06-06-2012, 12:37 PM | #1 |
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Performance vs All Season Tires?
So, I'm trying to finalize my MY13 328i config, and I'm currently baselining all season tires... but I'm wondering just how bad the weather has to be to really worry about traction with the performance tire option?
I live in the San Francisco area, where there really are no seasons to speak of... it is normally fairly pleasant outside year round, almost never snows, and roads rarely if ever ice up. It does rain however, and with oil on the road that can impact traction... but I doubt all season tires would help with that. Given the above, it sounds like performance tires should be fine for this area year round, or is there more to the equation that I'm not considering which makes the all season tires a better choice? Thanks! |
06-06-2012, 12:48 PM | #2 |
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All seasons are a compromise best used if you only occasionally encounter snow. If you don't, have another car or don't mind renting/staying at home the few days a year than summers will give you better traction and better rain performance. The one caveat is that a pure summer tire becomes a handful in temps under 40. If you're aware of that and drive accordingly, you should be fine.
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06-06-2012, 03:52 PM | #3 |
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In CA, it would be better to get the performance tires. You'll always want other tries for any snow conditions. Right now I'm trying to just figure out 18"s or 19"s
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06-06-2012, 06:09 PM | #4 |
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Merlin93,
Like you, I'm in SF as well and I'm not sure which setup to go with either. I think its more important to figure out if you are going to go staggered or squared. I'm leaning towards the square setup w/ all seasons as of right now.
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06-06-2012, 07:06 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
The last thing on my debate list is cold weather package (or at least heated seats) since it doesn't really get cold here like it did back in VA (and I rarely used heated seats back in VA either), so I am thinking I can avoid that and save some money! |
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06-06-2012, 07:08 PM | #6 | |
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Quote:
I'm probably going to skip the cold weather package on the MY13 and add the front heated seats as a standalone option.
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'02 TS E46 330xi - SOLD
'06 SGM E90 325i - SOLD '13 AW F30 335i ///M-Sport 6MT. OEM(+) - SOLD '20 AW F87 X3MC - Sold Current: `23 Chalk G80 M3CX | Ordered: '24 M3CS - Week37 build. |
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06-06-2012, 07:15 PM | #7 |
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I haven't heard back from Mike at Mountain View yet, but Mico Silver (CA at SF BMW who is here on the forum) dropped me a line, so I may just end up going with him. He met my offer for what I'd be looking to pay, so that is certainly a good start.
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06-06-2012, 07:16 PM | #8 |
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Ah, damn Michael is probably way too busy, darn. Shoot, that is awesome. Might have to hit him up if I fail on my deal lol (unlikely but yeah).
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'02 TS E46 330xi - SOLD
'06 SGM E90 325i - SOLD '13 AW F30 335i ///M-Sport 6MT. OEM(+) - SOLD '20 AW F87 X3MC - Sold Current: `23 Chalk G80 M3CX | Ordered: '24 M3CS - Week37 build. |
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06-07-2012, 02:11 AM | #9 |
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+1 with getting summer tires for the SF Bay area. I've been running summer tires and aside from rain, there's not reason to get all seasons around here.
If my 328 ends up coming with Goodyears, I'll probably order a set of the S001 RFT summers when I get back from Germany. |
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06-07-2012, 03:27 AM | #10 |
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As others have mentioned, All-Season tires aren't much of a requirement in mostly sunny regions such as Bay Area, Socal, etc. Summer performance tires are more than capable in the rain, so the difference between the two where you live is negligible.
When you start to compare Extreme Summer Performance Tires (i.e. Hankook R-S3) with All-Seasons you may find a noticeable difference but this tier of summer tire is beyond that of which an OE would include on a car like the F30. |
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06-08-2012, 09:24 PM | #11 | |
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Previous gen RFT's sucked. My 09 135i came with high po summer Bridgestones, and the ride was awful. They had near zero sidewall flex. No, that's not a good thing, because on some bumps the rear wheels would literally jump off the road. On one especially nasty bump on my way home from work, as I'm coming off the on ramp and accelerating for traffic, I hit that bump and wheels leave the ground and the traction control light comes one with a dip in power. IT sucked. So, I went with a non RFT high po all season, and that never happened again. Overall grip is equivalent to the OEM RFT's, and of course MUCH better in cold, wet, and acceptable in the snow. I've heard that the new RFT's are better. I don't know, I've yet to get my F30. From test drives though, they feel pretty good. I'm going for the all season set just to try them out. I'm in the Chicago area, so we have 4 season weather, and sometimes we get 4 seasons in one day. If the OEM all seasons suck, then I'll get a new set of non RFT high all seasons. Bridgestone has a new RE970 that replaces the previous RE960. I had the 960 on my A4 and they were excellent year round. The new 970 is testing and rating even better. Check tirerack.com if you're interested. One thing I would add, in my experience some of the best high performance all seasons have excellent wet weather traction, and some may rival wet performance of some ultra high po summer tires. Some high po summer tires don't rate very good in wet weather with standing water. My guess is the OEM tire will do pretty good in your area. If not you have options. |
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