155/60 R20 Tires

The following tires have been reviewed in 155/60 R20.

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Tire Reviewed Dry Grip Wet Grip Feedback Handling Wear Comfort
Continental EcoContact 6 (94) 75% 58% 57% 61% 54% 69%

155/60 20 Tire Review Highlights

Continental EcoContact 6 rated 94% while driving a BMW i3
Driving on a combination of roads for 1 spirited miles
I imported Continental EcoContact 6 from UK through eBay as in the US, Bridgestone Ecopia EP500 is the only available tire for BMW i3. EP500 has been released around 2013, and have only received minor updates since then. As a result of this, they have some notable issues, a) poor wet grip, b) very small amount of usable treads, c) poor wear, d) mediocre handling. I was tired of those tires, and wanted to see what EcoContact 6 can do vs EP500.

WiselyAutomotive measured the tread depth of Michelin E.Primacy, Bridgestone Ecopia EP500, and Continental EcoContact 6 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJIOQBxudrY around 1:25 mark). The EcoContact 6 had the most amount of treads in both the center, inner, and outer sides of the tire (6.26 mm, 6.55 mm, 6.13 mm). This means that out of all 3, we can expect generally better wet grip. This holds true in the EU labels as well, since EP500 received C/B rating for wet grip, whereas EcoContact 6 received constantly B or A.

After international shipping, the cost came out to be actually cheaper than EP500. I was happy to have installed all 4 of those for R20 wheel option, which is 155/60R20 and 175/55R20.

Handling - this tire handles really well. I was able to go around corners where EP500 lost grip, and it kept pulling through. It has bit of oversteery balance to it, but very predictable.

Dry - I was impressed with just how much stuff I can get away with this tire. I can stop in a comically short distance, and the tire had really good feedback overall. It felt like I was driving a completely different car.

Wet - This tire performed exceptionally on the wet. I could not get it to slide unless I was intentionally trying to get it to slide. Really good grip, and it was very confidence inspiring compared to EP500. It can however lose grip suddenly rather than predictably at times, so caution is always advised when driving on the wet surfaces.

Wear - This tire has more treads than EP500 to begin with, and newer technology. Tires have improved a lot since 2013, and it shows. After approx 1,000 miles, they look still brand new.

Ride quality - People complain that R20 option is too stiff and unforgiving. This tire fixed it -- it was so comfortable, the noise may be at 70 decibels, but it was much less harsh than EP500. It is considerably louder than Blizzak LM500 though, as expected.

A quick note about this tire -- the maximum pressure for rears is only 44 PSI, and the front even less (EP500 is rated for 50 PSI). So starting 2018-ish, BMW raised i3's tire pressure to 44 on the rears and 39 on the fronts. So I advise you check the tire pressure often if you are running 44, because there's a potential to exceed certified rating of 44. If you want to be safe, you can run 41 instead, which is pre-2018 tire spec for BMW i3 with the identical suspension and tire components for the most part.

Overall, I was super impressed, would buy again.
tire reviewed on 2023-05-07 13:21:46
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