BMW and bad tire decisions

[bm5bullit]

I know this may have been discussed on the forum many times but I must express my views on how conservative BMW with regards to providing a Hi-Perf. tire for the M. I have had my M for over two and one half years and have always had a problem with how easily these tires lose traction. It dulls the enjoyment factor and makes this one issue a nagging negative aspect of this well designed beast.

I recently upped my power levels with a couple of mods and the situation only went from tolerable to extremely annoying. I decided to do something about last month and borrowed a couple of the Michelin PSC 2 tires which were on my buddys C5 Vette. He had used them for a couple of months and decided to go bigger. These were the 305/30/20 tires which are perfect for the M. I had them on for just one day and noticed the undeniable difference. The car had loads better traction and definitely looked like they should be OEM. I immediately got online, did my research, for new ones and found out they were not available nationwide. Even though the tires still break loose for a very short instant, the car is extremely controllable. Two days ago, I decided to buy a pair of Nitto NT05 just to go to my local strip for the next few months. They are a bit stickier that the Michelins but quite a bit cheaper. I am very happy with them so far and I will find out how good they are at our local strip tonite.

I can tell you that I am planning to switch to the PSC @ tire as soon as they are available so I will no longer have to worry about mediocre traction. More to come.

[Mgone]

I just made a thread to see what others have Reviews on other tires.

http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1157004

lets see what they say.

[M6-Coupe]

I don't think BMW had bad tire decision at all. General speaking M5/M6 are DD cars but are powerful, torque monster RWD cars. This mean traction issue and as you said the only way you can have full fun (if you want to drive them like an M car) is to have soft compound tires like MPS CUP2, but these tires have less tread life compare to MPSS or PZero due to their lower rating. So if you want to have fun, you have to accept the cost and low life time something like 2-3 sets of tires (at least rear tires) a year. It's up to you. BMW can only provide you the first set and again they provide the type of tire are most useable for majority of people. Remember majority of people just buy M5/M6 as DD car and are not willing to have 2-3 launch per day or track days On the other hand, as far as I know Michelin Cup2 or Nitto are track tires and for a big, heavy 600+ HP car kinda not completely safe on wet roads. This is called liability and I don't believe BMW wants to take this liability for a car transfers over 7000 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels at first gears. Not everybody is skilled driver

[bm5bullit]

Originally Posted by M6-Coupe

I don't think BMW had bad tire decision at all. General speaking M5/M6 are DD cars but are powerful, torque monster RWD cars. This mean traction issue and as you said the only way you can have full fun (if you want to drive them like an M car) is to have soft compound tires like MPS CUP2, but these tires have less tread life compare to MPSS or PZero due to their lower rating. So if you want to have fun, you have to accept the cost and low life time something like 2-3 sets of tires (at least rear tires) a year. It's up to you. BMW can only provide you the first set and again they provide the type of tire are most useable for majority of people. Remember majority of people just buy M5/M6 as DD car and are not willing to have 2-3 launch per day or track days On the other hand, as far as I know Michelin Cup2 or Nitto are track tires and for a big, heavy 600+ HP car kinda not completely safe on wet roads. This is called liability and I don't believe BMW wants to take this liability for a car transfers over 7000 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels at first gears. Not everybody is skilled driver

I completely agree with everything you are saying except for the last part about Cup2, Nitto, or other performance tires. BMW is way too conservative in not offering a performance package similar to the Competition version and Track versions offered by Nissan, Mopar, Chevrolet, Mercedes and others. I am sure that an M track package would probably not used by those as a year round car, especially bad weather. My daily driver is a Jeep Rubicon (I am in construction) but I do like to drive mine as much as I can during good weather. BMW takes a lot of shots from other brands that have a "tuned" version of their performance cars.