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[eilbebach]

Hi Everyone – a little tyre advice if poss please: I have 120d Coupe Auto, 261 - 18” rims. Am removing runflats; 215/40R18 (F) & 245/35R18(R). Have never complained about runflats on my 3 series, but these Potenzas on the 1 Coupe have genuinely revived an old back injury / ache! I want to fit non RF tyres 225/40(F) & 255/35(R). Will this interrupt operation of the tyre sensors, or cause probs with any other computer controlled auto gear box / ATC functions, etc? I think not for such small variation, but did want to check before buying! Thanks so much if you can confirm. Cheers.

[chachacha28]

as long as you leave the TPMS installed, you should be fine, i havent heard of anyone having issues with a simple tire swap. 225/255 is an awsome setup though.

Ive heard the new generation of rft's are better, but i havent used them first hand.

[BrokenVert]

yep what he said^

I ran a 225/255 on the 18"s for 3 years and didnt have a problem with the sensors

[eilbebach]

Many thanks ezeedee - so also absolutely no clearance issues also, I presume? Thanks for the indication that this is a great setup - gives me the confidence to go ahead. Those pink wheels are the best thing I've ever seen wheelwise! Have nice set of genuine Alpinas on my E36 328C - you can see on the eilbebach album, but those pinkies take the biscuit. Bit of a colour clash for my red car though!! Cheers.

[chachacha28]

Originally Posted by eilbebach

Many thanks ezeedee - so also absolutely no clearance issues also, I presume? Thanks for the indication that this is a great setup - gives me the confidence to go ahead. Those pink wheels are the best thing I've ever seen wheelwise! Have nice set of genuine Alpinas on my E36 328C - you can see on the eilbebach album, but those pinkies take the biscuit. Bit of a colour clash for my red car though!! Cheers.

thanks! the wheels are hate it or love it wheels, i love them. Im getting them redone in a matte pink, and putting 235 tires on the front (with rear wheels mounted up front). The pink is here to stay.

no clearance issues on the 225/255. One of the guys from tirerack.com (i think it was Gil, but not positive) asaid the 225/255 setup is what the car should have come with, and those guys are experts, it means a lot coming from them.

[eilbebach]

Brilliant, BrokenVert - that's it for me then. It's great to get all this actual practical experience / advice, when one's just bought the car, and doesn't really know the ways round it all yet. Cheers!

[eilbebach]

Great - now really looking forward to going ahead with this. Matte Pink - Hey! BTW, just took a look at your spec sheet - esp how it's all cambered up, + LSD. How does it handle? I imagine something like one of my all time favourite balanced cars - the E36 M3 3.0 - but on steroids! Cheers

[tracer bullet]

Generally speaking, lower wheel diameters will need higher tire sidewalls, and higher sidewalls make softer tires. Also generally speaking, lower performance tires have less stiff sidewalls also helping with a smoother ride.

I don't have any idea what sort of back problems you have, but I have to wonder if you wouldn't be better off thinking more about your seat and less about your tires?

[chachacha28]

Originally Posted by eilbebach

Great - now really looking forward to going ahead with this. Matte Pink - Hey! BTW, just took a look at your spec sheet - esp how it's all cambered up, + LSD. How does it handle? I imagine something like one of my all time favourite balanced cars - the E36 M3 3.0 - but on steroids! Cheers

I dont have the diff yet, that section is my wishlist. My suspension is stock other than my KW's right now, all the M3 pieces just got ordered a couple days ago. I'll probably start a thread about those when they get installed.

The LSD is gonna have to wait a few more paychecks, thats a lot of cash to drop all at once.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ezeedee

as long as you leave the TPMS installed, you should be fine, i havent heard of anyone having issues with a simple tire swap. 225/255 is an awsome setup though.

Ive heard the new generation of rft's are better, but i havent used them first hand.

Only problem is the OP is in England. Only US models have TPMS inside the wheels. One quick way to tell IF your car has TPMS is by looking at the valve stems. Metal valve stems(with the metal nut) indicate TPMS and rubber valve stems mean no TPMS.

EU cars use the car's ABS sensors to detect a low tire or flat tire.


This is what TPMS valve stems look like. Not every car has these valve stem caps though!






OP - since you have lower back pain... I would think switching to non RFT would be best. You also might want to switch to 17" wheels instead of 18"s.