[ks-man]

I'm long overdue for replacing the tires on my 535xi. I need 225/50 r17s.

I originally just planned on replacing them with the same OEMs (Eagle RSAs) but the tire store I called recommended going with the GTs instead. I thought i would come around here and see what people thought.

From searching it sounds like most people like the Continental DWS for the economical choice and the Michelin Pilot Sports if I'm willing to spend a little more money. I see people very much dislike the Eagle RSAs and I don't see much on the GTs.

So I'm now leaning towards the DWS but wanted to make sure that is still the recommendation as most of the threads I was reading were between 10-30 months old. Also, does it really matter which tire shop I use or should I just focus on price. Most of the shops around me have some negative reviews but mainly related to other service that was performed. I'd rather not go through my dealership as their pricing was much higher than the one tire shop I already spoke to.

Thanks.

 

[z0lt3c]

You want to make sure you use a tire shop that can do a road force balance. I've had alot of trouble getting a good balance on the wheels of my 535xi, the local BMW dealer was the best. Ask the tire shop to be extremely critical for excessive road force. I'm not a big fan of the conti's, the Michelin's are great if you want to spend that kind of $$$. I had a worn set of RSA's at one point and was not impressed. I went the cheap route with a set of Falken's but I wouldn't recommend them. You may want to look into the Cooper RS3-A -- pretty good reviews and can be found under $130/tire.

 

[hadokenuh]

While the GTs look good and handle well, they are very noisy. I'd go with something else, of course besides those RSAs.

 

[Phoenix1]

If you order the Conti DWS from Tire Rack on line (where I get all my tires) they have recommended installers with fixed pricing. You can make sure the installer does road force balancing and then have the tires shipped directly to the installer!

 

[johnniek]

Tires

I had the Eagle GT's on a Saab 9-5 , and I can attest that they are very noisy. They look great, nice sidewall and aggressive tread, but I got rid of them with at least 50% of the wear left in them because of the noise. I drive a 2009 528iX with the Goodyear RS-A shoes, and so far I like them, although the reviews on them are quite negative. I was considering the Bridgestone Serenity Plus since the majority of my driving is on the highway, and I'm not looking to take exit ramps on 2 wheels. There are threads here that talk about inside and outside edge wear on the Michelin's, and I have never had good luck with any Continental tire, except for snows on my 1981 320is. My wife had Continental's on her MDX and CRV, and in both cases they wore out quickly, and were also noisy, but not as noisy as the Eagle GT's.

 

[Campfamily]

I have the same size tire (225/50/17) on my Nissan Maxima. I have the Pilot Sport A/S on their, I'm on my third set, and couldn't be happier. I get at least 50,000 miles of (mostly highway) driving out of each set, and the price isn't that much more than the other brands you're mentioning. I second the suggestion to use TireRack to buy your tires, and use one of their recommended installers. I also have had excellent service with Costco, as well as Discount Tire (sometimes operating as America's Tire).

Keith

 

[ks-man]

Question on a different tire. I just spoke to a local shop and while he likes the Conti DWS he said the number one that he'd recommend is the Bridgestone 970s. He did mention taking a peak at tire rack and that those are ranked #1 for A/S compared to the DWS which are #2 (which I did verify). He also said that if I do it by the end of the month with the Bridgestone there is a $70 mail in rebate bringing the prices very close to each other.

Anybody using the 970s on their car and if so could you post your opinions about the?

Thanks.

 

[wyb]

I can't speak to the 970's - but I am not a fan of Bridgestone tires - the only time I've experienced them is my previous Bimmer - they gave a rough and noisy ride - as a runflat tire - they sucked imo. After my negative experiences with the Bridgestones on my 335i, you couldn't *PAY* me to drive BS tires on my 535i X-Drive.... each to their own though... :dunno:

I am a huge fan of Michelins - I don't see that changing any time soon.... back when I was a road warrior doing 110 miles each way to work - yes, I drive 220 miles PER DAY to get to work - and I did it 5-6 days a week, I wouldn't put anything but Michelins on my cars, and I won't now - even though I now work from home, I can't wait for the current tires to get to replacement and get some good old Michelins on there... it came with Goodyears... they're "ok" - with a lower case "O" and lower-case "K"...

 

[Campfamily]

The tires I replaced on my Maxima were Bridgestones; not the same model, can't remember the exact model that came with the car. Michelins were superior in every way. However, I do not live in a climate where a A/S tire is required; it doesn't rain very often here, and is never below freezing. I replaced the OEM contis with Michelin PSS on my 550, again superior in every way.

Also, I believe Michelin has a similar promotion, $70 off on purchase of 4 tires.

 

[hadokenuh]

The noisy Bridgestone that people seem to complain most is Pontenza RE050. It's rough, noisy, but is a very good sport tire. I have it on my G37 and 370Z so I can attest that.

The 970AS replaces 960AS. They are both nice all season tires. If you are looking for all season tires and money is not a problem, get those Michelin Sport AS+. Otherwise, get the Conti DWS. The DWS is softer and better in snow while the Michelin has better dry traction and corners better. The 970AS is somewhere in between but at that price point, I'd go with the Michelin.

If you are happy with the RSAs, you can look into Bridgestone Serenity, Michelin Primacy. Another good tire only available at Discount Tire is Yoko YK580.

When you look at Tirerack customer survey data, you also need to look at how many miles reported. The scores seem to go down as the miles go up.

 

[ks-man]

Decided to go with the Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires. Should be installed next week. Thanks for the help.

 

[toga94m]

I got my 530xit used from a guy who works at (ahem) Turner Motorsports. He had just put on a new set of Conti DWS, about 100 miles before he sold the car. Works for me.

 

[Munich77]

Decided to go with the Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires. Should be installed next week. Thanks for the help.

As others have said - make sure to get them road force balanced. You will find that the new tires to be exponentially better than the stock Goodyears.

 

[jamie75]

I bought my E60 used a few months back and it had some cheap Hankook tires on it. noisy tires, a lot of posts about sidewalls blowing out. I bought my first ever set of Michelin PSS tires and love them. I'm sold on Michelins.

as a bonus here in SC Discount Tire was running a tax free weekend special and combined with the 70 dollar Michelin rebate I ended up with $130 off

 

[turnbowm]

Question on a different tire. I just spoke to a local shop and while he likes the Conti DWS he said the number one that he'd recommend is the Bridgestone 970s. He did mention taking a peak at tire rack and that those are ranked #1 for A/S compared to the DWS which are #2 (which I did verify). He also said that if I do it by the end of the month with the Bridgestone there is a $70 mail in rebate bringing the prices very close to each other.

Anybody using the 970s on their car and if so could you post your opinions about the?

Thanks.

I had a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position installed on my '05 530i (non-Sport) yesterday and I'm VERY pleased with them. As expected, the higher load & speed rating (98W) resulted in a firmer ride than the original Goodyear Eagle RS-A (94V) tires, but the BIG improvement in handling and steering response more than made up for it. IMHO, the RE970AS PP is one of the best UHP A/S tires on the market!