[nick46]

Just in case anyone is interested mytyres.co.uk are doing 255 35 R18 Uniroyal Rainsport 5's for £115.80 fully fitted.
I've got the Rainsport 3's on the front on my E91 which I cant complain about so as I now need some rears thought I might as well give these a try at that price, so I've got two on order that will shortly be delivered to my selected fitting centre.

Cue the mass debate about which tyres are best every time the subject of tyres comes up on here!

[nick46]

Oops I meant to post this in the general section instead of the technical section. If anyone wants to move it then please do.

[rasa bmw]

didnt even know they were the 5's now,,i strayed away from them after being a stallwart for them,,,khumo ecsta ps71,,nowhere near as good,,ive also put some nexen n fera su4 on the rear of my 330d,,not had time to judge them yet,,last set of uni rs3 rears lasted 12k miles which i was really happy with,,only got 8-9k out of them on an e46 330d..,,think i will get back into them after ive tesetd the others,,cannot beat them for wet grip and price..

[nick46]

Well I think they're gonna have their work cut out if they are to beat the Falkens that are currently on the back of my car (been on since I bought it) as they seemed to have lasted for ever. They've got over 20k on them now which I'm well impressed with considering I've got 673nm at my disposal.

[Silver Streek]

I had the rainsport 3's on my 320d E46. I had them on after a set of Bridgestones. They were ok but not as good as the Bridgestone S001. Similar price to the Uniroyals but a good bit more grip (wet and dry) and they last longer. The car slid everywhere with the RS3's, got worse as they wore. Even the steering felt lighter with them fitted.

I've never understood the rave reviews the Rainsports always get, but I guess everyone's opinion is different.

The Rainsport 5's are still very new so im waiting with real interest to hear people's reviews of them. I need a new set of tyres but will be sticking with the S001's for now.

Thanks for the heads up Nick46.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by Silver Streek

I had the rainsport 3's on my 320d E46. I had them on after a set of Bridgestones. They were ok but not as good as the Bridgestone S001. Similar price to the Uniroyals but a good bit more grip (wet and dry) and they last longer. The car slid everywhere with the RS3's, got worse as they wore. Even the steering felt lighter with them fitted.

I've never understood the rave reviews the Rainsports always get, but I guess everyone's opinion is different.

The Rainsport 5's are still very new so im waiting with real interest to hear people's reviews of them. I need a new set of tyres but will be sticking with the S001's for now.

Thanks for the heads up Nick46.

yeh,,ive never had any slide probs,,ive had bridgestone potenza runflats on rears and were nowhere near as good as the rs3...rs3 are not a great dry tyre if ya wanting hard cornering etc,,they are way to progressive,,feel like they need an extra 3 yards to hold the bend compared to a harder compound tyre,,but i aint no boy racer,,i tend to straight line speed rather than corners.bends etc

[Silver Streek]

Thats what i found with cornering Rasa, they wash out a bit compared to my Bridgestones. Which i dont like, i wouldnt say I'm a boy racer ,but i do like to enjoy a blast down the country A roads when i can.

I ditched run flats some time ago, the car handles and ride so much better with normal tyres.

Not saying the rainsports are a bad tyre, indeed in standing water and heavy rain they are excellent. Its the cornering and the tyre wear that i don't like.

What reviews i can find are saying Uniroyal have changed the compound to address the soft side wall, handling and wear issues of the RS3.

If they have then i imagine it should be a pretty good tyre, especially if they maintain the reasonable price.

[rasa bmw]

yeh,i might try them in future,especially if they have stiffened them up.also it would be cheaper for me to buy the tyre,,then pay the £10 a corner fitting price,,tyres are £100 from tyre leader so £110 fitted

[rasa bmw]

heads up for the rs5 tyres £94 each from oponeo..https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-finder...pcR91OqOl0dTT2 also the ps4 are only £134 for 255-35-18

[rasa bmw]

cancel above £94,,they have now went to £104,,robbing twats ha ha,,oops o wa swrong..£104 was for express delivery

[kash330D]

I justed ordered x2 Potenza S001 255/35/18s for £230 fitted via blackcircles.

They seem to be a really good tyre, and will be the 2nd set i'm putting on the rear since getting the 330D. I've gotten about 10-12k miles from the rears (should have made a note of the mileage when I putt them on.

I had these tyres on my Golf R and manged to scrape 26k out of them!! I know the BMW is RWD but thought i'd get more miles from them tbh.

[Silver Streek]

Kash330d i have these tyres on my E91 325d which has been mapped. I like them, though i am getting better mileage than you, i have got 20k or so out of my rears and have not got down the wear indicators yet. Not far off tho. The fronts have done over 30k.

I used to run RE050A's, but I've found the S001's are retaining more of their grip as the tyre wears. The RE050A's used to loose a fair bit of grip once you started getting near the wear indicators.

[rasa bmw]

camskill are now even cheaper for uniroyal RS5..255-35-18 only £87 and 225-40-18 £59..delivery is £4 per tyre,,so a ssat for my 335/330d are only £308,,think im gonna order some and get rid ot the khumo on my 335d,,misss the wet grip

[kash330D]

Originally Posted by Silver Streek

Kash330d i have these tyres on my E91 325d which has been mapped. I like them, though i am getting better mileage than you, i have got 20k or so out of my rears and have not got down the wear indicators yet. Not far off tho. The fronts have done over 30k.

I used to run RE050A's, but I've found the S001's are retaining more of their grip as the tyre wears. The RE050A's used to loose a fair bit of grip once you started getting near the wear indicators.

I'm also mapped and just over 300bhp. I'll make note of the mileage on these new ones when I put them on tomorrow. Tread is just under 3mm so I'd probably get another 1500 miles or so ish before they were stretched to the limit, however, i've notice the car slip more easily on corners now so best they are changed.

[kash330D]

I may try a different tyre on all 4 corners next year... maybe the uniroyals or eagle f1's - i've had them on previous cars. I know the michellin ps4s are highly recommended but also nearly double the cost.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by kash330D

I may try a different tyre on all 4 corners next year... maybe the uniroyals or eagle f1's - i've had them on previous cars. I know the michellin ps4s are highly recommended but also nearly double the cost.

the new rs5 are supposed to be stiffer side wall and more tread life than the out going RS3,,ive had rs3 on all of my cars and you just cannot beat them for wet/damp grip..not the best cornering/dry tyre but i put safety in wet conditions at the top of my list

[nomiS330d]

I'm in a tyre quandary at the moment. I replaced all 4 tyres about 2 years and 20,000 miles ago with maxxis premitra things because my mate who runs an independent tyre shop recommended them as decent for the money. He fitted all four (staggered 18" size) for £300. I've had no issues with them such as noise which i've had with low/mid priced tyres before. The rears are down to the wear bars but the fronts have got loads of life left in them.
My quandary is i am planning to do some track days this year so figure i need some sportier rubber such as pilot sport 4's. Do i get another set of maxxis's to see out the fronts or bite the bullet and replace all 4 with premium rubber??? I don't want different brands front and rear so this is where i'm at.

[nick46]

Nothing wrong with having different brands front and rear as long as both tyres on each axle are exactly the same. It's only really a problem (or in my opinion dangerous) if you have different tyres on each corner. I quite often have different brands front and rear cos when I buy tyres I always try to buy the best I can afford. My budget doesn't really change, its just tyre prices change all the time and sometimes you can get a great deal on a much more premium tyre.
Up until a few weeks ago I had Uniroyal RS3's on the front and Falkens on the rear. As my rears were at the end of their life I was going to go for some more RS3's but I found a good deal on the new RS5's so went for them. So yes I have the same brand all round now but they are different tyres on each axle which to me is no different to having different brands on each axle.
The one thing I would say though is I wouldn't really have a super premium tyre on one axle and then have some ditch finders on the other (not that I would ever entertain budget tyres). I think you need to have a similar type of tyre on each axle.
I'm no tyre expert - these are just my opinions.

[Silver Streek]

Originally Posted by nick46

The one thing I would say though is I wouldn't really have a super premium tyre on one axle and then have some ditch finders on the other (not that I would ever entertain budget tyres). I think you need to have a similar type of tyre on each axle.
I'm no tyre expert - these are just my opinions.

Quite agree if you have a midrange set all round then put a set if grippy premiums on the back you will suddenly find the balance of the car has changed and you understeer everywhere. I will need a new set for mine soon, too many choices.

[rasa bmw]

my e90 is shit at the moment,,uniroyal rs3 front and nexen n feru su4 on the rear,,gonna get changed soon i think,,just doesnt feel right,,feels like front end doesnt want to go where the rear does,,doesnt feel like understeer or over steer,,feels like car wants to split in half..thats a decent speed ..its fine everyday driving..

[gIzzE]

Completely disagree about having different tyres front and rear. It 'can' really throw the car out, it can make it feel far less planted, the back end can kick out easier and you often see the traction light when pressing on or even exiting a fast junction in the wet, these BMWs should never really see a traction light in anything but extreme circumstances.


This has come up ad infinitum over the last 20 years or so on BMW forums, people never believe it, change bushes, dampers, etc. etc. to try and get their car feeling factory tight again and finally put matching tyres on front and rear and ......... BINGO! It feels like a BMW should again.

Now of course you can be lucky with 2 different brands, a real no no is symmetric pattern up front and asymmetric tread on the rear.


I just can't see the point of buying a BMW and putting different tyres on the front and rear, people tend to buy BMWs as they like a planted well handling car, so why risk losing that with mismatched tyres?


I just paid £425 for 4 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrical 5's fitted through blackcircles.


It had Pilot Sports on the rear and Eagle F1 3's on the front, very, very similar treads on those two and it didn't feel terrible, but I know it didn't feel as it should.
As soon as the tyres went on it felt properly planted again, no traction light no matter how much I provoke it either. Sorted.

[rasa bmw]

yeh as above,totally depends what tyre etc,,very rarely have i put different tyres on different axles,,was going to change fronts to nexen also but going back to uniroyal for sure