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Best Tyre for 2.8 Z3

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325iRon View Drop Down
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    Posted: 07 Aug 2014 at 9:47pm
What is the best tyre for a 2.8 Z3 Roadster I have Falken 245 fitted but need replacing. 245-40R17 and 225 45R17. I paid £340 for them in 2008


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ruggedscot View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ruggedscot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 2014 at 10:52pm
Michelin pilot super sports ?

just replaced the backs on a Z4 and the difference is astounding
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Mike Fishwick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike Fishwick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 9:59am
Michelin seem to be about the best tyre in absolute terms, but unless you often drive at 100+ speeds, or do a lot of track days, it is doubtful if the £600+ for your sizes would be worthwhile.  Even if you do not do many miles a year, they will still age and need replacing after a few years.

Falken 453 are very good, and cost about £350 a set,but like the PSS are no use in snow or mud due to their circumferential tread patterns.

Continental Contact Supersport are very good, and at about £500 a set are between the Falken and PSS.  Many owners rate them in the same place for driving 'feel,' but it is a very subjective matter.

there is really no such thing as a 'best' tyre, your choice really depending on how much you want to pay for a set of tyres, and how highly you rate your ability to extract the additional qualities from the more expensive tyres.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Phil Rosenbloom Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 10:14am

I've always used Michelin on my M Roadster and currently have PS3s

My only departure was to use some Goodyears on the rear with Michelins on the front and that was a disaster.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dteagles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 12:26pm
After how long would you replace a set of tyres that are on a car which does very low mileage, i.e. like many of those we own and use for shows etc? I have a set of tyres on my M3 that are hardly worn after about 5-6 years but I am now thinking that I should replace them...

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Mike Fishwick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike Fishwick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 12:30pm
Other popular tyres are  Bridgestone, Kuhmo and Toyo, the Toyo Proxi (?) getting very good reports, but they have a reputation for a short life.

Although when I bought my Z3 back in 2000 lots of people earnestly told me that I was committing 'dangerous folly' to fit 'budget' tyres on a powerful RWD car, my Z3 is by far the fastest car I have ever driven on my favourite speed hill climb - Magpie Woods on the Yelverton to Tavistock road!  Better still, it is also predictable and safe, even at the sub-zero temperatures we have during the Dordogne winter.

The prejudice against Falkens was quite interesting, particularly as some of the critics were using Dunlop tyres, which are owned by Falken!

Many 'performance' tyres start to misbehave when the temperature falls below 10 degrees, which means that they become progressively useless - which is fine for those who only use their cars in summer, but not what one wants in the real world.

I would stick my neck out and suggest that while the Michelin PSS is a fine tyre for those who can afford them, the Falken 453 remains the best all-rounder in terms of initial cost, wear rates, wet and dry grip, and road noise - so long as you do not want to drive in snow or mud.  At about half the price of Michelin PSS I know where my old age pension will go!


Edited by Mike Fishwick - 08 Aug 2014 at 12:32pm
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Mike Fishwick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike Fishwick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 12:42pm
5 to 6 years is quite a long time in tyre life, but not enough to make them dangerous, so long as they do not lose much pressure over a month or so.  Ten years is perhaps a definite sell-by date, as dry rot from within is a possibility, and in any case, it would be prudent to reduce the maximum speed rating by 10 mph for every five years, and also  after any repair. Likewise, remember that the tread tends to harden with age, reducing wet grip, although living in a garage will reduce the effect of the sun.

Having said that, a friend of mine has a pristine 1997 E39 2.8 saloon, which he has owned from new.  It has covered 25,000 miles, and has been sitting in its garage for the last four years on its original tyres.  I keep trying to persuade him that seventeen years is a bit extreme for a tyre, and hope he buys  a new set soon - but he will keep the originals in the sacred name of originality, for when he becomes too old to drive!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Phil Rosenbloom Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 1:51pm

Mike - correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't rubber denature with exposure to light. So if the rubber is kept in the dark it will last longer than if exposed to sunlight constantly.



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Mike Fishwick View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike Fishwick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 2014 at 4:39pm
Yes, Phil - as I stated above - 'living in a garage will reduce the effect of the sun' - but not eliminate them.  The mix of chemicals used in modern tyres (styrabutadine etc) is more resistant to UV light than the 'real' rubber used in olden days, but seventeen years still seems a long time!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 325iRon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Aug 2014 at 11:16am
Thanks guys my tyres have been on the car since 2008 with less that 20k. I have a very good offer for Maxxis tyres, a relation now works at the local tyre dealer under £300 for the 4 !
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