Tires-----Need Help

[jv1630]

I am looking to buy a new set of tires for my M45 but I am having a difficult time deciding what way to go, I do drive it throughout the winter and living in NY i deal with a fair amount of snow. My tire size is 245/45-18.....do you guys have any suggestions of what worked best for you?

thanks,jv1630

[odie]

Use the search tool and you'll find a wealth of reviews and advice. There is usually a few posts a month involving this topic. Good luck!

BTW. I'm deciding between the Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum and the Pirelli PZero Nero All Season (however, another member said this tire is on national backorder)

[szh]

Use the search tool and you'll find a wealth of reviews and advice. There is usually a few posts a month involving this topic. Good luck!

Yes, indeed!

The 245/45-18 size has a lot available brands and models, by the way.

Make sure to pick a load index and speed rating that is appropriate for your car.

With snow and/or close to freezing temperatures, I recommend getting a set of good summer tires for our current wheels, and a spare set of cheapo wheels and snow tires for the winter. Highly advised for high-power RWD and AWD cars.

Z

[M4T5]

I guess I can add to this tread or "thread". I just purchased a set of 245/45/18 for the M45. I had my heart set on the Pirelli P-Zero Nero A/S tires. The national back order on those tires is lifted. As they are available now. They were installed on Thursday. Hit the road and noticed the accurate on center feel of these tires. Very responsive and eliminated wondering or how most of you put it, Tramlining. However, the dry traction was not superb by any means. They were ok, but the car could spin the tires a bit easily. It also happened to rain that same evening and noticed that the wet traction they were rated for was right on par. Great wet weather tire. Anyways, from 65+ mph i was feeling vibrations....great.

Friday I took the car back to Discount tire to have them rebalanced. The tech said the wheel weights flew off on some of the rims. Ok, after a re-balance, I once again took it down the road. Now I had vibrations from 70-85 mph. No good.....

Saturday, I came back and the tech checked the balancing and found all to be balanced, but two of the tires were noticed to be out of round. He also said all of the rims and tires took a lot of weight to get them balanced. He gave me two choices, either he could order in two more tires, or change all of them to another type of tire. I decided to go with another tire. He suggested the Bridgestone Potenza 960 AS Pole Positions. Since that was on my list of tires to buy, I decided to have them installed instead. They all balanced out very nicely and took minimal amounts of weight to balance them. They also did not show any signs of being out of round either.

Took the car down the road and noticed the steering was a tad bit looser or very easy to steer. However, I did not experience any tramlining or vibrations. The tires do take a little bit to respond to steering input at speeds 50+ mph. Not a lot, just a little more than the Pirelli's did. I also noticed these tires grip very well! The car cannot really spin the tires upon a WOT take off. They also ride very smooth and are very quiet. Have not tried them out in the wet, but they are designed as a wet weather tire. I would guess they should perform well on the wet roads. Will find out soon I'm sure. Oh yeah, the Pirelli's had a rim protector incorporated into the sidewall of the tire, the Bridgestone's do not. The Bridgestone's cost me $13.00 more per tire over the Pirelli's.

I hope this info helps a few of you guys out some on your decision. Too bad the Pirelli tires are heavy, take a lot of wheel weights to balance them, and were found to be defective. They were almost a great tire!I really do not have many complaints on the Bridestones other than the lack of an on center feel. Last thing, the Pirelli's had no mileage warranty, but the Bridgestones come with a 40K mileage warranty.

J

Modified by M4T5 at 7:02 AM 9/8/2009
Modified by M4T5 at 12:25 PM 9/8/2009

[The00Dustin]

I guess I can add to this tread.

Nice pun... Intentional?

[antzrus]

Try here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...HPAS

[M4T5]

Nice pun... Intentional?

Nice call! No, kind of funny, but it was not intensional. I changed it up a little...thanks.

J

[M4T5]

Try here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...HPAS

Nice tire chart!I guess I did pick a great tire overall! I can at least say they have passed the greatest test thus far.....the WIFE!She told me they ride great and wants to know how they perform on the wet roads. She will soon find out. That will be the tire's greatest test by her.

J

[marosari00]

I also installed the 245/45/18 Bridgestone Potenzas 960. In my case the tires are quiet, with a smooth ride. The car is surefooted and tracks well. In the Florida rain they grip well. I wholeheartedly recommend.

[TexasMadrone]

M4T5

About a year ago, I posted my tire search and after all things considered, I bought the Pole Position 960as. Though we live in SE Texas, and all season tires seemed to some posters as a little strange, most aren't aware of our freak ice storms and occasional light wet snows. I recognize that ice and tire grip becomes subjective, but aside from that, a big plus I found after reading user reports was the index rating was high, both wet and dry was very good, and ride and noise was better then many. In my case, I make a yearly trip in the winter to Virginia, so summer tires were not and option. Since our so called winter is so short, having two sets of tires was not sensible. I concede that all season tires are a compromise, but I have found that the 960as still stick very well after having about 10,000 miles on them. The only characteristic I've noticed is they tend to be slightly road crown sensitive. Don't confuse my comment as Tramlining, as I've not experienced it. Hope this is useful info for you.

TexasMadrone

[Shinobi326]

I just got a set of Goodyear F1 Eagle All-Season and they rock so far. They get decent ratings on tirerack and I'm happy with them so far, but then again it's only been 2 days!

I live in Seattle area and I have M35x so I wanted a solid year-round tire that pretty decent in any condition.