New tires needed ASAP - Pls Advise
Posted by Kelly
I'm a Michelin man (not as fat tho), see what they have in your size Kelly; you'll pay, but worth it, I love em, stick great (even on ice) and wear forever, cheap actually  see, no matter what you buy(do your homework, tire salesmen will sell you anything), if you can get an open tread design that has a good sticky compound so the car will do what you tell it to!
Tires and oil, two things I don't cheap out on, Rick Rick |
Right there with you Rick...tires are the only important thing between your backside and the assphault 
Cheap out on other stuff but put the best quality tires you can afford on the car! |
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Tires and oil, two things I don't cheap out on, Rick
Rick[/quote] Right there with you Rick...tires are the only important thing between your backside and the assphault
Cheap out on other stuff but put the best quality tires you can afford on the car![/quote] Hi All, Sounds like Michelins are a great choice. I looked at their web site. I'm like a stranger in a foreign land. I don't know how to filter our the marketing hype from the actual description of the tires. According to Michelin's web site I will need size 195/65HR15. (Although the tire shop gave me a different size 20560R14 for a Sumitomo which I did not choose.) Based on this 4 different options appealed to me. Primacy MXV4 - Performance Touring 60,000-Mile Warranty - Primacy™ MXV4® tires feature Advanced MaxTouch Construction™, a unique contact patch shape and design that allows for long-lasting, even treadwear. Quiet, Comfortable Ride - Michelin Comfort Control Technology™ uses computer-optimized design and precision manufacturing to offer greatly reduced vibrations and road noise. Confident Wet-Weather Handling - 2-D Active Sipes alternately lock together and open as needed to provide increased biting edges that grip the road for improved all-season handling, especially in rain and snow. Pilot Exacto 45,000-Mile Limited Warranty - A Life Maximized Adherence™ all-season tread compound helps deliver extreme all-season grip that is able to maintain heightened performance season after season, year after year. Precise Control in Wet Conditions - Deep, precisely cut HydroChutes™ help channel water away quickly, offering great wet-weather confidence. Feel Every Curve - A European handling profile, featuring a rounder shoulder, is designed to provide progressive, predictable cornering, letting you fully enjoy all of your vehicle's performance capabilities. I tend to think that the Primacy looks good - 60,000 miles and a quiet ride. My car is a convertible - there is plenty of noise. Although the Exacto's "feel every curve" sounds appealing, the San Francisco roads are pot holed and cracked. Given everyone's advice, I would like to buy nice, long lasting tires. The 2 options above are what Michelin's web site recommended rather than price. Basically, at the moment I'm driving on "borrowed time." I want new tires on the car as quickly as possible. I will buy then through a tire shop - not the Internet. Do you think that the Primacy would be a good choice? Or is there another Michelin model that I should consider. Pls let me know. 10,000 Thanks, Kelly |
Hi All, As I said - a stranger in a new land. Turns out my basketwave rims are 14" not 15". (I used a measuring tape across the rim rather than reading the code on the tire.) Sorry about that. The Michelin tire that fits is the 195/65-14 called "The Harmony" The Harmony This is a narrow tire (195) compared to the 205 "Road Runners" now on the car. (The Road Runners were on the car when I bought it. The "spare" in the trunk was a 195 Pirelli. Now it is on the front opposite a 205 Road Runner. Beemie is asymmetric. Probably not good.) How is the driving (cornering, breaking) changed buy switching from a 205 to 195? Acceleration is not my main concern. Cornering* and breaking are critical. I would think the wider 205 (more rubber on the pavement) is better? (* Uhh my mind wonders back to the ultra terrifying right turn I once made to avoid hitting a car that I thought was pulling out in front of me. Little Beemie was a champ and remained smooth and level.) Looking forward to your answers as usual, Kelly
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I'm also interested on people's opinion on this. Intuition tells me that a wider tire would get worse gas milage, but would brake better. I would also expect it to effect steering, and not in a positive direction. However, what physics tells us should happen, and what is actually perceivable, are often two different things
I'd fall back on the "BMW Engineers know best", but those decisions may have been made with different priorities in mind, available technology, or economics. What do you guys think? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles 
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I just put four Harmony's on Janet's car, replacing the four that came off 195x65x14
Great tire, it replaced the MX4 which was a little loud but worked great. Tire Rack 
Good luck Kelly, and don't feel bad; most of us have to learn at tire time too, you're lucky, you've got us B)- I went for 205x60x14 on my car but it does put the pan closer to the road  but it looks cool!
Rick |
Were those the Yokohama AVS ES100 model or the Sumimoto HR200? But both of these are summer tires. Do they brake well in the rain? KellyEdited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2010 08:48PM by Kelly. |
Sumitomos, but I think they're... hold on I'll look what model they are  HTR H4 is what they are.
When I first put them on they felt great on the dry and the wet,but a few weeks later I had to use the car in the ice and frozen snow, they scared the crap out of me and I limped the few blocks back home- two years later (just a few weeks ago) I was out in normal snow and they were fine. I wanted to try that size (205x60x14) and do like the stiffer sidewall action, it goes perfectly with the IS springs and shocks (I'm in to the stock set-up) that, to me, is the perfect street set-up; supple but able to handle a higher speed turn. All tires need a break in period, about 100 miles I think. I've tried Yokohama's a few times but have chosen the wrong models, I know they make decent tires, I just haven't had the right ones, and I'm fairly good at making tire choices. That's why it pays to read reviews if nothing else
Rick |
Outside of the obvious reasons to change the price, like economics, public mindset (willingness to pay), and difficulty of the sale, there is the often forgotten one. Tax. I don't know how much it would apply in this circumstance, but growing up on the border of two US states that handle taxes very differently (One has an income tax, the other has a sales tax) there are vast differences in prices due to it. On top of blanket taxes, there are individual taxes on specific items. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a special tax on tires, with the idea that for every tire you buy, "The State" has to repair a certain amount of road damage. I know governments often handle this with a Gas tax, which is why a 2 mile jump across the river from my house lands me paying 20 cents less for gas B) I don't think there is a reason it couldn't work with Tires as well though. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles
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That said, a 100% increase in price is outrageous!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles
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You know, you should really stop storing those tires on your treadmill...  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 - E30 - M20 - Manual. Approximately 270,000 miles 2000 - E46 - M52TUB28 - Manual. Approximately 110,000 miles
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No. I've flogged a lot of cars as hard as they'll go in autocrosses and race tracks, in ways that cars on the street rarely see. I'm constantly driving on squealing tires (like the old racer's adage says, a squealing tire is a happy tire ). It's nearly impossible to roll a car unless you go off the pavement (if you go off in the soft dirt or the ditch, all bets are off). Unlike the videos we've seen of SUVs flipping over in emergency maneuvers, it just doesn't happen with cars. When they reach the limit, they just slide. Tires with softer sidewalls will be less responsive (and usually more comfortable), but they won't make your car roll.
It's also pretty much impossible for tires to unseat themselves from the rim if they're properly inflated. I ran my iX once in an autocross, using race tires from my Miata (they use the same wheel size). Those sticky tires have a lot of grip, putting a lot of pressure on the sidewalls. I thought I had them inflated high enough, but people told me after one of my runs that the sidewalls had completely rolled over, and the edge of the rim was practically on the pavement! (I could actually feel it inside the car when that happened.) But they never rolled off the rim. It's hard enough to get the bead off the rim when you're trying to -- I've never heard of it happening while driving. Enjoy your new tires! __________ Dave '91 325iX |
I agree with everything Dave sez, in addition, you might have had 60s series tires before giving your car a little less roll action (I think you went with oem 195x65, yes?). If the larger sidewalls give you a unsafe feeling you might want a stiffer shock but if you're just street driving (like Janet's car is/does) you might come to like the cushier feeling the taller sidewalls give. My car (1988 325is) has the stiffer suspension (stock, that's what I like) with the 205x60 tires which I also love but sometimes it's nice to get in a automatic cushy car that just goes.... and goes effortlessly B) goes......and goes
What pressure are you running? Good Luck with the new skins Kelly |
Hey Andy, I'm running the Harmonies on my wife's car(1987 325e bottlecaps)195x65x14) and this is our second set, I like them but they are a tall tire (read squishy). On my car, 1988 325is, I'm running sumitomos 205x60x14 on baskweaves and they are a little nicer when you pitch the car in to a turn, especially if you overcook one! but it does put the car a touch lower to the ground (oil pan blues) My suggestion is to look in tire rack's selection for tire size, our choices are getting slim these days. Soon we'll have to go to those great wheels Cab runs on his car; 15 inch Basketweaves from Ronel? my spelling might be off Ronal?
Rick |
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