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[geeyore]

Am upgrading wheels and tires for track, on a 128i that's also the DD. Currently OEM 128i wheels and non-RFT.

Am looking at 8 or 8.5 wheels square and several tires in 225 to 245 including Michelin PSS, Potenza RE-11, Yoko AD08, Conti DW and a few others. Want to run squared.

Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments? Thanks in advance.

[lcrain]

Go with apex wheels. Light, strong, reasonably priced, plenty of sizing options, and they look nice IMO. Like all mesh wheels, they are a pain to clean, which I why I went with the gunmetal color.

Tires, it depends. The PSS is kind of the gold standard these days for street tires. Great all around tire, they also wear well and are reasonably priced. The RE11 and Yokos will likely yield more ultimate dry grip at the cost of longevity, cold/wet grip and comfort. The contis are nice, but I wouldn't compare them to the others personally.

I hate to say it but no matter which tire you choose it will be the "wrong" choice. By that I mean, shopping for dual purpose tires is generally a futile exercise. The PSS is slightly more geared for the street, the RE11 and Yokos are slightly more geared to the track. All are great, none are perfect (though many will claim the PSS are).

[Kgolf31]

IMO none of those tires will perform well on the track.


Tires, there are always trade offs. Are you willing to deal with more road noise for ultimate grip?

[TheSt|G]

17"x8.5" ARC-8s and PSS would be a good setup for a primary DD in the summer that occasionally sees track use. As soon as the track becomes a bigger priority, I would get another set of wheels and tires for that.

[John_01]

You could get the Michelin PSS in 245/40/17. The will fit fine on the 17x8.5 rims if you have camber plates on the front. They Yokohama AD08 is a much wider tire, which is more likely to rub in the same fitment.

It depends how you drive, but I guess the Michilen PSS will only last for about 4 track days on the 128i (they are unsuitable for the 135i IMO). Then you may want to consider getting proper track tires anyway. I have seen some track drivers using Hankook RS-3 to good effect. To me that looks more promising than the PSS as a dual duty tire.

[Kgolf31]

For reference, my Hankook RS3s on the Z4M lasted 5 hours of track time, and around 40 or so autocrosses before basically cording.

This was about 4k miles and 2 years. I dismounted the tires inbetween the week

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

For reference, my Hankook RS3s on the Z4M lasted 5 hours of track time, and around 40 or so autocrosses before basically cording.

This was about 4k miles and 2 years. I dismounted the tires inbetween the week

No one is doubting that track tires are better for the track, but they are terrible as a dual use tire.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

No one is doubting that track tires are better for the track, but they are terrible as a dual use tire.

I wouldn't call it terrible.

I ended up driving DD with the RS3s for quite sometime on the Z4 because my DD tires were essentially shot, I was autocrossing every weeekend and I just got really lazy.

I didn't really notice any difference for sacrificing comfort. To be honest my DD tires rode more harsh.

But we're also talking about a coupe which has a loud exhaust which the noise is easily transferred to the cabin, so subjective comment is very subjective.


I've seen other drivers, especially on this forum, destroy PSS tires on the track within a session. They can not handle that type of abuse.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

I wouldn't call it terrible.

I ended up driving DD with the RS3s for quite sometime on the Z4 because my DD tires were essentially shot, I was autocrossing every weeekend and I just got really lazy.

I didn't really notice any difference for sacrificing comfort. To be honest my DD tires rode more harsh.

But we're also talking about a coupe which has a loud exhaust which the noise is easily transferred to the cabin, so subjective comment is very subjective.


I've seen other drivers, especially on this forum, destroy PSS tires on the track within a session. They can not handle that type of abuse.

Maybe if it doesn't rain where you live.

PSS are not track tires. That being said, they are a good learning tire for those just getting into the hobby and give you the ability to drive home safely.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by TheSt|G

Maybe if it doesn't rain where you live.

PSS are not track tires. That being said, they are a good learning tire for those just getting into the hobby and give you the ability to drive home safely.

When it rains we typically say screw it and drift.

Driving my friend's E36 M....the weird guy waving in the camera

[kobeballer96]

225 square setup if you want dd. get a decent compound for track. 128i doesn't need as much tire as a 135i