2002 BMW M3: For Once...

As an east coaster I found it hilarious how traffic comes to a stand still with a little rain in Socal. I eventually figured it out though. All the poor people drive on bald tires.

cx7lover, there is absolutely no good reason to put A/S tires on a sports car in LA. The warm, dry climate is ideal for summer tires year-round. A/S tires are just exactly what you said - a compromise.

So Edmunds staff, what tires are you going to buy next? The Yoko's are fine tires, but you could also consider Goodyear F1 Assym's, Michelin PS2's, Continental ContiSportContact 3's, Falken RT-615's, Bridgestone RE-01R's or RE-050A's, or Dunlop Z1's.

Whatever you buy, please compare the prices to the TireRack or other .com, before getting overcharged by Stokes.

"Despite the fact that all California drivers are idiots..."

speak for yourself Kurt.

Though I agree with thrizzle, I just want to say that the Kumho Ecsta ASX is one of the most screaming compromises around of performance, price, and tread wear. It is however, an ultra high performance A/S. So you could do better for performance with the choices above.

try falken rt615's, easily the best performing budget tires w/ some grooves for the rain. good for your staff too, as it is a popular choice for drifting.

i've always had a hard time spending too much money on something that will need replacing soon, so i've tried many of the cheap tires. falken rt615's have been the only ones I've returned to.

at least it looks your alignment is good!

Kumho Ecsta XS. Brand new tire. Extreme summer performance rated and a great looking tread design - reminiscent of the said Azenis RT615 above.

Not to mention also cheap.

Alignment is prefect! But perhaps a hair overinflated.

i hope by now they fixed the drainage problem on the 10E after staples. for years, everyday there was moderate to strong rainfall, the left lane would flood and cause major delays.

Itd be great if you guys looked into Cooper Tire's Zeon line of tires. They offer absolutly amazing summer performance tires that have good water ability. Look into it!!

Kurt, you sly dog! This car is obviously going to wrap up its stay in the LT fleet within the next month, why not get some fresh shoes thrown on with the boss' dime, eh? Because we all know it's going to end up with one of the editors.

Out of curiosity, how many miles did you get out of those Yokos? For the next set, I would be extremely interested in seeing you guys get one of the budget alternatives like the Sumitomo HTR Z III, General UHP, or Kuhmo Ecsta SPT.

I'll answer my own question: 10,403 miles between this post and the new tire post. That's right on par with the 10-15k most people get out of the rears on the M3, with the fronts being replaced every other time.

XS...holy crap! Read a favorable review of a 540i racer formerly using the MX. He claimed of R-compound grip.

That was a funny post!

Those tires are DONE! If you drive in the rain with those, better keep the speed down or you'll be careening into walls yourself.

Not even 11k miles is pretty ridiculous though. How do the fronts look? That'll give you a good idea of how much hooliganism was being done to the car when compared to the rears.

The worst miles I got out of the rear tires of my '02 Z06 were 18k, and that's with lots of hooliganism (a full track day, several auto X's, thousands of miles of hard canyon driving, etc.), although very few deliberate burnouts (too damned expensive!!)

Mostly, I'm averaging 19k-20k miles from a set of rear tires on my Z06. Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercars in the past, now running Michelin PS2's.

Have you guys actually looked at what fits this car's stock wheels/staggered sizes? It's not much.

Though I rail for buying tires that are of reasonable expense, there isn't much for this staggered size that I would use in southern LA that would be "reasonable".

That being said, for low cost i'd like to see the Nitto Invo ($157 per front, $168 per rear). For high cost I'd like to see the Michelin PS2s......they weren't available when the M3 came out, and i'd love to hear if they "transform" the ride quality of the car like so many PS2 owners claim. I can attest to the incredible changes in the behaviour of my father's '99 Boxster when he went from:

1. Stock suspension, Yokohama Advans
2. Bilstein HDs, Yokohama Advans, Strut braces
3. #2 plus all new Michelin Pilot Sports

Joe

I like Toyo T1-Rs. They do have soft sidewalls, but they're pretty comfy for tires almost as grippy as Azenis RT-615s (but more importantly, they're good in the wet and last longer). I have a Miata, but my boss has them on his e36 M3 (he's a Formula Ford weekend warrior, so I figure he knows what he's doing).

I was surprised by how bad the roads in LA are when it rains hard. It's not just the drivers - your freeways have no drainage! The standing water (and the rooster tails) are ridiculous... definitely get new tires.

I don't think your drivers are that bad.

"Despite the fact that all California drivers are idiots, the roads and freeways here are notoriously bad in the rain."

All true, sadly. I've seen 101 sprout a bunch of potholes during one rainstorm. Fortunately my ride with long travel suspension and stout tires managed them. As for cars seen at the side of CA roads with flats and bent wheels, they were usually Bimmers or others riding on rubber bands.

With 11K per tire set, what are you folks doing with this car? Moonlighting for 2F2F or all-night drift parties or what?

Brian60, I put the Sumitomo HTR Z-III's on my '01 M3 a few months ago, attracted by their high performance at a reasonable price. I don't care about treadlife and would have bought RT-615's if they came in 19's. While I haven't pushed them hard yet, they do feel quite sticky so far. When driving around after bedding my brakes, they did seem loud, which I hadn't noticed before. They are just a little more than the General UHP's but offer more grip. I recommended the UHP's to a friend who also has an M3 and was looking for a long life tire. He bought them but does not like them very much, saying they feel spongy.

I'd be curious to see how the new Kumho XS's or Dunlop Z1's perform. I would say skip older tires like the T1R, Michelin PS2, etc, to give us readers a review for new tires that don't have many reviews yet.

As for alternative tire sizes, the stock 18's can fit up to 245's in front and 265's in back...or even 275's. ZCP (Competition Package) sizing is 235/265 f/r (although on 19's).

cx7lover, there is absolutely no good reason to put A/S tires on a sports car in LA. The warm, dry climate is ideal for summer tires year-round. A/S tires are just exactly what you said - a compromise.

They actually got a better rating in tire rack performance testing over the Yoko's, so what's your point?

There's no good reason to use A/S tires in any place where you ever see light snow. Most summer performance tires are superior to many A/S tires in hydroplaning resistance. If the car might see some light snow driving, then A/S should be considered, anything more than light snow would require true snow tires.

Being in SoCal, and that you're driving a true performance car, get some true performance tires.

"There's no good reason to use A/S tires in any place where you ever see light snow."

Should read "won't ever see light snow"..

There's no reason to buy A/S for a performance car ever. In the DC Metro, my M3 wears summers for most of spring, all of summer and fall. Wintersport M3s just went on this past weekend, and won't come off until the temps start getting above 40 with regularity (probably mid-March).

This subject came up at an M3 board, and I related how my all-season Potenzas wouldn't even propel my '02 Cooper S up our slightly inclined driveway on snow.

Like all-in-one fax/scanner/copier/printer units, tires that try to take on multiple roles are generally just mediocre across the board, rather than being good at anything.

If you want a good summer tire that handles the rain, the Conti 3s are good. Not the stickiest tire, but far, far better than an A/S.

I've enjoyed the HTR ZIIIs on my E46 328 so far (255/35-18). I've only got them on the rears, but I like them better than the Falken FK452s I had before (and still have on the front). I'll be getting the HTRs on the front when it's time to replace those. I agree, there's no reason to get A/S tires in California on a car like that.

*crickets*

Guess the IL staff is putting the finishing touches on the Wrap-Up and prepping the M3 for their staff auction because this is the longest that we've gone without an M3 entry near as I can tell.

m_thrizzle, good to know regarding the ZIIIs. It's looking like the Sumitomos will be my next tire when the PS1s give up the ghost. Funny regarding the Generals - I too recommended them to a non-enthusiast friend with an M3 and he complained about the soft sidewalls and reduced traction. Hopefully the increased mileage will make up for that.