[JWDnl]

As I went with slightly wider aftermarket rims I needed new tires.
I have Michelin Pilot Super Sports on all my cars except the Ferrari (they don't make 325 rears) so this one had to have them too.
255 rear and 245 fronts (same as the upgraded OEM rears).
255s were readily available but the 245s weren't sold before in The Netherlands so they had to be ordered with Michelin France.
I couldn't wait to fit the new wheels so I decided to put the already delivered Michelins on the rear and put the OEM rear Bridgestones on the fronts.

I expected a big improvement over the 225 fronts but was slightly disappointed, it felt like the understeer kicked in later but it still was very noticeable, it's controlled understeer but not really how a sports car should be.

So when the Michelin fronts finally arrived I was hoping for a slight improvement due to the better compound but I thought that the understeer was 'programmed' in the suspension so I had to live with it.

Well..... first corner, yep understeer again.... but it was damp and the tires brand new so it didn't bother me that much.
Next day some longer trips but not really the possibility to try out the grip.
But then.... I approached an empty roundabout and thought what the heck lets try this one without braking.
Noooo.... the curb was approaching fast and I was about to hit it..... the inside curb that is!
I was overcompensating for the understeer I got used to but there was none, none at all!
So I steered a bit to the right and put the pedal to the metal.... nothing, just 100% grip and I was launched out of the corner like i've never felt before.

After that I did a few extra fast corners and it's like the car is on rails it's a brand new experience.
I did however notice that the traction control is nowhere near the one I got used to in the M5, when you put the pedal to the metal and one of the tires loses it's grip a little it's like an on/off switch, when the tires are a bit more rubbed in I will try it with the TCC off and see what happens.

Long story short, put some Michelins on your car and fall in love for the second time, the difference is night and day.
I haven't done any mileage testing on them yet and frankly I don't care, I still laugh at the gas station when I put around 50 euros in the gas tank where I put around 110 euros in my other cars.

[Pitkis]

Originally Posted by JWDnl

Long story short, put some Michelins on your car and fall in love for the second time, the difference is night and day.
I haven't done any mileage testing on them yet and frankly I don't care, I still laugh at the gas station when I put around 50 euros in the gas tank where I put around 110 euros in my other cars.

Thanks for info. I will definitely go to PSS once winter is over. Just couple of days ago I leafed all tire brands and tried to find semi-slicks for i8. No success. And PSS is the best solution in ordinary "performance" tires, so no question what to install.

Did you use OEM wheels (625?) with PSS?

[phoenixbmwlife]

Originally Posted by JWDnl

As I went with slightly wider aftermarket rims I needed new tires.
I have Michelin Pilot Super Sports on all my cars except the Ferrari (they don't make 325 rears) so this one had to have them too.
255 rear and 245 fronts (same as the upgraded OEM rears).
255s were readily available but the 245s weren't sold before in The Netherlands so they had to be ordered with Michelin France.
I couldn't wait to fit the new wheels so I decided to put the already delivered Michelins on the rear and put the OEM rear Bridgestones on the fronts.

I expected a big improvement over the 225 fronts but was slightly disappointed, it felt like the understeer kicked in later but it still was very noticeable, it's controlled understeer but not really how a sports car should be.

So when the Michelin fronts finally arrived I was hoping for a slight improvement due to the better compound but I thought that the understeer was 'programmed' in the suspension so I had to live with it.

Well..... first corner, yep understeer again.... but it was damp and the tires brand new so it didn't bother me that much.
Next day some longer trips but not really the possibility to try out the grip.
But then.... I approached an empty roundabout and thought what the heck lets try this one without braking.
Noooo.... the curb was approaching fast and I was about to hit it..... the inside curb that is!
I was overcompensating for the understeer I got used to but there was none, none at all!
So I steered a bit to the right and put the pedal to the metal.... nothing, just 100% grip and I was launched out of the corner like i've never felt before.

After that I did a few extra fast corners and it's like the car is on rails it's a brand new experience.
I did however notice that the traction control is nowhere near the one I got used to in the M5, when you put the pedal to the metal and one of the tires loses it's grip a little it's like an on/off switch, when the tires are a bit more rubbed in I will try it with the TCC off and see what happens.

Long story short, put some Michelins on your car and fall in love for the second time, the difference is night and day.
I haven't done any mileage testing on them yet and frankly I don't care, I still laugh at the gas station when I put around 50 euros in the gas tank where I put around 110 euros in my other cars.

Nice write up! I would love to see the wheels you put on if you have a shot.

[JWDnl]

Originally Posted by Bennu

Nice write up! I would love to see the wheels you put on if you have a shot.

ADV.1s

[phoenixbmwlife]

Originally Posted by JWDnl

ADV.1s

You know what? At first glance at the wheels I was like meh. Neutral about it, then I looked at the details of the same goldish highlight colors on the kidney grill and near rocker panels and it grew on me. Nicely done!

[Carac]

Originally Posted by JWDnl

ADV.1s

Wait...you are running PSS in the snow?

[ChiTownM]

Its snows about once or twice a year in Holland, sorry I mean the Netherlands.......this must be one of these days

Seriously though, cool job on your i8, I will start working on mine once it is not minus 26F anymore here

[MalibuBimmer]

I like the wheels BMW sells with the car because they are unique. These wheels, while pleasant, are very common. In gold color they would get along well with the gold chain and Rolex watch crowd in Beverly Hills.

[MAKHNO]

can you feel a loss of power/acceleration due to the wider tires?

[JasH]

Question is though, which are the best tyres for the OEM wider wheels (Turbine)?

[Epirali]

Originally Posted by JasH

Question is though, which are the best tyres for the OEM wider wheels (Turbine)?

I have looked and at least in the US there are no tires that fit that, except the ones that they ship with.

[Pitkis]

Originally Posted by Epirali

I have looked and at least in the US there are no tires that fit that, except the ones that they ship with.

??

From PSS table you can easily find tires that drop in perfectly with Style 625.

[Epirali]

Originally Posted by Pitkis

??

From PSS table you can easily find tires that drop in perfectly with Style 625.

Can you point me to one? Maybe I am just being really dumb.

[kip1]

Originally Posted by Pitkis

??

From PSS table you can easily find tires that drop in perfectly with Style 625.

I find the rear ones, but for the front it only gives me 18 inch wheels with these dimensions:
Tyre dimensions front (special equipment) 215/45 R20 95W XL
Tyre dimensions rear (special equipment) 245/40 R20 99W XL

In the vehicle dropbox there is the i3,are you kidding me??? No i8!!!

[Pitkis]

Originally Posted by Epirali

Can you point me to one? Maybe I am just being really dumb.

You are not dumb. I can't understand how I have misread tables. I leafed through all files for days but I could not find the right fronts from PSS table. Sorry, I was 99% sure that there is readily available sizes. I actually already ordered 2nd rims to be used with those...

But, no problem. Bridgestone Potenza S001 has exact sizes available - rear AND front.

http://www.bridgestone.co.uk/auto/ranges/potenza/s001/

It's not bad tire either, Rapide, F458, RS5 and Lexus LFA being factory fitted with them. Maybe not equal to PSS, but much better than those low-rolling eco tyres completely unsuitable for racetrack. Maybe we can manage this season until someone brings good fronts 2016? I visited France last year and had talk with Michelin high executive. I asked what's their plan with sporthybrid tyres. He was very keen to talk with subject and said that they are working on them, Formula E being one testbed since they drive all the season with same tires, dry and wet. I tried to buy Pilot Sport EVs for i8, at any price, but he said they are not available...

[Epirali]

Originally Posted by Pitkis

You are not dumb. I can't understand how I have misread tables. I leafed through all files for days but I could not find the right fronts from PSS table. Sorry, I was 99% sure that there is readily available sizes. I actually already ordered 2nd rims to be used with those...

But, no problem. Bridgestone Potenza S001 has exact sizes available - rear AND front.

http://www.bridgestone.co.uk/auto/ranges/potenza/s001/

It's not bad tire either, Rapide, F458, RS5 and Lexus LFA being factory fitted with them. Maybe not equal to PSS, but much better than those low-rolling eco tyres completely unsuitable for racetrack. Maybe we can manage this season until someone brings good fronts 2016? I visited France last year and had talk with Michelin high exacutive. I asked what's their plan with sporthybrid tyres. He was very keen to talk with subject and said that they are working on them, Formula E being one testbed since they drive all the season with same tires, dry and wet. I tried to buy Pilot Sport EVs for i8, at any price, but he said they are not available...

Whew good to know I haven't gone totally stupid!

Thanks for the link, in fact THESE are the tires that come on the car as OEM...

[Aye-eight]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

I like the wheels BMW sells with the car because they are unique. These wheels, while pleasant, are very common. In gold color they would get along well with the gold chain and Rolex watch crowd in Beverly Hills.

[Pitkis]

Originally Posted by Epirali

Whew good to know I haven't gone totally stupid!

Thanks for the link, in fact THESE are the tires that come on the car as OEM...

Hmm...there's something strange here. At least tires I had in my car started to melt down after three (3) laps (both F&R) so fast that I had to stop driving in session. I have driven almost all semislick and performance tyres including PSS and PS2 at the same track, with 15 different cars. Definitely never seen similar tire destruction before. Tires may be same model, but I have to check if i8 OEM versions have different compound.

In Bridgestone table you find code 6657 (eco version) and 7784 (normal performance) for fronts even at same load index. But for rears i8 OEMs has different load index (99) and there is also an normal option (95) at the same size, equal to PSS.

Fitting i8 OEM compound tires to 458 would give you 1-2 hot laps and that's it. I'll order normal versions now and check how they are doing.

[Epirali]

Originally Posted by Pitkis

Hmm...there's something strange here. At least tires I had in my car started to melt down after three (3) laps (both F&R) so fast that I had to stop driving in session. I have driven almost all semislick and performance tyres including PSS and PS2 at the same track, with 15 different cars. Definitely never seen similar tire destruction before. Tires may be same model, but I have to check if i8 OEM versions have different compound.

In Bridgestone table you find code 6657 (eco version) and 7784 (normal performance) for fronts even at same load index. But for rears i8 OEMs has different load index (99) and there is also an normal option (95) at the same size, equal to PSS.

Fitting i8 OEM compound tires to 458 would give you 1-2 hot laps and that's it. I'll order normal versions now and check how they are doing.

Here is what Tire Rack says are on the US version:

[Pitkis]

Originally Posted by Epirali

Here is what Tire Rack says are on the US version:

Yes, that's standard OEM set-up but does not specify exactly which of the front versions it absolutely means. I suppose 6657 model since it has lower rolling resistance.

Herewith clips from Bridgestone website. As you can see, I today found three different versions for rears. Softest/the most eco-friendly being i8 tire in both tables and the most red one for track use

[Epirali]

Thanks so I guess it comes down to whether they have the set that is rated "C" or "E" for efficiency/traction combination. I'll see if I can find any product code on tire itself.