Mephistopheles

What have you 535 sport package guys replaced your run flats with? I have read folks tend to get rid of the run flats, but there are so many choices..

luigi524td

There are many choices ... If I were you I"d start with a list of your priorities including:

What is your driving "style" ? (Aggressive ... easy cruiser ... etc/
What is your driving "environment"? (e.g. lots of highway vs city stop and go ... seasonal situations like temperatures and precipitation)
Preferences like long tread-life vs high performance and handling
Comfort and noise ... want something quiet with a comfortable ride or are you OK with some harshness?
Budget ... e.g are you OK with buying and replacing $1500 +/- worth of tires 8-10K miles? OR, are you wanting to get 40K miles out of a set of tires?

etc

etc

etc

After putting your thoughts together and running your analysis start shopping. I personally find the surveys and reviews at tirerack very helpful. Other information sources are useful too - views on this and other forums, etc.

Good luck with your shopping and decisions - lastly, check out the link in my signature whenever you shop on-line. It's not how much you make, it's how you spend it!!

Allen

I just put a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on mine...can't imagine a tire with better ride, noise and handling than these. I highly recommend them

NavarroOne

I replaced my RoF tires with toprated constisport wintertyres and subsequently had my first flat in 20 years which required a tow truck on either side of the ferry connection I found my self requiring so the ordeal lasted the better part of a day and night. In hindsight I wish I hadn't opted for regular tyres. Moreover, I don't notice any significant improvement in ride/harshness beyond what I would expect from swapping from summertires to wintertires, given the additional rubber.

BLooD

Avon ZZ3`s here, not complaints from me.

v_therussian

I used to get a lot of issues with the RFTs (flats, cracked rims etc etc), so I switched over to a set of Continental Extreme DWS tires. They are great tires I completely recommend! The sidewalls are on the soft side, so this is no track tire, but other than that ABSOLUTELY no complaints. And I've NEVER had them break traction - not once. Even on snow and ice they grip like there's no tomorrow.

Mephistopheles

Thanks for all the input. One question, do these tires last (mileage wise) any longer than the run flats? The reviews I have been reading on Tire Rack for the 535i Sport Sedan indicate that owners who swtiched from the run flats to something like the Continentals or Michelins, while a less expensive tire, are still only getting ~15k miles on average out of a set...

Allen

I've only had my Michelins on for about 2000 miles, so I really can't speak to the tread life. However, I did get 35K miles out of the original Dunlop runflats...but it was a horrible 35K miles in terms of ride quality and noise. Also, the runflats wore really bad on the inside while the outside had tons of tread left. I find it REALLY hard to believe that these Michelins will only go 15K miles. I had basically these same tires on my '95 525i, and they went 55K miles. I realize there is a huge diffrence in horsepower...but it won't make THAT much difference. I may be crazy, but considering that I mostly drive the 535i like an old lady...I expect to get 30K miles out of these tires. Anyway, to me...the extreme improvement in ride quality with Michelins would be worth getting half the tread life...IF that turned out to be the case...which I'm sure it won't.

ktlocklear

I switched to Hankooks. Much much quieter than the Bridgestone RFT's. My only complainant is the sidewall is softer than the RFT's, which results in not so crisp responsiveness...

To figure out how long a set of tires will last, look at the treadwear number on the sidewall. I think the Bridgestone RFT's were around 140. The Hankooks are around 260. The higher the treadwear number is the longer they'll last

pukka

I switched to Pirelli P Zero Nero's (non-runflats) about a month after I had the car delivered when I lived in Stuttgart (German law required at least M&S rated tires during the winter months). I've had them on for over 35k miles and they still have about 5k of tread left on them. The ride is somewhat softer (I didn't really prefer the stiffer ride with RFT's) and is still quiet considering more than half the tread is gone. I sometimes drive the car hard but hardly ever do hard launches or braking.

My OEM Dunlops have only 1k miles on them and are sitting in my garage taking up space. If you are interested I can sell the set for a good price - otherwise I'll just wait until my Pirellis go bald and swap the OEM's back on.