Best tires to minimize Z3 tramlining?

"rocketman" wrote

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S that are on my wife's Boxster are nice, and meet your requirements.

Floyd

I have a M roadster 2000. I have used the Mich Pilots, Yoko AVS Sport and Kuhmo Exta MX. The bet tire for the price is Kuhmo. I use them as everyday tires, and have even Autocrossed them with great results. Look at the Kuhmo MX as the base line and compare all other to that. Look at TireRack comments for your car and tires you wish to compare against.

I can honestly recommend ContiSportContact2. They don't meet the last two criteria, but then again, they're at the bottom of your list - can't have it all. :)

Cheers,

Pete

Alf,

What is your impression of the Ecsta MXes specifically in regard to tramlining?

The reason that I ask is I have some Ecsta Supra 712's in size 225/50-16 on some Z-star wheels on my 325i and they are horrible in this regard. They didn't seem too bad when they were fresh, but now after about 10k miles they follow every groove in the road.

Also, the OE rear tires on my Z3 are pretty well shot after 20k miles and I may not be able to match the Michelins exactly. Looking for alternatives...

TIA,

-Fred W

I have the Ecsta ASXs on my '94 325i, mounted on 17" rims, and they are very good at not following the grooves on the freeway. I use the 225/45x17s, which replace the 225/55x15s that came stock on my car. The 15s were a Michelin tire, Pilot MXM I think, and they followed the grooves quite easily, but I never thought it a problem. The Kuhmos don't follow the grooves on the same section of freeway that I drive, so they must be an improvement.

Actually, I replaced the OEM tires on my Z3 with the original Conti SportContacts and the tramlining was minimal. FWIW, The SportContact 2s on my E46 sedan seem to follow the grooves more - but it is a different car with different sized wheels.

Tom

If your OEM Michelins are 225/50 ZR 16" HX MXM, Tire Rack has them in stock for $179 each. I wouldn't recommend different tire treads on the front & rear, as tramlining may then turn out to be the least of your problems!

Tom

Thanks, good info. I'm thinking I don't really want All-seasons though, so the MX would be my choice.

Does anyone have any experience with the BFGoodrich g-Force Sports? They seem like an awesome deal at Tire Rack at $80 for the 225/50ZR16's I need for both my 325i and Z3.

I have heard very good reports about BFGs lately. I think their association with Michelin is a good thing for quality, and their prices are much more reasonable than the Michelins.

As a point of reference, the (Asian) Kumho Ecsta MX'es are $115 and ASX'es are $74 in the same size.

-Fred W

Yeah, thanks Tom. I know they are available, but at that price I can almost replace all 4 corners and probably end up with a better tire to boot. The HXes are an OK tire, but not worth that kind of coin IMO.

-Fred W

No argument there!

Tom

I put a set of Ecsta ASX's on my Audi TT 3.2 and couldn't be happier. In terms of Price/Performance, they are one of the great bargains in the marketplace.

Thanks Rob. Thats two votes for those. I'll keep that in mind.

-Fred W

That's the truth! I bought a complete set (5) of 17" MotorSport rims and Kuhmo Ecsta ASX tires, and by the next 4 tires, I will have saved more than the cost of the rims as compared to the 15" Michelins I had before.

My Michelins cost $250, installed. Four of them cost me $1000. I bought 5 new rims and new tires for around $1300. The next go around for new tires will save me more than I spent to get the rims so I could fit the cheaper tires. And the cheaper tires are not only better looking but they are better tires, so I got a bonus.