Best tyres for a 320 coupe?

Johnny Utah

Loooking for a set of good-quality new tyres for an E46 320 coupe. Thinking of either Vredestein, Michelin, or Goodyear:


GOODYEAR F1 EAGLE GSD3
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m62b0s291p9477




MICHELIN EXALTO2 PILOT EXALTO 2
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m62b0s291p51021



VREDESTEIN ULTRAC CENTO
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m62b0s291p59050



VREDESTEIN QUATRAC 3
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m62b0s291p15121




Any recommendations?

frex

I had an E36 (not entirely the same, but not a lot different)...be really careful with tyre selection as they tramline like a bad thing on the wrong tyres. The only tyres I could get that didnt tramline were Continental Sport Contacts (or contact 2's) - which I think are recommended by BMW (?). Tried F1's and also P-zero Rossos (the worst)...it was like some gremlin constantly was pulling me into the ditch. BMW's are best used with the manufacturer's recommended tyres in my experience - i used to try alternatives, but was always disappointed

Cookie_Monster

what's tramlining?

frex

ah sorry...tramlining is where the car picks up on grooves in the road and feels like it pulls to one side...a bit like if it were caught in a tram track I suppose. Its down to the suspension set up on the car in conjunction with the tyre design, usually to do with groove pattern and tyre width. Can be bad in lane 1 on a motorway (where trucks frequently wear a shallow groove in the road) - no excuse for middle lane driving though ;-)

CaraFawn

VREDESTEIN QUATRAC 3, very good on dry, wet, snow (Good chance it is gonna snow again in a few months).
Very good quality

trad

frex wrote: »

ah sorry...tramlining is where the car picks up on grooves in the road and feels like it pulls to one side...a bit like if it were caught in a tram track I suppose. Its down to the suspension set up on the car in conjunction with the tyre design, usually to do with groove pattern and tyre width. Can be bad in lane 1 on a motorway (where trucks frequently wear a shallow groove in the road) - no excuse for middle lane driving though ;-)

So thats why BMW's always drive in the outside lane.

CaraFawn

trad wrote: »

So thats why BMW's always drive in the outside lane.

Ah no that is a driver problem

JHMEG

Goodyear for me. Dunno about a 320, but can't be much different to any other car.

From experience tramlining was more to do with alloys with the wrong offset than anything else.

frex

JHMEG wrote: »

Goodyear for me. Dunno about a 320, but can't be much different to any other car.

From experience tramlining was more to do with alloys with the wrong offset than anything else.

Poor alignment can definitely lead to tramlining alright. But there are noticeable differences when just swapping tyres and not changing anything else. Its a definite BMW thing, as the forums are full of it and you will get tyred (couldnt resist) reading different opinions on which tyre does what.

The worst tyre parameters for tramlining tend to be tyre width (wide worst), tyre profile (low worst), unidirectional thread and rubber compound (soft worst).

It drove me to distraction (another tenuous pun) as I used to drive on a small road with lots of grooves from tractors and machinery on it and if I didnt have my wits about me, I could find the car snatching a foot or so either way without warning. Thats about the worst I had...but if you take your hands off the wheel on the motorway, you'll feel a tramlining car picking up the ruts.

BMW did quite a bit of development on this as an issue, which is why I'd suggest the Contact 2's if you can get them at a reasonable price

Hogzy

Iv got eagle F1's on ly car. Got them on special offer about 2 months back.

€130 each for 235/45/18 Best deal ever. I was tempted to buy 8 and keep the other 4 at home for when i need them changed again but unfortunatly i got the last 4. I suppose its not that unfortunate

Johnny Utah

Rang a few tyre places and I'm not sure what to think. One fella said Vredestein were rubbish, and another said you can't get Vredestein in Ireland....


Any ideas what are the best/most suitable tyres for a 3 series coupe?

(Willing to spend extra for a decent brand.)

Hogzy

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Any ideas what are the best/most suitable tyres for a 3 series coupe?

(Willing to spend extra for a decent brand.)

Jesus its not as if there are only one set of specific tires and the rest are shite.

There are loads of suggestions above.

Surely Goodyear, Vredestein or Michelin will do it.

cjt156

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Rang a few tyre places and I'm not sure what to think. One fella said Vredestein were rubbish, and another said you can't get Vredestein in Ireland....

Probably the type who'll do you a great deal on a set of Wanlis;
try this guide

macnab

i had the eagle f1's on my e39 M5, great tyre. I have used vredesteins on a few cars and find them to be a high quality tyre and very reasonably priced too.

dergside

I've had Vredstein Sporttracs on a couple of BMW's. I had them as 15's on e36's (316i, 323i and 325i coupe). Found them to be excellent in terms of value and grip. Also had them as 17's on an e46 330Ci. Still good on that, but not quite as impressive at that size. The Ultrac might be more appropriate there. If you have a 320 on 16's, I suspect the Sporttrac will be sufficient.

I've had the F1's on a few BMW's too (e39 - 16's and e46 - 17's) and always found them very good. The only slight reservation is that the compound is a little soft so while the grip rate is excellent, the wear rate is a little higher.

jamieh

I have a 320 couple and have Vredestein's.

Got them based on recomendations from BMW forums. I find them great - fantastic grip in the rain. They have a cool looking thread too!

I think mine are 255/35/18's and got them for about 130 each from Camskill.