[JST]

On the Internet, the posts for a given tire (say, Brand X) always look like this:

Post 1: Brand X kicks the living shit out of Brand Y. DO NOT, under any circumstances, buy Brand Y.

Post 2: WTF are you talking about? I've used Brand Y and Brand X, and Brand X has the grip of a greased weasel, plus it costs more.

Post 3: Yeah, but Brand X lasts twice as long as Brand Q.

Post 4: dood your full of it i bought brand x and it only last 5000 miles it suck i hate you

Post 5: I've never even seen Brand X or Brand Y, but I'm relatively happy with Brand Z, which are the only tires I've ever used.



You can see why this is less than illuminating.

 

[The HACK]

Dood you're full of it. That's the same argument you get for ANY internet topic. :lmao:

 

[Guest]

Um, I think I'm with HACK on this one. I'm feeling the same frustration trying to research brake pads. Go to bimmerforums and search the brake pad threads in the archives. Same shit.

And on the tire front, personally, I'm not sold on the S-03s yet. They are very good. I'm just not convinced that they're worth the extra money. Granted they are cheaper than the Pilots.

 

[johnlew]

I guess, sometimes you get what you pay for when it comes to advice. That said, I've learned some valuable things in this forum.

 

[JST]

Um, I think I'm with HACK on this one. I'm feeling the same frustration trying to research brake pads. Go to bimmerforums and search the brake pad threads in the archives. Same shit.

And on the tire front, personally, I'm not sold on the S-03s yet. They are very good. I'm just not convinced that they're worth the extra money. Granted they are cheaper than the Pilots.

I'm 100 percent with you on the brake pad issue. After reading through seemingly every post on the issue both at bforums and the Org, the only thing I can come up with is that some people think the Repco Metalmasters are good for street use, some people think they suck, some people think the Hawk HPS are good for street use, and others think they suck, are noisy, and come apart under hard use.

I've pretty much decided I'm going to stay with OEM. I have no performance issues (other than dust) with OEM pads, and at least they're a known quantity in terms of noise and wear.

As for tires, I'm now trying to decide between the S-03s, the HTRZ-IIs, and the Toyo Proxes T-1S. The S-03 has good grip but short wear, the Proxes seems to have decent grip and longer wear without the noise issues common to the RE730, and the Sumi has decent grip, poor wear, but is cheap.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other, as far as I can tell.

 

[The HACK]

The only good indicator is PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I say. That's why I'm not going to stay with one particular brand, I'll keep changing until I find something that gives exactly what I want out of a tire.

So far the S-03s are very strong. Great grip, wears quick but most of my miles are freeway cruising miles. I'll go to the Sumi's after this set.

Strangely enough, I'm beginning to like the P7000s more and more. Grip in wet is very good, they're kinda quiet and they'll last a lifetime...It looks like I'll be able to get at least 30K+ miles with them on my wife's car.

 

[Guest]

JST- Don't forget the arguments about the Hawk HP+ and the Porterfields. No one can agree on shit. And I NEED brake pads.

HACK/JST- Funny, I'll probably go with the Sumis next time too. I figure if they grip 90% as well, wear just and fast and cost less than half of what the S-03s cost, I'm ahead. I don't need that 10% of grip. If I do, I'll get a dedicated set of track wheels/tires.

 

[The HACK]

JST- Don't forget the arguments about the Hawk HP+ and the Porterfields. No one can agree on shit. And I NEED brake pads.

Opinions on brake pads are like @ssholes, everyone's got one.

I am going to ABUSE my authority as the Product Evaluator for BMWCCA L.A. and just request a set of pad of EVERY manufacturer.

 

[Kaz]

Of all the tires I've tried over the years, the only ones I can say that I really didn't like were D40M2 (ancient), P700z (also ancient) and my current PZero Rosso. I didn't really have enough road time on the stock Contis, though I was already getting a negative feeling about em.

I've used RE71, RE730, SP8000 and SZ50 in the past and liked them all though if I had to pick one from the above I'd take the SP8000s, and many of my friends would agree.

As for brake pads, I've only changed em once on my old car, and I used Axxis/Repco/whoever MetalMasters and thought they were only marginally better than OEM and were way dustier.

 

[JPinTO]

Good one JST! That's EXACTLY what alot of opinions are like.

I agree with Hack... personal experience is the best lesson. I'm currently doing it with my suspension.

I've had the following high performance tires:

- Pirelli P7000's
- Yoko AVS-I, A008P, AVS Sport
- Michelin MXM
- Dunlop SP8000
- Sumitomo HTRZ2

Of those tires, the P7000's were the poorest grip... the MXM were quiet and comfortable... the AVS Sport were the noisiest.... A008P were the stickiest.

Overall, the SP8000's were the best balanced tires I have had. Quiet, great grip, comfortable. However they wore out very quickly (180 tread life) and VERY expensive. I was going to go with the SP9000 as a replacement until I heard that the HTRZ2 is built off of the SP9000 carcass.

The HTRZ2 are better than the SP8000's in virtually every facet. Grip better, wear better, quieter, more comfortable and cost less... what's not to like. ?

They are the best overall tire I have had to date. The S03 & Pilot Sport are the only 2 current tires that I would like to try... but I really don't need the extra 5% of grip... and certainly not at almost 2x the price.

I've been swayed over to the Dunlop camp because they provide excellent performance while maintaining good comfort & noise levels which are important in every day use.... especially on low profile tires.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

As for brake pads... OEM are probably the best all round pad. I'm sticking with them and the OEM rotors. Aftermarket pads need aftermarket rotors. I was going to go with Porterfield RS4's but I can't be bothered... the only thing I'm not happy with the OE is the dust... and at least i know how to cure that problem. The evil you know is better than the evil you don't.

PS: I'm staying away from any and all Pirelli tires. A new Pirelli is out now called the "PZero Nero"--- clever.

 

[nate]

As for brakes, I've heard a lot of good things about frozen rotors. The Perfomance Friction pads that they sell look ok, but there are so many types of pads :dunno:

http://www.frozenrotors.com/

 

[nate]

and for tires, I like Bridgestone tires a lot. They seem to make very good tires for a good price. I haven't decided whether or not to get S-03s again, maybe I'll go for the slower wear of the RE730s which are great tires and only $10 cheaper than the S-03s. The Sumitumos are not available in my size though....

 

[Guest]

Don't you love how this thread went from a thread *****ing about the types of advice you get online to a thread CONTAINING that very kind of advice. LOL.

 

[nate]

Don't you love how this thread went from a thread *****ing about the types of advice you get online to a thread CONTAINING that very kind of advice. LOL.

 

[Kaz]

Of those tires, the P7000's were the poorest grip... the MXM were quiet and comfortable... the AVS Sport were the noisiest.... A008P were the stickiest.

Overall, the SP8000's were the best balanced tires I have had. Quiet, great grip, comfortable. However they wore out very quickly (180 tread life) and VERY expensive. I was going to go with the SP9000 as a replacement until I heard that the HTRZ2 is built off of the SP9000 carcass.

The HTRZ2 are better than the SP8000's in virtually every facet. Grip better, wear better, quieter, more comfortable and cost less... what's not to like. ?

Interesting... See, this is what happens.

A buddy of mine has had Proxes T1, SP7000 (not 7000SS) and SP9000 and says the 7000 were actually pretty good, wore well and had good grip, right below the SP9000 that he's running now (and is due for replacement).

And everyone I know who've used SP8000 rave about the low price and excellent tead life. :dunno: :dunno:

 

[JST]

OK, my indecision is finally at an end. I've ordered the Sumis. I'll let you all know some time next week how I like them.

 

[SONET]

Don't you love how this thread went from a thread *****ing about the types of advice you get online to a thread CONTAINING that very kind of advice. LOL.

:lmao:

I was noticing the same thing as I was reading through this thread and was beginning to wonder if anyone else noticed what was happening. Too funny!

--SONET

 

[JPinTO]

Interesting... See, this is what happens.

A buddy of mine has had Proxes T1, SP7000 (not 7000SS) and SP9000 and says the 7000 were actually pretty good, wore well and had good grip, right below the SP9000 that he's running now (and is due for replacement).

And everyone I know who've used SP8000 rave about the low price and excellent tead life. :dunno: :dunno:

I had the P7000 SuperSport and it ended my experiments with Pirelli tires. The SP8000 may be cheap, but the SP8080 which is for the E46 sizing are expensive at least up here. I agree that the SP8000's are great... the HTRZ2 are even better.

 

[JPinTO]

OK, my indecision is finally at an end. I've ordered the Sumis. I'll let you all know some time next week how I like them.

Dood... you'll hate them, they suck!

 

[sp330i]

Ditto to everything here. That's the problem with subjective judgement I guess.

Regarding brake pads, most of agree we can't stand the brake dust; a testament to how we all desire clean wheels. A lot of posters at E46Fanatics swear by the Axxis pads and claim a great reduction in wheel schmegma while not having ill affects on braking efficiency.

I'm all for getting rid of the schmegma, but I don't want to give up braking power.

Any opinions on the Axxis here?