Recommended tyres for E46 330i
Discussion
Having recently got my E46 330i touring, I've found that the front tyres are well worn, but also perished after finding cracking on the side walls and between the tread blocks as well as after a few heavy stops resulted in the ABS going off a bit more than usual.
Now currently the car sits on Bridgestone SO40s run flats which to be honest, are harsh, noisy and not that great in wet / slick conditions from what I've experienced.
Unfortunately, it looks like to swap to normal tyres
, it's a full set as having checked, it's generally recommended not to mix normal tyres with run flats.
Currently looking at Costco since they have a deal on Michelin Pilot Sport 3s but even so, it's going to be north of £500
Any other recommendations for tyres? Fronts are 225/40/R18 and rears are 255/35/R18.
Now currently the car sits on Bridgestone SO40s run flats which to be honest, are harsh, noisy and not that great in wet / slick conditions from what I've experienced.
Unfortunately, it looks like to swap to normal tyres
, it's a full set as having checked, it's generally recommended not to mix normal tyres with run flats. Currently looking at Costco since they have a deal on Michelin Pilot Sport 3s but even so, it's going to be north of £500
Any other recommendations for tyres? Fronts are 225/40/R18 and rears are 255/35/R18.
Sf_Manta said:
For a while BMW did use run flats, but now moved away, least from what I've researched.
BMW had never used run-flats at the time of the E46, and now do on all the models I can think of, including MINI. Not sure where you've been looking, or why anyone fitted RFTs to a car like yours with a spare wheel well!I have Pilot Sport 3s on my E46 328i too, and I think they're really rather good. I'm lucky and have 205/55R16, so a full set squeezes in under £300, but I'd buy them again. Quiet, compliant and excellent dry grip. Not so impressive in the wet but still good, and certainly better than any Bridgestone I've driven. The car had RE050As on the front and ER300s on the rear, neither were great despite the fronts being OEM fitment.
Your size is an expensive combo, but Oponeo could do you a set of PS3s for £442. Just because Costco have an offer on, doesn't mean they're the cheapest!
You could fit Uniroyal Rainsport 3s if you want to keep the costs down a bit. Cracking all-weather tyre that's still OK in the dry, and they're £76 front and £113 rear in your sizes.
Sf_Manta said:
For a while BMW did use run flats, but now moved away, least from what I've researched.
BMW still use run flats on all models except on M cars. Are you sure the car came with run flats from factory, as far as I'm aware they started using them as standard from the E90 models. Looking at Autotrader I can't see any E46 cars with RFTs.
I don't think the E46 ever came with runflat from the factory, so a previous owner must have decided to fit them. I asume your car still has a spare wheel?
When I had an E46 330i I got a deal on some Dunlop Sport Maxx and was reasonably impressed with them. To be honest any of the major brands should be pretty decent.
When I had an E46 330i I got a deal on some Dunlop Sport Maxx and was reasonably impressed with them. To be honest any of the major brands should be pretty decent.
It wouldn't hurt to drop Travs an email http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=23&...
I had a 330ci with the same size tyres which tramlined badly until I changed the tyres.
The advice I got from the service engineer who was also an E46 enthusiast was to make sure the front and rears were the same, and his first choice would be Bridgestone or Michelins. We changed the fronts to match the Bridgestone's on the rear and all was good.
I've used Goodyear Asymmetrics on other cars which I've found to be good - they replaced the GSD3 which I had on a previous 330d and was happy with them.
The advice I got from the service engineer who was also an E46 enthusiast was to make sure the front and rears were the same, and his first choice would be Bridgestone or Michelins. We changed the fronts to match the Bridgestone's on the rear and all was good.
I've used Goodyear Asymmetrics on other cars which I've found to be good - they replaced the GSD3 which I had on a previous 330d and was happy with them.
LargeD said:
I ran Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta's on my 330ci, they were very good and less expensive than the Goodyear/Bridgestone alternatives that were previously on the car.
How have you found the wear rate on the Sessantas? I know people with them fitted to a Volvo S60 and an RX-8, and they seem to disappear alarmingly quickly in both applications!I used a couple of sets of Goodyear Eagle F1 Assy 2's on my 330Ci as well as previous cars. Decent compromise between wear, grip and cost. Also ran Nexen N3000 which were fine, good in the dry and acceptable in the wet.
No good in snow though. Even a relatively new pair make progress 'challenging'
No good in snow though. Even a relatively new pair make progress 'challenging'
McSam said:
LargeD said:
I ran Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta's on my 330ci, they were very good and less expensive than the Goodyear/Bridgestone alternatives that were previously on the car.
How have you found the wear rate on the Sessantas? I know people with them fitted to a Volvo S60 and an RX-8, and they seem to disappear alarmingly quickly in both applications!
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