Alternatives to ContiTouring Contact?

[Reynard978]

I've got a 2002 330xi that is in need of new tires. It currently has 205/50 R17 Continental ContiTouring Contacts. They are the original rubber from the factory, so they are all I know. I've done some checking online, and they seem to be generally disliked by most BMW owners.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a sporty all-season replacement?

[SMOODY]

I have Pirelli PZero Nero all seasons on my car. They have reasonable traction in all conditions.

The Continental ContiExtreme Contacts and the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S are also supposed to be a decent choices.

[bren]

www.tirerack.com

[OwnedbyDuncan]

Call Sam at Radial Tire. You will save money over Tire Rack. $20-60 to mount each tire locally is no bargain after you get them from Tire Rack. last time I was at Tire Rack it was $10 a tire and they can ba;ance them on the car.

Your top choice Michelin, then Yokohama or Toyo.

I would go with a summer tire and then snow tires for the winter

Dave Apker

[jkuper]

Toyo Proxes 4 www.tireswap.com

[SharkD]

Literally, yesterday, I replaced the 'slick' Yoko AVS ES100s (after only 12,000 miles) on my 635 with a set of Proxes 4... ...I even broke down and went to Radial (and was in line at 7:50am; drove out the door at 10:20)

I would have given Eric at TireSwap the business, but I needed them immediately -- I drive to NC tomorrow to get the race car on friday for this upcoming weekend at SP Shenandoah.

Radial was $91 + $13 for mount & balance /tire for 225/50-R16's --- www.tireswap.com has them cheaper.

[OwnedbyDuncan]

Actually with shipping it comes out $92-93 a tire before balancing with shipping. Most palces charge more than $13 a wheel for mounting and balancing. Some of Tire Racks recommended places charge $30 and up in the area per tire.

Cheaper. Dont think so.

Dave Apker

[Reynard978]

I have been to tirerack, and have used them for my other vehicles.... However, I wanted to get a more "pure" assessment from other BMW owners instead of someone driving a cruiser. I'm looking for excellent dry handling and good rain/snow performance with acceptable tread life (around 40k miles).

I've seen a lot of good things about the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Although, I saw some comments stating they wear somewhat quickly in the center and don't offer rim protection. I'm somewhat wary of sticking with any Continental due to the sidewall "bubble" issues with the ContiTouring Contacts. The Bridgestone Potenza seem to be a mixed bag.... What's the story on the Toyo Proxes 4?

[Dirichlet]

For summer tires (and decent wet traction) I love my Pilot Sport 2's... the only downfall is that they're expensive as all hell... I've had several other brands of tires, and the PS2's, as of right now, are my favorite.

But you can't get excellent dry traction out of a tire that will also give you great snow traction, and give you 40,000 miles wear... if you find that, please let me know...

[Reynard978]

Well, it's always nice to have high standards, isn't it? :-D I understand that you can't have the best of both worlds. I just want to make sure I trade up from the Contis on overall performance yet I can still manage in the snow if I have to. I'm not talking about climbing 45 degree iced inclines or anything like that. Just able to get me from point A to B without doing 360s.

[1996 328ti]

Well, it's always nice to have high standards, isn't it? :-D

Having dedicated tires is not setting high standards.

[SharkD]

I was very happy with the dry performance of the Yokohama AVS ES100's... the wet traction was okay... never tried the car in the snow...

As for treadlife, 13 track days, a season of autocrosses, exaggerated front and severe rear camber, combined with truckloads of torque burned through those tires in little more than 12,000 miles. The E24 might have been a 'touring' cruiser, but mine isn't. (Unfortunately, the 6er is having to grow-up a little in order to justify keeping the race car, hence the 'practical' Proxes 4.)

I'd suggest getting a decent UHP/HP summer tire and buying a set of dedicated snow tires or all-seasons on beater wheels -- used sets are popping up all the time, in the dB, Roundel and eBay, to name a few.

[AlfaEric]

I was very happy with the dry performance of the Yokohama AVS ES100's... the wet traction was okay... never tried the car in the snow...

As for treadlife, 13 track days, a season of autocrosses, exaggerated front and severe rear camber, combined with truckloads of torque burned through those tires in little more than 12,000 miles. The E24 might have been a 'touring' cruiser, but mine isn't. (Unfortunately, the 6er is having to grow-up a little in order to justify keeping the race car, hence the 'practical' Proxes 4.)

I'd suggest getting a decent UHP/HP summer tire and buying a set of dedicated snow tires or all-seasons on beater wheels -- used sets are popping up all the time, in the dB, Roundel and eBay, to name a few.

ES100's are a Summer tire. Do not even consider driving them in the snow. Once it starts to get cold, they start to lose their grip. A few people have tried driving them in light snow in the past and did not like it. There are some nice reviews here:
http://www.miata.net/products/wheels/yoko_es100.html

As others have recommended, get yourself a cheap set of used wheels and mount some dedicated snow tires to them. Storage can be a bit of a pain but considering you only need to swap wheels once in the spring and once in the fall, you can shove them in the back of a closet or bury them in the back of the garage and forget about them for most of the year.

Your ES100's survived 13 track days?

---Eric

[JEDM3]

I have run Fuzion tires on my 540 for 25k miles now. Had the contis on the car before. Very happy with the performance. Would not use for snow. Made by Bridgestone. Nice compromise of price/durability and performance.