Tyre Brand Advice

Prince

Torque King
Points
242
Location
Northampton, England
Car
BMW E36 318is Coupe
Hi all,

I've just ordered a new set of rims for my BMW and I need some tyres for them.

I've been looking around and I've narrowed my choice down to the following:

- Falken FK-452
They are £68.44 each and a mid-range tyre.

- Toyo Proxes T1-R
Another mid-range choice but £90.61 each.

- Goodyear Eagle F1s
£114.60 each but a premium rated tyre.

- Pirelli P Zero Nero
Premium but the most expensive at £146.96 a corner.

Has anyone had any experience with any of the above? If it makes a difference they will be used on the road and will stretched slightly.

Thanks.
 
I've had Goodyear F1's and they are very very good if a tad expensive.
Have you had a look at what Michelin have to offer.
I've had their Primacy tyre on the Focus and the level of grip is awesome for a road tyre.
 
Also, I'm getting my Yoko AD08 fitted to the RS after work tomorrow so by the end of the weekend I should have formed enough of an opinion for you. They are within your price range I think.

All I can say is don't bother with the Toyos. The Falkens are just as good for a lot less if you want an average tyre.
 
Thanks for the responses guys! The fitment will be 215/40/17. They should be wide enough to give me enough grip but also give a subtle stretch.

Whilst the budget is tight (looking to throw £2k into the project over the next couple of months) I won't say that the price is an issue as you get what you pay for.
 
Well I have had both the F1's (very nice tread pattern by the way, easy to spot where you have been) and the P Zero Nero and Rosso!

Not to impressed with the F1 performance, it was good but was expecting more and the P Zero Nero are very very soft! if you hit the kerb even slightly it's a new tyre for sure!

I have the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 XL now and I think there marvellous! quiet road noise, very good stopping power in the wet, and great on a very high speed tickle of the throttle! ;)
 
Conti's Sport Contact 3 take some beating if you fancy a premium tyre.

I'd consider these and Michelin's Pilot Exalto as the benchmarks.

Which is not to say that you can't get very good results with midrange tyres - most of these are based upon the premium tyres from 2-3 years ago and often made in the same factories as well. For example, Kleber is owned by Michelin; Barum by Continental; Lassa by Bridgestone.

A couple of years ago I'd never have considered suggesting anything besides top end products but I now feel safe in doing so.
 
Conti's Sport Contact 3 take some beating if you fancy a premium tyre.

I'd consider these and Michelin's Pilot Exalto as the benchmarks.

Just had a little look at these as well. Both look good and in the same kind of price range as the Pirelli Zero Neros.

The decision just got harder! :lol:
 
I've disliked Pirelli tyres for years, perhaps unfairly so now because their products will have moved on since I adopted my prejudice against them.

If you want to spend top dollar cash then the Michelins are the ones to buy. The Continentals will be equally good, if not even marginally better in terms of outright grip but they are unlikely to outlast a Michelin tyre.

My 406 used to chew up Conti tyres very quickly, especially at the front mostly because of the ridiculous amount of torque being forced through a FWD transaxle.

RWD is generally kinder to tyres - it does at least even up the workload a bit.

Once your new rubber is fitted I'd advise a full four wheel alignment. Don't do it immediately after fitting because the car has been lifted and will need a couple of days to 'settle' the suspension.

Get it done by a good operator. You must do all four on any car, whether FWD or RWD to ensure that the thrust line runs directly through the middle of the car. You can't simply align the fronts to an imaginary line - this doesn't work.
 
ive used the 452, still have 2 on the back and find the 912 ( need to double check ) is slightly better

dont feel they were as good as the no non exsistant bridgestone re040s
 
I've disliked Pirelli tyres for years, perhaps unfairly so now because their products will have moved on since I adopted my prejudice against them.

If you want to spend top dollar cash then the Michelins are the ones to buy. The Continentals will be equally good, if not even marginally better in terms of outright grip but they are unlikely to outlast a Michelin tyre.

My 406 used to chew up Conti tyres very quickly, especially at the front mostly because of the ridiculous amount of torque being forced through a FWD transaxle.

RWD is generally kinder to tyres - it does at least even up the workload a bit.

Once your new rubber is fitted I'd advise a full four wheel alignment. Don't do it immediately after fitting because the car has been lifted and will need a couple of days to 'settle' the suspension.

Get it done by a good operator. You must do all four on any car, whether FWD or RWD to ensure that the thrust line runs directly through the middle of the car. You can't simply align the fronts to an imaginary line - this doesn't work.

The plan is to fit the new wheels along with a lot of new suspension parts so alignment will be taken care of.

The grip is essentially what I'm after so the Michelins seem to fit the bill perfectly.

Another question though. Does stretching a tyre affect the performance of the tyre?

Thanks for all the help so far guys!
 
A slight stretch will be fine, a major stretch and you are putting extra stress on the sidewalls and corner of the tyre that it is not designed for. There is also a chance of the tyre unseating apparently although I've never seen this myself, and know a couple of lads running some seriously dangerous looking stretch who've had no issues.

Also, due to the sidewals not being allowed to performance as they should, cornering and ride quality will be adversly affected.
 
Is the practice of stretching one of fitting tyres that are too narrow for the rims to which they're fitted?

I ask because it's also a bad idea to fit overly wide tyres to a rim which can cause excessive flex in the sidewalls, thus increasing the rate of heat build up. I always thought this to be the more usual tyre 'crime'.
 
A slight stretch will be fine, a major stretch and you are putting extra stress on the sidewalls and corner of the tyre that it is not designed for. There is also a chance of the tyre unseating apparently although I've never seen this myself, and know a couple of lads running some seriously dangerous looking stretch who've had no issues.

Also, due to the sidewals not being allowed to performance as they should, cornering and ride quality will be adversly affected.

I only want a slight stretch so handling isn't compromised but looks are also optimised so thanks for the input mate.
 
I have had Toyo T1Rs, very good grippy tyre in the dry, good in the wet but with it being a softer compound they don't last as long as some. A good track tyre compared to the proper R888s which are now going for silly money. I currently run Falken 452s and can't fault them and I would not call them average. Grip is good in both wet and dry and wear rate is impressive. Not tracked them as yet, but might leave them on for a few laps whilst at Goodwood at the end of Feb.
 
I have had Toyo T1Rs, very good grippy tyre in the dry, good in the wet but with it being a softer compound they don't last as long as some. A good track tyre compared to the proper R888s which are now going for silly money. I currently run Falken 452s and can't fault them and I would not call them average. Grip is good in both wet and dry and wear rate is impressive. Not tracked them as yet, but might leave them on for a few laps whilst at Goodwood at the end of Feb.

Please report back as to how they handle on the track mate. I've always used Falkens as a compromise between price and performance but this time I wanted to go for something even better.
 

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