Hi folks,

Have been reading this thread looking for options to upgrade the stock tires on my 320D LCI Sportline. I checked with dealers in town and the PS4 tubeless and other sporty tires are not available due to the govt ban on importing certain types of tires. Conti Sport 5 and Michelin Primacy are available. My preference is to go with Tubeless tires , albeit sporty ones which don't compromise the handling.

Any thoughts on which tyres to go with.

Check out the Yokohama Advan Sport V105. I changed the Conti CSC5 RFTs in my 3GT to Yoko Advan Sport V105. They have a very good balance in sportiness and comfort. I find them almost same as the PS3 I had in the Jetta.

Thanks for detailed info, el lobo 6061.

Confirmed with SA that the tread depth is around 7mm and it is going to cost me not more than Rs 2500. If the actual cost is more, then not going for it.

The tyre import ban is an issue but hopefully something will be sorted out in the coming months. Unless you really need to change the tyres in the next 3-4 months - would suggest waiting.

Between the options you've suggested : Michelin Primacy 4 ST are newer on the market and are good all rounder tyres. I am using them on our A6 2.0D & S-Cross and they're comfortable, steering feel is a little smoother, fairly quiet, and decent grip. Great all rounder tyres.

Using the Conti CSC5 on the C, and while it's quite early to tell having completed only 500kms - they seem to be a lot more grippier. Given we were using RFTs earlier, there is a big jump in ride quality & quietness.
Steering feels a little heavier, and there seems to be a little more rolling resistance.
We used the CSC5 on our 525d as well, after switching from run-flats and had a similar experience though they become noisier as they age. Could be a good performance option if you need to switch soon.

How come we don't get to hear more about the Advan range? Everyone agonizes about the import ban affecting Michelins etc, but why aren't more 17/18/19 inch buyers buying Yokohama?

Yokohama Advan V105 seems to be a good tire and in customer reviews fares much better than Michelin Primacy 4. One more tire that you may consider is the Falken ZIEX ZE Ecorun (it's available in India officially through Falken).

I currently have Bridgestone Potenza RFTs in a staggered set up (245/35R20 (F) & 275/30R20 (R)) on my 2016 535i and plan to change them in the summer to Falken Azenis FK510s.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S is a great tire but I don't track my car and there's no way I can justify spending $3,500 on these in view of my approximate annual run of 3,000 km.

There are multiple well-recognized brands out there that can offer you 90% of the performance for 60% of the price of the Michelins.








Source: https://www.tyrereviews.com/

Thanks for the suggestion. I was able to find Yokohama Advan Sport V105 with one of the dealers in Hyderabad. Since these are also effected by the import ban, the only ones available are from 2019 (mid year). Is there any risk in using ~ 1.5 year old tyres?

Maybe because Yokos are not as popular as Michelins. Even I had an aversion to Yokos before. Only after reading SantoshBhat's review I decided to try them.

I think 1.5 years should not be a problem. Try with a few more dealers and if you can't locate any later batch, it should be fine to go with these 1.5 year old batch.

Mine is the 330i M Sport SEDAN will the same square set up of 245/45/18 work on it?

I gave asked for a quote for the Yoko Advan V105 + Conti Sport Contact 5 tubeless in case of non-availability of Yokos here in Goa

I would like to run with Yokos based on you convincing @Graaja to switch to these on his 330i GT
He is extremely happy with those


I am also grateful to him for the advice

Note
Plus I am a bit of a speedster and really do push the car most times on any open stretch available even if it is for a mile or mile and half at times braking harshly.

The GT comes with 255/45/R18 and 225/50/R18 staggered setup, whereas the sedan comes with 255/40/R18 and 225/45/R18 setup. So, the correct size for the sedan would be 245/40/R18.

I think Ganesh has answered your query w.r.t size.

Looks like you have made up your mind about switching to tubeless. to that.

I have had Pirelli P7 RFTs on my X3 followed by Pirelli P Zero Rosso Tubeless (both stock 18") and now currently on Yoko Advan V105 in 19" Staggered.

I felt the Pirelli P7s were a poor choice for the X3 as these are eco/ low rolling resistance type tyres and not performance oriented. Switch to P zero rossos was very good and improved the steering feel, grip, comfort etc.. Basically an improvement in every parameter.

The Yoko Advans are outright performance tyres with further improvements experienced in grip and sportiness. No deterioration in ride either. The only areas which I feel the tyres could do better, is tyre noise and wear rate. Do note, I am running a staggered set up and generally fat tyres tend to make a bit more road noise. I have done about 12K kms on these yokos and the rear tyres are wearing out fast and I feel I'll have to replace them in the next 3 or 4,000 kms. The front tyres seem to be doing better and it looks like I'll have to replace only the rear tyres next.

I woundn't call myself a speedster, but I do bury the A pedal quite a lot in my X3 30d during highway drives, which may be the reason for the faster wear on the rear tyres. Although X3 is AWD, it has a rear bias. Since your 330i is RWD, the load on rear tyres will be much more and increased wear on the fat rear tyres will be an issue to consider.

That's for sure and its thanks to inputs from you and Ganesh (hope he doesn't mind me referring to him by name) and of course the other stalwarts on TeamBHP

Well Pirellis are out in that case

You are still running a staggered set up I was now thinking of going for a square set up courtesy advise of @graaja the square setup for the sedan will be 245/40/R18.

Seems wear is also quite quick approx. 15K that's a bit low is it not? But I am assuming till quoted by the dealer that price will be competitive


Sadly I still feel I am 18year old Youngster just let out of a cage and its mostly pedal to the Metal
The 330i has really been pushed on the new short highway stretches here to 3 digit speeds.
This is one area where I'm not an expert and was concerned about safety due to my driving style
So far there has been no occasion for me to test the BMW braking distance (fingers crossed)

Once again thanks

My 2015 F30 had run 38,000 kms and the original Bridgestone RFTs had come to the end of life. I spoke to my service advisor and he himself recommended switching to Tubeless over RFTs. For some reasons he was not recommending Pirellis and said that Pirellis tend to become uncomfortable after 10/12k kms. So, I ended up at our local Tyre Empire shop to check some options. I believe the Covid situation and recent import rules have impacted availability and pricing significantly. They neither had Yokos Advan in 225/50/R17 or Michelins. Finally decided upon Conti CS5 at Rs.12,500 per tyre.

Initial experience is quite good. The car seems to be gliding on the road now. Earlier worn out RFTs were hard and I could experience every single contour of the road. The new tyres (as expected) are quite grippy, smooth and silent. An upcoming long road trip will tell the real difference. I don't carry the space saver tyre all the times with me. I just have a puncture repair kit along with a pump. I hope it turns out to be a good decision.

Thank you so much for your really prompt response.
Glad you informed me about the correct size or else I would have gone with your size
plus @SantoshBhat seconded your suggestion proving you are well versed technically on this subject
once again thanks


Now excuse either my ignorance or inexperience @Graaja has recommended 245/40/R18 size for my 330i and you've just stated 225/50/17 & with all due respect to @graajas knowledge, I'll be choosing his recommendation unless you have a compelling reason on your choice.

@Graaja has also recommended Conti Sport Contact 5 tubeless as the second choice if Yokos are difficult to acquire. Thanks for your experience with those. How many Kms have you driven them for?

My F30 came standard with 225/50/17 on all 4s. I wanted to change the wheels to 18 inch but my SA advised against it saying that the ride quality will get affected which I truly concur with. Hence I decided to not experiment with the car and stuck to the original spec.