What are the best tyres for E46 minimal or no tramlining!???

What are the best tyres for E46 minimal or no tramlining!???

Author
Discussion

DarrenC87

Original Poster:

24 posts

74 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
quotequote all
Hi to all E46 ENTHUSIASTS!...

I have a BMW 318I 2003, I have spent sooooooooo much money making it perfect... all i need to get down now is the god damn tramlining, now i have read on multiple forums that certain tyres and even certain winter tyres can stop tramlining..

Please can somebody help me...

When I bought my car it came with 16 inch standards with continental tyres, since I got it I have put second hand 18 inch MV2s with Bridgestones (came with alloys) 225/40/18 on it, and it tramlines, sometimes quite badly?... I just wanna cure this, all bushes have been replaced and front suspension has been replaced as well as ball joints and wishbones!!... cars bled me dry!.. lol

I haven't had a 4 wheel alignment yet, I HAVE had two wheel alignment done though.

I would honestly appreciate anybody's help with this as I adore my car and its my last little niggle with it! smile




JakeT

5,406 posts

119 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
quotequote all
Big wheels will naturally make it tramline more. A full alignment will help, but smaller wheels is the only real way to go.

Toltec

7,159 posts

222 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
quotequote all
Might be worth changing the pressures slightly, dropping the rears 1psi in my Smart roadster made a big difference to how badly it tramlined.

Prinny

1,669 posts

98 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
quotequote all
If you’re running staggered MV2’s and only have 225 on the back, you’re stretching the tyre, and that means it’s got no flex to move about on - i.e. any tramlining you might have will be magnified by the stretch.

Also have a read of this:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=67...

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Saturday 20th January 2018
quotequote all
Yes, standard rear tyres on MV2s are 255/35 x 18.

My E46 is a 325ti Sport Compact which has the standard BMW "staggered" set up with 225/45 x 17 fronts and 245/40 x 17 rears. They are Pirellis, and I've never had a problem with it tramlining.

Unlike my 123d that only had 205/50 x 17 all round, but they were Pirelli run-flats and it seemed to get worse as the tyres wore - especially if the pressures were a bit low.

But that was pretty good compared to my Z4 Coupe - it has 225/40 x 18 fronts and 255/35 x 18 rears and they are Bridgestone run-flats. It's all over the place, so I'm planning a swap to non run-flats!

OP, it may be in part a Bridgestone thing. I'd try another brand with correct sizes and keep an eye on the pressures.

Good luck anyway. thumbup

DarrenC87

Original Poster:

24 posts

74 months

Sunday 21st January 2018
quotequote all
My wheels aren't staggered!! 225/40 all round!!... ???

Not to sound stupid but will the alloys be different sizes?? As in how do I know which alloys need the bigger tyres ??? So would the rear need 225/45 and front bed 225/40 ??

Are conti sport tyres anygood or Goodyear asymmetric ??

DarrenC87

Original Poster:

24 posts

74 months

Sunday 21st January 2018
quotequote all
My wheels aren't staggered!! 225/40 all round!!... ???

Not to sound stupid but will the alloys be different sizes?? As in how do I know which alloys need the bigger tyres ??? So would the rear need 225/45 and front bed 225/40 ??

Are conti sport tyres anygood or Goodyear asymmetric ??

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Sunday 21st January 2018
quotequote all
If the wheels are staggered the tyres are too, although you can put different tyre sizes on the same rims.

BMW rims are "stamped" with the rim size - either on the front or the back of the wheels. If they are staggered the wider ones go on the back.

My 320td had a "square" set, but when the rears wore out I put 225/45 x 17 on to replace 205/50 x 17 because they were wider and also slightly cheaper!

They were Continentals, although I don't know which Contis, but I never had any problems with them. But the Pirellis on my current 325ti are very good too.

Any premium brand is going to be good IME, but then I don't think of Bridgestone as premium (Even if they do)! laugh

DJMC

3,431 posts

102 months

Sunday 21st January 2018
quotequote all
When I bought my used 2003 E46 330ci in 2005, with 18" MV2s, it was darting all over the place.

The issue? Bridgestones!!

Changed to Conti SC2 or 3 and it was perfect.

Had it for 9 years and always wore Contis.
The later SC5 was OK too but HALF the wear of the Sport Contact 2 or 3. Used to get 35k miles from the rears but only 15k on 5's.

Just ditch the Bridgestones before they ditch you!

NiceCupOfTea

25,280 posts

250 months

Sunday 21st January 2018
quotequote all
I have an issue with my 330 sport on MV2s with the staggered setup. It is massively noisy on the motorway - especially concrete sections like the SW section of the M25, it's a roar and it is doing my head (and ears) in. Tyres are Goodyear eagle F1 Assymetric 3 , so not budgets....

Prinny

1,669 posts

98 months

Sunday 21st January 2018
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
I have an issue with my 330 sport on MV2s with the staggered setup. It is massively noisy on the motorway - especially concrete sections like the SW section of the M25, it's a roar and it is doing my head (and ears) in. Tyres are Goodyear eagle F1 Assymetric 3 , so not budgets....
Is that the bit near Guildford? I was there a couple of weeks ago. Thought the car had broken at first. Or do you mean “everywhere”?

Concrete is not a good road surface, that section, and going past Fort Dunlop on the M6 are the two worst (for noise) road surfaces I know in the UK.

I don’t believe tyre brand will help (I’m on Michelin), but I’d check your bushes, etc - a worn one allowing metal to metal contact = road noise transmission into the body. If you can get it up on a ramp & have a good wiggle around with a pry bar...?

@OP - as per link in my first post, you might have copies, or you might just have a set of 4 fronts, when the rears cracked. You might also have a proper set. Only really easy way to find out is to jack the car up, take a wheel off & check.
Typically, the info written/cast into a spoke will say a part number, the BMW logo & a size e.g. 8j (8 inch). (Fronts should be 8, rears 8.5). They might also give you an offset (e.g. ET47).

As to tyres, It’s a very contentious subject! Personally, I rate Michelins, other people rate other things... Continental sport contacts, Goodyear Eagle f1 asy3 are both rated in general too.

Frances The Mute

1,816 posts

240 months

Monday 22nd January 2018
quotequote all
Asides from making sure you have little to no wear in the suspension components and that your geometry is spot on, your best bet is to go for simple, circumferential groove design tyres.

Anything with a V-shaped/aggressive tread pattern will follow the ruts in the road a lot more than the aforementioned.

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Monday 22nd January 2018
quotequote all
Goodyear F1 A3s are good as well as Michelin PS4s. They work well on the E46.

But before you do that I'd check your subframe bushes ; these can wear badly but give the illusion of tramlining.

DarrenC87

Original Poster:

24 posts

74 months

Monday 22nd January 2018
quotequote all
SebringMan said:
Goodyear F1 A3s are good as well as Michelin PS4s. They work well on the E46.

But before you do that I'd check your subframe bushes ; these can wear badly but give the illusion of tramlining.
Hey ya,

Thank you for this.. I have had all my bushes replaced so i know im all good here.

I have read that Conti Contacts are amazing for it, aswel are Good year asymets.

Please can somebody give me a definitive or at least a high percent in which way to lean as playing with tyres isnt cheap.


Prinny

1,669 posts

98 months

Monday 22nd January 2018
quotequote all
There’s no definitive answer, as people like different things out of a tyre. If you live on the east coast of Scotland, it doesn’t rain much, and your priority might be dry grip on the b-roads out of town. If you live on the M1, your priority might be noise & wear. And every single scenario in-between.

I personally rate Michelin.

Others rate Conti’s, The Goodyear Asy3 too. Some are known to rate Davanti (don’t wink)

There’s honestly little difference between the top brands (you’re talking a 1-2mph speed, or a 1-2m stopping distance from xxx mph). At that level it’s about how you drive - do you want to feel a bit of lean from the tyre when cornering to indicate it’s getting settled, or the obverse, turn the wheel and it tracks faithfully, rather than having to micro-adjust the course once settled? The F1 Asy2 was known for softer sidewalls, not sure about the Asy3.

For >99% of the time, these characteristics shouldn’t matter on the road to the extent you can “feel” the difference, if you’re pushing the boundaries of grip on the road, you’re trying too hard (I’m not saying it’s not fun either, but there’s a time & a place). In other words, Conti/Michelin/GY - they’ll all be fine.

Have a read of the EVO tyre reviews, or go to ph’er -jon’s tyre-reviews.co.uk website if you’re still not sure/ want to do more reading.

HTH.

LanceRS

2,171 posts

136 months

Monday 22nd January 2018
quotequote all
You would be amazed at the differences a proper 4 wheel alignment makes. I run the PS4s and it’s a million times better than it was on the Bridgestones.

SebringMan

1,773 posts

185 months

Tuesday 23rd January 2018
quotequote all
DarrenC87 said:
Hey ya,

Thank you for this.. I have had all my bushes replaced so i know im all good here.

I have read that Conti Contacts are amazing for it, aswel are Good year asymets.

Please can somebody give me a definitive or at least a high percent in which way to lean as playing with tyres isnt cheap.
I thought Id check as most people very rarely ever change ever single suspension bush on the M3 since there are tons of them. On the back I can count around 14 bushes already which soon can be become a big bill.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 23rd January 2018
quotequote all
It's not what you want to hear but I eventually got rid of my E46 330Ci because the tramlining was so awful.

I spent a fair amount of money on CCS5 tyres with multiple alignments and suspension checks and it amounted to nothing. I resided myself to the fact the car tramlines and that's that. Others seemed to have fared better but IMHO it wasn't worth spending more money on the car.

For clarity I never tried reducing the wheel size (I was running MV2 18's as per factory spec).

DJMC

3,431 posts

102 months

Tuesday 23rd January 2018
quotequote all
Just to add to my earlier post, my wife and I have had three E46s, a 1999 318i; 2001 325ci; 2003 330ci.

Prior to this 1981 318; 1986 325i Cab; 1988 520i; 1980 525i; 1992 523i; 1994 318i.

With all of these I stuck with Conti Sport Contact and the three E46s handled impeccably on them, giving great confidence in the wet.

Having said that, my 2012 TTS and current Cayman 981 are shod with GY F1 A2s which equal the Contis on performance but surpass the SC5s I tried on the 330ci for wear. The GYs will last twice as long as Conti SC5s.

If you could find SC2 or SC3, in date, those are what I would recommend as I can't say if the GYs would sort the tramlining whereas the Contis will if this IS a tyre issue and not some other problem. Conti SC2 or 3 will remove one variable from your troubleshooting.

DarrenC87

Original Poster:

24 posts

74 months

Tuesday 23rd January 2018
quotequote all
Right ive decided then... il be getting Conti contact 2's!.. could anybody point me in the direction to get these cheap?

Can I ask on a different topic quickly, where can i get a blacked out grill for my car??