Tire performance on 535i sport pkg question

[Kzang]

On my 2007 525i I don't have the sports pkg so I have the standard continental all season tires. Thread life is excellent.. I rode the first set for up to 48K miles.. I still had decent tread life on it but I had to replace it since my lease was coming up in the next couple of months. Might as well enjoy driving on a new set of tires before turn in.
Another thing I enjoyed was the confidence I had driving in the pouring rain. I could turn corners without having to reduce my speed even on wet roads... These tires are excellent also in the snow.

My next car will be a 2010 535i with sports pkg and I am assuming I will have those dreaded rft and of course they will probably be summer tires and not all-season.
The question I have is how good are these tires in the rain? In the past I had goodyear razorbacks on my 1998 mustang GT and everytime it rained I would have to really slow down because the rear wheels would start slipping and fish-tail.
Should I expect the same with 535i sport pkg?

[djfitter]

I have an '08, haven't driven in the rain a lot, but find no problems with my RFT's in their rain performance. :)

dj

[Roswell]

I have the Dunlop RFTs and have no issues with them in the rain. But when I took the snows off and put these back on 2 weeks ago I was shocked out much wear there was on them. Doubt I have 9k on them now, no way will they will last 20K

[jzcrna]

I have Dunlop RFTs and they seem to be pretty good in the rain.

Aside from the tires, the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) along with the Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) makes it virtually impossible to fishtail when they are turned on.

If they are turned off then you would be able to have a better tire comparison.

[Kzang]

I have Dunlop RFTs and they seem to be pretty good in the rain.

Aside from the tires, the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) along with the Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) makes it virtually impossible to fishtail when they are turned on.

If they are turned off then you would be able to have a better tire comparison.

Thats very true. My mustang didn't have this technology at the time and probably have been fine if it had.

[dwlink]

In the past I had goodyear razorbacks on my 1998 mustang GT and everytime it rained I would have to really slow down because the rear wheels would start slipping and fish-tail.

I don't think the tires or the driver were at fault for the behavior you describe above...:rofl:

[J535]

I have a 2009 535i with Goodyear RFT's and my car seems ok... I've also had a 2006 525i with Goodyear RFT's and they where ok as well...

[skylolow]

It's rain/wet you should slow down regardless of your tires.

Most of the performance summer tires do very well in the rain. Good enough that in most cases you have to try to make them break loose by either heavy acceleration or taking turns way to fast in the rain. Normal driving to even semi aggressive driving on a wet surface they'll do there job great.

[Fahrer]

Why not consider the standard suspension with all season tires since you seem to have had a good experience with them? This is the setup I have and there are many times where I could not imagine having the SP with the roads we have around here. I have 21,000 miles on my car and the tires are not even halfway worn. Also, no real need to use winter tires (at least where and how I drive).

In the end, I guess it depends on how you use the car.

[djfitter]

He already stated his next car "will be a 2010 535i with sports pkg", and wants to know about tires. And you are trying to talk him out of the sports package? :dunno: Sacrilege.
An answer about RFT's in the rain would be more appropriate. :)

dj

[Kzang]

Why not consider the standard suspension with all season tires since you seem to have had a good experience with them? This is the setup I have and there are many times where I could not imagine having the SP with the roads we have around here. I have 21,000 miles on my car and the tires are not even halfway worn. Also, no real need to use winter tires (at least where and how I drive).

In the end, I guess it depends on how you use the car.

I've done the non sports for 3 years.. Its time for me to explore something different.
Thats why I'm asking how well the RFT are in the rain.. From past exp with other cars I have had, it wasn't good to drive aggressive in the rain with performance tires. Basically I had to drive under most speed limits..
I just wanted to see what experience other drivers here had with theirs.

[djfitter]

I've done the non sports for 3 years.. Its time for me to explore something different.
Thats why I'm asking how well the RFT are in the rain.. From past exp with other cars I have had, it wasn't good to drive aggressive in the rain with performance tires. Basically I had to drive under most speed limits..
I just wanted to see what experience other drivers here had with theirs.

As I previously stated, I haven't driven much in the rain, but the times I did, driving 'over' the speed limit wasn't a problem, even at Freeway speeds. ;)
As jzcrna said, the DSC and DTC pretty much keep you in check unless you get real stupid. Even they can't change the laws of physics. :D

dj

[ex-x-drive]

I've done the non sports for 3 years.. Its time for me to explore something different.
Thats why I'm asking how well the RFT are in the rain.. From past exp with other cars I have had, it wasn't good to drive aggressive in the rain with performance tires. Basically I had to drive under most speed limits..
I just wanted to see what experience other drivers here had with theirs.

Sport package should be fine in the rain. If you have snow in winter you will need
winter tires but otherwise you will be good to go. Personally I'd never have a rear
drive BMW without SP. Too much of an improvement in
Handling/steering to pass up, not to mention the awesome seats and steering wheel!

[Elias]

Sport package should be fine in the rain. If you have snow in winter you will need
winter tires but otherwise you will be good to go. Personally I'd never have a rear
drive BMW without SP. Too much of an improvement in
Handling/steering to pass up, not to mention the awesome seats and steering wheel!

+1 once you go SP you never go back!

[weezl]

Not much experience in the rain, but the wear seems to be much faster with the RFTs, and I am quite passive most of the time.

[inuwashi]

No issues in the rain. In fact, I feel better traction and control with my 535i with sport package and run flats than I did with my E500.

[z06bigbird]

He already stated his next car "will be a 2010 535i with sports pkg", and wants to know about tires. And you are trying to talk him out of the sports package? :dunno: Sacrilege.
An answer about RFT's in the rain would be more appropriate. :)

dj

Anyone else around here who misinterprets, misreads, or makes a mistake about what an OP says will be drawn and quartered. Final notice!!

[doug_999]

I read somewhere that RFTs perform WORSE in the rain then their comparable non-RFTs but better in the dry - in this case, they were comparing a tire offered in both RFT and non-RFT I believe.

[boriska00]

I have Dunlop RFTs, no issues with handling in the rain.
My only problem with RFTs is that they are louder than regular tires. Therefore my next set will not be RFTs, but it's not because of handling.

[BlackHorse]

I hated the RFT's on my wife's 07 525 and I did not like the sport suspension either. They RTF's were very loud and I found that the handling of the sport suspension and RTF's was not as predictable as I like at high speed. Certainly not a predictable as my old E39 with H&R's, Koni's and good rubber like Nitto 555's. I found the wear of the RTF's to be consistent with other high performance tires, 20K tops with spirited driving. I just traded my wife's 07 525i with sport suspension for an 09 528i without sport suspension. The first thing I did was get rid of the continental all season radials (which had zero handling capabilities in my opinion) on the new 528i in favor of BF Goodrich G-Force radials. The G-Force radials improved the handling of the car significantly. Even though I got this car for my wife, I am still thinking of going with H&R's & Koni's and maybe stiffer sway bars. I am an experienced DIY guy, but have never worked in E60 suspension. If anyone has any tip or instructions on springs and struts I would certainly appreciate it.

[BlackHorse]

I forgot to mentions that I went from 225/50/17's to 245/45/17's.

[inlets]

What brand of tires can i expect to find on my 2010 535i w/ the MSport package? I here the Mich. PS2 Sport are the best but i don' think those will be on the car. If they are also RFT I assume they will be no spare.

[TMQ]

I hated the RFT's on my wife's 07 525 and I did not like the sport suspension either. They RTF's were very loud and I found that the handling of the sport suspension and RTF's was not as predictable as I like at high speed. Certainly not a predictable as my old E39 with H&R's, Koni's and good rubber like Nitto 555's. I found the wear of the RTF's to be consistent with other high performance tires, 20K tops with spirited driving. I just traded my wife's 07 525i with sport suspension for an 09 528i without sport suspension. The first thing I did was get rid of the continental all season radials (which had zero handling capabilities in my opinion) on the new 528i in favor of BF Goodrich G-Force radials. The G-Force radials improved the handling of the car significantly. Even though I got this car for my wife, I am still thinking of going with H&R's & Koni's and maybe stiffer sway bars. I am an experienced DIY guy, but have never worked in E60 suspension. If anyone has any tip or instructions on springs and struts I would certainly appreciate it.

I got a non ZSP car and wish I had ordered ZSP. The reason was of course due to tires - car scheduled to be delivered in the middle of winter and dealer was quite far away.

Of course, there's remedy, and the plan is to either go with a Dinan Suspension, or get one of the aftermarket kits. Dinan rep said it's available with 535 now, but not yet 528. I think 528 would be the same, but it's just that they haven't put one on 528 yet.

The alternative is the Koni FSD with Eibach springs - the kit is sold at Tirerack. Review on Koni FSD has been good. The usual combination of Bilstein sport with H&R springs do not appear to be available for the 5 yet. The car is now mainly driven by my wife so I'll wait until the OEM tires and shocks wear out.

If you look at E60.net, you'll find for DIY or mod-crazy people there.

[TMQ]

What brand of tires can i expect to find on my 2010 535i w/ the MSport package? I here the Mich. PS2 Sport are the best but i don' think those will be on the car. If they are also RFT I assume they will be no spare.

There's a spare on the 5, regardless of RFT or not.

Too bad BMW eliminates the spare on the 1, 3, and MINI.

Also, most good summer tires perform quite well in the rain.

[rahul09]

Based on the above responses, I conclude you don't need winter tires if you drive in an area where there is no snow / ice. So I need not worry as we don't get any snow here in SF Bay Area. :)

I have Dunlop RFTs, no issues with handling in the rain.
My only problem with RFTs is that they are louder than regular tires. Therefore my next set will not be RFTs, but it's not because of handling.

boriska00, by regular do you mean all season tires are quieter than RFTs? Does having all season tire makes ride smoother compared to RFT based ride?

[skylolow]

Based on the above responses, I conclude you don't need winter tires if you drive in an area where there is no snow / ice. So I need not worry as we don't get any snow here in SF Bay Area. :)



boriska00, by regular do you mean all season tires are quieter than RFTs? Does having all season tire makes ride smoother compared to RFT based ride?

By regular he means High Performance Summer tires.

[M3-DCT]

Go with the 535i or 550i M-sport package .. no runflats on any of those. Only the regular 535i SP has the run flats. Problem solved! :).

Please do not consider a non-SP car (no matter where you live). On the 5-series it's not just a nice firm suspension (Note I said firm NOT harsh .. ) but ARS (Active Roll Stabilization) as well. IMHO .. you just cannot replicate the feel of OEM SP (ARS+suspension) in this car .. don't even try .. !

Yes .. for those considering talking OP out of SP .. it is sacrilege ..

[cdmbmw]

Ok, read about half those posts.

I need to disagree a little. Be very very careful when you approach your second rainy season on those tires. I recently hydroplaned on the 405 during intermittent showers, I did hit a very bad patch of standing water in the fast lane going about 55-60 going pretty straight (very slight curve). I did not over-react or over correct - usually you can just ride it out. Not this time. Before I knew it I was going 55-60 sideways, then backward etc. etc. spinning down the road. Hit the median mid spin in front (airbag went off) more spinning then hit the back (no more airbag - thank god the steering wheel is soft.

I'm lucky to be alive. Pay very very close attention to the treadwear on those tires. I'd say during the rainy season do not use them if the treadwear is over 50%. Get new ones to use during the rainy season, then put the originals back on when it gets dry again to get your money out of them.

And oh yea, go slow in the rain ;-)

[Kzang]

Ok, read about half those posts.

I need to disagree a little. Be very very careful when you approach your second rainy season on those tires. I recently hydroplaned on the 405 during intermittent showers, I did hit a very bad patch of standing water in the fast lane going about 55-60 going pretty straight (very slight curve). I did not over-react or over correct - usually you can just ride it out. Not this time. Before I knew it I was going 55-60 sideways, then backward etc. etc. spinning down the road. Hit the median mid spin in front (airbag went off) more spinning then hit the back (no more airbag - thank god the steering wheel is soft.

I'm lucky to be alive. Pay very very close attention to the treadwear on those tires. I'd say during the rainy season do not use them if the treadwear is over 50%. Get new ones to use during the rainy season, then put the originals back on when it gets dry again to get your money out of them.

And oh yea, go slow in the rain ;-)

This was my concern with the RFT and sports tires.. I may end up putting on all season tires on my new car just so I have better traction in the rain.

[TMQ]

There is no evidence that all season tires performance better than summer tires in the rain. Individual tire differences may make a difference, and one should also pay attention to tread wear.

It makes no sense to switch to all season tires, unless tread wear is your topic priority. Of course, if you live in the snow belt, getting winter tires/wheels is a must.

[Kzang]

Are you sure about that? Last I checked ( in Tire rack reviews ) all season tires have better handling in wet road conditions than high performance summer tires. Ujnless tire technology has changed drasitcally in the past 3 years or so.. or its a hybrid combination tires for both performance and all-season traction.

[TMQ]

Tirerack's consumers reviews don't provide you direct summer vs. AS comparison in wet handling. The scale is relative in that category.

Do a search and you'll see that summer tires are engineered to handle well in warm weather, wet or dry. AS tire is a compromise between summer and winter tires. The choice is up to the individual, but we need to be clear with the facts.