BMW Tires

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
April 08, 2013

Compared to the OEM tires on the car (Continental Sport Contact 3), the grip is far superior both dry and wet. Huge improvement in off the line traction. Hoping the wear will be equally improved.
David, Ponce Inlet, FL

Initial Review, 38,000 Miles on Tires
April 01, 2013

I live in Florida, where the roads are pretty good.

At 38,000 miles, my back tires are nearly done, near the wear marks. Front tires still have the "DW" mark. Overall, I'm very happy with the treadlife; I've done suspension mods recently, driven the car hard and treadlife is still good.

For a summer performance tire, DWs are a nice balance of price, ride quality, traction, tread life, and wet performance.

When pushed hard, my car has plenty of grip and everything is predictable. Car feels very composed in the rain and we get plenty of rain here in Tampa.

I'm looking to buy replacement tires now and DWs are on my short list. Only reason I might pass on them would be to splurge on something finer like Michelin PSS.

***UPDATE - just bought them again today. They're just a great value with many good qualities. Mich PSS may have better responsiveness and traction but the DW's have longer UTOG, lighter weight and cost 25%+ less.

Initial Review, 35,000 Miles on Tires
March 18, 2013

Excellent tires! This is the second time I am going with these tires and feel like will go again and again. You can get these tires without any hesitation. You should love them!

Initial Review, 20,000 Miles on Tires
April 03, 2013

These are the best tires I have owned -- including Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone on Saab, BMW, Accord. These are my first Contis. I thought they were freaks that would degrade after wear-in, opposite other tires. They were amazing right out of the box. And they got better. I had top of the line Bridgestones. These are miles better in every category. Particularly wet traction (you can feel them slice through puddles) and dry cornering (sticky and plenty of warning before gradually letting go). Quiet too. There is nothing I don't like about these tires. Still early for true tire wear veal, but looks good so far. How did Conti do it? Most tires are trade-offs in different performance categories. These don't trade off anything. If I can get only 30k miles, they will be replaced by another set.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 27, 2011

This is my second set of the Pilots on this car. I've tried Hankook Ventus (good ride, but very soft compund and they only lasted 12000 miles) and Toyo TR-1s (not a great handling tire, and poor in the rain). These are great. You feel secure, they're not too stiff so you get an excellent ride. They're a bit noisy on grooved concrete, but the noise level is acceptable for the excellent performance.

Oddly, despite the wide footprint, they actually improved my gas mileage (17 city, 24 highway) which was about 17% better than the Hankook tires.

I drive the car in the mountains often in the summer, and the grip is fantastic. I will not try another brand for the 740 again. These are expensive, but worth it. I'll probably use them on my 2007 Z51 Corvette when the BFG KDW tires wear out.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
March 20, 2013

I've had these tires for a couple months and have several thousand miles on them now. I waited till Jan. 1st to buy them, as the price dropped drastically...there was a drawback though...they're terrible in cold weather; I live in Virginia Beach, VA and figured it wouldn't be a big deal, as its not like I live in Minnesota (anymore). Anyway, Good luck trying to get traction in the cold..they are after all summer tires! Needless to say, I expected it and do not give a negative rating for that reason. When it warms up, they respond perfectly...rain or sun, they're great tires!!! I do think they'll wear really quick, but just based on a visual check. Oh, and the white letters look a little funny...I think I like it though; but it took a while to get used to it on my BMW! ya don't see white lettered tires on a Bimmer too often haha. Overall, great tires!!!!! Good thing it doesn't get too cold here in VA!

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 28, 2013

Great autocross tire. Superb performance!

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
March 26, 2013

I really like this tire on the 2002 530i for warm weather driving, rain or shine, it is outstanding. I have purchased two sets of these tires since owning this car. Don't even think about it for snow, it is very bad on snow and ice.

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
March 28, 2013

Great tire for aggressive driving and autocross!

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
March 19, 2013

This car turned my 750i back into a luxury car, but also allowed it to continue to be sporty. I have two different sizes of tires front - 245 45ZR 19, rear - 275 40 ZR19. After 10,000 I am beginning to hear road noise with the radio off, but not bad. Great tire for a 7 series BMW.

Initial Review, 26,000 Miles on Tires
March 05, 2013

Had this set on my 128i for over two years and still had plenty of tread left, they were much quiet than the Good Year RFT that came with the car.

Initial Review, 18,100 Miles on Tires
March 20, 2013

I have a 2009 BMW 335i, purchased these tires to replace the run flats.. Best decision ever! The DWS emblem on the tire vanishes over the life of the tire, letting you know when your traction is gone. After 18000 miles on all 4 tires, my fronts still have DW, (Good dry and Wet traction) and the rear two have faint symbols of the D left.. (Meaning I probably need to replace them soon, dry traction is fading. Overall I would give these tires a 9/10. I really don't have much to compare them too except the horrible run flats that came with it when I bought my car. I balanced and aligned my car after about 12000 miles on the new tires. So I believe I got good use out of them. I haven't bought new ones yet, I am going to try and get 20000 out of the rear tires. Most of my driving has been around town and short trips on the weekends. So for the price, I cant complain at all!

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
March 02, 2013

Thus far, these tires have been incredibly disappointing. I did a ton of research before buying these to replace the OEM runflat tires for our BMW, and have had to replace both the front and rear tires again within 18 months. And good luck trying to get any warranty coverage on them. We put rear tires on December 2011, and with less than 15,000 miles of moderate highway driving, these tires were absolutely dangerous last time it rained. The car was hydroplaning all over the road at any speed over 45 mph. We were very careful when we replaced them last time to get them Road Force balanced, to make sure there were no problems with uneven tire wear. Didn't help at all. Really at wits end trying to find tires for this car.

Initial Review, 66,000 Miles on Tires
March 05, 2013

These Firestone Destination A/Ts are great! I now have 66,000 miles on the tires and it looks like they could last another 5,000 miles although the tread has started to "cup" in the last 3 or 4,000 miles. The tires were rotated every 6-7,000 miles and I've had absolutely no problems with tire balancing throughout the life of the tires. Even though the 4WD Expedition is tall and heavy, I have a tendency to toss the SUV around corners as if it was my BMW 530i or M Roadster. The tires don't squeel under hard cornering and are stable under quick lane changes at freeway speeds. I can't comment on the tires off-road performance since the closest thing to off-road use on these tires would be mud and gravel trails. If you drive primarily on highways and cities, this is the tire to buy for your SUV.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
March 05, 2013

I have this tire on a BMW Z4 so it is hard to evaluate. Z4 steering is as vague as a Honda so I wanted every advantage I could get. Steering is still vague. The back end does not kick out any more, can not make it do so. Rears stick like glue. These tires do not get caught in road ruts like other run flats. When warm they ride well, pretty harsh when cold. I do get road noise from the rear tires, but this Z4 is a hardtop coupe and they seem to funnel noise into the cockpit from the rear of the car. Never hear the front tires. Driver's seat is near the rear axle. I will not spend this much money on a tire again. Just put Defenders on my Suburu and they are terrific, for $600. I do not know how to rate this tire as I can not separate it from the Z4 steering, suspension and chasis, all of which are flawed. Far better the the OEM Potenzas, but they were --- awful.

Initial Review, 14,000 Miles on Tires
March 18, 2013

Spent two days of a performance driving event in pouring rain and the tires performed amazing under the conditions....In dry weather I test the limits of the car often and would not think of going with a different brand. They are ZR's so they do wear quick but it's expected.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
March 20, 2013

Had a 6" snow storm the day after I had 4 of these installed. Granted my car is AWD but these tires worked flawlessly. Excellent stopping and acceleration on snow/slush covered roads with no problem. The ride seems comfortable and quiet to me. An absolute win win for me considering the price. Thank you TireRack!

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
March 08, 2013

Best tires I have ever owned! I put down 547 rwhp, first tire that actually hooks up and goes! Also does well at high speeds

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
March 06, 2013

The only reason I would possibly buy these again is because I believe the performance is worth the extra money on the Blizzaks. These tires, though, are impressive in their own right as they have worn EXTREMELY well. I have had these exact tires mounted on a '95 //M3 as well as this '98 323 for most of the use. Believe it or not, the difference in suspension setups still provided for similar commentary:
These tires are quite noisy (expected with winter tires) but corner extremely well. They ride quite harshly as compared to a more pricey Blizzak or Vatiiva, but for the extended wear I'll take it! All in all, I still have about 6/32 of tread after literally 6 seasons of use. This is with SPIRITED driving style. The tires have shown some rot along the sidewalls, so it is now time to replace. Overall I am happy with these considering the money spent. If you have some more cash to lay down, I would recommend some Blizzaks. Beware more frequent replacement however.