oOoEveroOo

Looking for tires for my 99' Bmw 540i... I have heard very good things about both of these tires, but nothing actually comparing the two. Anyone have any experience with them? Besides price, what differences should I expect? Thanks
-Tim

Viken

I had the Pilot Sports on my '98 540i and I just got them for my '01 540i. Can't beat it with anything let alone a Yokohama.

leslie

Vicken,
Does this mean that you would fit the Pilots on your p.car?
Am currently debating between Bridgestone S03PPs or the pilot sports for my newly acquired RS.
any advice?
BTW, we cannot get n spec tyres in Singapore and the other locally avaliable alternative is P zeros (non Rosso) but these are 50% more expensive in Singapore cos of the HUGE local dealer markup.

Viken

Not necessarily. I was very happy with the P-Zero (not Rosso) for several years until I switched to the S-02's. The Pirelli was a much more performance oriented tire for the 911 and the S-02 is not even close in some important areas.

I suspect all the newer "maximum performance" tires will lack something in the dry department but I am not sure. A friend has the Pilot Sport's on his Turbo and is very happy with them. I am considering going back to the P-Zero or maybe get one of the new R-compound tires from Pirelli or Michelin.

leslie

Viken,

What are R compound tyres and which models do they come in for the Pirellis and Michelins?

Bill Gregory

If you go to www.fabspeed.com and look under "tires" you'll find information about the Pirelli P Zero C "r" compound tires. R compound tires are essentially track tires with a few grooves. They typically have US DOT treadwear ratings between 0 and 80. Toyo Proxes RA1 is another, Yokohama and Hoosier are other brands with R compound tires. Michelin is supposed to be coming out with an R compound tire this fall? next spring? haven't seen a date for it yet, although the 18" version was recently tested and discussed in a Pano article.

Ran

leslie,

Basically R-compound tires are for the track as far as I can tell though they are also streetable (barely). They were developed in response to requirements for racing regular street tyres. So, they are softer than the most ultra performance tyres and thus probably have a shorter lifespan. I suspect they may be hard to find. Thats my quick answer though I'm no track or tyre expert.

Go here and click on Asimmetrico
P-Zero and other Pirelli tyres and here Pirelli world website as well as Michelin France

leslie

Thanks guys for all the responses.
However, I still have a problem to solve. Given the fact that the Pirelli tyres are so expensive in Singapore, I really only have a choice of either the pilot sports or the bridgestone S03pp tyres. Which one should I go for? I have a suspicision that the Pilots have too much of a comfort bias and thus am leaning towards getting the s03pps. What does the wisdom of the list think?
TIA for all the help.
BTW, the car is currently fitted with s02pps but there is a nail and thus a slow puncture in the right rear tyre.

Viken

Leslie,

R-compound tires are street legal (at least in the US) racing tires. They usually come with at least a 5 mm tread depth but are made with very soft rubber. If you drive mostly in the dry, they'll perform very well but will be a handful in the wet. These tires are the Michelin Pilot Cup, the Pirelli P-Zero Corsa and the Kumho V700 Victoracer.

As to the Pilot Sport vs the S-03, look at it this way. The Michelin comes standard on some of the highest performing cars such as the 360 Modena, the 996 GT2, the 996 Turbo and the BMW M-cars. I have not heard anyone complaining about their performance. The S-03 is too new and not yet proven to be a performer on a sports car. I'd choose the Michelin over the Bridgestone at this stage.

Ran

leslie,

I thought Michelin was better though my comparison basis was the MXXX Pilot and I have also had the SO2PP. Yesterday I actually changed out my slightly balding Michelin MXX (came std on M3) with a slightly used (on other BMW) SO2PP. Car (M3) handles so much better but obviously I feel so because of the newer less used tyre. HOWEVER, earlier I remember when I went from the SO2PP to Michelin and liked some aspects of its dry handling much better. Thus I wonder on such issues as to how much subjectivity is there - my guess is that for most people it is really hard to remember accurately (assuming differences are slight) how tyres felt at the same point of time in their lifespan. Thus I would go with either depending on availability and pricing. Its all a close call. Some here have suggested that the SO3PP is a bit compromised for performance by introducing an element of comfort but all the mfgrers are trying that (the rosso for instance) and by getting older versions we may run into problems finding older replacement if we need to replace midway between full wear due to accidental blowout etc.

I am happy enough with my P-zero Asimmetrico (not the new Rosso) and will most likely be replacing with the same when the time comes.

Nail in tyre!!! Change it right away leslie. Also, I want to see it sans nail since I may be coming over next week to see your newly acquired RS.

Viken

Let's not forget that the Michelin in question is not the older MXX3 but is the newer Pilot Sport SX. The MXX3 is now discontinued.

Garey Cooper

The Michelin tread has some pronounced similarities to the old Bridgestone S02, at least to me visually. There is the center contact patch that runs the periphery of the tire and the water channeling grooves that seemed to be biased much the same way that those on the previous SO2 were.

leslie

Thanks guys for all the help.
I have decided to get the S03pps and they go on tomorrow morning. I figured if I don't like the tyres, I will just go for a couple more track events/ drive harder and scrub the tyres faster
I will give a report next week together with Ran cos he just confirmed he is coming to Singapore.

BTW, didn't mention it before but I actually have the pilot sports on my wife's m54 520i sedan and having used the MXX3 tyres before on an M3, couldn't believe how quiet and refined they were. A real improvement over the MXX3s and IMHO perfect for the BMW sedan.

DoubleNutz

Run both the Michelin Pilots and Birdstone RE730 on my 2000 328i. Switched to the new Kumho ECSTA 712's. For about 100bucks cheaper per tire- Found them to be as good if not better that both my Michelins and Birdstones If not better. Cheapest Z rated tire on the market and Specs out better than most.

Have not looked back since and I am quite satisfied.

DoubleNutz

Kumho ECSTA 712

Oh, I forgot... the Yokohama AVS Sport. Great Tire but EXPENSIVE! However stay away from the Yokohama Sport S1-Z (discontinued anyway) the wet weather traction of the S1-Z positively sucks! Unless you don't mind sliding yo azz around town in the wet. I used them both on my 928.

I think the Kumho can compare easily for tread wear(much longer than the Yoko), wet and dry weather traction.