It is time to purchase a set of tires for my wifes 97 M3/4. She dirves the car daily, and I am looking at purchasing either the Potenza RE730's or the Kuhmo ECSTA Supra 712's for the car. I talked to a very helpful person at tirerack and he is suggesting the Kumho's. The Kumho's are about $150 cheaper than the Potenza's, but after reading all of the test results I feel the Potenza is a little better tire. I feel the Potenza will offer a better ride, and more stability in both the dry and wet weather. I am looking for some feedback on these two tires. My wife drives the car mainly like a standard 3 series, but every once in a while, either my wife or I will run the car a little hard. I would like to keep the price under or at $600.00 for the tires.


For winter, the car rides on Blizzack MZ-01 tires, so snow traction is not a concern.


Thanks

Go for the Bridgestones RE730. About a month ago i was also looking for a new set of tires.... Many people on this board recommended the Bridgestones over the Kumhos. After I got them i love them.

awesome grip in dry, very good in wet and 300 tread wear rating. what more can ya ask for?http://www.gsxgirl.com/smilies/crazy.gif

Good luck.

I bought the Kumhos for my E46 328 on 17 inch rims. 245/40 rear and 225/45 front. They have been great so far, quiet, good grip and at $490 fitted , an excellent price. For everyday use they are superb. I wouldnt know about how they would perform for racing

I'm also looking at 17" upgraded tires for my 323i. I'm trying to decide on either the RE730's or the Pirelli 7000's.:confused:

I purchased a set (2) of RE730's for my E36 328is for about $450 mounted. The perform great in wet and dry... they absolutely suck in snow though.... Most high performance tires do. I drive it pretty hard every once and a while. I've had the tires for over 6 months and they still look brand new. The tread pattern on them looks awesome and makes the tire look wider than it actually is. Go for the Bridgestones!!!

Thanks to all who responded with their experiences with these tires.

I purchased a set of 4 of the Bridgestone RE730's this past Tuesday (3/13/01) I plan on having them mounted next weekend. Hopefully the weather here in Missouri will warm up and there will not be any more snow until next winter and I can put the BlizzacksMZ-01's away until then.

One thing that made up my mind to go with the RE730's was a question that was asked to me by Aaron from Tirerack. He asked me if the car is driven like a standard 3 series BMW then go for the Kuhmo's, if the car is sometimes driven like a M3 should be driven go with the RE730's.


Thanks again

Mike

Originally posted by slemmer
I'm also looking at 17" upgraded tires for my 323i. I'm trying to decide on either the RE730's or the Pirelli 7000's.:confused:

do NOT go for the Pirelli P7000s, those tires suck ass! i made the mistake of going with the pirelli's as my first tire, i hated them, many bimmer owners i know that have Bridgestones RE730s had pirelli p7000s before that. they're soo glad they made the switch, including me.

go for the Bridgestones

Thanks Richard. At least the Pirelli web site looked pretty good.

Have you heard any feedback on the Toyo Proxes FZ4?

So far, it looks like the RE730's.

P.S. I like your wheels: 18"?

hey slemmer...

yes they're 18's.... here's hopefully a better view of the 18s....

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1188931&a=12099052&p=43812594&Sequence=0&res=high

btw, the bridgestones have a lip protector for the rims which the pirelli's dont have.

good luck'

It all depends on your wallet...

I had Bridgestome RE71's that I tore through. I know the 730's are better tires and should last longer. However, I do not race my car. I am somewhat aggressive, but that is nothing more than racing around town or taking an offramp loop fast. Still, I got 5,000 miles on very soft, sticky rubber.

It is lots of fun, but you pay for it.

In my opinion, $490 mounted for four vs. $450 mounted for two leaves no question. Unless you guys have money to burn, I would go after the value play.

Rob

Nice. Now you got me thinking about wheels. I'm afraid to ask if you've changed the exhaust, air intake and computer chip.

So far I'm zeroing in on the RE730's.

Here's a pic of My Intake Sorry for the diry engine, it rained that day of the meet. R.S. Akimoto Intake w/ F&N Filter
http://people.aens.net/middleds/events/02-10-01_gathering/images/02-10-01_061.jpg


Remus Exhaust System 2x90mm tips
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1188931&a=12099052&p=43812614&Sequence=1&res=high

There you go, pic of my intake and exhaust :D

I hate you!... :-)

I just ordered my wheels today: Bridgestone RE730 w/BSA M5 17" wheels.

To replace the 205-55-16 while maintaining overall sizing, my tire guy recommended 215-45-17. I still have the option to go slightly bigger with 235-45-17s but the change would be very marginal.

Next phase, exhaust and cold air intake!

congrats slemmer on ur purchase... be sure to add some pics of the wheels on ur car! once u start modding, its soo hard to stop... i need a like "modding patch"... c'mon richard... quit the urge, quit the urge!:p

You bet! Stay tuned.

I just bought a new set of Kumho's today. I figured at 100 bucks a tire, its a great eal for what you get. They dont grip as good as my Yoks A520's but those were pretty much slicks, so that could be a reason. But for a cheap tire, I think they're OK so far. I gotta save my money (getting married in august). I havent drove much on them yet, Ill wait for the Idylwild drive to try them out!!:D .

$100? That's sounds like a good price! Only in America...

I just picked up my RE730's. I have them mounted on the M5 replica wheels from BSA (#238) -- hey, I gotta save somewhere.

Pics to follow after a wash and shine!
:p

slemmer, let me know how the RE730's hold up and ur impressions on them...:)

Richard,

Today is the third day I've got these 730's and I drove them on the highway for 90 kilometers (55 miles) at an average speed of 150 kms and maxed out at 170. So far, so good. I haven't taken any real turns yet, but today outdoor temperature was around 35 degrees F. I will have to wait for slighly warmer weather to get a better feel.

After a half-hour run on the open highway I felt the car to be very stable at such high speeds; no steering wheel shimmy, no pull -- just smooth sailing! What really amazed me was there were no weights on the BSA wheels. The guys at the shop told me when they went to balance them they all came back true.

It must be Murphy's law: I washed my car yesterday so that I can take a photo and it rained today. Bring out the sunshine Gods!


;)

slemmer,

glad your results came out good...

take some pics of it. I'd love to see how ur car looks :D

Rich,

Here it is...

wow... seriously man.... that looks freakin' awesome...

did u up grade ur suspension? i dont really see a fender gap between the fender and the tire... looks really good! damn... :p

Yep. I put in a set of H&R's (not the coilovers, though). It dropped it down around 1.5 - 1.75 inches. I put the remainder in a set of RM-Racing HIDs. I'll never drive with standard bulbs again.

Another thing I was considering is to remove the plastic trim along the bottom of the front bumper and replace it with a full honeycomb or oval styled grill. Paint it black or silver to give it that Toyota Racing Dynamic look.

What do you think?:D

u mean take out the plastic pieces and install mesh in it?

I think that will look SWEET! :p

I've been meaning to do mesh in my front also... but i've been so lazy lately that i still need to get around to it...

But when u mesh it, i'd vote to keep it black... it leaves a cleaner look, which is the style i love....:D

This weekend will be nice at which time I'll evaluate how easy the job will be. I don't think I can do it for the back but will check.

You're right about black. It will look nice.

Will let you know.

Nice car slemmer! I like your driveway too. :)