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[Saintor]

.... or is it rather BRIDGESTONE?

From my experience, I can tell you that Continental SSR are 10x better than the two Bridgestone RFT I drove for a while (EL42 and Potenza ---> crappy tires)

So maybe it is unfair to condemn RFT forever. The ones on the Cooper S I have for a few days are just fine and offer a decent ride!

[Tag]

non-RFT > RFT... all day long

Compare the same tire in both and the non-RFT will always win in everything, except driving on a flat of course.

[darkphantom]

wait......are you comparing your MINI RFTs to the E9X RFTs?? or have you actually bought different RFTs for your E9x...?

[Saintor]

In Canada, 2007 E90 had Bridgestone. The 2008 loaner I had for a week had Conti... and as the Mini, were night and day, compared to the Bridgestone.

[calleballe]

I am on to my second set of non-RFT, having tried both Potenza RE050 RFT, PS2 and now Advan S4 and in between, loaner cars with RFT's, my preference are totally the non-RFT.

[Octet]

How do you like the Advan S4's?

[iheartsole]

RFT are preety good . my autie got a flat and it could still run up to 50 miles. but to replace them is an arm and a leg!

[Tallest]

from experience, the bridgestones do seem to be worse then other brands in terms of ride harshness.

[Lane]

Stock tires are designed to go with the stock suspension. Stock suspension is not very firm, that is why the tires need to be a bit firm, i.e. to have stiff sidewall to have a good total stiffness. It is designed to be performance oriented. That means a bit harsh. In a typical dry Nordschleife lap RFT is a few secs faster than the same non-rft. However, by having stiff/harsh non-RFT, the RFT is not faster at all.

[adamc514]

What do you mean by stiffer/harsher non-RFT? Stiffer sidewalls? (What factors make for a stiffer side wall?) Narrower sidewalls? Higher load rating? I'd like to know more. I know tires are made of rubber and they're round. And I know I don't like the Bridgestone RFTs on my car, but that's about it. I enjoy the steering response (probably from the stiffness) but I hate the tramlining effect.

[Kev]

The Bridgestone RFTs suck big time on my old E90. My E92 came with Michelin Pilot Sport RFTs and they are much better than the Bridgestone, despite being 1 inch bigger (18 vs 17). However, my non-RFT PS2 is still better than the two RFTs. Also, the stock XI front suspension feel very weird when going over bumps, so it might also contribute to my feelings..... Will report back after coilovers go on and see if there's a difference.

[Lane]

Originally Posted by adamc514

What do you mean by stiffer/harsher non-RFT? Stiffer sidewalls? (What factors make for a stiffer side wall?) Narrower sidewalls? Higher load rating? I'd like to know more. I know tires are made of rubber and they're round. And I know I don't like the Bridgestone RFTs on my car, but that's about it. I enjoy the steering response (probably from the stiffness) but I hate the tramlining effect.

Yes, performance tires have stiffer sidewalls than non-performance tires. Stiff sidewall keeps the tire towards the ground while non-performance tires roll under, and the amount of the contact patch decreases. The amount of the contact area defines how fast you can drive a curve.

The sidewall stiffness is a result of the construction and materials. Load rating correlates with it. Stiff is faster at the track, has sharp response, but has less comfort and tramlines. A tire is always a compromise. Set your preferences and select accordingly. Saying that one tire is good, another is not, would not be too intelligent. You could consider smaller diameter "ordinary" non-performance type of tires. They would be a good match for your preferences.

[Lane]

Originally Posted by Kev

The Bridgestone RFTs suck big time on my old E90. My E92 came with Michelin Pilot Sport RFTs and they are much better than the Bridgestone, despite being 1 inch bigger (18 vs 17). However, my non-RFT PS2 is still better than the two RFTs. Also, the stock XI front suspension feel very weird when going over bumps, so it might also contribute to my feelings..... Will report back after coilovers go on and see if there's a difference.

What "Bridgestone RFTs" are you talking about? There are many vastly different Bridgestone RFTs with very different characteristics.

What do you mean by "better"? More comfortable? If yes, I agree that RFT is less comfortable than non-RFT.

Potenza 050A RFT is more harsh than Michelin PS2. On the other hand it laps Hockenheim faster than 050A non-RFT, PS2 RFT and PS2 Non-RFT.

[adamc514]

Well thanks Lane I've already made a decision for tires. I was just wondering if there was information that could influence future purchasing decisions. Yes, max performance is not my main criteria. Road comfort is my top priority since this is my daily driver, but I do enjoy a good spirited drive every now and again so some sidewall stiffness is desirable.

[GhOsT_E90]

Well i can tell you the i put my 335i through a few laps of the Nurburgring myself with RFT. I only had 2500 miles on the car at the time(2 weeks ago). I was honestly surprise of how well these tires held up 1 dry lap and 2 wet rainy laps. I did feel that these tires allowed me to see the weaknesses they have in that under hard turning the car felt like it didnt turn in enough and it would understeer alot and i would have to brake and let off the gas and could feel the outside tire rolling. So i would agrees that a stiffer sidewall tire would work better in that sittuation but under normal driving conditions i dont see anything wrong with these. My next run of the Ring i will have Nitto Invos on the car with new wheels so i'd like to see how well these tires change the way the car drives to compare.

[Lane]

Originally Posted by adamc514

Well thanks Lane I've already made a decision for tires. I was just wondering if there was information that could influence future purchasing decisions. Yes, max performance is not my main criteria. Road comfort is my top priority since this is my daily driver, but I do enjoy a good spirited drive every now and again so some sidewall stiffness is desirable.

I think comfort is the most important factor for the most of us. Who cares if you could drive 1 second faster lap times in Hockenheim. What is wierd is that this one second may still affect the choice, even if the car would never be driven on a track...

edit: ...the 1 sec matters even in my case... irrational

[GhOsT_E90]

AHH Hockenheim, there you better have some good brakes too.