Best e90 tyres in 2015

petrolhead2014 · 5 Apr 2015 at 21:02

Hi everyone,

I have just bought a 2005 e90 330i SE with 52k miles after selling my previous 2002 e39 520i. When I was driving in France in the rain at 90-100mph, I felt a fair bit of vibration in the steering wheel and through the seats - which was far more than I would experience with my previous e39 on the same roads at similar speeds and weather conditions.

The most likely culprit IMO is the woeful tyre combination the previous owner had: driver side rear - a random Chinese non-rft tyre :confused:

, passenger rear - Nokian RFT, driver front - Michelin RFT with only 2-3mm left and passenger front - another random Chinese non-rft tyre :eek:

. My e39 was shod with Continental contipremium contact 2 with around 5mm left all round when I sold it. I think it is likely that the vibrations at high speeds in low traction conditions probably results from the awful tyre combo than to a steering/suspension issue. What does amaze me though is how beautifully it rides in town; I went on the speed humps I'm used to at the same speed as my old e39 and was surprised by how more structurally stiff the e90 feels. Even handling at normal speeds in the dry is better (I can take corners at higher speeds and the whole car feels to nimble and makes the e39 feel like a boat in comparison). I can only imagine how even nicer it will be once I replace the tyres with proper ones.

I wish to buy 4 new tyres for the car and have been searching the web for magazine reviews and forum posts about tyre choice. I've pretty much decided on going for Michelin, Continental or Goodyear as they seem to be the best tyres around. Although I've read several posts about RFTs having a harsh ride and cause issues with tramlining, others seem to claim that latest RFTs have largely overcome these issues and are comparable to their non-RFT counterparts.

I would therefore appreciate your opinions on what would be the best choice for my car. My current wheel size is 225/45/17 and my priorities are wet and dry handling/braking, high speed stability (I will be going to Germany next week and will max out the car - 155mph!) and ride comfort (most of my driving is around town with potholes and speed humps). I'm not fussed about tyre longevity/fuel economy (except if they are subpar - as long as they last 10kish miles that's fine).

I would also appreciate some feedback on the choice of RFTs vs non-RFTs (latest generation). As I mentioned above, I have already searched for this on several forums and most of the posts tend to be for older RFTs. If RFTs can offer similar handling and ride comfort as non-RFTs, I don't mind paying the price premium for them, but if they still have harsh ride and tramlining issues then I will stick to non-RFTs and get a BMW mobility kit (compressor and sealant).

In summary I need the following advice:
1. Run flat or not.
2. Which brand is best for handling/high speed tolerance/ride comfort - Continental, Michelin or Goodyear.

I have been trying so far to compare tyres using the EU labelling, but, like many standardised comparisons, they only show part of the picture (e.g. only tyre noise, but not about ride comfort).

Many thanks,
Sam

hartgeh3 · 5 Apr 2015 at 21:05

screw rft, get some Goodyear F1s. I got mine from Tyreleader.co.uk and had a garage fit them for me.

Havana_UK · 5 Apr 2015 at 21:54

My 2011 E91 has the same size tyre, and as it's a company car I have no option but to stick with RFTs. Originally I had two sets of Bridgestone Potenza something or others which weren't too bad but lasted only 25K miles. More recently I'm on my second set of Michelen Premacy RFT, which seem to me to have less wet grip (not that the car gets driven hard at all) but lasted for AGES. Previous set lasted almost 50k miles. I didn't notice any difference in comfort between the two tyres.

rG-tom · 5 Apr 2015 at 23:15

i had michelin pilot super sports on my e92 335, and also sampled PS2s and re050a RFTs on the same car....the Super sports were far and away the best in all regards, usage, grip and feel.

Housey · 5 Apr 2015 at 23:18

rG-tom said:
i had michelin pilot super sports on my e92 335, and also sampled PS2s and re050a RFTs on the same car....the Super sports were far and away the best in all regards, usage, grip and feel.

..just noisy as **** and ride poorly (F10 versions)

[TW]Fox · 6 Apr 2015 at 08:17

That doesn't matter when picking an internet hero tyre Housey.

petrolhead2014 · 6 Apr 2015 at 17:46

hartgeh3 said:
screw rft, get some Goodyear F1s. I got mine from Tyreleader.co.uk and had a garage fit them for me.

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply.

1. Do you know how the GoodYear asymmetrics compare to continental contipremium contact 5 (non RFT)?
2. The web site you suggested (tyreleader) seems to be the best for price I've seen so far! The other sites like nationaltyres, Halfrauds etc quote more for the same tyres! Is this the cheapest retailer, or do you know any others which are similarly cheap too (in case they might have special offers).

Cheers,
Sam

petrolhead2014 · 6 Apr 2015 at 17:48

rG-tom said:
i had michelin pilot super sports on my e92 335, and also sampled PS2s and re050a RFTs on the same car....the Super sports were far and away the best in all regards, usage, grip and feel.

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, I later found that the Supersports are not available in 225 45 17 (and I do not wish to change my rims for now).

petrolhead2014 · 6 Apr 2015 at 17:55

[TW]Fox;27874642 said:
That doesn't matter when picking an internet hero tyre Housey.

Mr Fox!

I am newly registered on this forum, but I am a big fan of your write-ups and have always noticed how well balanced and informative your posts are!

. On a slight tangent to the above discussion, do you still have your e39 530i?

While I presume you may not have much experience of RFTs (if you still have the e39), what would you recommend for non-RFT tyres? I am aiming for summer highest performance tyres (i.e. no 'eco' or grand touring tyres) in size 225 45 17 with the best dry/wet handling and ride comfort. Fuel economy is not an issue (Who buys an N52 330i to save pennies on petrol anyway!).

Cheers,
Sam

[TW]Fox · 6 Apr 2015 at 19:21

petrolhead2014 said:
Mr Fox!

I am newly registered on this forum, but I am a big fan of your write-ups and have always noticed how well balanced and informative your posts are! . On a slight tangent to the above discussion, do you still have your e39 530i?

While I presume you may not have much experience of RFTs (if you still have the e39), what would you recommend for non-RFT tyres?

I do still have the E39 530i but I also have an F10 530d so unfortunately I have significant experience of RFT tyres

Personally for your needs I'd be looking at an excellent road tyre with good all-round ability rather than focus in any one particular area. IMHO this narrows the choice down to the Continental ContiSport Contact 5 or the Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2. I've always been hugely happy with the Goodyear but just lately people have begun to notice something feels a bit different and the set I bought for my F10 are so horribly droney at speed I've actually gone back to my Goodyear Excellence RFT's.

This is a shame as the F1A2's on the 530i are amazing tyres.

hartgeh3 · 6 Apr 2015 at 19:41

petrolhead2014 said:
Hi there,

Thanks for your reply.

1. Do you know how the GoodYear asymmetrics compare to continental contipremium contact 5 (non RFT)?
2. The web site you suggested (tyreleader) seems to be the best for price I've seen so far! The other sites like nationaltyres, Halfrauds etc quote more for the same tyres! Is this the cheapest retailer, or do you know any others which are similarly cheap too (in case they might have special offers).

Cheers,
Sam

1. no idea, I had them swapped over on my 130i and ride was a lot better, all round decent upgrade.
2. cheapest I could find them when I was looking, just make sure you can find someone who can fit them. I know a friend who charged £20 to swap them over so may need to shop around unless you know a friendly indy.

petrolhead2014 · 15 Apr 2015 at 20:21

[TW]Fox;27876416 said:
I do still have the E39 530i but I also have an F10 530d so unfortunately I have significant experience of RFT tyres

Personally for your needs I'd be looking at an excellent road tyre with good all-round ability rather than focus in any one particular area. IMHO this narrows the choice down to the Continental ContiSport Contact 5 or the Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2. I've always been hugely happy with the Goodyear but just lately people have begun to notice something feels a bit different and the set I bought for my F10 are so horribly droney at speed I've actually gone back to my Goodyear Excellence RFT's.

This is a shame as the F1A2's on the 530i are amazing tyres.

Apologies for the delay to reply as I was really busy over the past week with a major audit.

I'm surprised to hear about the Asy 2 being worse than the excellence RFT which are lower wet grip performance and higher noise and I would presume that the newer ones on your F10 would be the same as the older ones (I wasn't aware of changes in the tyre since its release - I doubt tyre makes have 'LCI' version

).

I'm also considering Pirelli P zero runflats. Does anyone know how they compare to continental 5 SSRs and/or Goodyear Eagle F1 ASY2?