Time to change tires on 2001 330xi --- help needed

Hi guys,

Have been running Fuzion HRi 215/45/17s for 4 years. Have been great tires, but recently had an unfixable flat in on driver's front tire - the sidewall was shredded. Not sure from what, but they do have a fair amount of mileage on them. The front right tire also has an area where it looks like it may have been rubbed against a parking curb --- it's my mom's old car and she's not the best driver in the world, lol!

Anyways, I live in SW Colorado, generally have to deal with some snow and ice on the roads during the winter. I don't want to buy winter-only tires if I can avoid it, so I have my choices narrowed to some All-Season type tires. I;d like feedback on the choices if time permits. So here goes:

Goodyear Eagle RSA 215/50/17
Michelin Primacy MXV4
Continental Pure Contact
Fuzion HRi

Those are the ones that are at the top of my list; my spare is an RSA, have good experience with Fuzion, and the Primacy and Pure Contact have gotten outstanding reviews.

Let me know what you think!

In the All Season category, Conti DWS have gotten excellent reviews, they seem to do most things right.
There have been at least 4 or 5 tire threads on this forum within the last week or two....look around.

I'm not sure what your budget is but I recently put new rubber on my 01 330xi as well. I didn't want to break the bank with new oem $200+ good years so I went with hankook ventus v2 concept. I put on 235/45/r17 all seasons all around with the stock alloys. They have been great and a nice wider upgrade then stock. Low road noise, great tread and wet traction. No rubbing. Best value I could find and it helped that pep boys had their buy 4 get 1 offer on them. Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by BmoreBimmer

I'm not sure what your budget is but I recently put new rubber on my 01 330xi as well. I didn't want to break the bank with new oem $200+ good years so I went with hankook ventus v2 concept. I put on 235/45/r17 all seasons all around with the stock alloys. They have been great and a nice wider upgrade then stock. Low road noise, great tread and wet traction. No rubbing. Best value I could find and it helped that pep boys had their buy 4 get 1 offer on them. Hope that helps.

Note on Pep Boys' deal: When I used this deal, only after the tires were mounted did they mention on the invoice that to get that deal you have to pay them extra profit (they call it road hazard warranty) per tire of $14.95. Just figure this into your prices when shopping. Since then, I use TireRack shipped direct to Pep Boys for mounting. I also bring my wheels in loose in another car since I don't like my wheel bolts torqued to over 150 ftlbs.

Continental DWS FTW!

If you order through TireRack, you can search on their website for recommended installers near your home. It turns out for me that the BMW dealship had the best price and used the same balancing equipment as the local tire shops.

I agree w/ Fast Bob. Conti DWS Extreme contact's. Good reviews and can be found fairly inexpensive.. T.D.com.. Gettin a set to R/R the cra**py Good for a years on my wagon.










Rubber down Knee down Chrome up

I too have a 2001 330XI. I just put on some General Altimax HP 225/45R17 on stock 17" rims. The tires have high ratings in all categories according to Tirerack.com's Test page.

They will give you a very comfortable ride with plenty of grip in any condition.
I paid $94 a tire. A total of $425 shipped. I received the tires 3 days after placing the order (Pennsylvania to Chicago).

The only downside I noticed was the lack of "road feel," which the old Michelin Pilot A/S' had provided. In return you get a much better ride.

The low price and versatility of this tire are what give it value.

My 2 cents

Link: (now $107/tire)

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.p...mpaign=froogle

Had ANOTHER flat on my HRis. Great tires, just old, with 50,000+ miles on em.

So, I happened to flat like 100 feet from a Goodyear Dealer. They towed me in, and showed me what they had. I ended up going with the Eagle RS-A in 215/45/17 on the front left only.

Now, I'm looking at the remaining three tires. All have wear bar visibility. I think it's time to upgrade.

Should I stick with the Eagle RS-A? If not, my local dealer can do $700 OTD for 4x ContiExtreme Contact DWS, including install, mount, balance, warranty, and lifetime rotate and balance.

$700 doesn't seem like too bad a deal for me. What do you guys think?

Originally Posted by BMW330xiCO

Had ANOTHER flat on my HRis. Great tires, just old, with 50,000+ miles on em.

So, I happened to flat like 100 feet from a Goodyear Dealer. They towed me in, and showed me what they had. I ended up going with the Eagle RS-A in 215/45/17 on the front left only.

Now, I'm looking at the remaining three tires. All have wear bar visibility. I think it's time to upgrade.

Should I stick with the Eagle RS-A? If not, my local dealer can do $700 OTD for 4x ContiExtreme Contact DWS, including install, mount, balance, warranty, and lifetime rotate and balance.

$700 doesn't seem like too bad a deal for me. What do you guys think?

The RS-A is a middle-of-the -road All Season tire, comes as OEM on many mid-priced sedans (Audi A4, etc.). IMHO, the Conti DWS would be a better choice.

Originally Posted by BMW330xiCO

Had ANOTHER flat on my HRis. Great tires, just old, with 50,000+ miles on em.

So, I happened to flat like 100 feet from a Goodyear Dealer. They towed me in, and showed me what they had. I ended up going with the Eagle RS-A in 215/45/17 on the front left only.

Now, I'm looking at the remaining three tires. All have wear bar visibility. I think it's time to upgrade.

Should I stick with the Eagle RS-A? If not, my local dealer can do $700 OTD for 4x ContiExtreme Contact DWS, including install, mount, balance, warranty, and lifetime rotate and balance.

$700 doesn't seem like too bad a deal for me. What do you guys think?

i think you should've put your spare on and shop for a new set of four
not a good idea to have various brands/models mixed. especially bad on the same axle.

Unless you are already running the spare, it would have been better to put that on and then buy 4 of the same tires.

I ran RSAs on my e30. They did not have as much stick as Michelins but were quiet and wore very well.

i have heard good things about the Contis and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss, agressive tread pattern on those, good looking tire

Originally Posted by vandyboy

Unless you are already running the spare, it would have been better to put that on and then buy 4 of the same tires.

I ran RSAs on my e30. They did not have as much stick as Michelins but were quiet and wore very well.

I know, that's what I should have done. Dumb mistake.

Well, you can either buy three more Eagle RSAs or use the new one as a spare and buy four new tires. But there is nothing wrong with the tire you bought - they are a good value for the money.

I hope you didn't think I was trying to come down on you - believe me, if that is the worst mistake you ever make, you are golden. I've made some lulus in my day.

I had Eagle RSAs previously, 205/55/R16, and did not find them especially good either in dry or wet conditions. Never tried them in the snow, since I used dedicated winter tires. I replaced them with Michelin Pilot A/S tires, which I found to be much better in wet and dry conditions. I thought they were particularly impressive in heavy rain. They are reasonably quiet, but have gotten a bit louder over time.

It's a shame your tire didn't last a wee bit longer. One option to consider would have been to buy 5 tires, keeping the 5th as your spare, and rotating it in periodically. That way, if you kill a tire, you still have 4 tires with comparable wear to continue using. This has added importance on an AWD vehicle like yours. Any chance you could sell your RSA at not too much of a loss, or trade it back at the same shop for one that you want? If not, toss it in the trunk and go with 4 of one the tires recommended here.