[JimD]

You are already looking at the tires I would recommend. I still haven't pulled the trigger but my plan is to get a price from tire rack including shipping and then call a local tire place I am confident in (not Tire Kingdom) and ask them for a quote for the exact same tires. I expect they will match the tire rack price but if they cannot, then I will have tire rack ship to them for installationn. Tire rack shows on their website who they work with by area. My theory is that the local store would appreciate the chance to give the same prices and will not have an issue with installation if they cannot. Both I and my son have purchased tires from them previously and been happy with their business policies and with their work.

I'm a little leery about having just anybody put tires on my bimmer. I want them match balanced (find the heavy spot on the wheel and on the tire and offset them) and I want the wheels to be OK when they are done.

I think you are looking at tires you will be happy with but should shop a bit for installation services. For an economical performance selection, I think the Conti ultra performance all season is quite a buy. It gets pretty high ratings on tire rack but has very good wear ratings. For about the best performance ratings but still reasonable wear ratings, the latest Michelin high performance summer tire is hard to beat.

Another thing to consider is "going square". Tire rack says the rear tire can be mounted on the front rim width on our cars (I have a 2009 128i vert with 7 inch wide front rims and 7.5 inch rear rims). That would allow the same size tire all the way around (so they can be rotated and to cut down understeer).

Jim