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      10-19-2014, 09:31 PM   #1
Paul-Bracq-BMW
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unlock the performance of the i8 with "real" tyres

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Hi to all i8 owners.

First of all congratulations for making the decision to own this wonderful new-age BMW.

Has anyone thought about changing the eco-oriented tyre to something more performance oriented, or even change the wheel/tyre combo (for example to a wider wheel/tyre at the front to combat understeer)?

Cheers!
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      10-20-2014, 11:39 AM   #2
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Tires

Will work on it soon.
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      10-20-2014, 03:42 PM   #3
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Michelin Pilot Super Sports are ordered for the new rims
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      10-20-2014, 04:12 PM   #4
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I'll have to admit, after 2000 miles I haven't once thought "I need stickier tires." I am starting to look into winter tires though.
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      10-20-2014, 04:50 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carac View Post
I'll have to admit, after 2000 miles I haven't once thought "I need stickier tires." I am starting to look into winter tires though.
Try the car on a circuit, you will learn that the the car is extremely stable but only limited by it's front tires (fool proof), understeer is acceptable but you can not really correct it by throwing in some oversteer (more power) because of the rear that has way, wayyyy more grip than the front.

The only real reason that you cannot drift the car is that the front always loses from the rear.

I'm sure that 95% of the i8 buyers couldn't be bothered less with above facts but I keep wondering how the car would handle with slightly bigger/normal front tires.
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      10-20-2014, 07:47 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JWDnl View Post
Try the car on a circuit, you will learn that the the car is extremely stable but only limited by it's front tires (fool proof), understeer is acceptable but you can not really correct it by throwing in some oversteer (more power) because of the rear that has way, wayyyy more grip than the front.

The only real reason that you cannot drift the car is that the front always loses from the rear.

I'm sure that 95% of the i8 buyers couldn't be bothered less with above facts but I keep wondering how the car would handle with slightly bigger/normal front tires.
That's what the other cars are for . Anyone buying an i8 as a track weapon is going to be severely disappointed. I see taking it to the track as a novelty; something I wouldn't buy a new set of tires to do once. That doesn't mean people aren't going to but I hope they go in eyes open, knowing the experience is always going to be compromised to something like a GT3 or even a factory M car. The understeer they engineer into almost every car is because the natural reaction from 99% of the population is applying the brakes which transfers weight to the front loading up the front tires and increasing traction. Super safe, not much fun.

That's not to say I'm disinterested in finding out what others discover with other tires but I won't be looking for another performance tire until the factory ones are worn out.
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      10-20-2014, 08:56 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carac View Post
That's what the other cars are for . Anyone buying an i8 as a track weapon is going to be severely disappointed. I see taking it to the track as a novelty; something I wouldn't buy a new set of tires to do once. That doesn't mean people aren't going to but I hope they go in eyes open, knowing the experience is always going to be compromised to something like a GT3 or even a factory M car. The understeer they engineer into almost every car is because the natural reaction from 99% of the population is applying the brakes which transfers weight to the front loading up the front tires and increasing traction. Super safe, not much fun.

That's not to say I'm disinterested in finding out what others discover with other tires but I won't be looking for another performance tire until the factory ones are worn out.
Spot on!! I track my GT3 heavily but took the i8 to the track once, just for the heck of it and to really understand how it handles. There is no front traction and even with stability off, the nannies still interfere. After 5 or 6 laps (1.7 mile course), I completely ran out of battery power (it was full at the start). So yes, not a track car but hell of a capable street car and not sure I need stickier tires for the road. I love it (1,300+ miles so far).
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      10-21-2014, 09:13 AM   #8
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It's not that I want my i8 to be a track car, I have a race prepped M3 GT, an F430 and heck even my Renault Clio RS would win on the track from an i8.
I do however like to get the most out of the wonderful package the i8 already has so why not put on some decent tires to find out if it makes the car even more of a supercar.

Besides all this have you ever done some spirited driving in E-drive?
Even though they've down-tuned the i3 motor it really has problems keeping traction in FWD only mode.

The car is very restrictive when it comes to wheel/tire sizes so I think I will run 245 front and 255 rear MSS.
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      10-23-2014, 02:46 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JWDnl View Post
Michelin Pilot Super Sports are ordered for the new rims
Would love to have your feedback on how the car behaves after the swap.

Cheers!
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