Tire Advice

[ppagarani]

Hi All,

Am a newbie here - came across this forum while doing some research about tires for my car. Really a very good source of info and I've had a great time reading and learning so far.

Am having an issue getting new tires for my car though.

I drive an E90 330i, and the tires are quite worn out and noisy now, and need changing. The car came with Pirelli's from the dealer (AGMC).

Now, I've been looking for replacement RFTs for the past 3 weeks, but am not able to get the rears anywhere. The specs are:
Front: 225/45/R17
Read: 255/40/R17

Any advice/contacts on where I can get these would be great.

Also, any tips on the brands? I've heard Michelin/Bridgestone/Pirelli are the one' to go for, but have also been told that the former 2 are less noisy in the long run. Any first hand accounts?

Thanks guys. :shisha:

[SSense]

:welcome2: Aboard

You should contact Raad, he goes by the nickname Pirelli on the forums, send him a pm with your query and im sure he'll get back to you. Pirelli are one of the renowned sponsors of this Club..

Talking of Michelins, ive been a Michelin user by birth, used the tires on one of my cars for over two years, yes i had lost the grip but it never said ouch or made any kind of noise in the long run.. Pirellis are good in their own way, the grip is im sure very good, many members here use Pirellis and are very satisfied.

Care to open a new Introduction thread and post some pics of your car for us to see :)

[ppagarani]

Thanks. I've sent 'pirelli' a PM.

Will click a couple of pics tomorrow and put them up.

[ppagarani]

Change tire size?

Have done a lot of research lately, and universally the suggestion seems to be to go with Michelin run flats - they are supposedly the least noisy and have good handling.

The only issue is I dont think Michelin is making the sizes I need in their Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP runflat series.

What to do? Is it recommended to go for a slightly different size? Or just go with another manufacturer (Pirelli/Bridgestone)?

Also, have people experimented switching to regular tires? I know runflats are safer and all, but with the issues I've had getting the right size for my car, seems like run flats will not give me much of an advantage, as the shop I drive my car to will most likely not have the tires in stock.

Any thoughts/expert advice appreciated.

[alquazi]

I would definitely get ride of the run flats.

[ppagarani]

I am actually considering changing to regulars.

Does anyone know of any major issues in doing so?

[Ehssan]

most important advice ever : don't ever take your car Sharjah to remove your RFT ,, as it requires a sepcial machine ... other wise they will damage your rims for sure ...

and don't ever go back to RFT , it's sh!t basically ...

[ppagarani]

Thx Ehsaan - yeah this seems to be the concensus and I think I am going to go for regular tires after all.

One question for everyone though - in that case, do I carry a spare or simply a kit that temporarily fixed the puncture? If I am to carry a spare, what size (my car has a staggered setup) - front or rear?

Also, I just want to voice that AGMC service team is the worst ever - so unhelpful and unprofessional - zero consideration for what a customer wants. I guess you can only expect some kind of service from them if you're going to spend loads of service money with them. And everything is a "small problem" to them, irrespective of that potentially being a big issue. I have no faith in them at all.

Wondering if a few others have a similar view.

[eoudeh]

The OEM //M Mobility kit (std in the //M cars) work well (http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...ID=71100413439). But there are alternative like Continental kit etc. and as i know E90 does not come with jack and tools set; that means also a special jack is required due to rectangular plastic jack mount template points on the undercarriage! becareful a regular jack can damage these plastic points and can be unstable in holding up the car. OEM jack/tools set required and maybe its cost around $100.

mmm i dont know if there is any one thought about space since there is no effective space saver solution. I would not, under any circumstances, cut the trunk/boot floor of my brand new e90 (if i had), you can think of one of the better solutions fabricate a shelf/dummy stepped floor to house the spare tire (similar to subwoofer enclosure) and good luck :D

[ppagarani]

hey eoudeh - thx for the feedback.

dont think I'm willing to make any permanent physical changes to my car...not sure if i'm an big enough enthusiast go do that much for regular tires.

Am willing to consider the mobility kit option though, so I will check that out. Anyone else have any views on this? Anything I'm missing in terms of considerations for switching to regular tires?

Also, is it true that if I change to regular tires, I will need to change the rims as well? that's what the 'expert' at AGMC said, but obvly I dont trust them at all..so want your views.

[eoudeh]

to be honest with you i dont have any idea if its ok to use same rims but wht i belive not all rims can fit RFT. The rims for RFT are slightly different to be able to support the side walls & If the rims are not spec for RFT, there is a chance that the RFT will slip from the rims in a puncture. you can switch from RFT to normal but not necessary the other way, just make a well search b4 u decide bro.

[ppagarani]

ok cool..I have decided to go with Pirelli PZeros...the guys at Pirelli have really been quite helpful, and feel I can trust them and have read great things about these tires.

Am planning to go for the regular tires, as long as the rims dont need to be changed. As for a puncture, will figure out a way over the next few weeks in terms of getting a kit that can give me a temporary fix...dont want to carry a spare tire and take up all the boot space.

[hiten86]

The question being RFT or Nons.
Im pro RFT!

The reason being a recent incident.
Im going 140+ on a bridge in shj (Yes admin, i know its not allowed) and i hit the unusually big pothole at that speed.
All i get was a *thump* and then the double bass starts. and slip, no slide.

Im pretty sure, that wouldnt have been the case if were a non RFT.

Agreed, that RFT's give you a** crack ride quality. But I'd rather compromise on that, than safety.

My 0.2 cents!

[eoudeh]

ok cool..I have decided to go with Pirelli PZeros...the guys at Pirelli have really been quite helpful, and feel I can trust them and have read great things about these tires.

Am planning to go for the regular tires, as long as the rims dont need to be changed. As for a puncture, will figure out a way over the next few weeks in terms of getting a kit that can give me a temporary fix...dont want to carry a spare tire and take up all the boot space.

glad to hear that....btw: im using my car since 2004 when i bought it from AD motors and elhamdellah till now i didnt had any puncture and belive or not the jack on the trunk become rusted :D and i had bad feelings coz im saying this now...maybe today ll have a puncture :runaway: its chance bro. and good luck :)