[ericdad]

Hi all,

I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery of my 2014 M135i at the end of this month. I live in Auckland, New Zealand.

For all of our cars, we always shop our tyres from tirerack.com and have them ship tires to New Zealand via FedEx. Pricing of tires/tyres in NZ is horribly high so even with international freight & GST, we still save great amount of $$$.

When I look at Tirerack.com, I can't find M135i as an available option. Can any of you M135i owners tell me the exact model of tires for M135i?

Also, how do you like the stock OEM tires? Do you recommend it or would you suggest other tires when replacing them? Thanks for your help in advance!

[johnnydad]

USA don't have the M135i

Tirerack stock both grades of Michelin Pilot Supersport - the OEM BMW set have the 88Y fronts or you can get the 92Y fronts.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...earDiameter=18

[ericdad]

Originally Posted by johnnydad

USA don't have the M135i

Tirerack stock both grades of Michelin Pilot Supersport - the OEM BMW set have the 88Y fronts or you can get the 92Y fronts.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...earDiameter=18

Thanks Jonnydad for the information!

[johnnydad]

No trouble!

As for other brands/tyres, I don't think anyone has found any other rubber convincingly better for road use on these cars. The big issue seems to be that the sidewalls are really quite soft and the outer edge compound likewise resulting in premature wear of the outer 20% of tread. Mine were bald there after 20,000km whereas I should get 30,000 out of the rears.

When your car arrives, it might pay to have a good independent check the alignment (a few including myself were delivered with excess toe-in) and running the pressures a bit higher than recommended - I use 38psi which helps a little.

[ttimbo]

^^ as above. The PSS are pretty good on this car. I'd like to try a tyre with a stiffer sidewall, such as a Bridgestone, but I suspect the tread compound would be a weakness.

One of the worries I have is availability, if I damage one of the PSSs. Perhaps we should all put in for a group "stash" in Australia somewhere, given the different sizes front and rear.

Also, on tirerack, I have assumed the M235 tyres will be similar. My assumption might be wrong. 😱

[ericdad]

Originally Posted by johnnydad

No trouble!

As for other brands/tyres, I don't think anyone has found any other rubber convincingly better for road use on these cars. The big issue seems to be that the sidewalls are really quite soft and the outer edge compound likewise resulting in premature wear of the outer 20% of tread. Mine were bald there after 20,000km whereas I should get 30,000 out of the rears.

When your car arrives, it might pay to have a good independent check the alignment (a few including myself were delivered with excess toe-in) and running the pressures a bit higher than recommended - I use 38psi which helps a little.

Thanks Johhnydad for the insight. That's great help! Also what a synchronicity! Johnnydad and Ericdad! :-)

[ericdad]

Originally Posted by ttimbo

^^ as above. The PSS are pretty good on this car. I'd like to try a tyre with a stiffer sidewall, such as a Bridgestone, but I suspect the tread compound would be a weakness.

One of the worries I have is availability, if I damage one of the PSSs. Perhaps we should all put in for a group "stash" in Australia somewhere, given the different sizes front and rear.

Also, on tirerack, I have assumed the M235 tyres will be similar. My assumption might be wrong. 😱

Thanks for the feedback ttimbo!

[Bee Pee]

+1 for higher tyre pressures.

I've been experimenting on various pressures.

Also settled on 38psi all round too.

OP - M235i does use same spec non RF tyres but double check if ordering as in US seems like lots of them come with RF's as standard.

[GeoBem007]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

+1 for higher tyre pressures.

I've been experimenting on various pressures.

Also settled on 38psi all round too.

OP - M235i does use same spec non RF tyres but double check if ordering as in US seems like lots of them come with RF's as standard.

Pay close attention as the xdrive M235i is delivered with a square setup in the US.

[Bee Pee]

good point, IIRC xdrives m235i may also have 7.5" wide rims with square all-season tyres spec'd as standard.

[GeoBem007]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

good point, IIRC xdrives m235i may also have 7.5" wide rims with square all-season tyres spec'd as standard.

It's a US-thing. EU's come with 7.5/8" 225/245 in M235i as in M135i xdrive. Go figure

[ttimbo]

Interesting comments on tyre pressures. I have fiddled about with mine, and usual favour higher pressures, as others say, but I've found 34/36 is the sweet combination (for me) as too high at the front makes the effort (already power-assisted) too light and reduces steering feel, and makes the rear feel a little more planted. Many beers have been drunk trying to reach agreement on these issues, of course! 😆

[ovekvam]

The perfect tyre pressure can very well be different between two drivers, as it depends on the driving style. In general, a smoother driving style allows for lower pressures.

[Bee Pee]

Erm - what are you saying ? I run higher pressures therefore my driving style sucks ??

There are so many factors that influence optimal tyre pressures.

Without any justification your comment linking tyre pressures and driving style is a tad to "general"

[ovekvam]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

Erm - what are you saying ? I run higher pressures therefore my driving style sucks ??

Smoother is not necessarily better, only different. The smoothest drivers in formula one have problems getting enough heat in their tyres, so they lose out in the qualification runs.

There is pretty much only one disadvantage with higher tyre pressures, but it is a rather important one. You get less grip, since the contact patch is smaller.

This is not necessarily true for wet conditions, as there is higher risk of aqua planing with lower pressure.

[Bee Pee]

I use my car 98% of the time on the road and occasional track days so F1 driver comment, whilst interesting, is irrelevant in this context.

Anyone running oem Mich PSS on their car may be aware of the benefits/balance of tyre pressures to try and mitigate the uneven front tyre wear, due to softer of dual compounds resulting in accelerated wear on outer shoulder.

[ovekvam]

I am running 35 psi in Michelin PS3 on the 116i, which has less negative camber and weight up front than the M135i. The tyre wear is rather even in the back, but I also have some extra wear on the outer 20 percent of the front tyres. I guess this is due to late braking into corners on track days. Some more negative camber would have been nice.

[ttimbo]

Originally Posted by Pave Dew

I use my car 98% of the time on the road and occasional track days so F1 driver comment, whilst interesting, is irrelevant in this context.

Anyone running oem Mich PSS on their car may be aware of the benefits/balance of tyre pressures to try and mitigate the uneven front tyre wear, due to softer of dual compounds resulting in accelerated wear on outer shoulder.

Just go around roundabouts in the other direction from time to time

[Bee Pee]

Sounds like you've been on defensive driver training....

[Ben_M135i]

My PSS got a large buldge in the sidewall on the drivers front shortly after I bought the car. There were no PSS available in the country at that time to replace it, so I put on some PS2 runflats on the front. The change in turn in response was AMAZING. The car was much more agile. I still have the PSS on the rear but they need a good 39PSI to stop them folding under when cornering. The writing on the sidewalls took a beating so up the pressure went! I think I will get the PSS again from Tirerack (with the 92Y fronts because they are cheaper than the 88's) though. I think I just need quite high tyre pressures to satisfy me.

[ovekvam]

Are you saying the turn in response was BETTER with PS2 runflats than with PSS??
Which pressures were you running before?

[harkes]

I used the RFT as a good excuse for some drift-training......actually I use non-RFT for that too...

Running PS3's now and are quite happy with them, but having problem putting std power down in 1st and 2nd gear.