Hi,

I have a 2002 330i with the sport package (225/45 R17 and 245/40 R17). Up until now, I've always had winters (205/55 R16) and summers (Continental OEM).

I've decided to change over to all season tires since I no longer live in Minnesota and am in northern NJ (it's more because of the lack of storage space).

I've narrowed it down to two A/S: Eagle F1 All Season and the new BFGoodrich g-Force SuperSport A/S. Unfortunately I can't find any driver reviews of the BFG since the A/S are new...does anyone know what BFG's reputation is for tires that are good on dry, wet, AND light snow? Which tire would you choose (I would lean to more winter performance than summer if I had to choose).

Thanks in advance for your help!
Linda

I have heard good things about the Eagle F1 A/S, and am considering a set for my car, but have not actually used them.

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I guess there are no ratings besause they are new.
I am debating between Falken Zeix ZE-912's, Continential extreme contact, Yokohama Advid H4S, and the Good Years.
I am not sure that the Good Years are worth the money?
The reviews on Tire Rack look very good though.

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If they are like the responsedge (which I've had on my 330i in southern NJ) they are worth the money

I don't have any experience running them, but I do have experience selling SIMILAR goodyear tires...when I say similar I mean both the Goodyear Eagle F-1 and the Goodyear Assurance Triple Tread.

Eagle F-1...fantastic performance tire...fantastic stopping ability. But noisy as all get out...humms like crazy after some miles on them.

Eagle F-1 A/S...from looking at the tread pattern it looks like it'd be a fantastic wet traction tire with great stopping ablility and great water channeling...but same scenario...given the directional tread pattern I fear it would become noisey over time.

I don't have any experience running them, but I do have experience selling SIMILAR goodyear tires...when I say similar I mean both the Goodyear Eagle F-1 and the Goodyear Assurance Triple Tread.

Eagle F-1...fantastic performance tire...fantastic stopping ability. But noisy as all get out...humms like crazy after some miles on them.

Eagle F-1 A/S...from looking at the tread pattern it looks like it'd be a fantastic wet traction tire with great stopping ablility and great water channeling...but same scenario...given the directional tread pattern I fear it would become noisey over time.


How do the Bridgstone Pole positions RE960 A/S compare to the Good Year F1 all seasons and the Pirelli P-zero Nero M+S?

They are all close in to the same price range...

How do the Bridgstone Pole positions RE960 A/S compare to the Good Year F1 all seasons and the Pirelli P-zero Nero M+S?

They are all close in to the same price range...

I've sold both the BS and the Pirelli and have had very good results with both tires. IMO the F1 all seasons would most likely get better wet traction...but like I said before, become noisier over time.

It looks to me however that between the BS and the Pirelli...the BS would give you better traction. Not only does it have a directional tread design with somewhat of a V type pattern, but it also has more sipes in the tire...and more sipes in a tire is certainly indicitive of better traction.

IMO if you don't mind potentially having some noise issues...and I say potentially...then if it were me I think the Goodyear looks like a pretty darn nice looking tire. But if you're wanting to avoid that, then I tend to like the Bridgestone a bit more than the Pirelli simply for the amount of sipes in the tread.

Thank you much for the reply!
I have noticed that it is hard to get opinions on the wheel and tire forum, because I assume few people browse it...

My thoughts are exactly what you have said...

I love the look of the Good Years, but my car is a daily driver, so now I am thinking BS's from Discount Tire Direct...

Any thoughts about going to a 235 to 245 tire width?

Thanks again "Samger" for the expert advice!
Jason

I've sold both the BS and the Pirelli and have had very good results with both tires. IMO the F1 all seasons would most likely get better wet traction...but like I said before, become noisier over time.

It looks to me however that between the BS and the Pirelli...the BS would give you better traction. Not only does it have a directional tread design with somewhat of a V type pattern, but it also has more sipes in the tire...and more sipes in a tire is certainly indicitive of better traction.

IMO if you don't mind potentially having some noise issues...and I say potentially...then if it were me I think the Goodyear looks like a pretty darn nice looking tire. But if you're wanting to avoid that, then I tend to like the Bridgestone a bit more than the Pirelli simply for the amount of sipes in the tread.

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My thoughts on going to a different size tire...

Well, it all depends on what you're main goal is...certainly a wider tire can give you a bit more stability and somewhat more responsive handling, but I'm an advocate for staying with what the factory recommends.

I say that for a few reasons:

1) The factory designs your car to get an optimum balance between comfort and performance. Straying from their recommendations in either area can cause the other to suffer.

In other words, going to a wider tire you'll most likely have to change the aspect ratio of the tire as well...giving you a smaller sidewall, but keeping roughly the same over all diameter...well when you decrease the sidewall there's less cushion to absorb the bumps in the road...hence you'll feel everything in the road a bit more and will then take away from some of the comfort your BMW offers. BMW has spent alot of money to test their cars and engineer them to perform the way they do straight from the showroom floor. If you're happy with it now I wouldn't change a thing and potentially mess with what already is pretty awesome.

2) The 225/45R17 - 245/40R17 is a pretty common setup and you'll find lots of tire options in both sizes. Getting away from that setup will most likely limit the availability of tires in the sizes you've changed to.

I hope some of this helps...I guess I see it too often where a customer wants to change because they think it'll look better...but they fail to take into consideration the performance changing and ride quality changing aspects as well.

Sam

Thanks Sam!
My stock size for my car is 235-45-17.
I was only thinking about going to 245-45-17 all around, but with that size, it would be adding 2 more lbs to each tire.
Your previous statement makes total sense, I an agree.
I think using the stock size will be the most wise choice.

Do you think the Good Year Eagle F1's are worth TWICE as much as the Falken Ziex ZE-912's (Consumer Reports #1 pick)?

Thanks again Sam!
Jason

My thoughts on going to a different size tire...

Well, it all depends on what you're main goal is...certainly a wider tire can give you a bit more stability and somewhat more responsive handling, but I'm an advocate for staying with what the factory recommends.

I say that for a few reasons:

1) The factory designs your car to get an optimum balance between comfort and performance. Straying from their recommendations in either area can cause the other to suffer.

In other words, going to a wider tire you'll most likely have to change the aspect ratio of the tire as well...giving you a smaller sidewall, but keeping roughly the same over all diameter...well when you decrease the sidewall there's less cushion to absorb the bumps in the road...hence you'll feel everything in the road a bit more and will then take away from some of the comfort your BMW offers. BMW has spent alot of money to test their cars and engineer them to perform the way they do straight from the showroom floor. If you're happy with it now I wouldn't change a thing and potentially mess with what already is pretty awesome.

2) The 225/45R17 - 245/40R17 is a pretty common setup and you'll find lots of tire options in both sizes. Getting away from that setup will most likely limit the availability of tires in the sizes you've changed to.

I hope some of this helps...I guess I see it too often where a customer wants to change because they think it'll look better...but they fail to take into consideration the performance changing and ride quality changing aspects as well.

Sam

Well, twice as much is certainly a big difference...but I do think that the Goodyear is a better pick. Look at the two tires:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j275/samger2/gy_eaglef1_as_ci2_l.jpg

Notice the sipes in the above tire...there are lots of them. Everytime the tire rotates when the sipes hit the pavement they expand and grab...this gives you better traction. Notice also how the channels in the tire meet one another which will allow the water to leave the center of the tread uninteruppted and in a smooth pattern giving better wet traction.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j275/samger2/ziex_ze912.jpg

Notice now how the Falken tire has less sipes. Notice also how the channels are somewhat offset. To me having consistent channels in a tire will allow the water to flow from the center out to the edges and get out from under your tire quicker...make sense?

I wouldn't listen a whole lot to everything consumer reports says about tires...not that they are wrong, but they don't know what your driving habits are...they don't know what kind of car you're putting your tires on...they can't possibly test all the tires on all kinds of cars. What tire may be great for one car and one set of driving habits may be terrible for another. For instance...I used to sell a Falken Ziex 512. It was H rated and had a nice rating in consumer reports. I would certainly consider putting this tire on a V6 honda accord in a 16" option. However, that same tire that is rated high in consumer reports...I would NEVER consider putting on a Ford Taurus in a similar 16" size. Get what I'm leaning toward?

I just got the F1's put on (I liked the BS but they don't have the size I need).

The only difference that I noticed from my Continentals is that the steering is looser. I'm wondering if the installer overinflated the tires or if it's a function of a different material (haven't had a chance to check tire pressure).

As for noise, I've noticed that my car is noisy already (I've purchased three different bluetooth devices and all can't filter out the background noise), so I'm hoping it can't get much worse...knock on wood.

I just got the F1's put on (I liked the BS but they don't have the size I need).

The only difference that I noticed from my Continentals is that the steering is looser. I'm wondering if the installer overinflated the tires or if it's a function of a different material (haven't had a chance to check tire pressure).

As for noise, I've noticed that my car is noisy already (I've purchased three different bluetooth devices and all can't filter out the background noise), so I'm hoping it can't get much worse...knock on wood.

So, are you saying that the car was noisy already with the Conti's?
Or, the Good Year F1's are loud...???
Thanks!
Jason