Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[island111]

I have bridgestons on my car now I really hate these tires. I drive within the speed limit 90% of the time, never go around turns fast and the tires are cupping after 5K miles. How has you experience been with Michelins that come on the cars now? Has BMW come up with a solution on the cupping of the front tires.

[Mk23]

I haven't had a problem with my Michelins yet. I am at 2100 miles.

[vadim]

My car came with the Bridgestones. Had to replace both front tires after hitting a construction rut (sidewall was damaged on one, but the mileage was too high to replace just it alone). After reading forums and reviews on Tirerack.com, went ahead with Michelin PS2 RFT. I have to say that they are a much better tire than the BP RE050A. The ride quality has improved noticeably. Handling is at least as good (reviews claim that much better) compared to the Bridgestones - just haven't had a chance to push them yet.

[Pedal2Floor]

Originally Posted by island111

I have bridgestons on my car now I really hate these tires. I drive within the speed limit 90% of the time, never go around turns fast and the tires are cupping after 5K miles. How has you experience been with Michelins that come on the cars now? Has BMW come up with a solution on the cupping of the front tires.

Yes, they changed the tire manufacture

[mroach]

Originally Posted by Pedal2Floor

Yes, they changed the tire manufacture

Are they using Continental now? That's what my car came with. It's a CPO '06 330 so I don't know if they're original tires or if they put a new set on with Conti, if they're the new manufacturer.

I'm going to try out Pirelli Sottozeros for winter tires.

[positiveions]

I replaced my OEM tires Bridg 050 with Conti sport 2. i didn't feel any difference. Same handling. But I am willing to try Conti sport 3. I heard it is a much better refinement over Conti 2.

[Couch]

I replaced my original Bridgestone RFT's with Michelin PS2 ZP's about 2 weeks ago. The Bridges got a little more than 22K out of them.

I only have about 200 miles on the new tires, but I definitely feel the ride is noticeably softer. I still have to rack up more miles before I can really make a review.

[94JZA80]

Originally Posted by island111

I have bridgestons on my car now I really hate these tires. I drive within the speed limit 90% of the time, never go around turns fast and the tires are cupping after 5K miles. How has you experience been with Michelins that come on the cars now? Has BMW come up with a solution on the cupping of the front tires.

just b/c your Bridgestones didn't work out for you doesn't mean all Bridgestone tires suck. some suck, but some are great, just like some Michelin tires suck and some are great. what Bridgestones came as OEM equipment on the 335 anyways? and has cupping of the OEM Bridgestones been a prominent problem throughout the 335i community? if not, it sounds like you just had a set of bad tires (lemons so to speak). that being said, if you're looking to get run-flats, it's hard to beat the Michelin PS2's (at least for street driving anyways).

Originally Posted by vadim

After reading forums and reviews on Tirerack.com, went ahead with Michelin PS2 RFT. I have to say that they are a much better tire than the BP RE050A.

...but are they better than the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Positions, as far as street driving goes? i would imagine whatever additional grip the PS2 RFT's create is cancelled out by the ridiculous amount of additional unsprung weight those run-flat tires add to each corner (making steering less responsive and more lethargic). take it to the track where you have the time and ability to warm up your tires, and the RE050A PP is definitely the superior tire (of course it would have to be, seeing as how you can't expect an RFT to outperform a max performance non-RFT). but even the PS2 non-RFT's aren't any better than the RE050A PP's on track.



now i've driven RE050A PP's on the streets, but i've never driven either PS2 RFT's or PS2 non-RFT's on the streets, so i can't give an objective opinion comparing PS2's and RE050A PP's on the streets. so my 2 cents probably isn't going to help you much, since it appears you're talking about mostly street driving...oh well.

[noro]

My Bridgestone RFTs have 4 (yes 4) sidewall bubbles with no apparent marks on the rim in that area. These tires suck just as bad as the concept of a no spare.

Or maybe I should put those RFTs back, have them blow up, get into an accident then ask BMW for new tires... or maybe even a new car.

[ska///235i]

I have used the OEM bridgestones and now have the OEM Michelins (both on 18” Style 162 rims).
The bridgestones made LOUD road noise after just few thousand miles. It felt like I was using some cheap $50 tires.
The Michelins on the other hand is so much better. It’s quiet, soft (as in comfort), and it rides like you’re in a Lexus.
I haven’t really push the car on tight corners/turns yet, but I notice these PS2s do warm up fast (not sure if this is a good thing or bad)

I like the PS2s more…a lot more

[Seminole]

My car came with Continentals...

They are OK I guess.

[94JZA80]

Originally Posted by limited_slip

Michellin is always better quality than Brigestone

if that much were true, then Bridgestone's top-of-the-line max performance tire would perform worse than Michelin's most budget-conscious tire...which definitely isn't the case. so i think we can safely say that the above statement is false...

[ska///235i]

well..I dont really care how they perform if they create loud road noise and cupping after just few thousand miles driven

every brand can make a good perfromance tire....but how reliable they are is another story

Originally Posted by 94JZA80

if that much were true, then Bridgestone's top-of-the-line max performance tire would perform worse than Michelin's most budget-conscious tire...which definitely isn't the case. so i think we can safely say that the above statement is false...

[94JZA80]

Originally Posted by ska325xi

well..I dont really care how they perform if they create loud road noise and cupping after just few thousand miles driven

every brand can make a good perfromance tire....but how reliable they are is another story

understood...but again, you're basing your opinions on the "OEM Bridgestone" experience, and not a "performance Bridgestone" experience. were the OP using a real performance tire instead of a middle-of-the-road OEM tire that Bridgestone simply calls a "performance" tire, his tires probably wouldn't have cupped. not that the OEM Bridgestones were expected to do that, but you know what i mean. your issue in particular (road noise) is another one altogether. a true performance tire is designed to provide maximum grip and to extract a vehicle's maximum performance - road noise and ride comfort are last on the list of priorities. so of course you can't expect a max performance tire to be quiet on the road and feel like you're riding on clouds - that's not what they're made for.

like i said before, if performance wasn't a priority, and daily street driving is mostly how the OP drives his car, then the PS2 RFT's (or even the PS2 non-RFT's) are going to be hard to beat. i'm just trying to prevent false information about Bridgestone (or any other tire maker for that matter) being passed around as if it were common knowledge or an accurate generalization.

i'm still trying to figure out which Bridgestone tire BMW used as OE on the 335i...anyone care to chime in with that info?

[david @ eas]

Bridgestone NON-runflats are great. I would say the same for the Michelin but obviously with a higher price to it.

I would normally still go with the Bridgestones just to save a bit more money and to still get a great tire.

[vrrooom]

My 2009 335ix came with Bridgestone Tur(**)inzas RFT. I thought BMW was not using these anymore due to all the complaints. Apparently they had a contract to fullfill or some left over, so

[island111]

Thanks everybody for the replies, Oh I have the potenza's. Very noisy tires. The biggest problem is the cupping. BMW checked everything nothing wrong with the alig. so they say.

[Phil R]

I just replaced my oem Bridgestones at 22,400 mi. with Michelin PS2 RFTs and could not be happier. Smoother ride, quieter, excellent handling and they don't "steer"the car, like the Bridgestones did. I also noticed cupping on my front tires with the Bridgestones. While in the shop, I had the Zeckhausen modified clutch delay valve installed. Wow, between the tires and the CDV, I'm driving a different car...and lovin it!