Here in the Midwest, the temps are rising, the sun is out and drivers are bringing out the toys. Lets go racing! Tires are what makes it all happen. All the power and suspension in the world is for naught if the tires don't deliver the goods. Tire Rack has test results and reviews on Extreme Performance and R-compound tires.
Extreme Performance tires deliver the most dry traction you can obtain without going to an all out dedicated track set up. These are completely useable in street applications while providing ample grip for weekend track events and serious auto crossing. While encompassing both street and track use, our latest test results favored the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 as the best all-around tire. It was the easiest tire to drive at the limit while also providing the most comfortable ride on the street.
Read the full test report. When you are ready to take the next step, you will want to look at Track aka R-compound options. Even though the tires are street legal, they are not recommended for street use. This is due to soft compounds and other track specialty features that make them less than ideal for daily driving.
Take a look at what consumers had to say about their experience with each tire:
"[The Bridgestone Potenza RE-11] is a perfect street tire for occasional track use." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2008 BMW M3 Coupe "[The Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec] is an amazing tire, overall grip is very close to an R-compound tire." -- Tire Rack Consumer Review, 2003 Porsche Boxster S ,
2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Shop by vehicle to see which tires works best for your vehicle.
Looking for new springs that are right for your vehicle and the way you drive it?
Tire Rack has performed back-to-back product comparisons to help consumers with their purchasing decisions. Our Suspension Component Research page shows
Eibach Springs,
H&R Springs and
KONI results from our Real World Road Ride route and Performance Test Track course. Our findings can help you select the springs that are right for your application.
For example, we tested spring sets from Eibach against the Original Equipment installed on a BMW E46 328i. Our tests results showed the Eibach springs enhanced the handling and feel of our test vehicle while increasing lap time speeds. To evaluate the benefits of modifying your vehicle’s suspension, read:
“
Spring Testing”
You can also contact one of our
sales specialists for more information.
Looking to get rid of that unsightly wheel fender gap while simultaneously improving handling, braking and reducing body roll? All for a minimal cost? A set of lowering springs from
H&R or
Eibach may be the answer. Whether you drive a BMW, Porsche, Audi, Infiniti or even a Honda,
lowering springs can make your car more fun to drive!
Benefits of lowering springs:
- Improved appearance with reduced fender well gap
- Lower center of gravity
- Reduced body roll
- Reduced pitch and dive when braking and accelerating
- Better handling and steering feel
Shop by vehicle to see which suspension options work best for your vehicle.
Tires becoming worn on the inside edge is a common problem many sport car drivers encounter. From the BMW 328i to the Volvo S80, this is an issue that a simple alignment cannot fix. What causes this damage to the tires?
A sports car is designed to go around corners faster, more confidently and safely. If you take your BMW 3 series around a corner, you will notice it handles that side force much better than the family minivan. There are many reasons for this, but one is how the suspension is set up.
Camber is another reason certain cars handle corners well and a common thread that ties many of the inner tire wear problems together. If you look down the side of your car, you will notice the rear tires are "tipped" in a little bit, this is called negative camber. Negative camber causes both tires to lean on the axle towards the center of the vehicle. All four tires develop an equal and offsetting "camber thrust" force even when the car is driven straight ahead. When the vehicle encounters a bump that causes one tire to lose its grip, the other tire's negative camber will push the vehicle in the direction of the tire that lost grip. The vehicle may become more susceptible to tramlining. Excessive camber may also reduce the straight-line grip needed for rapid acceleration and hard stops.
How can you help minimize this? Regular wheel alignments should be considered routine and preventative maintenance. Since there are "acceptable" ranges provided in the manufacturer's recommendations, find a technician who will align the vehicle to the preferred settings and not just within the range.
Accurate wheel alignments are critical to balance the treadwear and performance a vehicle's tires deliver. Also, select a tire that reflects your driving habits and remember to rotate your tires frequently.
See more details on alignment
here.
Want a sportier ride from your car's suspension system without giving up ride comfort?
Or better handling to go along with your new custom wheels and tires?
KONI offers a unique and affordable solution. The KONI FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) is available for many Euorpean, domestic, and Asian vehicles such as Volkswagen, BMW, Mini, Audi, Mazda, Corvette, and Mustang among others.
The concept of the KONI FSD Damper Set is that it self-adjusts based on the vehicle's body and suspension movement.
Find out more and see if it's availalbe for your vehicle!
Coil-Over: an automotive suspension device which refers to a spring or "coil" mounted over the damper (shock or strut).
There are advantages to the coil-over versus a conventional spring and damper system that include ease of installation and simplified height and stiffness adjustment. Many coil-overs offer easy fine-tuning that's not available from conventional suspension systems.
Coil-Over Kits are available for many German vehicles such as Porsche, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz. There are also many domestic and Japanese fitments for cars such as Corvette, Mazda Miata and RX7, Nissan GT-R, 350/370Z, and many others.
My venerable BMW 325i met its fate a few months ago at the hands of a skidding Honda Pilot, so I got an old BMW 740i to console myself. The wheels from my 325i were the wrong offset for the 740i, so that meant I would have to purchase new wheels and tires for the summer (my snow tires are on the factory wheels).
I got 17"
RIAL Salerno wheels with
Pirelli PZero Nero All Season tires for my summer package. The RIAL wheels really make the 740i look a lot sportier, and the style fits well with the BMW. They also fit the BMW caps, which is a nice bonus.
The Pirellis ride and handle nicely, but they're exposing the fact that the suspension is a little tired. I told myself I'd keep this car practical, but if you're going to replace something, you may as well upgrade.... Will I succumb to the customization bug once again? Tune in again and find out.
Take a look at the BMW Shock Absorber and overall suspension upgrade I did on my 1999 BMW M Roadster before I traded it a couple years back. I do miss it, and was verry happy with the suspension upgrade I did on the car.
First I installed the
KONI Sport Shocks. They offered great performance and rebound adjustability so the ride didn't suffer any more then I wanted. At the same time, I lowered the vehicle with some
H&R Sport Springs with a very mild drop of 1.3 inches. Here is a picture of the finished product!
As you know, we like to keep you informed. Our Video Center does just that by taking you inside the various tests we perform. For example, we recently posted the following:
"Form and Function—Performance Suspension Upgrades Can Deliver Both."Last fall, we had the opportunity to test a few
Eibach suspension components. A lot of our customers like to lower their vehicles for aesthetic and performance reasons, and we wanted to find out which Eibach products really got the job done. Using our 2008 BMW E92 328i Coupes, we were able to specifically compare their Original Equipment to the following:
—
Eibach Pro-Kit Spring Set—
Eiback Pro-System Plus Kit—
Eibach Multi-Pro Coil-Over R1Check out our
full report for all the details, and of course, watch the
video! And when you have time, spend some of it in our Video Center. You never know what you'll learn.
We've got new coil-over kits at
Tire Rack—and they might be an ideal upgrade for your BMW suspension system as well as ideal for other vehicle makes, too.
KW coil-over kits add innovative dampening solutions to the suspension products market both on and off the track. All components pass comprehensive tests to meet high quality standards, which means you can place your full confidence in KW's products. Every coil-over kit provides optimal performance, individual lowering and outstanding drive performance:
Variant 1 Coil-Over is an entry-level system that helps you control height. You'll get a sporty-but-comfortable driving experience.
Variant 2 Coil-Over helps the experienced driver determine precise lowering. This kit allows you to adjust damper settings like pitch and roll behavior.
Variant 3 Coil-Over features state-of-the-art motorsport technology for proven performance on the street. Adjustable compression and rebound damping creates the ultimate in customizable drive settings.
Search KW suspension components by vehicle to determine which coil-over is right for your vehicle, including for the BMW suspension system.
When it comes to improving your vehicle's performance,
shock absorbers, and
springs are an integral part of your vehicle's
suspension.
Coilovers combine these two into an integrated and height adjustable system.
The Tire Rack now offers
KW coilover supsension products for BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, and other high performance cars.
Variants 1, 2, and 3 are available at competitive pricing.
What are the differences, and which one is best for you?
KW Variant 1 inox-line – Perfect Street Performance Sporty Handling with factory pre-set damping
The ideal systems for customers wishing to rely on the experience of our engineers to set the damper setting, yet determine their own degree of lowering. In extensive driving tests our engineers have set the dampers for the best balance between sporty driving, comfort and safety. The user is then free to decide the best height setting for their use and preference.
- Optimally pre-set
- Sporty harmonious damping technology
- Stainless steel technology "inox-line"*
- Individually height-adjustable
- Lowering range approved by the German Technical Control Board (TÜV)
- Fully finished complete solution
- High-quality component parts for long durability
KW Variant 2 inox-line – Perfect Street Performance Sport Handling with adjustable rebound damping
The system intended for the experienced driver who does not only wish to determine the individual lowering of his vehicle, but also wishes to carry out setup adjustments. The adjustable rebound damper allows adjusting the pitch and roll behaviour of the vehicle and therefore the driving pleasure can be adapted to the own requirements. Varient 2 features the following upgrades/additional features in addition to those found on Varient 1 :
- Damping technology with individually adjustable rebound
KW Variant 3 inox-line – Perfect Street Performance State-of-the-art technology from motor sports for more performance on the road. The separate and independently adjustable rebound- and compression damping allows for an individual suspension setup for different uses and preferences. The unique patented system with its two-stage valves allows a rebound damping adjustment (comfort) and a compression adjustment (driving dynamics) in the low-speed range while the high-speed range which controls the driving safety, is fixed. Varient 3 features the following upgrades/additional features in addition to those found on Varient 2 :
- Damping technology with individually adjustable rebound- and compression technology
- Infinitely variable rebound damping adjustment
- 14-way adjustable compression damping
- Unique, individually working damping force adjustment
Click here to check the site for availability and pricing for your vehicle.
Take your car springs up a notch with a sport-level suspension upgrade from Eibach Springs, the industry's leading aftermarket suspension product manufacturer.
The
Pro-System Kit, pictured at left, brings together Eibach's most popular suspension products: Pro-Kit Sport Springs and Pro Damper Sport Shocks. It will lower your vehicle about 1-1/2", improving turn-in quality and reducing understeer. You'll also notice additional ride control (but not a loss of ride quality, which is nice).
A number of our
Tire Rack Consumer Reviews can confirm this:
"I drive all over Colorado mountain passes and through cities as well and the Pro-System package is perfect. It kept the car very driveable in the city even with speed bumps and potholes everywhere, and in the mountains I can hit high speed turns with virtually no body roll or traction loss. When I purchase my next vehicle this will be the first upgrade I make to it." — Tire Rack Consumer Review, BMW 318i, CO
See all car springs.
Pretty cars need pretty wheels. Or, to take it from another perspective—high performance vehicles benefit from aftermarket wheels to enhance tire performance and handling. But still, they do make a car look really good. The 2009 135i Coupe below features 18"
O.Z. Racing Allegerita HLT wheels in an anthracite finish. The following BMW wheels will look just as good:
•
ASA GT1 (Bright Silver Paint)
•
Breyton Race GTS-R (Black with Red Stripe)
•
moda MD7 (Machined with Anthracite Accent)
Now, search by vehicle in our
Upgrade Garage to get a visual representation of what different BMW rims might look like on your vehicle. You'll also get the opportunity to see matching BMW tires.
And you might not want to stop there. The Upgrade Garage helps you search our entire inventory of suitable products, like BMW brake pads and
BMW suspension upgrades. Are your BMW shock absorbers absorbing enough bounce? Feeling every bump in the road? New BMW shocks might be just what the doctor...or, mechanic...ordered.
