Horreya – My 530i

Tire Search

I’ve been researching tires for the car this entire week, and it’s been a long and grueling process.  As always the internet is full of information, but some of it–alot of it when it comes to tires–can be very subjective.

So I’ve spent a great deal of time filtering through the subjective rants and the objective facts to try and narrow down a tire.

Initially, I was interested in these four tires, as I had read some good about each in some way on some site:

- Good Year Eagle F1 All Season
- Yokohama ADVAN S.4
- Falken FK 452
- Kumhos Ecsta ASX
- Continental ContiExtremeContact

The Kumhos and Contenentals are by far the most popular tires for e39 owners. But just as there are those who swear by them, I found plenty of people who don’t like them much (to put it mildly).  Price is the biggest factor for these tires, as they are both around the $100 mark.  But after some research, I realized that I’d rather spend a little more for a tire that will last longer.

My actual criteria for choosing a tire, in order of importance, was:

1. Road Noise
2. Ride Comfort
3. Safety (i.e. hydroplaning resistance)
4. Treadlife
5. Handling (very mild driving style)

To make a long story short, after some research, I found that the only tire with little to no negative feedback was the Yokohama. So that’s what I’m getting ready to go with.

The process was frustrating at times, but I’m glad there were so many resources out there. Speaking of, one of the best ones was www.tirerack.com, they have numerous reviews by owners as well as their own comparison tests.  Bimmerforums.com also helped as well as other BMW forums and feedback from real owners.

I will probably order the tires online and have them installed locally. That’s the next step in this puzzle, getting prices on mounting, balance and alignment from various places.  That will begin tomorrow.

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