[NGT2]

Okay. I know. Another tire thread… but it’s not another runflat vs non runflat.

I have 19” with square AS setup. I have maybe 5k miles left on a couple and a little more on the others. I was going to run them the next few months then replace them all at once. I rotate to get pretty even wear.

My question - would I notice a difference if I stay with runflat but get a set of summer tires now, instead of waiting? I’d get Michelin PS4 ZP’s most likely. But open to suggestion. My dealer also has GY F1’s and Pirelli’s. They price match Tire Rack.

My thought is that I have enough left on the AS tires, now, that I could put them back on in November and they’d probably get me through the cold months long enough to get the summers back on before I have to buy more AS.

Not wanting to spend the money on new wheels, so I’ll just pay the labor to swap the tires on my existing wheels. But I have to buy tires this year regardless. This would be a strategy to try something different without spending too much extra dough.

Thoughts on how different the summer tires will feel and on that plan?

[Joe-BMW33]

They would feel improved only if they are star marked😂😂😂. Joking, counting down the minutes for Larry to weigh in with false information.

Question, how cold does it get in TN and how much snow do you get? What I’m getting at is, could you run Summer all year? That below 40F thing is certainly a parameter to pay attention to, but if it doesn’t stay below 40F all day and always warm up, your coming out of a garage in the morning if it’s below 40F, so the tires are fine and will only warm up.

I took mine today. It was 35F when I left the garage, I know it’s going to be in the mid 50’s today, so no issues. You don’t want to run summer if it’s freezing all day and it sits outside. Obviously you don’t want to use them in snow. Summer tires are actually better in rain than AS.

Since you will be going from runflat AS to runflat Summer, you will definitely feel the love of summer rubber, but not as much as non runflats. Summer non runflats are desirable because they are soft and sticky. I’m skeptical how much the steel sidewall in the runflats will kill the joy of summer rubber.

No experience with summer runflats, but plenty with hardo runflats. You will definitely feel an improvement from Pirellis to Michelin regardless of the configuration. Pirellis suck.

[adhrp]

I'm just going to say I have a new appreciation for good sidewall. My X3's total crap factory tires (Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport AS) blew a hole in the sidewall with very tame driving and left me stranded on the freeway yesterday. This is the second time it's happened. I got annoyed and ordered Contis even though the remaining tires have plenty of life in them. This has soured me on the Bridgestone brand and I'll never buy any Bridgestone tire again irrespective of how well it's rated. Luckily our X3 has a factory spare so I was on my way soon. Anyway I digress...

A bit more to your point, I had Pirelli Cinturato run flats on my 328i and I thought they were great. Never an issue and they cut through light snow pretty well. In fact, they prevented me from getting stranded in a surprise snowfall in Colorado once. They don't have great ratings for some reason, but I liked them.

[Warp Ten]

I have the same wheel setup with the original OEM Goodyears all season run flats on my 2019 540xi. When the Goodyears need replacing I plan to go with Michelin A/S 4+ZPs (or 5s if that is they are out). I currently have A/S3+ZPs (predecessor to the 4s) on my 2016 Corvette Z06 and have been very happy with them. --Bob

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by Warp Ten

I have the same wheel setup with the original OEM Goodyears all season run flats on my 2019 540xi. When the Goodyears need replacing I plan to go with Michelin A/S 4+ZPs (or 5s if that is they are out). I currently have A/S3+ZPs (predecessor to the 4s) on my 2016 Corvette Z06 and have been very happy with them. —Bob

Bob - bad news! That is the tire I wanted, too. But in the 19” wheel they don’t make it in the right size for our wheels. Bummer. If I could get the PSAS ZP that is probably what I’d do.

Actually - I think I read that Michelin specifically made that tire for the Vette 19” wheel, which is apparently a bit wider.

[JKRIT]

Originally Posted by NGT2

My thought is that I have enough left on the AS tires, now, that I could put them back on in November and they’d probably get me through the cold months long enough to get the summers back on before I have to buy more AS.

You're thinking of putting almost-worn out AS tires on in November to get you through the winter? Depends on how good a tire you want for winter driving I guess.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by JKRIT

You're thinking of putting almost-worn out AS tires on in November to get you through the winter? Depends on how good a tire you want for winter driving I guess.

I should clarify - our only winter concern is temp. We don’t get much in the way of snow and ice. It would just be to have a tire that can be driven for a couple cold months. And I know there’s lots of people here driving cars all year on performance tires because that’s what comes with their car and they likely don’t even know what tires they have. But Dec - Feb we get enough weeks where it’s solidly below 40 for me not to want to drive on summer tires if I don’t have to. I can’t unknow what I know.

We might get a week where it snows enough to cancel school but that’s it. I will say the week it snowed about 4-5 inches here, my M550 on AS tires was fine.

It really is crazy to me that people just go buy a car and likely have never even thought about tires and just assume they’re all the same and the dealer doesn’t mention “hey these 22 inch wheels only come with performance tires, so your X5 might be a little slick in January”. I’d never thought anything about it because I always drove vehicles that would come with AS tires and we don’t have to use snow tires down here. I learned about tires and temp limitations on here.

[G30M]

i have 20" staggered with Pirelli RFT

i am wanting to go 19" square with 255 tires all round but the front will stick out a few mm with 9.5" rims and i'm a bit torn.

maybe i'll have to go 245s but i can't find 9" rims only 8.5"

anyway, my shortlist for tires are

Pilot Sport 4S - very noisy tires (we have the worst roads in the developed world), terrible in the cold, not ideal in the wet
Goodyear Eagle Assymetric 6 - less noise, can't get them here
Continental Sport Contact 7 - rave reviews, can't get them here

[NGT2]

I ordered the Michelin PS4S ZP runflats. I’ve got to buy tires anyway eventually. SA agreed I have enough left on the all seasons to swap back and make it through our limited true winter months. So we’ll see what difference I can feel going from Pirelli AS runflat to Michelin summer runflat.

[Warp Ten]

Originally Posted by NGT2

Bob - bad news! That is the tire I wanted, too. But in the 19” wheel they don’t make it in the right size for our wheels. Bummer. If I could get the PSAS ZP that is probably what I’d do.

Actually - I think I read that Michelin specifically made that tire for the Vette 19” wheel, which is apparently a bit wider.

The fronts on my Z06 are 285/30 ZR 19s and the rears are 335/25 ZR 20s. Wheels are 19x10 front and 20x12 rear, both wider than the stock BMW wheels I have. My 540xi OEM tires are 245/40 R 19s. A while back I researched tires and found a Michelin A/S3+ZP in a 245/35-19 size whose diameter was about 26" vs stock 26.7", probably close enough to work. I would guess that Michelin today makes a tire close to the 245/40 19 that you could safely use but I have not looked lately. I have used slightly different sized tires on other cars in the past without a problem. For example I used 335 Michelin rears instead of stock 315s on my 1995 ZR-1 and they were fine. Maybe a call to Tire rack would give some alternatives that would work fine, especially if you are replacing all four. --Bob

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by NGT2

I ordered the Michelin PS4S ZP runflats. I’ve got to buy tires anyway eventually. SA agreed I have enough left on the all seasons to swap back and make it through our limited true winter months. So we’ll see what difference I can feel going from Pirelli AS runflat to Michelin summer runflat.

Good choice, am very pleased with my 4ZPs

[Mosaud1998]

Just get Chinese made tires and call it a day

[Chappers 71]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Just get Chinese made tires and call it a day

Can’t beat a set of SkidLongs

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by Chappers 71

Can’t beat a set of SkidLongs

Linglong

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Just get Chinese made tires and call it a day

As long as they're star-marked!

[G30M]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Just get Chinese made tires and call it a day

mind you they work just fine as long as you keep within the speed limit and don't make abrupt changes in momentum (ie turning and braking)

i have them on my van

the Triangle chinese summer tires on my van i drove the van in 5 inch thick snow and never wheel slipped even once

well it snowed unexpectedly and i wanted to test the tires

the brand new bridgestone Ecopias on my town car, would spin up even in the dry

i thought about mounting indonesian tires on my M550i just for a test as i can get an entire set for less than the cost of one Pilot Sport 4S but after some pondering i decided that wasn't a good idea, despite my curiosity

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by adhrp

I'm just going to say I have a new appreciation for good sidewall. My X3's total crap factory tires (Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport AS) blew a hole in the sidewall with very tame driving and left me stranded on the freeway yesterday. This is the second time it's happened. I got annoyed and ordered Contis even though the remaining tires have plenty of life in them. This has soured me on the Bridgestone brand and I'll never buy any Bridgestone tire again irrespective of how well it's rated. Luckily our X3 has a factory spare so I was on my way soon. Anyway I digress...

A bit more to your point, I had Pirelli Cinturato run flats on my 328i and I thought they were great. Never an issue and they cut through light snow pretty well. In fact, they prevented me from getting stranded in a surprise snowfall in Colorado once. They don't have great ratings for some reason, but I liked them.

My G30 came Pirelli P7 Cinturato runflats and I thought they sucked so I swapped them for Michelin PS AS3+ non runflats that were great. Now have Michelin AS4 non runflats that are also great. Interesting how the same tire can yield such different experiences.

My F30 340i came with Bridgestone Potenza summer runflats that were very good until about 10k miles when they got very loud. Had Pirelli Winter Sottozeros for cold weather that were awesome. When I switched to Michelin PS4S non runflat summer tires the ride improved with no handling loss.

Joe’s recommendation to use summer only if you don’t experience sub 40 temperatures is a good one. I saw a comparison of the PS4S to the AS4 tires and while the PS4S had the outright performance advantage, the AS4 wasn’t far enough off for the way I drive. The 540 will never see track time and I don’t have garage space anymore to store a winter set.

[adhrp]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

My G30 came Pirelli P7 Cinturato runflats and I thought they sucked so I swapped them for Michelin PS AS3+ non runflats that were great. Now have Michelin AS4 non runflats that are also great. Interesting how the same tire can yield such different experiences.

At the time, I went from a Toyota SUV to my first BMW (that too a peppy 3 series), so that difference in handling likely played a big role in my perception of the tires. They did serve me well though. Being on my third BMW now, I don't know how I would perceive them today. I suppose I will never find out because all my cars get Contis as replacements.

[BlueSander]

for me, I switched to regular All season tires for all previous BMW. However, for the M550i, I currently have 20" runflat summer and 19" regular all season. Everytime, I switch to summer, the first week or so, I can't get over on how well the car handle, however, that feeling slowly gets replaced by how stiff the car is and how much slower I have to go just to avoid potholes lol.

I'm on the fence of either switching to 20" regular summer tires or just do all season DWS next and save the money. It's like 1/2 the price for almost 2x longer lifespan.

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by BlueSander

for me, I switched to regular All season tires for all previous BMW. However, for the M550i, I currently have 20" runflat summer and 19" regular all season. Everytime, I switch to summer, the first week or so, I can't get over on how well the car handle, however, that feeling slowly gets replaced by how stiff the car is and how much slower I have to go just to avoid potholes lol.

I'm on the fence of either switching to 20" regular summer tires or just do all season DWS next and save the money. It's like 1/2 the price for almost 2x longer lifespan.

It might be more your 20” wheels. I’m swapping tires on the same 19” wheels. I don’t see why swapping to summer tires would make it stiffer but swapping from 19” to 20” wheels would make it stiffer. Maybe just switch to 19” all year?

If you ever want to do that and sell your 20’s, let me know which ones you have!

[Neusser]

Originally Posted by BlueSander

for me, I switched to regular All season tires for all previous BMW. However, for the M550i, I currently have 20" runflat summer and 19" regular all season. Everytime, I switch to summer, the first week or so, I can't get over on how well the car handle, however, that feeling slowly gets replaced by how stiff the car is and how much slower I have to go just to avoid potholes lol.

I'm on the fence of either switching to 20" regular summer tires or just do all season DWS next and save the money. It's like 1/2 the price for almost 2x longer lifespan.

Makes perfect sense. Summer UHP tires are stiffer than all-seasons.

The reason is that AS tires need to be a softer compound in order to remain usable in temperatures below 7 degrees celsius.

Over here on the continent, in cold conditions, it is illegal in some places to run any tire without the snowflake/mountain symbol (winter tires), as the compound on these tires is much more pliable.

I would never go without two sets of tires again, even if I returned to the States. It is unsafe in many cases, and the money you spend on winter wheels and tires can be recouped to a degree through tire longevity gained from having two sets.

[tsbrown]

I know NGT2 has made his tire choice but for anyone else in the same situation trying to decide, here's a comparison of Michelin tires. You can find the full video from Tyre Reviews here.

I've had PS 4S on my old F30 and now have PS AS4 on my G30, having replaced PS AS3+ after 30k miles. The performance in warm weather tests is pretty close, but unsurprisingly a snow advantage for the AS4. Because I don't track my car and I don't have room to store an extra set, the wet/dry warm weather performance gap wasn't significant enough for me so I chose the AS4 and it's a great tire. For ultimate warm weather performance the PS 4S is tough to beat.