135i M-sport, need tires soon

[Ed P]

Hi gang.

2013 135i M-sport, 25K miles. The factory run-flats probably have around 5K or less left on them. I usually get more than that out of my tires (don't track it, and mostly flat, straight highway miles). They are Dunlop, 215/40×18 front, 245/35×18 rear.

Wondering if I can/should change the fronts to a wider tire? Or leave them staggered the same amount ? I don't want to change the wheels, but I would like a little longer lasting tire.

Looking for suggestions, including tire suggestions.

Thanks!

[Cavpilot2k]

The stock Msport wheels (261) will support 225 front and 255 rear with no issues or modifications whatsoever (that's what O'm running now on stock wheels and offsets (MPSS)).

[TheCaptain]

The width won't have much effect on the life of the tires. 25kmi is a very long distance for a pair of rears to last on a 135 so you aren't going to do much better than that. MPSS is the way to go but I doubt you'll get 25k out of them.

[MightyMouseTech]

I had a set of Michelin A/S3 in stock sizes that lasted a long time, which is unfortunate, because I could not wait to get rid of them.

[davis449]

I stuck with stock sizing. Michelin PSS. Had PS2's on my previous car, couldn't wait to get the PSS on this one. Awesome, just awesome. So much handling and, more over, RIDE improvement.

[NorthernDancer]

Well I would vote for Michelin PSS in stock size but talk to the people selling you tires, hopefully The Tire Rack. I also like tires bought out of CostCo.

[Ed P]

OK so no big advantage/reason to change sizes.

I was thinking of going with Continental Extreme Contact DWs. Had some on my NC MX-5 and liked them.

Are the MPSS tires definitely worth $150 more? My priorities are handling/quietness/durability, in that order but all important to me.

Thanks!

[phierce]

Just got PSS 225/255 on my 261 rim just powder coated wet black loving it all

[TheCaptain]

Conti Extreme DWs are great but MPSS are better. Whether they are worth the money is up to you. I recommend snooping on TireRack every few weeks even if you don't need tires yet. I picked up some MPSS in 245/35 on clearance for $160 USD each last time I needed a pair.

[Stewy_604]

MPSS 225/40/18 & 255/35/18 on 261's. Just went this route about a month ago, couldn't be happier.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

Well I would vote for Michelin PSS in stock size but talk to the people selling you tires, hopefully The Tire Rack. I also like tires bought out of CostCo.

My personal experience with Costco has been bad. Twice now, as an executive member, I have received emails offering an additional rebate of $60 or $70 over the one that comes regularly every few months on Michelins. This happened first with my 1M, and then with a 135i. Both times I wanted to put PSS tires on the car(s) and both times Costco did not have availability on one of the stock sizes needed (forget if it was the fronts or the rears).

I had similar difficulties looking for Blizzak snow tires.

Costco tire centers seem to be oriented mostly towards very common cars without staggered tire sizes, with their limited selection of brands and sizes carried for particular brands.

[ignote]

I'm running Bridgestone S-04 in 225/255. Purchased at Costco.

[angler]

I'm running 225/255 on 261 rims all good. Love the pss tires.

[Ed P]

Stewy_604 and angler - I notice you guys went up a size front and back. Wondering why, and how much did that affect things like 0-60, speedometer, etc.

Thanks!

[angler]

Originally Posted by Ed P

Stewy_604 and angler - I notice you guys went up a size front and back. Wondering why, and how much did that affect things like 0-60, speedometer, etc.

Thanks!

Not sure about 0 2 60 as the car goes fast enough. I like the extra rubber on the road for stability and traction in the corners and back country roads. Plus it looks mean from the back.

[Stewy_604]

^^^ This. It's a fraction of a change for values in the speedo. Extra rubber on the road was what I was looking for. The car doesn't turn-in quite as sharp as it did with the 215's upfront, but its by no means a major negative...just took some getting used to. For me, this is THE size of tire combo for the OE 261's.

[steeveebee]

A 245/35 to 255/35 will change your overall wheel diameter 7mm. With an overall wheel diameter of around 24 inches (estimated), it's a difference of a little over 1%, which isn't enough to do anything bad.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by steeveebee

A 245/35 to 255/35 will change your overall wheel diameter 7mm. With an overall wheel diameter of around 24 inches (estimated), it's a difference of a little over 1%, which isn't enough to do anything bad.

And a tire usually comes with about 6-7 mm of tread depth, so a new tire to worn out will be a difference of 8-10 mm of diameter. So that 7mm difference is less than the difference in normal tire wear.

[Ed P]

Hi guys.

Yeah I know - old thread. Just wanted to follow-up.

Yesterday on the way to work, I got the low-tire-pressure warning for the right rear. It was cool and damp, so I figured it was the same as the last couple times this happened - just a slightly low tire that, coupled with the cool temp, hit the threshold. Got to work fine (factory Dunlop RFTs, 33K miles).

Left work and got the low pressure for the right rear warning again (uh-oh, warm-up of the day not enough to raise pressure above trigger), so I made a mental note to stop by my usual station to check/add air on the way home. All seemed fine for about 15 miles (37 mile commute one-way), until I suddenly heard what I was convinced was my right rear shredding and taking the fender with it. What a God-Aweful sound. Like something you see at a NASCAR race at Darlington.

Pulled over (on the left side of a VERY busy I-4 at 4:20 PM) and got out to check, steeling myself for what I knew was going to be one very ugly sight.

It looked fine. No visible problem at all. Tire looked low, but not "flat" (they are runflats, so hard to tell). No damage at all to the fender or even the inner-liner of the fender. Whew!

So I got back in, limped across 4 lanes of pissed off people (with hazzards on), and took the (thankfully, pretty close) next exit. Eased in to a Chevron station a block down and made the AAA call, and settled in for my 1+ hr. wait.

While waiting I tried to see what was wrong with the tire, but I really couldn't see anything (except that, "hey-look at that-my tires are more worn than I thought they were!" realization. Doh!)...

AAA shows up with a flatbed, and he winches it up. Now that it's 5 feet in the air, I can take a better look at the tire. Yup-there it is-the inside of the right rear tread was hanging on with a handful of cords, about an inch wide, on the inside of the tire.

33K mostly highway miles. Camber issue maybe for my type of driving (I'll ask them to check for too much negative camber on the rears). The M-Sport package is a tick lower and has some negative camber, right? That would explain the inside wearing out first. Though I can't complain really - I guess I pushed it a bit (should have replaced them a couple thousand miles ago)... but for my driving, I'll see about the possible negative camber (anyone know for sure about this?). I'm guessing it needs to be dialed towards the positive a hair. If I had less flat, straight highway in my commute, I might not bother.

So she's sitting at my shop, waiting on the MPSS tires I ordered from Tire Rack - should be there on Monday. Went with the stock size, since I never felt they were lacking in that area.

I considered and researched the new Continental ExtremeContact Sports, but they're too new and there's no real info on them out there yet. Just some "reviews" (read: fluff pieces). The MPSS tires are a known-quantity. Besides, they were only about $30 more for the set.

So I guess now I need to decide if driving with non run-flats and no spare (like I did with the MX-5) is what I want to do. I have AAA, but generally I'd rather put on a spare than wait. So I might pick up a donut spare, but that's for another thread.

Looking forward to the better and quieter ride with the MPSS tires...

Thanks gang.

[JasonCSU]

Whichever tires you decide on, I would suggest going with non-runflats. The improvement in the ride is noticeable.

Originally Posted by Ed P

The M-Sport package is a tick lower and has some negative camber, right?

I know it is mentioned across various threads around here, but the same suspension is used on the standard 135, the sport package, and the M-sport package.

[mr.fabulous]

The inside of my RR was extremely worn as well (not visible until I removed the wheel to do the brakes a few weeks ago). No TPMS warnings. Replaced all four with Continental Extreme Contact DW and I do love them. Eyeball the rear and RR camber doesn't seem any more off than the LR, and so maybe it's toe and I'm dragging the thing (@MightyMouseTech recently suggested this in another thread and I bet he's right). Need to get her aligned...

[Mr Rooty Von Tooty]

My Michelin A/S 3 are half worn, 5/32"+, at 25K miles. That means there is 3/32" of tread wear left. Interpolating from these figures is just a guess, but using:

5/32/25K = 3/32/X leaves about 15K miles left on them

Now 40K miles is what I'd normally expect from a Michelin High Performance tire with my conservative driving style. Figure spending a grand assuming replacing the TPMS which I always do.