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[JBE90335]

I just switched from runflats to Hankook evos and while the ride is quieter and smoother, the cornering has gone down substantially. I'm wondering if I'm the only one who has noticed this? It just seems to lean so much more now in the corners and feels less stable at high speeds than with the runflats. Most of my driving is city filled with bumps so I like the smoothness but I feel the BMWness of the car has faded. Anyone else share the same opinion or am I imagining things?

[hubble bubble]

Maybe it is the Hankooks?

I switched to Michelin Pilot Super Sport (non-run-flat) this spring and my car corners much better than with the stock tires, dry and especially on wet pavement. Even the traction control comes on less (car has Dinan stage 2 software as well). And, as you know, the ride is WAY better.

Dealer keeps calling me to ask if I am going to buy a new 3 ragther than buy out my lease in October. I told him I am never buying another car with run-flat tires, period.

[driverman]

I went from Bridgestone RFT's to Mich PS2's to Conti DW's.

Each step of the way I lost some steering response and that wonderful planted feeling, especially going from the PS2's to the DW's. And each step of the way, the ride got better, the noise went down, tire life went up, and unsprung weight went down, especially with the DW's. BUT, as other posters have said, great steering response doesn't mean better overall handling. For example, my RFT's hopped around terribly on turns on bad roads. That translates to lost traction. And there's something called "shear angle" that affects handling.

From what I've read, the Mich PSS seem strike the right balance. But they are expensive and they don't come in all the sizes we need.

[chromisdesigns]

Several others have posted similar tales about the Hankooks -- I think it's those specific tires, rather than all non-runflats.

[Tom K.]

The issue with my DWS tires was steering FEEL, not actual grip. If the feel (especially on turn) in bothers you, try adding about 3 psi to each tire - at the expense of ride, of course.

I suspect that since go-flats have softer sidewalls than RFTs, this will always be a consideration.

Tom

[driverman]

Originally Posted by Tom K.

I suspect that since go-flats have softer sidewalls than RFTs, this will always be a consideration.

Tom

Agreed, but it seems to be worse with DW's (and DWS?) than the best go-flats (based on Car & Driver's and Tirerack's comparison tests). On the other hand, the ride is better.

[sathoro]

I went from the OEM RFTs to DWS and the first 50-100 miles I was wondering how I had made such a terrible mistake because my car felt terrible when switching lanes and turning. By terrible I mean that it felt extremely unstable and when I would quickly switch lanes it wouldn't "stick" as well and I felt like it would kind of sway back and forth. Going at high speeds also felt unstable and almost scary because going around even slight curves on the highway my car just didn't stay flat like it did with RFTs. After I increased the tire pressure to like 2-3psi above the recommended and allowed the tires to wear in a bit (~100-200 miles) they feel much better now. My dad commented today how much better the ride feels and I agree that it is smoother than with RFTs. I haven't noticed a decrease in road noise although it is probably there and I think traction has increased however that is hard to say since I bought the car with 19k on it anyways and got new tires at 23k so the tires were already quite worn. Traction is definitely good though. Overall, if you don't get RFTs and especially if you don't get PS2s then you will experience significant decrease in sidewall stiffness which will result in a worse feeling turn in and more of a feeling of body roll.

If I did it again I probably would have just replaced the rear tires with RFTs and kept the front tires until they were worn out rather than getting 4 new non-RFTs and trying to sell my non-worn out front tires. That said, I can't really say I regret my purchase of the DWS because I know they will last a long time, they have great traction in wet and dry, and as they are getting worn in they really don't feel all that bad.

If you have RFTs and you feel like you have too much body roll as it is you should NOT switch to non-RFTs because that body roll feeling will increase with the softer sidewall. However I have ridden in my friend's M3 with PS2s and they felt good so they may be an exception to this much softer sidewall rule.

[Taipei-TT]

I am a huge a huge fan of hankooks overall. However, they do have a softer sidewall than more expensive tires. To me, this does not affect their performance, as I find the cornering capabilities equal or better than my RFTs. Equally, loss of traction is predictable as the loss of grip is very linear with these tires. However, it takes an adjustment in getting used to how they feel, which is not as immediate as the RFTs.

It comes down to priorities. PSS are $800 a pop in my market. Hankooks are $300. I can live with the mushier turn in and a firmer wallet!!

[E90_boostjunky]

TELL ME ABOUT IT.... i just got new rims i had michellin run flat tires oem 162s. i got some 19s they came with some cheap General Exclaim tires on them, the noise is HORRIBLE i mean HORRIBLE, i think michellin tires are made for BMW. i need to find some!

[Gary@TireRack]

For non run flat tires with stiffer sidewalls, check out the Michelin Pilot Super Sport and Bridgestone Potenza RE11.


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