E46 Tyres

[Smartass]

Hi folks, I'm looking for your tyre recommendations. I run an E46 330Ci on the 18" MV wheel. I bought it from a specialist dealer who installed the MVs but put a budget tyre (Fullrun) on to save a bit of cash. The wheels look great but in the wet the TC light is on and off like a strobe so it's time to get some decent rubber.

I'm not a total skinflint but if I can get away with paying less than £120 a corner, well, it's more left in the beer kitty isn't it?

[Doctor Bone]

Falken FK452s, mine were 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 on the rear. I just got a front set fitted for under £150 a pair. The pair of rears 2 months back cost me £210. They are recommended/used by lots of BMW owners on here.

[John the Blind]

Had some Kliebers on my old 330Ci and they were great. Good in the wet and got nearly 30,000 out of them. Highly recommended. John

[Neil.D]

Doctor Bone said:

Falken FK452s, mine were 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 on the rear. I just got a front set fitted for under £150 a pair. The pair of rears 2 months back cost me £210. They are recommended/used by lots of BMW owners on here.

I have heard good stories about Falken's, I will probably be getting myself a set when the time comes.

[justlivyalife]

My mate has Eagle F1s on his E46 325i, which are excellent tyres - the grip from them is just amazing, though they do seem to wear quite quickly.

[DJFish]

I tried Dunlops and really didn't like them, went for Eagle F1s and they're ace but do tend to tramline.
I think Eagle F1s have been discontinued in favour of Eagle assymetricos (or however the hell you spell it)

[LMC]

I've just paid out for my 2nd pair of Pirelli P Zero Rossos in 7 months :-(
£190 a pop for each rear, no wonder I'm always friggin skint...

[soprano]

LMC said:

I've just paid out for my 2nd pair of Pirelli P Zero Rossos in 7 months :-(
£190 a pop for each rear, no wonder I'm always friggin skint...

if they only lasted that long why did you get another pair?!

[steve-p]

Neil.D said:

Doctor Bone said:

Falken FK452s, mine were 225/40/18 front and 255/35/18 on the rear. I just got a front set fitted for under £150 a pair. The pair of rears 2 months back cost me £210. They are recommended/used by lots of BMW owners on here.

I have heard good stories about Falken's, I will probably be getting myself a set when the time comes.

I'm not sure what specific tyre they were but I binned the Falkens which were on my E class with 6 mm of tread left because they were so poor in the wet.

[[TW]Fox]

I can't help thinking that a lot of the Falken praise comes from the fact they are so cheap that the fact they are not quite as good as the established leaders doesn't matter becuase they are unbeatable on price/performnace ratio. As a result, people buy them, and of course 99% of drivers will except for in an emergency not come close to their tyres limits on the road and not notice the difference anyway but...

....we run BMW's not Fords therefore price/performance shouldnt be the primary motivator for buying tyres.

Get some Contisport Contacts, Pilot Sport 2, Potenza RE050A or Eagle F1's. Don't buy an 'ultimate driving machine' and then compromise its ability becuase Falkens are 'well cheap innit'.

Replies from people who have accurately tested and measured Falken 452's in terms of wet braking performance etc welcome, but don't just say 'OMG i got some then rock lol'.

If one day, in the wet, something completely unforseen happens in front and I need to brake HARD, I'll be glad I've paid a bit more for proven excellent tyres (Complete tyre testing results are available in Evo and Autocar for the market leaders yet not for Falkens) and not cheaped out as it could be difference between it being a close shave and something more serious. You'd be staggered at the difference in wet braking performance between even the best of tyres.

[Vee]

We've had a 330ci sport on Michlin PS1s & Conti SportContact 2s and 3s for the past 5 years.
Recently bought a 330 sport saloon on Goodyear Eagle F1s.
The difference is amazing - I'd certainly recommned the F1s.

[jamoor]

I don't think you will be able to get F1's for your car.

[Joop!]

On my first E46 Coupe I did have the Michelin Pilot Sports (1), on the styling 68M rims, which were very good...

...on my currunt E46 Coupe I have the second set of Pilot Sport 2's, again around the 68M rims, which are even better than the original PS's. Good grip in corners and stable at high speed.

[[TW]Fox]

jamoor said:

I don't think you will be able to get F1's for your car.

Of course you can - they are now Eagle F1 Assymetric instead of Eagle F1 GS-D3 but they are certainly available.

[jamoor]

[TW]Fox said:

jamoor said:

I don't think you will be able to get F1's for your car.

Of course you can - they are now Eagle F1 Assymetric instead of Eagle F1 GS-D3 but they are certainly available.

Ah right, they must be newish then, they didn't exist in that size a few months ago.

[DJFish]

jamoor said:

[TW]Fox said:

jamoor said:

I don't think you will be able to get F1's for your car.

Of course you can - they are now Eagle F1 Assymetric instead of Eagle F1 GS-D3 but they are certainly available.

Ah right, they must be newish then, they didn't exist in that size a few months ago.

I had a lot of trouble getting F1s, I think I bought the last two 255/35/18s in Europe, they were like hen's teeth, now the Assymetrics are available it should be a doddle to get hold of them, I was silly enough to change my tyres just as Goodyear decided to change.

[[TW]Fox]

Same here. Managed to get two of the last batch of GS-D3's in 265/35/18. Now I better hope I dont get a puncture.

[Spokey]

Toyo Proxes T1-R all the way!