. 2. Do you have any recommendations for brand of tire? I'm inclined to simply replace them with the OEM tires - Michelen Pilot Sport - but Tire Rack & Discount Tire list several others as "Best" quality & rated very similar to the Michelins at significantly lower prices, like: Dunlop SP Sport, Yokohama AVS ES100, Continental, Pirelli - all around $50 - $80 cheaper per tire. Another non-tire question: my suspension feels much softer than when the car was new - am I imagining this or is this normal wear? Do I need to have my struts, springs or something checked & possibly replaced? Or is it just because I've been driving my wife's Mini & now my Bimmer feels like a boat??! TIA for any advice & suggestions!! Barry > I have 2002 330Ci with sport pkg. Ran over a screw & the very slow leak in > my RR tire is becoming a very fast leak. Have about 24k on the tires & could [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Barry Hi; On the tyre from I'm running Dunlop SP9000 here in the UK on my 330D sport. They seem quiet and have plenty of grip. I don't know about wear yet as I've only been running them for 5 months. How many miles has your car done? Suspension does soften over time/miles, so might need a check. I would imagine a Mini will always make a bigger car like a 3 series feel ...well big. The mini is one of the best handling cars around, and it's that much smaller and lighter. Keith. Thanks Keith! The car has about 24K miles, so not that much. And yes, the Mini is pretty tight! Handles incredibly well. BTW, if it makes any difference I'm based in Southern California, USA. So winter tires and weather conditions are not issues at all... Thanks again, Barry >> I have 2002 330Ci with sport pkg. Ran over a screw & the very slow leak > in [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Keith. If you're replacing just the rears I'd stick with the Pilots. They're great tires. If you wanted to replace all four then you could try something different, but if you've been happy with them why change? (Well, other than price). If you do only get two new ones, you could swap your existing fronts (low on tread but passable) to the rear, and put the new ones on the front. I run the Pilot Sport A/S - rated as all season, legal for all season, but barely passable in serious snow. You might consider them if you go skiing at all. They work just as well as the ones you've got, but have the sidewall markings the CHP will look for once it starts snowing. As far as the suspension goes - you're probably just used to the car now. Mine has 35K on it - but a test drive in a non-Sport-package E90 told me that yes, my sport package suspension still works better! Hi, >swap your existing fronts (low on tread but passable) to the rear, On my 05/2003 E46 330Ci, I have 245ers rear and 225ers front. I don´t think it´s a good idea to swap them?!  SignatureMit freundlichem Gruß Holger Hirschfeld (Für Mails bitte die "01" aus der Adresse streichen) (For Mails please remove "01" from mailadress) Thanks! I'll probably stick with the Michelins. As for swapping, per Holger's comments in another post, I have 245s on the rear & 225s on the front. So unfortunately, swapping is not an option... You're probably right about the suspension - it's most likely a combination of being used to it & driving my wife's Mini occassionally that gives me the feeling it's getting soft... Barry > If you're replacing just the rears I'd stick with the Pilots. They're > great tires. If you wanted to replace all four then you could try [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > now. Mine has 35K on it - but a test drive in a non-Sport-package E90 > told me that yes, my sport package suspension still works better! > You're probably right about the suspension - it's most likely a > combination of being used to it & driving my wife's Mini occassionally > that gives me the feeling it's getting soft... The wear of the tires also may have softened the turn-in a little. Floyd "Barry K" <bob@nowhere.com>wrote >I have 2002 330Ci with sport pkg. Sweet. I really want to get one of these pretty soon. I just had to sell my '01 A4 because of an overseas move, so I'll need something to replace it. > 1. Is it wise to replace just the rear tires (assuming the fronts are > really OK for another 10K or so)? With that much wear on them, would the > difference between the new rears & used fronts be a problem? I'm mainly > concerned about handling/safety. If the fronts still have enough tread to provide good wet traction, then I would just replace the rears, but would probably stick with the same tire model (MPS). > 2. Do you have any recommendations for brand of tire? I'm inclined to > simply replace them with the OEM tires - Michelen Pilot Sport - but Tire > Rack & Discount Tire list several others as "Best" quality & rated very > similar to the Michelins at significantly lower prices, like: Dunlop SP > Sport, Yokohama AVS ES100, Continental, Pirelli - all around $50 - $80 > cheaper per tire. Dunlop SP Maxx is good. I've also been happy with ContiSportContact2, especially in terms of quiet ride and comfort; dry/wet grip is OK. I'd stay away from AVS ES100 - it's a low price entry level perf. tire which becomes very noisy rather fast. You get what you pay for, I guess. > Another non-tire question: my suspension feels much softer than when the > car was new - am I imagining this or is this normal wear? Well, shocks wear out over time. Repair shops should have the equipment to check the condition of the shocks and advise if it's time to replace them, but at 24K miles, they should still be "like new", unless you abused the hell out of the car or the shocks were defective somehow. Good luck, Pete Thanks Pete. Sorry for the delay in replying to this - haven't been online for a few days. Based on other feedback - & in the interest of "playing it safe" (the dealer thought I only had around 2-3K left on my old tires) - I just decided to replace all 4 tires & stick with Michelin Pilot Sports. Went with the PS2s instead of just Pilot Sports - other than a different tread pattern, not sure of the differences. From what I've read & been told, the PS2s are equal or better quality, should ride more quietly, handle better & last longer. And they were cheaper too! Thanks again to all for your suggestions, comments & advice! Barry > "Barry K" <bob@nowhere.com>wrote > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Pete > From what I've read & been told, the PS2s are equal or better quality, > should ride more quietly, handle better & last longer. And they were > cheaper too! Hmm... my information is a bit diffierent. The PS2 is more performance-oriented - stiffer sidewalls and possibly shorter treadlife. Alas, what's done is done. I guess you'll let us know in a while... Cheers, Pete Hi Barry, I have run Michelen Pilot Sports on both my Alpina Roadster S & 330ci convertible and they were great. However I had the misfortune of running Dunlops on my Schnitzer 330ci and they were terrible in hard cornering, the side walls were WAY to soft! Stick with Michelen Pilot Sport's if I were you! Its your life! Cheers, Damo! > I have 2002 330Ci with sport pkg. Ran over a screw & the very slow leak in > my RR tire is becoming a very fast leak. Have about 24k on the tires & could [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Barry
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