Have now fitted the winter tyres.
My old summer tyres were Bridgestone Potenza RE050AI Runflats:-
Front 225/45 R17 91V Rear 255/40 R17 91V
The new winter tyres: Front & rear: Continental WinterContact TS830P Contiseal 205/55 R16 91H (130 mph rated)
Not a five min job as the alloy wheels were hard to get off. Had to lower the motor on loose bolts & raise again which all takes time. The ground clearance was too low for my hydraulic jack, had to use the BMW rachet from the jack kit which is a bit of a slow bis. But after a while one developes a nice wrist movement!
Had to wire brush the end of the hubs , they were quite rusty. When I replace the summer tyres I will have to repaint.
After fitting the wheels the thought then occurred were the tyres unidirectional? On checking it would seem not! Phew!
Tyre pressures I left same as the r/flats 34 psi front & 36psi rear.
Never realised how huge the 255 tyres are. They are big! Noticed the rear tyre wear was more than the fronts. That searing acceleration from the lights I guess and haven’t done 10k yet. I will have to control myself!
A trial run in the motor and the winter tyres (ContiSeal) do give a smoother & quieter ride than the r/flats, there is no doubt! . Less road & tyre noise, the thinner tyres must help a lot. On the bends the steering is not quite so positive but the grip is good.
All in all I am well pleased.
The supplier of the tyres and steel wheels: mytyres.co.uk who seem an efficient organisation.
They arrived within 7 days of ordering from Germany and were in perfect condition with the wheels nicely sprayed a sort of satin/gloss black. Have no connection with: ’ mytyres’. Would certainly use them again.
I have attached a couple of before and after photos. I must admit it’s a bit hard getting used to the blacks wheels but I suppose they go some way to match the ‘Shadowline’ exterior bits, but I guess I will be pleased to get the 17” alloys back on.
Just looking forward now for a bit of snow n ice to appear!
Cheers!
