Tire Recommendations?

[Zee3Coupe]

Its about time for new tires on my 2000 Z3 coupe with the OE 17 inch wheels, and I'm wondering if anyone has recommendations. I'd like to stay with the OE Michelin Pilot Sports, but was told by one shop that they'll soon be discontinued, making it nearly impossible to get a replacement if a tire is ruined. The same shop recommended the Pilot Sport 2s, but I've always loved the directional "high performance" tread pattern on the OE Pilot Sports (the PS2s look relatively conventional, and before you get on me for being shallow, if its wasn't about looks, we'd all be driving WRXs).

I've driven a Z3 with 17 inch Yokahama directionals, and it was a nightmare to keep on the road. Can anyone recommend a good replacement set of tires for the OE Pilot Sports? Has anyone driven on the Goodyear Eagle F1s or Bridgstone Potenzas?

Thanks!
Dan

PS, Any thoughts on shock/strut upgrades while you're at it?

 

[Big Daddy]

There are tons of options

I have had the Michelin Pilot Sports, Toyo Proxes, and Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's. I loved my Pilots however the Sports have a UTOG of 220 and I barely got 10k on my rears before they wore out. The Toyo's were just as good a tire and handled better. They lasted longer and I loved them. They are less expensive than the Sports, but a lot more than the Kumho's. The Kuhmo's have a UTOG of 280 and seem to wear real well. The handling is not as good as the Proxes or the Sports, but it is not far off for street driving. And best of all they are under $100.00 per tire.

Check Discount Tires web site for Sports and Kuhmos, Les Schwab sells Toyos.

Discount Tire

 

[Zee3Coupe]

As always, you're extremely helpful Big Daddy. Thanks! Thoughts if any of those directional tires 'wander' too much on the Z3?

 

[Big Daddy]

I do not get too much with my roadster and I have the Kuhmos on it now. I got some with the Toyo's but that is usually the ruts in the road, something hard to avoid with fat high performance tires. If you go Discount tire and they have a local store, ask them to match the internet price they usually will.

 

[Big Papa G]

one tire i would say to steer clear of is the Pirelli P6000. They Suck!!! the road noise is incredible. When your driving with the top down the hummmm from the tires can be heard over the stereo!!! Also they dont have all that good of grip too. When cornering @ speed if you hit a bump, they will kick out a bit.

 

[AZ M Coupe]

I have Nitto NT450 tires on the front and Yokohama AVS Sport tires on the rear of my '99 M coupe rolling on stock 17" M wheels. They were on the car when I bought it this spring and only had a few hundred miles on them at that time. I have been happy with their performance so far.

Don't know what they cost, but did find manufactureers info and copied the links below...

http://www.nittotire.com/tires_450.asp

http://www.yokohamatire.com/TireIntro.asp?TireID=10


Good luck!

 

[Zee3Coupe]

Thanks everybody for your feedback. In the end, I'm going to go with the BF Goodrich g-Force KDW2's. They feature the new tread pattern for BF Goodrich, and from all the reviews on Tirerack.com, seem to offer the best of all-worlds for high performance driving. I'm a touch concerned about the road noise, but I'll sacrifice 'a little-something' for performance.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...R7GFTAKDW2&vehicleSearch=true&place=1&index=1

I'll post some pictures once I get them on. Thanks!

 

[AZ M Coupe]

No problem. Will be interested to hear how you like them.

 

[Davy Jones]

I own a 96 Z3 I only get 27 miles to the gallon.With 225/50 16s .Has anyone put larger tires on the back, like 225/60s to increase mileage. Or is that a dumb idea, I drive it hard and don't want to lose any control on high speed turns.