We're due for a new set of tires for our X3. The car has 19" M rims with 245/50-R19 105V Pirelli run flat summer performance tires. After almost 20K miles they are down to the minimum tread. We don't get much snow here in Portland, OR but we do get some snow and of course we get lots of rain, too. So we've decided to switch to all season tires. There are surprisingly few run flat tires in the right size and load rating. The retailers in my area don't stock these tires. The dealer does. My dealer has a Pirelli P7 A/S in stock and a Bridgestone (I don't recall the model) in stock. I've had good luck with Pirelli tires on various vehicles. However the Bridgestones are cheaper by about $300 for the set. Plus they have a slightly higher rebate. Any experience with the Bridgestones you'd care to share would be appreciated. $300 on a set of these tires is not spare change but it's not a deal breaker. If the Bridgestones are quieter, handle as well as or better than the Pirelli tires I'd be willing to give them a try. The last set of Bridgestones I had was on a '82 Subaru and they were awful but lasted forever. On the X3 awful is not an option. TIA.
Generally I've liked Bridgestones a lot, for ages. No experience with the particular ones you're looking at - Tire Rack is historically my go-to for purchases, reviews, info, & best prices, and lucky enough to have a local tire shop with reasonable manager who's willing to mount and balance (& has the proper tire machines) without a lot of flak over not giving them the tire biz itself. Generally I've eschewed the runflats instead taking my chances with regular tires (lighter weight tire, more give to sidewall, forgoeing the leaden feel of the rft's)- so far so good, & dedicate some trunk space to a BMW mini-spare ratchet-strapped to the trunk floor & small jack kit stowed in trunk cubby area. Works for me, of course many may require the trunk floor space. All-season I think is a good choice, the stock performance tires wear out too fast and though fun, street driving ain't a track so that's a lot of extra expense for the limited occasions you can even remotely take advantage to any degree of the tires' performance capabilities. If you have a square setup then you have the bonus of rotating tires/wheels to maximize life & even out wear. If you're sticking with rft's, unless the reviews en masse are terrible, I'm hard pressed to think the more expensive pirelli's could be worth it. I presume rft's have made improvement, I do recall first-gen Bridgestone rft's on BMW's were criticized for harsh ride quality & noisiness.
