Love my new PZero Nero M&S tires

[bmw325]

I was looking for a quiet, compliant tire with decent durability and some sportiness. I was willing to considere anything-- but I just kept coming back to this tire due to all the great reviews. I actually dont' care about its all-season abilities since I have snows, but I guess is a nice bonus.

Based on all the good survey results at Tirerack, and good feedback here, I decided to give them a try to replace my horribly noisy contisports. I also decided, given the 3rd worl
d roads in the Northeast, to go to a 16" wheel full-time. I found a set of nice style 43s (used on the 318Ti club sport) on ebay for a few hundred, and decided to snap them up. I've always liked those wheels- they're simple, elegand and sporty. Yes, they're a bit "80s" but I still like them.

So, anyway, today I finally had time to buy the tires and mount them. I ended up going to a local Mavis ( :eek: ) despite my better judgement simply because they had time to do it, and they had the tires in stock (i didn't plan this out very well). Their installed price was about hte same as Tirerack's delivered price, so I figured what the hell. Fortunately, it worked out.


So, first impressions:
I took a 90 mile drive today, and it was raining for part of the way, so i got a good feel for the tires. First of all, I love the quiet. Is that what my engine sounds like? I didn't know because I couldn't hear it over the racket that the Continentals made. These new tires are really quiet-- very, very nice. I also felt more confident in the rain, the tires felt perfectly planted even in some pretty wet conditions. I also felt more relaxed at the wheel, and noticed that I felt less fatigued. The typically horrible road conditions didn't upset the car as much I'm used to- it was nice to just sort of sail over all the rough tarmac that I encountered. Tramlining was pretty much elimnated as well. I still thought that there was enough road feel and feedback, but it was definitely less. Again, very nice. As an added bonus, my car didn't rattle once- it just made nice "thunk, thunk" noises over the bumps-- probably due to the slighly more compliant ride. Even some junk I had in the backseat and some tools I had in the trunk didn't make noise. One interesting side effect of having much a smoother ride is that I can actually feel the engine vibrations through the steering wheel now. If i lift off the gas, its perfectly smooth, but if I put my foot back on the gas I feel a tiny bit of vibration. Sort of a strange feeling. The Continentals were always "talkiing back" through the wheel, so it masked this. I know some people like tons of road feel, but not me. THese tires give me plenty.

I guess its possible that I could've gone w/ any other new 16" tire and gotten similar results. But, I got a good price on these, and I'm very happy w/ the results. This is EXACTLY the result I watned-- quiet and smooth.

If I ever move to Germany or Southern California, I'll consider going back to a lower profile tire, but for the Northeast, I'm sticking w/ my 16 inchers for now!

Thanks everyone!

[LMC]

And these replaced 17s?

[bmw325]

And these replaced 17s?

Yeah, the car came w/ 17" wheels since it had the sport package.

[EdCT]

Yeah, the car came w/ 17" wheels since it had the sport package.

Rob,

My car rode really well, dare I say perfectly well, with its combo of 16 inch wheels, 205/55 tires and non-sport suspension.

Then, in a misguided attempt to "improve" the handling for autocross and track days, I put in an H&R spring/Koni adjustable sport shock set up.

The car now is lowered in the front by 1.6 inches, in the rear by .75. It wears 225/50/16"s and it looks like hell. I know a lot of guys here and elsewhere love the look, but I hate it. Furthermore, I'm now pitched forward in the driver's set as the rake has increased just enough. My BMW now emits a new sound, the sound of scraping its bottom over driveways and other imperfections. From the driver's seat, I can see under things I couldn't see under before.

The car handles well, it's even a better drive out on the interstate where it tracks straight and true and no longer floats at high speeds. It's a better autocrosser (especially since I've begun left-foot braking).

But as an everyday street car, it's no longer as nice a drive. If I had to do it again, I'd have replaced the shocks, left the ride height alone and called it a day.

Ed

[SleepRM3]

Yeah, the car came w/ 17" wheels since it had the sport package.The compliant ride could be from going to 16 inch from 17 inch wheels? I wonder if your review of the P Zero Nero would be a positive if you went to the same size tire/wheel?

[SleepRM3]

Rob,

My car rode really well, dare I say perfectly well, with its combo of 16 inch wheels, 205/55 tires and non-sport suspension.

Then, in a misguided attempt to "improve" the handling for autocross and track days, I put in an H&R spring/Koni adjustable sport shock set up.

The car now is lowered in the front by 1.6 inches, in the rear by .75. It wears 225/50/16"s and it looks like hell. I know a lot of guys here and elsewhere love the look, but I hate it. Furthermore, I'm now pitched forward in the driver's set as the rake has increased just enough. My BMW now emits a new sound, the sound of scraping its bottom over driveways and other imperfections. From the driver's seat, I can see under things I couldn't see under before.

The car handles well, it's even a better drive out on the interstate where it tracks straight and true and no longer floats at high speeds. It's a better autocrosser (especially since I've begun left-foot braking).

But as an everyday street car, it's no longer as nice a drive. If I had to do it again, I'd have replaced the shocks, left the ride height alone and called it a day.

EdYes, this is always the give/take for performance setups. I have not touched my E36 M3/4's suspension. I've had a stiff suspension on my old Rx7 R1 (modded for track), and it's no fun on the public roads. About the only suspension I'll do on the M3 is to address some of the rear subframe weakpoints on the chassis, stiffer transmissions mounts, and perhaps stiffer sway bars (to control the roll). No plans for upgraded shocks or springs. BMW has done a great job with that pairing on the E36 M3.

[JoeBimmmer]

Rob - I too have the P Zero Nero M&S and you are right! I had some very noisy asian tires and could hardly hear my self think. The Neros are still quiet with about 15,000 mi on them.

[bmw325]

Rob - I too have the P Zero Nero M&S and you are right! I had some very noisy asian tires and could hardly hear my self think. The Neros are still quiet with about 15,000 mi on them.

GReat! Glad to hear it.

Now, that my tires are so quite, I'm starting to notice the engine "drone" (at certain RPMs) that Nate pointed out a long time ago when he drove a 325i. I can also hear some differential whine under some circumstnaces. Man, these tires are quiet!

[bmw325]

The compliant ride could be from going to 16 inch from 17 inch wheels? I wonder if your review of the P Zero Nero would be a positive if you went to the same size tire/wheel?

Yes, its definitely a factor. I'm not sure how much ride comfort and noise reduction is due to the tires themselves vs jsut size difference. But, I didn't want to take chances-- so I went w/ tires that got the most positive reviews on Tirerack. I might've beeen abelt to get away w/ some $60 tires and achieved the same efffect-- who knows...

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

Rob,

My car rode really well, dare I say perfectly well, with its combo of 16 inch wheels, 205/55 tires and non-sport suspension.

Then, in a misguided attempt to "improve" the handling for autocross and track days, I put in an H&R spring/Koni adjustable sport shock set up.

The car now is lowered in the front by 1.6 inches, in the rear by .75. It wears 225/50/16"s and it looks like hell. I know a lot of guys here and elsewhere love the look, but I hate it. Furthermore, I'm now pitched forward in the driver's set as the rake has increased just enough. My BMW now emits a new sound, the sound of scraping its bottom over driveways and other imperfections. From the driver's seat, I can see under things I couldn't see under before.

The car handles well, it's even a better drive out on the interstate where it tracks straight and true and no longer floats at high speeds. It's a better autocrosser (especially since I've begun left-foot braking).

But as an everyday street car, it's no longer as nice a drive. If I had to do it again, I'd have replaced the shocks, left the ride height alone and called it a day.

Ed
That's your fault for cheaping out and doing some of the crappiest springs on the market, instead of inexpensive coilovers.

[EdCT]

That's your fault for cheaping out and doing some of the crappiest springs on the market, instead of inexpensive coilovers.

A coil over suspension would've been twice as expensive, but it would've been worth it.

As for the "crappy" springs: for everyone who hates H&R's, there's an equal number of folks who claim Eibachs suck, it's a kind of Newton's law of the opinionated.

Actually, the springs perform fine, it's the drop I hate.

Ed