zach1328

Hi everyone, thought I would introduce myself and ask a quick question.
So, my name is Zach, and about 3 months ago I got a 2008 535i sport. I live in the Houston area, so if anyone goes to the car meets around Houston, you will probably see me there.

Anyways, I'm looking to get new rear tires soon since they are probably on there last 3-5,000 miles or so.

I currently have:
Rear: 275/35/R18 - 95W
Front: 245/40/R18 - 93Y

I've read a lot of complaints about these runflat tires but I personally love them. They seem to grip very well around the corners even on pretty hard acceleration.
The front ones will under-steer a little while taking aggressive corners, although its a 3750 pound sedan so I expect it to under-steer a little.

Basically I do like the Dunlop SP sports, but the rear tires are over $400/each and I'm not sure if I want to spend over $800 just on rear tires.

Are there any tires you guys have used and liked more than the Dunlop tires? Also, what size rim is that in the rear with 275/35/r18? I thought it was a 10" rim but maybe its 9.5"?

Thanks everyone,
Zach

ciphin

Zach,

I also live in Houston and drive a 2008 550 - Dinan Stage 1. I just recently swapped tires on my car away from run flats. I replaced the suspension on my car with a custom setup from Koni and I found the ride too rough -- even before the suspension change.

I run:

Front: 245/35-19
Rear: 275/30-19

I decided to go with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires (ZR/Y rated -- in excess of 186 mph). All the way around the car cost me $1,250. Just the rear were $654. Steering responsiveness, ride quality and road noise are all superior to the Continental tires I had on the car previously.

I also purchase all of my tires from tirerack.com -- you'll get a much better deal than most of the stores around town. And since one of their warehouses is in LA -- you receive your tires the next day.

Todd

dantheman1

I'll second the michelin pilot super sport, great tires. Only downside is that they have no traction whatsoever when the temperature falls to near freezing.

zach1328

Thanks for the comments, I will definitely look into the Michelin Pilot Sport tires then.
I'm still considering just getting Dunlop tires again, but I feel like there are better tires available for $450+ a piece.

So I've got a few questions about some Mods since I already started up this thread.

I'm not looking into any performance mods yet since I still have 10 months left of warranty, which I don't want to void, BUT

I want some nice White angel eyes instead of the stock yellow ones. Mine's 08 so I would need bulbs that fit the LCI models.
What brands would you guys recommend? (I don't want anything too blue as that looks ricey)

I read some stuff about certain aftermarket angel eyes triggering a warning light, I would like angel eyes that don't do this. And also they need to be plug and play (I'm not taking any chances playing with wires and stuff).

Thanks!

zach1328

Thanks for the advice guys, I did some research on the Michelin Super Sport tires and I really like them.

I was also considering Pirelli P Zero's, but I found some tests that seemed to prove the Michelin Super sports were better in multiple ways. They rode better, cornered better, braked shorter etc than the Pirelli P Zeros as well as several other high performance tires.

However, I think I'm going to hold off on the tires until I absolutely need new ones. The Dunlops are still gripping up well even with the low treads; I floored it around a sharp corner the other day to test how much grip they still had, and they held the corner much better than I assumed. (Although, it was kind of fun putting the rear end out for a few seconds)

Other than that, any advice on the angel eyes?
Right now I'm leaning toward either the Lux H8's or the Mtec V2.1, unless anyone tells me other wise.

jaycal3

I switched from runflats to ContiDWS on my 545... love them.

Have MTEC v3's... love them too. Order from John @ Motorcepts (in the vendor section) - I had an issue or two and he stands by his product(s).

ADD

I'm on my second set of Bridgestone Potenza 760s, and I have no complaints.

You will never know what you're missing until you switch from run-flats to non-RF.

ntocamping

I installed GP Thunder 7500k AE last week. They are white and a direct bulb replacement. Only $15 to boot. If you get the 8500k you will have some blue so get the 7500k. I believe these to be as bright as led's and led's will run you $130-$240 depending on who you buy from. You will need hid's from John at motorcepts to get bright AE during the day or Orion v-2s from Umnitza for the ultimate in daytime brightness. I just wanted to get rid of the yellow so the GP thunders accomplished that and they look great.

luigi524td

RFT's are a love-hate situation and very personal choice. BMW says the suspensions are tuned to take advantage of their stiff sidewalls. Some say they ride too harsh. If you like them and are willing to live with the higher price I say go for it! If you opt for conventional tires be sure you have access to a compact spare and associated tools/jack, etc. I usually run the Bridgestone UHP Summer RFTs on my 18" except in the winter when I switch off to UHP conventional All Seasons - I also have a compact spare that was ordered with my car.

I agree on the Tirerack deals as long as you have a good tire shop with the correct equipment to carefully remove and remount RFT's. If you shop through the link in my signature you can earn some additional cash rebates at Tirerack and other on-line stores. Probably enough to cover the S&H and occasionally additional discount codes too!

zach1328

Does anyone have any experience with the LUX H8 angel eyes during the day?
I like the look of those ones, but I've seen several pictures that make it look like they may not be too bright during the day.

Anyways, hopefully I'll pick up some nice angel eyes soon and an OEM black grill. After those mods I'll try to get some pics of the car. As of right now its just stock.
I was considering getting some new rims to go along with the tires, but I think I'm going to hold off. I really want ADV7 wheels, but I can't justify spending $6,000+ on rims/tires.

http://media.photobucket.com/image/a...tromADV7-1.jpg

I love those wheels, but in my opinion, they are not worth the $6,000 I would have to spend on them.