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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

Relative Strengths: Large bumps smothered well. Grip level in the dry surprisingly high given heavily siped pattern. Those sipes make for a tire that breaks its grip more gently than the Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 or Pilot Sport 2 sampled on other cars (or many of the compromised towards test track performance tires that dominate the market today).

Relative Weaknesses: Some tread rumble at low speeds. Ride is figety as well (the ride may not be an issue on a vehicle with more slack in the suspension than the firmly damped E46 Xi chassis we sampled it on*). The steering isn’t as linear as I’d like, it’s soft on-center than transitions suddenly on either side (something that might be solved with different toe settings but unexpected given the heavily ribbed pattern of this particular unidirectional).

Verdict: Whereas the A/S version of the Pilot Sport is best considered a three season with better wet and low temp ability, it’s good to see Michelin designed the Exalto A/S tire for the way most of us really drive. Hopefully it signals a return to all-season tires that place all weather grip above 3-season grip or high readlife claims.

*other tires sampled on this chassis: Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, Bridgestone RE750, Goodyear RS-A, Continental ContiTouringContact CV95

Can be found in this interview Slate.com’s shopping guru did with me a few years back.

(Note that the tires I suggested then have since been surpassed… aside from that the ‘best’ tire varies based on the car, driver, conditions, etc.)

It’s exceedingly rare I see something on MSN autos that’s worth looking at and in fact they’ve printed at least one article that’s about as misinformed as journalism gets (e.g. an article claiming ‘bigger tires are better!’ citing sales numbers and interviews with tire company spokepeople as supporting evidence! In fact, there are more reasons to avoid larger wheels than desire them.)

This explanation of all wheel drive systems however has little to fault.

(The only things I’d like to add point out are 1) unless your 4WD/AWD vehicle has a limited slip rear differential or traction control, you essentially have 2 wheel drive and 2) I’ve found full time all wheel drive with a rear biased torque split the most satisfying to drive and that seems to be the way the whole industry is moving).

When Dunlop set out to turn its ‘three season’ Sport 3000 into it’s ‘all-season’ Sport 5000, it added sipes (good for winter traction but bad for wear under hard cornering) and changed the hardness of the rubber (ditto).

(Little known fact: to be called an all season, tires don’t have to demonstrate competence in winter conditions but rather have less than 75% of their tread area be rubber. If you’re concerned with winter traction, click here).

Given the number of accidents or blowouts are caused by underinflated tires, we can’t wait for Michelin’s ‘Tweel’ ito hit the streets… (Production versions would have sidewalls, giving them the appearance of a regular tire).

Michelin has… found that it can tune Tweel performances independently of each other, which is a significant change from conventional tires. This means that vertical stiffness (which primarily affects ride comfort) and lateral stiffness (which affects handling and cornering) can both be optimized, pushing the performance envelope in these applications and enabling new performances not possible for current inflated tires… Michelin has increased the lateral stiffness by a factor of five, making the prototype unusually responsive in its handling.

Before you buy new tires check if you have a full size spare. If you do, why not use it before it dry rots and becomes unusable?

Not only will you save 25-50%, you’ll also have the chance to hide that embarrassingly scraped wheel that indicates to everyone you don’t know how to parallel park and screams ‘damage!’ come trade-in time.

(Note that we only suggest this if you’ve been happy with your car and and are planning on replacing your tires with an identical set).

the pay-off for impressive control over roller-coaster roads is a stiff and unsettled feel around town and on the motorway…Usually you can take the quiet refinement of a Lexus for granted [but] there’s too much road noise – especially over coarse surfaces. source: What Car? on the Lexus IS

Remember the Easy Spirit commercial with the ladies in heels playing basketball?

We get the same sense of absurdity when we think about the tires that most Americans are on as they head into another winter. Ever notice how the first cars in the ditch are SUVs and AWD cars followed by the occasional FWD car? Here’s why:

Ironically, many light trucks and SUVs come on tires that are ill suited in the snow. Their rubber compounds must be hard to withstand the weight of your average SUV when loaded and not fall to shreds at the first sign of rough pavement. In addition, SUV tires are wide for better traction in sand and mud and to give them that butch look mom’s prefer. Unfortunately this is the opposite of what you want for ice and snow traction; narrower is better. When you combine this with the fact that most SUVs have lots of torque and are rear wheel drive without traction control until 4 wheel drive is engaged, it’s easy to understand why they become so unweildy in the winter and are eager to exit the roadweay backwards.

An increasing number of cars – especially sport sedans- come from the factory on ‘3-season’ tires. Such tires are designed under the assumption that the car will not be driven in the snow or even at temperatures below about 40 degrees F (below that temperature the rubber becomes hard and slippery). In the case of a car that’s available with front wheel drive as standard and all wheel drive as an option, testing shows that the all wheel drive increases the chances that the tail will side out and reduces cornering and braking grip. (Click here for proof).

The so-called ‘all-season’ tires on most cars are not designed to be driven through deep snow or ice (in fact in most cases they’re particularly bad on ice). To be called an all season, a tire simply must exceed a 25:75 ratio of channels:blocks. Arranging these blocks for long wear, hydroplaning resistance or low noise reduces traction in the snow, and using a rubber that last upwards of 30,000 miles severly reduces grip on ice. (Click here for more on the shortcomings of ‘all-seasons’ during the winter season).

Regardless of what you drive, if you encounter snow or ice we suggest a tire with the ‘mountain with snowflake’ symbol signifying the tire has been tested in winter conditions and meets certain minimum standards. (And in fact testing as shown that you’re best chance for avoiding an accident is to drive a rear wheel drive car with traction and stability control and these ‘mountain on snowflake’ tires).

Don’t see yourself changing from summer to winter tires? Don’t sweat it – unless you take your car to the track or regularly drive your cars til the tires cry out for mercy, an H or V rated ‘European winter’ tire will be suitable for use throughout the year. (The BMW CCA’s technical advisor also advocates this). Such tires give up less than 10% in the dry to other tires but gain you about 30% in the winter – a worthwhile tradeoff in our eyes. In fact there has been a recent trend towards so called ‘dual season’ winter tires or ‘performance’ winter tires that offer as more grip in the dry than an all season. We’ve been runnning these year round on a half dozen cars and the drivers can’t tell there’s anything different about the cars until it turns snowy or icy.

So as we see it there are 4 basic categories of tires:

no M&S logo on the tire means it’s unsafe below 40 degrees

a M&S logo means it might be capable in light snow but not on ice

a mountain on snowflake symbol with an H or V rating can be used year round if you encounter heavier snowfall or icy conditions

a mountain on snowflake symbol with a Q or S rating – particularly Multicells such as most Bridgestone Bizzaks or a tire with a name ending in ‘Ice’ – should be used in the winter only; they wear quicky and grip poorly on dry or warm days.

Feel free to contact us for a list of suggested tires based on your specific car, budget, driving style, and road/weather conditions.

NOTE: Just because your car passes safety inspection doesn’t mean its ready for winter. In fact most mechanics don’t suggest replacing tires until they’ve reached the legal minimum – 1/3rd what is required by safety and tire experts. Click here for more information.

In a world that is more concerned with appearances than performances, ‘rims’ are growing in size at a dizzying rate, even from the factory.

Take for example the newest Civic: the standard wheel is now a 15, most Civics ride on 16s, 17s are standard on the Si, an 18 optional. Compare this with the Civic of 10 years ago: standard 13s, the largest size available was a 14, performance tuners knew that the car was best on 15s. Same with the BMW 7 series: 15s were standard, now its 18s. (Choose any car, you’ll see the same pattern, even in those rare cases where the size or weight of the car has decreased…)

With so many people thinking bigger is better, it’s difficult to convince people of the truth: bigger wheels are ruining the way today’s cars ride and handle.

It’s basic physics, really – ride and handling are largely a function of wheel weight. The lower the ratio of wheel:body weight (also referred to as unsprung:sprung mass), the better the ride quality. The lower the wheel/unsprung weight, the greater the tire’s adhesion to the road surface. The lower the rotational inertia, the better the acceleration, braking and steering response.

If you’re interested in performance rather than appearance, we suggest doing what we do to our own cars:

1) Get a lighter wheel in the same diameter. Factory wheels are often cast rather than forged for cost reasons, and stylists don’t care about how much a wheel will weigh so long as it looks good. By lowering your wheel weight alone you’ll see dramatic improvments in ride quality, acceleration, braking, and handling. (Steve Dinan takes this approach on his versions of the M3 and M5).

2) if you have a sport package or other option that increased wheel size from the factory, trade your wheels with someone who doesn’t read our site and has the base model car, then wrap them in tires equal or better than those you have now. (Most comparisons between base and sport package cars are not scientific because you’re comparing different suspensions, wheel sizes and tire types.) As with option 1, the lighter wheel and lower rotational inertial will work in your favor, plus the stealth quotient will mean those who challenge you on the street (or toting radar guns) won’t know how fast you’re capable of going.

NOTE: We advise against larger wheels and low profile tires on trucks and SUVs in particular. Not only are the suspension systems ill suited to keeping a low profile tire properly oriented in relation to the road surface, but doing so lengthens braking distances and increases the chance of a rollover due to the already overtaxed brakes and high centers of gravity. (When choosing Original Equipment tires and sizes, engineers choose tires that slide early, keeping the vehice on all fours. Increasing grip makes it more likely the SUV or truck will tip up on two wheels).