Best Tires for the BMW M3

The P1 is a really nice steering tire, and if you get it in the right window, it's fast. But on my vehicle, it overheats very quickly. A good autocross tire, but not a good track day tire.

These came stock on my BMW M3

I managed 28k km on them

When new, the tires were decent, after 15k km, the tires became noisy and grip became poor

After 28k km, there were cracks on the tires and require replacement

Very disappointing wear

2023 BMW M3c xDrive, used to and from the track, HPDE. 1400 miles on the track, i'm an intermediate driver. Barber Motorsport Park, Virginia International raceway, Summit Raceway... big tracks, lots of loading and braking. So much better wear than PS4S* . More direct turn in, very consistent throughout the session, 4 per day, 30 minutes each, 8 days and no cording yet, but close. Very curious how it will compare to the new continentals... or Cup2 (240). on the BMW, heavy 4 door sedan, running them 42 /44 psi hot, 157 degree F. Mo rolling over on the tire sidewalls, high grip lap after lap with no surprises, never greasy at the end of the session like the PS4S*.... Most likely Ill be buying them again unless the PS5S comes out in my size...

These tires have been a pleasant surprise. Continental is, after all, synonymous with a guarantee of quality. The tire has excellent grip on both dry and wet asphalt, the feedback is very good, and they provide a good sense of confidence. The tires performed very well even on the track (although they are not trackday tires), with excellent grip up to 85 degrees before they start to slide. They are very easy to manage at the limit. On the road, you have a good feeling with the front axle, especially compared to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S which were always a bit vague on turn-in.Tire wear and degradation are quite rapid. You need camber or the shoulder will degrade very quickly.

I do about 15 track days per year in my dual duty F80 M3 with 295/30-18 square tires on 10.5x18. I'm advanced solo.

On Saturday I tried the TAPs at my home track of Lime Rock Park. It was a disappointment. The tires had 5 prior heat cycles at Watkins Glen, including an overnight "cure period" (one session one the first day, then 4 sessions on the second day.)

At WGI the tires were comparable to the RE71RS in terms of pace (similar theoretical ~206.5) and heat tolerance. Saturday at LRP felt like I was driving on heat cycled tires. The first session was meh and the grip got progressively worse. Weather was low 70's and sunny. I tried cool down laps and fiddling with pressures, but nothing helped. Meanwhile, back in steamy August I pounded on the RE71RS all day and was still able to consistently lap sub 60 seconds. See AIM solo snips below. Also, you can see me sliding around in the vid linked below.

The construction of the Hoosiers feel stiffer which provides quicker response/feedback on initial turn-in compared with the RE71RS. They feel good under braking. No squirm (probably due to the shallow tread depth). They don't make a lot noise at the limit.

The RE71RS sidewall roll on my outlaps until tire pressure builds. Not as bad as the AO52 though.
Track Attack Pro
https://youtu.be/DpMBrqrVQk0?si=bPbS9ktypaorLEjw

RE71RS
https://youtu.be/ob_VZpz4498?si=An7C6ylN71nPTe57

RE71RS lap times:


Hoosier lap times:

Rear wheel drive BMW. Staggered Wheel set up. 1000mi. Chicago winter. At highway speeds in the dry (we’ll say over 80mph @ 40°f) it’s down right scary. I don’t feel like I get good traction and the car wanders a bit. At wide curves in the dry, the traction control light comes on and then when I straighten out the LSD kicks in and it has a lateral jolt. Oh, and when there’s strong winds… white knuckling it all the way to work. I took the car back to the shop because I thought it might be tire rub but they said everything was clean and then rebalanced. It’s been quite a winter this year-seemingly every winter scenario imaginable So that being said, in city driving with 4-5 in of snow @ -15° to 20°f under 45mph the tires are simply AMAZING! Remember, this is a rear wheel drive, very “torquey” car. Slush and cold rain it handled well. I might be so bold to say the tires handled better at 20° than at 40°f. The only winters I have to compare it with are Pirelli Sotozero 3, which handled great on the highway but not in the slush or snow. I truly wanted to love this tire particularly since they were really hard to come by in my area but on the highway it falls short.

These tires have been quite satisfactory, especially considering the price. They are quiet, comfortable, and actually handle well on dry pavement without feeling too squidgy. My vehicle is RWD, but I haven’t had any issues in 3-4” snow. Deeper snow poses a slight challenge, and I haven’t tried them on straight up ice. Up hill starts a standstill are perfectly doable with careful use of the throttle and clutch. Dry grip and handling is actually very impressive for a winter tire. I chose these partially because I didn’t want to lose 100% of my car’s sporting nature during winter, and they haven’t let me down. Wet grip is very good as well, in my experience. I don’t push my car to the limits in cold and wet conditions, so this may not match the experiences of professional tire testing organizations. Noise level and comfort are very good, with only a very slight hum on warmer days. They absorb and dissipate bumps and impacts well. Wear is difficult for me to comment on. I’ve only used them for maybe 5,000 miles of daily/spirited driving, and so far the tires have worn noticeably but not excessively. Most drivers probably won’t be using these in a spirited manner on dry pavement, so I don’t foresee any wear issues after many miles of relaxed daily driving. The price is very good, and mostly makes up for any shortcomings this tire has, seeing as I don’t drive this vehicle much during winters, and rarely use it on snow covered roads. These are good tires for someone who lives in an area that gets occasional snow, doesn’t want to lose the sporty feel of their car, and doesn’t want to spend $800 on a set of winter tires. TL;DR- They are much, much better in the snow than any all-season tires, somewhat sporty (for winter tires), won’t break the bank, and aren’t annoying in any way.

The worst tire ever. Bouncy when I drive a corner with 80 km/h. The sidewall moves in the middle of the corner an I then need to steer again. There is no predictable driving characteristic, the tire gives steering feedback like driving on marbles. And on the motorway with 100Km/h in the wet the car went siedeways. I‘m driving a e46 m3 and a friend of mine put these on. I am now gonna change them for Michelin PS4s

I bought these tires based on availability while abroad in Spain. At the time I had Conti 6s on which were great but wore way to quickly. The reviews seemed quite good and felt they would be fine to get me home on a 700 mile trip on all sorts of A roads, motorways and a couple of B roads. Initially I was very cautious in how far I could push the tires and this proved to be a wise decision as they were woeful in the dry, so did not push my luck in the wet. on twisty A and B roads they struggle for grip with only the finest of throttle input the traction control light is flashing away. It feels like they have a soft tire wall which makes the car feel like its trying to tuck underneath you, could also be down to very soft compound of tread (liken it to winter tire which have soft tread blocks with lots of small channels) Under slightly heavy braking at roughly 70 mph the car feels like it moving around under you, so feels very unsafe. They got me home but spoiled what should of been a great drive on some of Spain's greatest roads. They will be coming off as soon as possible as they are truly awful in all conditions.