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[Jastreb]

Hi all,

I’m hoping to get your advice on final selection for my summer wheel + tire combo. (Yea I know it’s June) I’ve been agonizing over this and I can’t decide…

I am not a huge fan of how the stock 19” 220M’s look, so I’ve decided on a set of Bimmerworld TA-5Rs.

I will be daily driving the car, but expecting to attend 2-3HPDE track day events per year (novice category for now). In the past I drove a Mazda RX-8. It is underpowered but has great balance and neutral handling, and I loved how much speed it could carry around turns. For the M3, I am going for a set-up that can give balanced/neutral handling near the limit on fast corners, not hurt my development as a driver, but also useable on the street in when it rains.

I have come up with 3 options that I’m considering:

1. 18x9.5 ET22 front with 255/40/18, 18x10 ET25 rear with 265/40/18, Michelin PSS. My thinking is that this is an incremental change from stock that should get me a bit more grip up front, the tires will be a little stretched, but within the recommended wheel width range for the tire. Tire OD basically not changed from stock, fills up the wheel well and more sidewall for the crappy Michigan roads. In the future I could also switch to running 265/35/18 & 275/35/18 with these wheels. Cons: leaving some tire width on the table, and tire choice very limited in this size - I would be pretty much stuck with the PSSs.

2. 18x10 ET25 wheels. 265/35/18 front and 275/35/18 rear. Greater tire selection here, I was thinking I could go with Falken FK510s since I’ve had a good experience with them on the street. Could go for a a fully square 275 width setup in the future.

3. 18x10 ET25 with 275/35/18 square. I was surprised how my car corded the inside rear shoulders of the old PSSs it came with after I bought it, so ability to rotate front/rear would be nice to even out the wear. On the other hand, it seems that 275 often rub in the front… Not sure if this is more tire than I need in the front at the moment - don’t want oversteer either. Lot’s of tire choices here - Yokohama V601, General G-Max RS, Conti Extreme Sport - would any of those work at the track at my level?

I would appreciate any opinions for my situation and intended use.
Thanks for reading!

[derbo]

275 on 18x10et25 rubs a little on the rear section of the front fenderliner but only on full lock.

I would recommend getting option 3 and add a Vorshlag camber kit as well. This way you can run some camber to not destroy your daily driver tires at the track.

Since you are still a novice, I think ECS/PS4S should be plenty of tire for now.

[MisterClutch888]

^agree and well said.

[Z K]

Definitely square set up. The ability to rotate tires is really good for track.

Many tracks have more of one side turn than the other. i.e. more left turns than right turns, so you will completely wear out the tires on one side and not the other. The front outside wears faster than rear tires because of cornering. Having a square set up means you can rotate tires left to right and front to rear providing longer tire life and less money out of pocket.

And yes, definitely get a camber kit. The car will handle better and tire wear will be much better as well. One of the best for OEM top hats is the Dinan fixed set up. Extremely affordable at $200 and easy to install. No need to worry about NVH increase as well.

[Jastreb]

Thank you for your input! I ended up buying a square set of 18x10 ET25 wheels. Discount Tire got heartburn about mounting 275/35 R18 Conti ECSs, because the load rating is 95 whereas the OEM tires are a 97 in the rear, so now I need to go the Tire Rack route.

For the camber, can I get away with just pulling the alignment pins initially? I think my camber is close to -1.5 with the pins in...

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Jastreb

Thank you for your input! I ended up buying a square set of 18x10 ET25 wheels. Discount Tire got heartburn about mounting 275/35 R18 Conti ECSs, because the load rating is 95 whereas the OEM tires are a 97 in the rear, so now I need to go the Tire Rack route.

For the camber, can I get away with just pulling the alignment pins initially? I think my camber is close to -1.5 with the pins in...

The pins do not give you much more.. if you're -1.5, you'll get -1.7 maybe. By all means, pull the pins, push the strut tops in and get an alignment. It's pretty much a free mod so see what it gives.

It's fine for street driving but you'll need more for track. That also depends how often you go. If you do 1 or 2 track days a year, it's fine. If you go more often you'll destroy the outside edge of the tires fast. Lap times will also be faster with more camber but if you're just having fun, it doesn't matter.

You can also add the Yokohama Advan V601 to your tire shopping list. It runs a very similar lap time to the PS4S and ECS but it has way stiffer sidewalls so you get a ton more feedback. Similar treadwear and daily driveability too.

[Jastreb]

Originally Posted by Z K

The pins do not give you much more.. if you're -1.5, you'll get -1.7 maybe. By all means, pull the pins, push the strut tops in and get an alignment. It's pretty much a free mod so see what it gives.

It's fine for street driving but you'll need more for track. That also depends how often you go. If you do 1 or 2 track days a year, it's fine. If you go more often you'll destroy the outside edge of the tires fast. Lap times will also be faster with more camber but if you're just having fun, it doesn't matter.

You can also add the Yokohama Advan V601 to your tire shopping list. It runs a very similar lap time to the PS4S and ECS but it has way stiffer sidewalls so you get a ton more feedback. Similar treadwear and daily driveability too.

I am thinking that for the first few track days I would just do the pins + alignment, and if I end up tracking the car more, I'll invest in the camber plates.

I considered the Yokohamas but they seem relatively weak in wet conditions, based on Tire Rack test data. Anyone have an opinion on Bridgestone Potenza Sports?
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...num=735YR8PSXL

The load rating on the Contis is proving a real sticking point around here. Even though nowhere in the manual does it mention a minimum load rating, and a set of 95 load rated (1521 lb) tires easily exceeds the rear axle GAWR.
I blame the accident lawyers, who run ads every 10 minutes on prime time TV...

[Z K]

Originally Posted by Jastreb

I am thinking that for the first few track days I would just do the pins + alignment, and if I end up tracking the car more, I'll invest in the camber plates.

I considered the Yokohamas but they seem relatively weak in wet conditions, based on Tire Rack test data. Anyone have an opinion on Bridgestone Potenza Sports?
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...num=735YR8PSXL

The load rating on the Contis is proving a real sticking point around here. Even though nowhere in the manual does it mention a minimum load rating, and a set of 95 load rated (1521 lb) tires easily exceeds the rear axle GAWR.
I blame the accident lawyers, who run ads every 10 minutes on prime time TV...

I have the V601 on my daily and drive on it year round. It works very good. I think tire rack's wet rating is overrated. Chances are, you won't be on a track in the wet nor driving very fast if it's pouring while you are street driving. They push the tires on a track in the wet to see how it does in that kind of extreme - it's not something you'd see normally.

And I never look at load rating, it's not a factor when I buy tires. I've never had a tire shop look at it either.