Tire recommendations for 1998 540 sport

[JeffWorth]

My tires are about gone and I have looked up some recommendations on the national forums. I wondered if anyone in town had any new favorites to recommend for tire. I want something for the area, and don't plan on having a second set for winter. Also, don't do any track with this car, just drive for pleasure in the area and on trips. Curren tires are dunlaps.

thanks
Jeff

[Zchild]

Personally theres not enough snow here during the winter to even consider a winter tire option. I happen to like the Toyo Proxes 4's. They are an excellent All-Season radial in the UHP range with an excellent M&S rating. They are as good as the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S only less expensive. Radial Tire Company has them in stock. My second choice is the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S followed by MasterCrafts M&S tires. They're all UHP rated and eat the light snow around here for lunch. I've lived here since 1999 and have yet to see snow like I've seen in Colorado, England or Germany. Just my two and a half cents worth. Happy Motoring...

[Zchild]

Winter tires are just another safety item. You don't really need seat belts, air bags, ABS, or DSC either.

Personally, I want all of them. Just ask one of the converts who decided to get winter tires after an unfortunate excursion on the Beltway. Film at 11.

Vic

How can you even dare to compare seat belts and air bags with tires. M&S tires are more than capable unless you're used to driving in sunny Florida or California. Driving takes skill, which I'm assuming you've just not developed as of yet. Grow up, the guy asked for a dedicated tire, not a winter option, you sound like a tire salesman, do you gets kick-backs from the percentage of winter tire sales.

[ChosenGSR]

I have a dedicated set of tires that I do run in the winter, I think shelling out 800 bucks for probably 5 winters worth is money well spent for me. With my winter set I am able to take my car anywhere, as long as I clear it. Tires make more difference than AWD imho.

[OwnedbyDuncan]

Mastercrafts M&S?????? Never heard of them???

Lived in the DC area all my life. Have had dedicated snow tires for the winter since 1987 when I got a set of Vredsteins from Radial Tire. My new Element will get a set of dedicated snows too even though it has 4wd.
Have to get rid of the POS Goodyear Wranglers first. My FWD VW Rabbit had snows and so does my 90 325i. There is big difference in safety and performance with dedicated snows even when there is only an inch or two on the ground. I wouldnt have been able to get to and or out my herding instructor's farm with out deddicated snows this year. They work great in the mud.

Have to call Sam and Paul and see what they have for the Element and see what they think of Scorpions and LTX's.

Bill Shook has a studded snow tires for when it gets really bad. I am a DOD civilian employee and that is what Annual Leave is for.

Dave Apker and the collies

[M-technik-3]

Mastercraft is a Sears brand?

[Zchild]

Mastercraft is a Sears brand?

Incorrect, MasterCraft is a Coopers brand sold at Southern Tire in Maryland and Virginia. Thanks for playing...
I'm retired Military and have lived all over the world, the snow/ice here is nothing like Up-State New York, England's, Midlands, Denver, Colorado or Central Germany. I've been driving on snow/ice for well over 20 years and have never needed a dedicated snow tire even in the winters of 96 and 00 which I thought were amazing because of the sheer amount of snow for the region. I drive when its falling just I do when it isn't. I'm a native southern californian, therefore inclement weather driving as well as driving is a learned skill which I have mastered.

[OwnedbyDuncan]

Wow I am even more impressed now with the Mastercraft brand especially since it is made by Cooper. And by a tire dealer I have never heard of. Wonder how their volume compares to the one Radial Tire Store. A DC winter can have anywhere between no snow to over 40inches of the white stuff along with ice and sleet thrown in. Because of our wonderful geography Southern MD can have rain and Clifton can end up with 10 inches of snow or more. Unlike a lot of other areas of the country the DC area usually gets snow when the temps are between 28 and 34 degrees when snow and ice are the most slippery. According to R&T dedicated snow tires increase traction in AWD drive cars by approx 25-30%. A 4 season tire is at best average during 3 seasons and mediocre to poor in the snow. AS have come along way but they dont beat summer tires and dedicated snows.

Dave Apker

[JEDM3]

Hmmm... I think this got a bit off topic.
I run on PA. roads in winter so prefer to have snows dedicated to my car. I am running the Fuzion (made by Bridgestone) tires for my normal operation and like them a lot. If you use the sport part of the suspension, they work well. Also lasted for over 30k miles. Would not want to run them in snow however.
Cheers,
John

[Psi5]

My tires are about gone and I have looked up some recommendations on the national forums. I wondered if anyone in town had any new favorites to recommend for tire. I want something for the area, and don't plan on having a second set for winter. Also, don't do any track with this car, just drive for pleasure in the area and on trips. Curren tires are dunlaps.

FWIW, I have the exact same car. Ran the original Dunlops to the belts and then went with Pirelli P-Zero-Nero M&S. I was happy with them but I auto-x the car and they weren't great for that. Accordingly, I got a second set of wheels (BMW OEMs off of e-bay), put Goodyear F1-G3D3s on them and Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on the original wheels. I have been *very* happy with the Goodyears - last winter's dearth of snow provided insufficient data on the Dunlops but they did very well in the rain and cold.

Two sets of tires v. one is a much debated topic on this and other forums. If I may summarize, for those who absolutely have to go out in the snow and/or hate to be stuck in any way, winter tires seem to be the way to go. For those who don't have to go out or have alternate means of transit should the weather get really bad, all-seasons. I fall in the latter category but got snow tires because of autocrossing and I didn't want to be swapping tires on rims twice a year.

On purchasing them, I know many on the group wouldn't go anywhere other than Radial and their prices are good. The downsides are a long drive (from Fairfax anyway) and absolutely interminable (IMO) waits for service (almost three hours from dropoff to completion of install for the Pirellis- and that was on a Tuesday morning). For my last few sets (including the Goodyears and Kuhmos for the wife's Odyssey), I went the Tire Rack, local installer route. Price was a wash (or a little bit cheaper) and a local installer had me in and out in under an hour. An added bonus of two sets of wheels is that you can drop them off, order the tires, and pick them up at your leisure.

Hope this helps.

David

[Biggins]

I think the Toyo Proxes 4 is the best tire for year round driving if i had to have an allseason tire.

Personally, I'm running Hankook RS2 Z212 in the summer and Bridgestone Blizzaks in the winter. For my E36, the wheels/tires for both seasons cost only a little more than one set of wheels on all seasons.