PNW Wheel and Tire Selection

[e90_503]

Hey PNW'ers,

I am driving an E90 M3 with an ESS VT1-550 S/C kit on 19" 220M wheels, 245/265 PS4S. Mostly a weekend car for spirited drives, maybe a track day or two next year (beginner/novice) and commute to the office occasionally, <5k mi a year.

I am fairly certain I am going to upgrade the wheel width when it's time to replace these tires. Not overly concerned about the economics of tire rotations since the car is so seldomly driven so I am thinking of sticking to a staggered setup, probably 9"F/10"R for some extra rubber. I was kicking around the idea of an 18x10 square setup but have concerns about the front end feeling heavy and tramlining in our crappy Oregon roads.

Anyways, biggest question I have unanswered is whether to stick with the summer tires (PS4S) or go all-seasons. I am not looking to drive the car in the snow but am not a big fan of how the car behaves during the 40F cold+rainy season (half the year).

Anyone running all-seasons or are there tradeoffs that make this an unappealing long-term solution? I have experience with DWS06 on previous vehicles and they felt pretty solid. I'm not really pushing the limits of the summers anyways, so my thoughts are that some performance tradeoff for a more workable temperature range would generally be fine.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!

[drwankel]

You really need to go wider than 9"/10" to add any significant amount of rubber.

The factory m359 wheels are 9"/10" and they still come with 245/35 and 265/35 size tires. You can can go up to 255/285 on these wheels, which is basically the max (GTS tire sizes). However, you may end up with some slight rubbing on the front depending on tire model.

I went to 10"/11" and ran a 265/30 and 295/30 setup which really helped with supercharged traction.

That being said, yes it did make the front end feel heavier, and is more susceptible to tramlining than the stock sizes, but nothing unreasonable IMHO.

I'm going to have a wide version (10"/11") of the m359s up for sale here soon- let me know if you are interested. They are non-perfect (hit a pothole and subsequently repaired, and now have some vibration to them) but I'd be willing to let them go cheap. Let me know if you are interested.

[erics02wrx]

I also run 10" 265/35 front and 11” 295/30 rears and still wish I could get more tire out back!

[CamasM3e93]

I run 275 35 18s on 10” rims square for the track. I’ve not experienced tramlining out on the highway, maybe 400 road miles getting to and from the track on nitto nt01s which are dot approved for the road.

I’ve run Michelin as4s and Conti dws+, both surprisingly good all seasons though the conti’s got a little loud after 15k miles. These were both 245/265 setups on supercharged e9x’s. I saw snow conditions on both tires and was reasonably pleased. I am currently on Michelin Alpina’s for the winter, 245/265 setup and haven’t seen see any snow. They are surprisingly “slidy” on cold or cold and wet roads but predictably so. The all seasons were a better experience for typical NW fall winter spring road conditions.

Driving summer tires in the winter is a good way to lose a lawsuit if you cause a serious accident and one your insurance may successfully weasel out of covering. So good call exploring other tire options.

Concur with the post above that wider on the rear probably better. I will probably go 295 30 19s for my next summer road tire. That will do ok on the zcp 10” rim.

Edit: also point out it’s very hard to find an all season tire wider than 275. Just went through this exercise on my 911, it’s the widest I could find.

[e90_503]

Thanks for the feedback folks. I guess I should be looking at 10F/11R setup. I'll be taking a look at wheel selections and probably will pick up a set of all-seasons next winter for year-round functionality. I don't really want to deal with the storage of second set of wheels/tires.

[SnohoRaptor]

I ran Michelin AS3+ on my F80 and they did a great job of handling the colder temps. They seemed to be an upgrade from the all terrains I had on another car prior (S550 Mustang). AS3+ gripped well and ate the rain for my daily needs back then.

Now my car is a garage queen (sold the F80) and the PS4S are a big dry road improvement for my e92. I won’t look for another tire for this platform.

But your quest for a wider front stance is definitely a sexy look to chase. 🍻

[PNWVERT]

I’m going to be in the market soon as well once I order my next wheel setup.

M3 came with BBS LM’s 20x9 +15 on 255/30/20 20x10 +20 on 295/25/20 PS4S. Lowered on KW V3’s. Fitment is dialed in perfectly. Can’t get a finger in the rear and no rubbing.

New setup will be 19x9.5 +22 19x10.5 +16. Definitely going with PS4S again and was planning to run 255/35F 295/30 rear.

I have them in 255/35/20 on another vehicle and they do not like rain/snow even with AWD but the car is supercharged.

I can say from previous experience DWS run wide.

[BMWE36Mpower]

Originally Posted by PNWVERT

I’m going to be in the market soon as well once I order my next wheel setup.

M3 came with BBS LM’s 20x9 +15 on 255/30/20 20x10 +20 on 295/25/20 PS4S. Lowered on KW V3’s. Fitment is dialed in perfectly. Can’t get a finger in the rear and no rubbing.

New setup will be 19x9.5 +22 19x10.5 +16. Definitely going with PS4S again and was planning to run 255/35F 295/30 rear.

I have them in 255/35/20 on another vehicle and they do not like rain/snow even with AWD but the car is supercharged.

I can say from previous experience DWS run wide.

Are you selling these once you get a different setup?

[PNWVERT]

Originally Posted by BMWE36Mpower

Are you selling these once you get a different setup?

At the moment I have no plans to sell my LM’s. They are going on my TL. If I decide to sell, I will keep you in mind.