I need tires, what do you recommend? 

Kinja'd!!! by "E90M3" (e90m3)
Published 10/17/2017 at 14:10

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Kinja'd!!!

The M3 has almost worn out the rears, so consequently I need new tries. The fronts are still good, but I don’t really like them on the M3, at all. This isn’t a problem because the 328i is also going to need tires soon. That might sounds like bad news, but the rims on the front of the M3 and the rims on the rear of the 328i are the same size, 18x8.5. So I plan to keep the tires from the front and put them on the rear of the 3 in a few thousand miles. On the M3 I’ve got Michelin A/S3s in the front and Michelin PS2s in the back. The reason they’re different is because this was the first car I bought and it’s been a learning experience. While I’m not really a fan of these particular tires, I do like Michelins; I was thinking of getting Pilot Super Sports for all 4 corners of the M3. I’ve got them on my 328i right now and do like them. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?


Replies (46)

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
10/17/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 1

I recommend the rubber kind.

Kinja'd!!! "Boxer_4" (Boxer_4)
10/17/2017 at 14:15, STARS: 0

Round, too.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:17, STARS: 1

Kinja'd!!!

I found some moon buggy tires on moon.cragislist.org, talked to the seller and he won’t ship them and says they’re pick up only. Since I lack a Saturn V, looks like I’m going to stick to the rubber kind.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:18, STARS: 1

Kinja'd!!!

Naturally, I’m not a Canadian.

Kinja'd!!! "Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
10/17/2017 at 14:19, STARS: 0

Aren’t the Pilot Sport 4S’s like the upgraded version of the Super Sport?

Kinja'd!!! "RPM esq." (rpm3)
10/17/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 0

I ran all three of those Michelins on my M3 at one point or another, and liked them all. I liked the PSS the most, but the A/S3s were MUCH better in the rain, and I live in Seattle. My C63 came with Continentals, which I also used to run on my 330Ci...they’re good too but I think I liked the Michelins better.

Kinja'd!!! "Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
10/17/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 0

IMO, I use A/S 3+ on my E92. Compared to the PSS, they are cheaper and last sifnificantly longer at the cost of a small amount of dry grip. I don’t drive the M3 hard enough to justify the stickier tires. If was going for raw performance, I’d get PSC2s or RE71s.

Edit: just replaced the rears after getting 17k miles on them. PSS might get 10k before needing replacement.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:21, STARS: 1

They don’t sell them in the size I need. :(

Kinja'd!!! "GolfR Guy" (golfrguy)
10/17/2017 at 14:22, STARS: 0

Ventus V12 evo 2

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:24, STARS: 0

The problem with the A/S3s being better in the rain is all my car wants to do right now is swap ends, which is why I don’t drive it in the rain. I’d put some on the back, but I’m worried it’ll just spin them all day as they’re a harder compound. I’m leaning toward the PSS. I’ve got them on my 328i and they work really well in the rain. During the summer, I’m pretty sure there was a month long period where it rained everyday.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 0

So the A/S3s grip around the same as the PSS? Interesting. I might have to think about just getting rears then.

Kinja'd!!! "bobbe17" (rob-runte)
10/17/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 0

Additional sizes I’m told will be available in 2018 at some point. Unfortunately for me, I’ll need tires sooner than that for my E46. The good news is that the Super Sports are $70 cheaper now than they were three years ago when I last replaced them.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:27, STARS: 0

Kinja'd!!!

Those are significantly cheaper.

Kinja'd!!! "Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
10/17/2017 at 14:28, STARS: 0

Slightly less peak dry grip, better wet/cold grip. Ive run my A/S 3s at below 0F. Skill is far more important than the difference in grip between the two tires.

Kinja'd!!! "GolfR Guy" (golfrguy)
10/17/2017 at 14:29, STARS: 0

I really like them on the benz. Great grip and it has good wet weather reviews from what I’ve seen

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:30, STARS: 0

I don’t think mine will last that long. I was thinking about replacing them next month. These will also be cheaper than last time when I got rears. I think I paid like $400 a tire. My car was at the dealer getting a TPA replaced and I needed tires badly, and since oil money I didn’t really care about the cost. I don’t have that kind of income anymore so I’m trying to find a good deal on tires.

Kinja'd!!! "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
10/17/2017 at 14:30, STARS: 0

Do you have the 18 or 19 inch wheels on your M3? When I searched for an M3 on Tire Rack with the 18s, the Michelin PSS comes up, although technically it’s a Mercedes OE fitment.

Continental ExtremeContact Sport is their new top level tire. It’s not necessarily as good as the Pilot Sport 4S but close match for the PSS.

Bridgestone S-04 are in the same general ballpark of price but apparently they wear out way quick.

If you want something cheaper there’s the Kumho PS91. I have these on my 335xi.

If you want to be goofy and put track/autox focused tires on it you could go for Yokohama AD08 R or Hankook R-S4.

And if you have the 19s then there’s probably other options entirely.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:32, STARS: 0

I’m more concerned with rear grip, it likes to light up the rears if I give it too much throttle.

I’ve got about 17.5k on the PS2s I’ve got on the rears.

Kinja'd!!! "Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
10/17/2017 at 14:33, STARS: 1

If it’s a weekend car, PSS are a cost-effective big brand performance tire. If it’s a daily and mostly boring miles, you will want A/S tires for the much longer life.

Back when I was tire shopping for my Cayman, I also considered the Sumitomo HTR Z III, but according to reviews they flat-spot easier than the Michelins—not really a deal breaker but something to think about. I honestly think it’s 90% of the performance at 60% of the cost.

In the end I relented to the PSS to keep a European brand tire on a European brand car.

I run PSS on my F355 as well.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:36, STARS: 0

I’ve got the 18s on my car. I wanted to get some 19" style 359s, but the the bank account is still recovering after 11 months of unemployment.

I got the car with bridgestones on it, I didn’t really like them. Not sure if they were the tires that came with the car or not, it had 15.7k on it when I got it.

I was just thinking of getting the PSS, but how do you like the Kumhos?

Kinja'd!!! "Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
10/17/2017 at 14:37, STARS: 0

I drive in MDM 90% of the time and don’t have issues with the rear end coming loose unless i want it to. I have no idea how you managed 17.5k on the PS2s. Either i drive more agressively or something because my A/S 3+ rears were past the wear bars when i replaced them.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:37, STARS: 0

Since it’s my weekend car, I was thinking of getting the PSS for it. I’ve got PSSs on my 328i, they probably won’t be going back on that car.

Kinja'd!!! "Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
10/17/2017 at 14:39, STARS: 0

Pilot Sport 2 was the OE tire.

Kinja'd!!! "RPM esq." (rpm3)
10/17/2017 at 14:40, STARS: 0

I think your logic is right, and the temperature variable probably makes a big difference between your decision and mine—where I live, summer is reliably very dry and the rest of the year is wet and colder, so while I definitely spun the harder A/S3s more I felt the trade-off was worth it when daily driving the M3 through the fall and winter. Meanwhile, I rarely encountered warm rain, where I’m sure the PSS would be fine. On the other hand, I can confirm that the PSS were terrible— like, scary terrible—at temperatures below freezing.

Kinja'd!!! "gettingoldercarguy" (gettingoldercarguy)
10/17/2017 at 14:41, STARS: 1

Continental Extremecontact sport if money is ok, if on a budget Firestone Firehawk Indy 500, same as Bridgestone RE003 in Asia, etc.

Kinja'd!!! "His Stigness" (HisStigness)
10/17/2017 at 14:42, STARS: 0

Definitely get either the PSS, or if they have them in your size, the new Pilot Sport 4S’s. Hopefully the 4S’s have been out long enough to have them in your size. But if they aren’t, having the PSS on all four corners will be a great choice.

If you’re really worried about tread life then you can consider going all season and get the AS3's all the way around. I have them on my Golf and they’re flipping amazing. They offer tremendous amounts of grip while still working in the rain. The PSS’s do well in the rain, but they don’t offer the same grip when cold.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:42, STARS: 0

I’m actually really surprised that I got that many miles on them. I just went and checked, they’re about to be at the wear bar. I always drive in MDM once the car is warm, unless it’s raining and I’m on the highway.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:44, STARS: 0

All that makes sense. Given the fact that I live near the coast in GA I think the PSS will be fine.

Kinja'd!!! "Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)" (NKlein)
10/17/2017 at 14:45, STARS: 0

Interesting. Well to sum it up: IMO the PSS/PS4 is not worth the extra $100 / tire (for 19s at least, idk what the differential is on 18s).

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:46, STARS: 0

They don’t offer the 4s size yet. This is my weekend car, so I’m not concerned about mileage. It doesn’t really get cold enough here to worry about cold grip.

Kinja'd!!! "404 - User No Longer Available" (toni-cipriani)
10/17/2017 at 14:47, STARS: 0

+1 on these, though I had the Evo, not the 2.

I DD these on my Solstice, though my commute is quite short.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:47, STARS: 0

I think for 18s, they’re within $20.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:51, STARS: 0

When I was at the dealer they were telling me depending on several things, the M3s came with different tires from the factory. Whether that’s true or not, I wouldn’t know. He did also tell me that M cars came with run flats, which I know isn’t true.

Kinja'd!!! "davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
10/17/2017 at 14:53, STARS: 0

I love the PSS on mine. I have Conti DWS for my “winter” set - also very good tires.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 14:57, STARS: 0

I think I’m going to go for PSS, most people here are recommending them.

Kinja'd!!! "davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
10/17/2017 at 15:02, STARS: 1

As you’ve experienced, they’re just a hard-to-beat tire if you want something grippy that also will do well in the wet and last a while, too.

There are better options for pure performance at the track, but it’s an awesome dual-use tire.

Kinja'd!!! "KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
10/17/2017 at 15:05, STARS: 0

Pilot Super Sport or Pilot Sport 4S (The 4S is intended to replace the PSS). The Pilot Sport 4S will likely end up on the Camaro after I burn through the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 set.

If you want even more fast wearing rubber, there’s always the Pilot Sport Cup 2.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 0

They don’t make the 4S in the size I need, so looks like PSS it is then.

Kinja'd!!! "KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs" (kusabisensei)
10/17/2017 at 15:13, STARS: 1

Get them while you can. Michelin is intending to move all sizes to the 4S at some point.

Kinja'd!!! "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
10/17/2017 at 15:36, STARS: 1

I’ve been generally happy with the Kumhos. Tire Rack classifies them as a max performance summer tire but their performance is probably closer to the best of the ultra high performance summer tires like BFG Comp-2 and Firestone Indy 500. That’s still not bad company to be in though.

Honestly if I were you I would probably try the new Conti ExtremeContact Sport. In your size they’re only another $100 more than the PS91 and supposed to be grippier. In my size, if I were buying today, the Indy 500 is $100/set less than the PS91, and the ExtremeContact Sport is $150 more.

Kinja'd!!! "average user" (avgusr)
10/17/2017 at 15:43, STARS: 0

I am guessing you are not doing run-flats. How do you deal with a flat with no room for a spare?

FWIW, i had 18x8.5 front and 9.5 rear on my E90. I had Bridgestone Portenza and then later i had Driveguards.

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 15:49, STARS: 0

I haven’t had a flat yet, so I haven’t crossed that bridge yet. Neither of my BMWs have spares.

Kinja'd!!! "uofime-2" (uofime-2)
10/17/2017 at 17:17, STARS: 0

Hankook R-S4, nice prices, stupid amazing dry grip, wet grip that is fine and good wear for a 200tw tire

Kinja'd!!! "E90M3" (e90m3)
10/17/2017 at 17:42, STARS: 0

Not sure I could put RS4s on my M3, just out of principle.

Kinja'd!!!

Kinja'd!!! "His Stigness" (HisStigness)
10/17/2017 at 19:05, STARS: 1

Well when I say cold I mean 50-60, which is cold here in Southern California, but it’s only a problem when it rains.

I’d definitely get the PSS then. I don’t think another high performance summer tire has a tread life warranty on it. That’s why I bought my first set 7 odd years ago, and I’ll never switch. It’s quite nice being able to go into America’s Tire and save a ridiculous amount on a new set because they didn’t last as long as Michelin said they would. There are never any questions asked, they just warranty them.

If you have an America’s Tire/Discount Tire I’d go stop by and ask them when the next sale is, because you generally save anywhere from $100 or more on a set of Michelin’s during their weekend sales. One time I think I got $250 off, and that was on top of the tread warranty.

Kinja'd!!! "uofime-2" (uofime-2)
10/18/2017 at 12:37, STARS: 0

ha ha