bmwe21.net forums

Will join threads in a minute. My experiences:

40's
Michelin PS3: eco tire that's nowhere near as sporty and grippy as PS2. When I had them fitted to my E36 M3 I had understeer all of a sudden.
Continental SC2: I see them being offered as well, but imo they are either from the stone age or a recent production of a old spec tyre. New grip is pretty good especially in the wet but deteriorates fast, once you hit 5mm they are worse than the Hankook's (that get decent tests but indeed offer quite a lack of grip). SC5 is a lot better but not offered in this size perhaps?
Pirelli Pzero: never drove the Nero's, only Rosso's and those were very good wet and dry. I heard the Nero's are slightly less, especially when wet.
Basically the Conti's are very good in the wet, when new they are pretty much like the expensive Michelin's: reasonably grippy when dry, great and predictable in the wet. Its the other way around with the Pirelli's which are great dry, slightly less in the wet but still behaving predictable.

45's
Yokohama AD08 (semislick): never tried
In this size I see better alternatives that are available here: Dunlop SP SPORT MAXX and even better, the sportier SP Sport Fast Response that is great both wet and dry. Bridgestone's ER300 remains a good all rounder that I liked very much on my daily drives, but is also expensive and prone to cupping.

Think I'd go for SP Sport Fast Response in 215/45-16 if I had to choose.

I had a set of pzeros on a fwd car, and they were nothing short of epic.

And, did you decide which one it's going to be?

next week I'm going to a friend to try the AD08 which he has on his Lotus Exige, that will help me compare how the car handles on road tyres and on semi slick, as I'm driving it ONLY in dry conditions on nice days.

I heard from many M3 drivers that your advice about SP super fast ist the right one. So I think I'll go with your choice.

As for semi slick: I have no experience with the AD08's. Do know the Toyo's however. R888 is almost slick which is perfect for the dry trackday, but therefore can be tricky in the wet (when I go on holiday to Italy for 2 weeks you can always end up in a rainstorm) and that's why I choose the R1-R which is sublime in the dry but still very good when wet. The only thing is: all these semi slick tyres have tons of grip due to their soft compound, but that also means they won't last long (more than halfway after 3.000 kms here). However, the km's you're making will be with a big smile!

That is what I'm looking for and the car was made for, putting a big grin on the face. I set the tire limit to myself from 3000-4000 km, if they last that long, that's it for me.

If it should happen (didn't happen in two years since I have the E21 that I should get into a rainy situation, driving slow is always an option )

Thanks for the help, I'll write the report about the new tires as soon as I put them on. So it will be all in one topic and the question about best wide 16" will be solved for all times

Jeroen wrote:As for semi slick: I have no experience with the AD08's. Do know the Toyo's however. R888 is almost slick which is perfect for the dry trackday, but therefore can be tricky in the wet (when I go on holiday to Italy for 2 weeks you can always end up in a rainstorm) and that's why I choose the R1-R which is sublime in the dry but still very good when wet. The only thing is: all these semi slick tyres have tons of grip due to their soft compound, but that also means they won't last long (more than halfway after 3.000 kms here). However, the km's you're making will be with a big smile!

Jeroen
Could you pse tell me more about the R1-R?

Who makes it? I only ask as I use the R888Rs as wet tyres on Butch- well they are better than the Hoosiers! And I know there is a wonderful Dunlop wet (v expensive) or I have some old Yoko 0032Rs

Also Toyo. A bit less slick compared to R888's, see here for example:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... Proxes+R1R

I guess the more torque you have, the more you would like to have R1R's compared to R888 for the occasional wet road. If its only dry, the R888's will perform better.

Love them on the 320iS and did I run into some rain last time I took her out for a tour of Europe haha

your E30 with S14 is a good comparision to a power E21, similar power, weight and distribution, so this are all helpfull hints for us

Agreed, semi slick tyres will be more tricky or at least more twitchy in the wet if you have more torque like on TopCat's Butch for example. Or the other way around, more understeer if you have a heavier front.

again, not listening to advices and going through the wall with my head (story of my life)

bought this semislick tires in 215/45/16



I have to fix the rear camber then I'll write the report on this semislick tyres.

TopCat wrote:well they are better than the Hoosiers!

Where do you get your Hoosiers and what sizes are available? (I struggled to find much info or suppliers)

Hi Mark
ypu can find info on Hoosier street tyre at:
http://www.hoosiertire.com/strttire.htm

we use the Hoosier tyres Uk Wallington Surrey
PO 380
Horley
Surrey
RH6 0WW
Base in Burnley

we use Dot Sportscar radial width R3SO3 compound road race compound with the additional groove added ( makes them look like Yoko 008s)!
01293 863579
R6 and A6 (softer) compound

lots of choice in 15 wheel sizes!