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New Tires

5K views 32 replies 23 participants last post by  BeepMW 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey folks. I am due for new rear tires per my BMW dealership. Trying to figure out what you guys would do in my shoes.

I have a 535xi 2010 with M package 18in rims.
Tires on Dunlop RF

I mostly do city driving and short distance and live through all four seasons (winter around the corner)

No real need for speed- cant afford anymore speeding tix
Want reliability, quality, efficient gas millage and competitive price (willing to pay more if I really gain/need more)
Want to be able to enjoy summer driving but want to be able to handle winter driving in the city/highway

Things to think about-
should I go for non RF? in which case I need to get 4 tires
all weather vs performance
which brand

What do you guys recommend

thx
 
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#2 ·
I always put snow tires on my E46, but I drive in the bad winter snow, even though that is only about 5 or 8 days in the winter.
If you are going to use the car in the winter, snow or rain---you do not want summer (performance) tires on the car. Do All Weather if you
do not want to go with a change to winter tires. For me, winter tires are so much better, I would not get caught on the road without them.
I am not a fan of RF, and would not have them on my car. Too many performance issues.
 
#3 ·
You're in NY driving a 10' 535xi MSport like me. Swapping out my Dunlops for conventional non-run flats was the single best change I did to my car. I switched to Continental DWS after months of research and the ride is night and day smoother, quieter, and overall more enjoyable in city driving. You lose a little sport and on rails handling but a decent trade off for a more luxurious ride. The 1st gen Dunlops are junk. A fair amount of us forum members have switched to Continental DWS' and the 550i's come stock with Continental DWS'. You can also go for Michelin Pilot super sports or Bridgestone Potenza's. Of course all tires have different characteristics but it boils down to preference. If you want to stick with runflats, the new Bridgestone Potenza's 970's which seem to be one of the better newer run-flats so far and the newer BMW's are using them.

For our city, our potholes, stop and go, and price, the Continental DWS are the way to go. Just make sure you have a spare and if not, make sure to get a can of Fix-A-Flat and compressor.

Good luck
 
#6 ·
You're in NY driving a 10' 535xi MSport like me. Swapping out my Dunlops for conventional non-run flats was the single best change I did to my car. I switched to Continental DWS after months of research and the ride is night and day smoother, quieter, and overall more enjoyable in city driving. You lose a little sport and on rails handling but a decent trade off for a more luxurious ride. The 1st gen Dunlops are junk. A fair amount of us forum members have switched to Continental DWS' and the 550i's come stock with Continental DWS'. You can also go for Michelin Pilot super sports or Bridgestone Potenza's. Of course all tires have different characteristics but it boils down to preference. If you want to stick with runflats, the new Bridgestone Potenza's 970's which seem to be one of the better newer run-flats so far and the newer BMW's are using them.

For our city, our potholes, stop and go, and price, the Continental DWS are the way to go. Just make sure you have a spare and if not, make sure to get a can of Fix-A-Flat and compressor.

Good luck
M-sport 550i came with Continental ContiSportContact 2 Max Performance Summer.
Non M-sport came with Bridgestone Potenza RE050 RFT Max Performance Summer. I can confirm this information is accurate at least for M-sport version. See tire rack for details.
I may end up with Continental ExtremeContact DWS Ultra High Performance All-Season when it is time to replace tires. Thred life rating on them is incredible.
 
#4 ·
I just got a set (4 tires) Continental DWS put on my 19" wheels about 3 weeks ago. I am very please with them. These all season tires, more comfortable than my RF set I had on it back then.
 
#5 ·
thanks guys for the great info. Never heard of Continental DWS...guessing it is a brand that can be trusted if that is the trend these days. Looks affordable good reviews and I have heard that the non RF are a lot more comfortable drive.

I never looked but is there a slot for spare tire in the trunk? If not I will likely have to do Fix-A-Flat and compressor.

Any other input is welcome.

Thx again!
 
#31 ·
Used several sets of DWS' over time. Good tires. Moved to another Conti config (Extreme Contacts) after I moved to FL.

Both are lower cost, high quality and some have 50K lifespans.
 
#7 ·
You should be able to go under the trunk mat, lift the handle and there should be a spare tire. If no latch, then no spare. Mine has it so I'm assuming yours should too being we have the same exact build.
 
#8 ·
Very happy after nearly a year with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S+. While I wouldn't call the ride luxurious, they have a great feel, very quiet and stick like glue. I no longer live with the terror of getting caught in a half inch of snow. They do have somewhat less laser like straight line stability the Dunlop Run Flats high speed. I dont miss the shocks the Dunlops sent through the car on the slightest road imperfections.
 
#10 ·
On our 550i we run Dunlop WinterSport M3 winter tires in the winter and Michelin Pilot Supersport in the summer. Get incredible winter traction when the roads suck and have the stickiest yet most comfortable summer tire for the summer.

After doing the whole 2 sets of tires thing, I can't go back to all-seasons... I like the best tire I can get for each season.
 
#11 ·
Between my 2001 540i, 2008 535xi and 2002 Boxster S I've tried several tires the last 3 years.

535xi had Michelin run-flats Pilot sport A/S when I bought it, replaced with the same in non run flats and the new version 3 Pilot sport A/S and they're great. Great tight handling, very civilized on flat road.

Just took them off and put on the Michelin Xi3 snow tires, the best ride and handling I've ever experienced for a snow tire. I understand they're slightly less aggressive on snow, but the ride/handling trade-off is worth it.

Had great handling, ride and moderately low noise with the Potenza 960 / 970's. I think they're underrated.

Run the pilot sport A/S version from 2 years ago on the Boxster S, very firm and quiet. My sense is the newer PS3 is more civilized, probably less tight in corners. ( hard to compare with one being on the 535xi and other on Boxster S )

Tried the Conti DWS on the 540i and they wandered all over the road, very mushy.
 
#13 ·
Continental DWS here for 6K miles... awesome!!! Buy from Discounttiredirect.com they have the best price, free shipping and no Tax and of course there are several promotions going on at all times.
 
#15 ·
I put the Conti DWS from Discount Tire on my 545 Sport a few months ago. I had been running Dunlop Direzzas for a couple of years after the Michelin Super Sports wore out. I was buying the Dunlops from my Goodyear guy, but was burning through them in 12k or so and decided to try the Contis.

I live in Houston, so the all-season feature wasn't a factor, but am hoping that I can get better wear. Since they are not directional, I thought I would try rotating them on my staggered set-up every 5k.

I have only taken one road trip over to New Orleans and they ride and sound nice. IMHO, the Super Sports are without a doubt the best, but the price is just too much.


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#21 ·
I got plenty of miles out of my conti dws tires. On my second set...awesome snow/wet performance for an all-season tire and great in the dry. Ive run dedicated summer/winter tires lots of times and all-seasons as well. Im more than willing to give up a tiny bit of summer performance in exchange for not having the hassle/space/expense of two complete wheel setups. This is an excellent tire for this car. I drive 40K+ miles/year, so buy tires a LOT.
 
#22 ·
I have the contipro contact SSR and they are vibrating and have tread and road noise. I was looking at DWS tires. The tread looks noisy tho but I know looks can be deceiving. I have all wheel drive, could I get away with a summer tire in the snow or no? When it snowed last week we got 6 inches and my wifes front wheel drive car was sliding all over the road. My 335i AWD was driving like it was a summer day LOL.

Any thoughts on a tire that is recommended? I want good wet and snow traction. However i want smooth and quiet ride and I dont want to lose summer traction either.

Also I have 225/45/17 and I am going to 225/40/18 which means less sidewall. Will this make my ride more harsh or should I do a different size?
 
#24 ·
I have the contipro contact SSR and they are vibrating and have tread and road noise. I was looking at DWS tires. The tread looks noisy tho but I know looks can be deceiving. I have all wheel drive, could I get away with a summer tire in the snow or no? When it snowed last week we got 6 inches and my wifes front wheel drive car was sliding all over the road. My 335i AWD was driving like it was a summer day LOL.

Any thoughts on a tire that is recommended? I want good wet and snow traction. However i want smooth and quiet ride and I dont want to lose summer traction either.

Also I have 225/45/17 and I am going to 225/40/18 which means less sidewall. Will this make my ride more harsh or should I do a different size?
Go with DWS it's a overall impressive tire when I had it even between seasons (summer or winter) the tires held up pretty good. With wet and snow traction you will get I have a E92 RWD and I was able to get out of snow as if it was just a wet surface and braking held up too. As for summer I had grip and I was able get traction as well.
 
#23 ·
Continental DWS had these on my E92 last winter and I was impressed on how they held up against the snow especially being that my car is RWD and if I could I'll say almost perfect even on ice roads it held up pretty impressive. As for summer pretty good as well. Won't be disappointed! GL
 
#25 ·
so a follow up to this. After reading the reviews and recommendations I decided to change all 4 Dunlop RF tires and purchased 4 Continental DWS tires. I have had them for 3-4 weeks now.

Pros-
a lot cheaper
the car takes bumps so much better.
it feels like the car feels lighter and almost like gliding on the road
has done overall a excellent job on wet road, icy roads and roads covered in snow...sure the care still skids slightly at times but rarely feels you are loosing control (didn't push my luck, rather drive smart)

Cons-
not run flat- have to work out details for if get a flat
car doesn't seem to hug the road as well as the RF, most noted on taking curves ( not a huge drop off but still noticeable)

Pending
- supposedly gas mileage is better with normal tires than RF- still have to test it out
- haven't used long enough to give you opinion on tread life
- the tires don't feel as strong as the RF so I am a bit concerned about tire damage with city driving and the ever-growing number of potholes

Overall very satisfied to this point, cant wait to see how they run when the weather is nice

***got my tires from mavis for same price as tire rack or discounttires***
 
#28 ·
Just an update on the purchase. I have been using the continental DWS sunset this post. I have replaced tires twice do to side wall bubble and now I need to replace it a 3rd time. I have been driving in the city for over 20 yrs and maybe once had the issue until I started using these continentals. Is anyone else experiencing this?
They are great tires otherwise. I can***8217;t tell you the thread life cause I keep replacing them too early. They perform extremely well in the winter and are more comfortable than the run flats. As mentioned earlier, they don***8217;t hug the road as well as the RF.
 
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