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[AlBinVA]

My 135 is a DD. My normal driving is commuting to work, around town cruising and some limited spirited driving. My suspension is OEM stock sport package. I do not want to stay with the runflats but found limited tire options in the stock size. After searching the forum, I found that a lot of members upgraded to 225-40's on front and 255-35's on the rear.

My search reveals limited to no problems with regard to rubbing, sidewall flex, wheel fitment, etc. Any confirmatory or opposite views would be appreciated.

I spoke with my buddy (SA) at my local dealership. His company party line comment was that BMW does not recommend larger size tires and they will not guarantee fitment. His personal opinion is that it will be fine.

On the the title of this thread.

Does anyone have experience with all season tires on the 135 with sport package? Would I be sacrificing anything with the all season tire.


Any comments would be appreciated.

Al

[MikeinAlexandria]

I had a MINI Cooper S and put, what I thought, were ultra-high performance all season tires on it. The only good thing about those tires (Pirelli P0 Nero) was that you could use them year round. But summer time grip was no where near as good as a real performance tire, and winter wet handling as not much better than the run flats, I would still need snow tires. On a 135i, you should have summer tires on summer wheels and snow tires on cheap, winter wheels. I did this even when I had a garage-free town house. Just kept the spare wheels in a basement closet wrapped in contractor bags. You will give up way too much handling, and grip, and then, why bother wi a 135i when a 120d would do the same? (I know, not available in the States). Honestly, it doesn't ever get that cold in Richmnd, and you could probably get away with summer performance tires all the time, just don't drive on the rare year it decides to snow down there. But it is always good to have spare wheels and tires, just in case!

[Dackelone]

^^+1. to all Mike's comments. The best thing is to have two sets of wheels. It really is not that big of a deal to change them over. Go with a top tier ultra summer tire like a Michelin PSS and you will be amazed on how nice a 135i can ride/drive.

Even BMW has gone to 225's and 245's on all their new F20's and F30's cars. I went with 225/255's on my 135i with no issues. Technically speaking only a 245 rear tire will fit on a 8.5" wide wheel/alloy - but the 255's fit without any issues. Here is my writeup of when I switched over from RFT to non RFT's. Maybe it will help you decide what to go with.


My new Michelin PS3’s 225’s & 255’s…

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...chelin+PS3%27s



PS: I run the BMW winter wheels 7jx17" alloys with 205/55HR17's all around, aka square setup.

[AlBinVA]

Dack, I had actually read your write-up in my search.

Mike, you're right about Richmond weather, not too extreme in winter.

I believe the summer tires are the most prudent choice, but wanted to float my question out here.

Al

[Red Bread]

The +1 tire sizing is a common solution to the screwy 135i tire sizing.

I will go against the grain and say that my wife is fine with Michelin Pilot A/S's. When we put those tires on her 135i (all coupes have the sport suspension and same tire/wheel sizing) I had an M Coupe with PS2's and then PSS's. We needed a car that could deal with our trips to see my family in Santa Fe every winter, and it just made more sense to put her car on all seasons rather than dealing with winter tires we'd use less than a week every year.

They give up a little traction to the RFT's, but it's not as big of a difference as many would have you believe. In fact they seem pretty suited to the softer nature of the 1er compared to the PSS's on my M Coupe, which were great but seem more aggressive than what the 1er really benefits from, at least with the stock, soggy suspension and squirrely handling.

For the peace of mind on the few days a year it snows/ices here, I enjoy knowing that my wife can just drive to work and not worry about it, unlike trying to deal with PSS's even in sub 40 degree temps, when they become a handful.

One caveat, if you track, autocross or just regularly hoon it up, ignore everything I just said and skip A/S tires. If you drive your car like a DD, then you'll be more than fine with good a/s.

[ptack]

This comes up every so often and I just don't understand why anyone would bother spending the extra money to get a 135i over a 128i and the put all season tires on it. Tires are the most direct way to improve or degrade your performance. Do a +1 on the tire size with a set of PSSs. Get a proper set of winters too and you'll always get the most from your 135i.

[Clovef]

The idea of a/s is the performance of a summer tire and the cold weather performance of a winter tire. They have achieved neither. They just are not very good in the summer or the snow. I remember tire rack did a test of skid pad grip and stoping distances of snow, a/s, and Sumer performance tires in the snow and the dry. I don't remember exacts but the summer performance needed an extra 80 feet or somthing over snow tires to stop on snow and a/s need an extra 70 or something not very good at all. Dry performance also looked horrible on a/s.

Tires are your only connection to the road and determin your traction so don't buy bad tires. If you deal with snow get a set of summers and a set of winters. To me a/s tires would be like getting a big nice hd tv and then only watching non hd basic cable or never orgasiming as your form of birth control. Come on man, don't neuter your car.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

...For the peace of mind on the few days a year it snows/ices here, I enjoy knowing that my wife can just drive to work and not worry about it, unlike trying to deal with PSS's even in sub 40 degree temps, when they become a handful.

One caveat, if you track, autocross or just regularly hoon it up, ignore everything I just said and skip A/S tires. If you drive your car like a DD, then you'll be more than fine with good a/s.

+1. Replacing the OEM Goodyear summer RFTs on my ZSP 128i with Conti DWS tires has resulted in a much better ride, equal grip, and doubled treadwear at half the price. The only downside is a slightly mushier feel ONLY on initial turn in, which can be ameliorated by 3 psi more pressure.

Tom