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[cj350s]

Base 2011 128i Automatic delivered yesterday with 4 P205/50-17 Goodyear Eagle LS2 EMT 89H (touring) tires.

Car feels light and twitchy at highway speeds. Responds to sharp steering input but then oscillates into slight oversteer during recovery. Felt like the tires needed air, especially in the rear. Tire pressure checked after cool down (32F/35R) per BMW manual.

Will try >160 KM pressures (35F/42R) per BMW but am 99.9% sure the EMT touring tires will be removed shortly.

Considering two non-EMT tire choices; General Exclaim UHP or Hankook V12 EVO K110. Have General Exclaim UHP’s on a pair of 2002 VW Jetta 1.8T’s w/sport suspension and am very happy with them. Haven’t tried the Hankook but have been advised they’re highly rated but wear very quickly.

Questions please:
1. Is anyone running General Exclaim UHP tires on a 128i?
2. Is there a significant advantage in changing from P205/50-17 to P225/45-17 with the stock 17x7 wheels?

Thanks.

[tgxmike]

1) No I run the Hankook's, they are awesome, you will notice a huge difference. Just give them a few hundred miles to break in.

2) Stay stock size or the tire will look bulged on the wheel. Or upgrade the wheels to 17x7.5" for 225/45


http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=383090 some pics are here, and my suspension upgrade.

[cj350s]

Originally Posted by tgxmike

1) No I run the Hankook's, they are awesome, you will notice a huge difference. Just give them a few hundred miles to break in.

2) Stay stock size or the tire will look bulged on the wheel. Or upgrade the wheels to 17x7.5" for 225/45


http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=383090 some pics are here, and my suspension upgrade.

Thanks for the reply. Am leaning toward retaining the stock size as my wife may take over this car. P225/45-17 Tire specs call for 7.0-8.0 width so I agree 7.5 is probably the best match.

No plans to modify the suspension on this particular car but if I order another 128 I'd probably bite the bullet and order the sport suspension even though I don't care for the Style 263 wheels.

Your 128 looks great by the way.

[Tom K.]

While I wasn't unhappy with the Goodyear NCT RFT tires on my sport package 128i, I could not replace the worn rears (24,000 miles) as they have been discontinued in that size. I mounted 4 Continental DWS (non RFT) and so far, have been rewarded with good handling and an improved ride. You might add this tire to the list you are considering.

Tom

[cj350s]

Thanks. I may have made a big mistake not ordering the Sport Pkg. Not sure how the Eagle LS2 compares to the NCT, but the LC2's with std suspension don't feel as firmly "planted" and stable at highway speeds as I'd prefer.

I tried increased tire pressures (> 160 KPH pressures per the manual; 35F/42R) but about all it did was increase the ride harshness.

Trying to decide whether to 1) leave the car as is and let my wife drive it, 2) swap out the tires for a good performance non-RFT (General Exclaim UHP, Hankook V1 EVO K110, etc.) and hope that resolves the issue, or 3) bite the bullet and upgrade the entire suspension to Sport Pkg. specs. (very likely a cost prohibitive option in Canada).

Then again maybe as I get deeper into retirement there won't be an issue, but for now,
I have to admit this experience has really taken the edge off the joy of purchasing my first BMW.

Does anyone else have a Base 128i (non-Sport Pkg) that can advise what effect changing to one of the non-RFT examples listed above would have?

[m_thompson]

I got Pirelli P-Zeros with the M-sport package. Nice and stable, even at speeds over 135 MPH.

[cj350s]

Thanks. I'm sure the Sport Pkg makes a big difference in stability at speed but I'm wondering whether a simple tire upgrade for a non-Sport 128i would result in a significant improvement in stability at highway speeds.

Of course I recognize any improvement gained through tires alone won't be equivalent to a Sport Pkg. upgrade.

[Tom K.]

Have you tried involving your dealer - or do you feel it's too subtle for them to notice? I recall a few reports of cars which did not have all of the shipping blocks removed, causing some ride/handling problems.

Good luck.

Tom

[cj350s]

No I've not, but the more I drive the car the more I'm convinced it's primarily just me getting used to the car and those tires.

Moving from a light FWD 2002 VW Jetta 1.8T with 225/45-17 General Exclaim UHP tires, to a heavier RWD BMW with P205/50-17 Goodyear Touring ROF tires will require a period of adjustment on my part.

On the bright side, my good wife is also ready for a new car and after driving mine she's quite prepared to assume command of it (and the payments). However, before I replace mine I want to drive a 128 with the Sport package and see what difference there is.

I appreciate your input Tom. Thanks. Please advise if you have any thoughts on the Sport package.

[K03sport]

Originally Posted by tgxmike

2) Stay stock size or the tire will look bulged on the wheel. Or upgrade the wheels to 17x7.5" for 225/45

I will disagree with this statement. VW used a 225/45 tire on their 17x7 wheel on the '04 GTI and a 225/40 tire on 18x8 wheels w/ the 04 R32.

Two different widths, same width tire. Yes, the 225 tire will appear more square with the face of the wheel on the 7" wheel, but I don't think it would look "bulged".

Yes, this is my first post.

[cj350s]

I agree. A P225/45-17 General Exclaim UHP mounted on a 17x7 Long Beach wheel looks square, not at all bulged. Stock tire was a Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 P225/45-17 and as I recall, looked about the same.

Wheel width for a P225/45-17 tire is usually specified as 7"-8.5".

The tire design may also be a factor in the visual appearance. I have Goodyear Eagle LS2P205/50-17 ROF on stock 7" wheels on my 128i and they look more "bulged" than the P225/45's do on the VW.

As long as you stay within the wheel width range recommended by the tire manufacturer you should be fine.

Some drivers will feel a distinct difference between the same tire mounted on a 7" and an 8" wheel. I really can't say I'm one of them.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by cj350s

However, before I replace mine I want to drive a 128 with the Sport package and see what difference there is.

I appreciate your input Tom. Thanks. Please advise if you have any thoughts on the Sport package.

Thanks. Although I was initially going to opt for the softer ride, I test drove both sport & non sport coupes before buying my 128i and felt that the minor ride penalty was easily outweighed by the more crisp handling of the SP.

However, I recently traded my daily driver SP '99 E46 in on a CPO (non SP) '07 E90 wagon and am surprised that the handling - even on 16" all-season RFTs - isn't too bad. And it is very stable at 75 mph, even with the tires set at 38/38 from the dealer

I do wish there was an option for the SP with non-staggered wheels & tires, however, as I've always believed in rotation to equalize the wear.

Tom

[cj350s]

Thanks for the input Tom. Bear with me one; I'm new to BMW and not very conversant with all of the model/option acronyms yet.

I only have 300 KM on my 128 so I want to run it in another few hundred KM before I comparison test the same car with SP; perhaps sometime in the next 2 weeks. At highway speeds the car still feels like it's trying to follow every little groove in the roadway.

Yes it's unfortunate a non-staggered setup isn't available with the sport suspension. I'd prefer a configuration with four P225/45-17 tires mounted on 17x7.5 wheels. I don't need anything >17".

In Canada the 128 Sport package contains the staggered 18" Style 263 wheels, Sport seats, and a Sport Suspension. I could do with just the suspension components.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by cj350s

Thanks for the input Tom. Bear with me one; I'm new to BMW and not very conversant with all of the model/option acronyms yet.

I only have 300 KM on my 128 so I want to run it in another few hundred KM before I comparison test the same car with SP; perhaps sometime in the next 2 weeks. At highway speeds the car still feels like it's trying to follow every little groove in the roadway.

Yes it's unfortunate a non-staggered setup isn't available with the sport suspension. I'd prefer a configuration with four P225/45-17 tires mounted on 17x7.5 wheels. I don't need anything >17".

In Canada the 128 Sport package contains the staggered 18" Style 263 wheels, Sport seats, and a Sport Suspension. I could do with just the suspension components.

Putting some more kms on your tires before making any decision sounds like the most prudent course - although I don't know why you would get tramlining (following road grooves) with the rather tame tread pattern on your Goodyears.

And maybe BMW figures you guys have fewer potholes than we do so that 18" on a 128i is a desirable size! Personally, I'm happy my wagon has the stock 16" wheels as the post-winter road condidions in the Washington DC area are horrendous.

Hope you get it sorted out.

Tom

[cj350s]

I think part of the squirming/tramlining could be due to the "touring" design features of the Eagle LS2 tire. I'd love to swap on 4 summer performance non-RFT tires and see how they feel.

[cj350s]

Just in case anyone is still following this thread, I drove a 2011 128i today with the Sport package (18" staggered wheels/tires, sport suspension, sport seats).

All of the issues in my original post of 12Jun2010 (re: 128i non-sport) were immediately resolved.

This car drove like the BMW I was expecting when I ordered mine. The Sport package made all the difference in the world (to me anyway). This car felt completely rock solid and stable at highway speeds. My age 68 butt also appreciated the added comfort and adjustments available on the sport seats.

I was especially surprised not only by the overall lack of harshness, but in fact how comfortable the sport package actually felt while driving in an urban area. Yes there is indeed a bit more firmness, resulting in a slight (but very controlled) pitching motion over sharp bumps at low speed, but nothing I would ever describe as harsh. I could easily live with that, especially given the much greater stability and control at highway speeds.

On the negative side, I could do without the 18" wheels/tires, especially the highly unattractive (IMO) Style 263 W Spokes. I'd be quite happy with 4 - 17"x7.5" wheels (or even the standard 17"x7" Style 256 wheel) with an appropriate summer performance tire.

It would be interesting to speak to a reliability or quality engineer, who maintains the Product Assembly Documents (PAD) in the assembly plant, and compare the suspension component part numbers for the standard and sport 128i suspensions.

Well, for now at least I know what I SHOULD have ordered.