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Given my experience with the H rated M2s and the positive user reviews I was expecting more from these V rated M3s. They are very good tires but there are a few traits I haven’t seen anyone mention so you might want to take them into account…

First the rolling resistance is much higher than the M2s – even with the pressures bumped up to max load levels fuel economy is down by 2-3 mpg. The car needs more throttle to keep rolling and feels sluggish as a result, losing more speed on uphills etc unless you remodulate the throttle (I find myself delaying upshifts and reaching for downshifts more often now).

Second even at equivalent pressures the ride is appreciably firmer, no doubt due to the V speed rating – too bad they were not available in the H rating suggested by BMW in this (-1) size.

Lastly they don’t have the precision and stability I remember in the M2s. Aside from these being at 10-11/32s vs. the M2s being down to 3-4/32”, the way the center blocks are arranged seems a factor…

I liked the M2s so much I drove ‘em year round but these I’ll change over come spring…

test car: ‘03 BMW 325i sport – 16” OEM Ci wheels

other tires sampled on this car: Continental ContiWinterContact TS810

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 3:41 pm and is filed under errata, tires, winter driving.