Ok Fellow M3 Enthusiasts, I now own a 2002 M3. I must also purchase new tires (18") for my new found friend. I will not be driving in the winter, but here in Colorado I need dry and wet capability for street and some cone chasing….any suggestions for the very best of the best?
Pilot Sport PS2 I would go with the Pilot Sport PS2. I have had a few sets of them on my M3 and they are great; I should say that they are uber soft and they almost evaporate on a hot day which can get expensive if you like to spin wheels or drive really hard.
I agree Michelins PS2 tops them all but they are very expensive for a Summer Performance. Dont expect much mileage from them since they average to about 15k a lifetime. I couldnt afford them, so I went with also a more popular brand for e46 M3 enthusiast on most forums I go to, its called Toyo T1Rs. T1Rs are also a performance tires and are not as expensive as the PS2s. The Toyos T1Rs are directional thread tires, like the first generation PS2, w/c are not marketed anymore. 1st gen PS2s are replaced with the 2nd generation non-directional thread PS2. Another contender for me are the Potenzas by Bridgestone... Pirellis for some reason arent mentioned often in most forums I go to. But like anything, its all a matter for preference and pocketbooks I get my tires from Discount Tires, they beat TireRack in most cases, plus the shipping is free. They are very good also with replacing tires that have tire-protection warranty. Congrats on your 02 M3, I have one and I enjoy them !
If you're looking at the best bang for the buck you might want to take a look at the General Exclaim UHP. It's certainly not a PS2, but it's a great daily driver tire.
I loved the Goodyear F1 GSD3 I was running on my E30 M3, and will be putting them on my E46 next time around. Great wet/dry performance, and moderately priced for what you get.
M3's tend to eat tires; even if not driven aggressively. (get used to that concept) I typically get about 8k out of the rears and replace them twice as often as the fronts. The fronts seem to get about 8k too. Stay away from Continental tires; I have a thread wandering around on this board on my luck with them. Cheers.
PS2's are great. I have tried the PS cup tires and they are at a whole different level....... in the dry. They are virtually useless in the wet. I have also used a set of Dunlop Direza's, and they were not the stickies tires, but are quite entertaining. Their break away characteristics are so progressive that they make the car very slideable.
Also vote for PS2s. Just had a set installed on my 05 M3. Just great. Much better than the previous Advan Neovas and the awful Continental OEM tires. Always had Pilot Sports on my E36 M3 and loved them. Great to be back in the fold. Jim.
I run Bridgestone Potenza Pole Positions during the rainy season here in the San Francisco Bay Area. For drier months, I like Pirelli Pzero Rossos or the PS2s other members have mentioned. The Bridgestones perform better in wet condtions than the aforementioned tires in my experience. They're also a great summer tire, so perhaps they'd be a good option.
Kuhmo Ecstas: priced right, stick like glue, exhibit reasonable wear for their summer tire, their all-weather tire (ASX) actually gets about 20k miles, on my daily driver and they are quiet! I wear out the rears more quickly thn the fronts as well, I usually buy all 4 and keep the front ones just in case I get a puncture of have some issue with the fronts that are the replacements. AKuhmo makes a good racing tire as well.
Tires I went with Bridgestone RE01-R's running a non-staggered set up on 9 1/2" rims. I like these much better then PS 2's in a staggered set up and 19" to be fair. I like the non-staggered set up as it allows me to rotate the tires and helps eliminate the front end push. Of course, this requires new wheels. Fred
I own an 02 M3. I had OEM Continental summer tires. They were great overall, but not very good in wintery conditions. I replaced them with Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus. These are all season tires that handle very well. Road feel is on par with the summer tires. The ride is a little rougher than the original Continentals, but the added bonus of winter usage and 45k miles tire tread warranty is nice.
Here is what I have found: Michelin Pilot Sport Cups: Most expensive but best dry tires period, useless in wet. Michelin PS2's: Best all around (not including winter of course) tire IF you don't mind replacing them more than others and IF the cost isn't a factor. BFG KDW2's: decent and less expensive but VERY noisy Goodyear Eagle F1 GD3's: very good tires, solid grip good wet traction etc but alot heavier than competitors tires, not a huge deal except if you are a competition racer. Sumitomo HTR Z III: best "budget" tire IMHO General UHP: cheap, but no grip compared to sumitomo for about the same money let alone any of the tire above that. Toyo and Kumho: I dont have much exposure to these, I have heard good things about the toyo's and bad about the kumho though.
Tires, tires, tires You haven't mentioned what class you'll run in autocross. In Sandy Eggo, if you have R-compound tires-say, Toy Yo R888s or Yoko Pajama A048s-they call it Modified. Bummero, dude! So if I want to run my Triple Eights (noisy little buggers, aren't they?) I'm immediately up against evildoers with trick suspensions 'n' stuff. Steve Dinan loves the Michelino Pilot Sport IIs. He says there are two traction points he looks for: turn-in and acceleration out of a corner (the tire's ability to "hook up" during the deceleration-acceleration transition); the Pirate Sport IIs excel at both. We just tested the new Dunlop Drizzlers-okay, the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs (whew!)-on a Dinan 135i at Laguna Seca. The good news is that they stick very well from the get-go-they don't need a lot of warm-up. This is good news for autocrossers, as is the fact that these are not R-compound tires. But they do lose some of their traction after about twenty minutes of hottish track driving. I put about 350 road miles on a set and was amazed at how quiet they were; I expected them to moan like the R888s.
I have to agree. I am on my 4th set of tires for a 2005 M3. The original Continentals were ok so I replaced with new Continentals. They were terrible. Didnt seem like the same tires at all. Then, after listening to a certain scribe for a car mag, Advan Neovas. Good tires unless the temperature went below 60 then they were about as grippy as the old steel wheel skates. Finally, back to Michelino PS2s. the best in all ways. Always used Pilot Sports on the 95 M3 and have replaced OEM on wifeys X3 with Pilot Sport AS. Really transformed the X3. ( Yeah, I know--Into what?) Jim.
I researched this heavily lately and my thoughts. The PS2s are probably the best overall tire, if price is no object. New Goodyear F1 Assymetrics might be just as good for a whole lot less coin (won over PS2s in a Tire Rack text IIRC and are on sale with a $50 dollar mail in rebate). Sumitomo HTR Z IIIs are the new value performance tire, I just ordered these myself. They won a Tire Rack test and have gotten good reviews in various venues.
