Tire Choice 95 E34 525

I have always replaced the tires on my car with the factory Michelin (205/65-15) Great tire in terms of overall performance and very quiet. I think I want a slightly wider tire to fill-in the wheel wells. Any advise on the pro's and con's of going to a wider tire/type would be very appreciative. Thanks..

Reply to
Wattage
Loading thread data ...

Pro: there's a reason people do this. Performance. Ungodly sometimes. Con: straight line stability, ride and foul weather performance suffer.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

225/60/15 Kuhmo. Worked really well on my old E34 520iT's standard rims.

JB

Reply to
JB

However, the 225/60R15 size is an optional size on that car, and works very well. Our son has Michelin HGT on it - looks like the Exalto has replaced it. Very good performance and wet road performance.

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

If you live somewhere wet (like Manchester UK) fit Continental.

Reply to
R. Mark Clayton

That's funny, I've heard these aren't the best for that. The last time I looked CU tested and found MXV4 to have the best wet braking.

Not that I'm fond of taking anything CU says about cars - they once ruled out the mid-engined Fiat X1/9 because your hand hit the armrest when opening a window. But wet tire performance seems a little more objective.

I've used MXV4's for a while and they are quite quite good in the wet, I will say that.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

I've had several combinations over the years on my '95 525i, the tallest of which was a 17" wheel with 245.45.17 tires. Handling was great, ride only so-so, and at only

46,000 miles I knew it had to be the wheel/tire combo.Changed it at 62,000 to the current and best combination: a 16" x 7.5" AT Italia wheel and 245.50.16 Cooper tires, using a 10mm Rogue spacer to push the wheel off the hub a little. I now have 98000 and the ride is great. Don't buy cheap spacers, only hubcentric machined aluminum. About $200-$240 for a set of 4.

BTW, a 235.60.15 tire will work with the factory wheel, it looks good and rides well.

Reply to
mothboy

I have the same size Kumho (Ecsta) on my 525. Cost me 50 UK pounds each fitted and balanced. Seem pretty good for the money. My last tyres were Dunlop SP Sport 01s for 87.50 each. They were quieter but didn't grip better and they wore out very quickly.

225/60R15 was the original tyre size on my car - possibly because it's an SE, or possibly just market differences - so it would be perfectly OK to change to this size assuming the wheel is wide enough. My rims are 7".
Reply to
Dan Buchan

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.