I was facing a dilemma, what should I purchase to replace
the Continental ExtremeContact DW tires coming off the 135i. The rears were
essentially slicks, even the wear bars were getting worn. Worse, one front tire
had expired in a pothole on an on-ramp late last year and the replacement was
of a different make. So rather than being able to replace rears only, I needed
a new, full set.
I could have stuck with the Contis, I liked them, but they
weren’t as grippy as I would have liked, nor were they as communicative as I
had hoped for. Good tires certainly, quiet and good wet grip, but yet not as
engaging as other tires I have sampled.
And then there was the issue with weather. For whatever
reason, the mid-west has been hammered the last couple of years with extended
cold weather. We had snow in Kansas City last May – that’s right, snow in May!
So the shoulder season of cooler temps has expanded. It’s as if I need to put
the snows on a month earlier than normal and take them off a month later. And
even then, I find temperatures below 60 degrees F (15.5 degrees C) to be more
prevalent in September and May than in years past. It’s almost as if I need a
third set of tires, snows, all season, and summer.
Forget that – I don’t want another set of wheels and tires
occupying valuable garage space. And having a pure ultra high performance set
of summer tires, that work best when temps are above 60 degrees, is a lot like
having an outdoor swimming pool in Minot, North Dakota – you can use it for
three moths and the rest of the year it’s worthless.
What I wanted was a set of tires that can handle lower than
normal temperatures in spring and fall, normal high temperatures in summer, and
the occasional downpour (and possibly very light snow/slush). I intend to use
the snow tires from mid-December through mid-March, so the new all-season tire
didn’t have to be biased towards snow (as the Conti DWS tires are). But they
absolutely had to deliver good cold temperature performance.
After reading Shawn’s review, I discussed the tires in more depth with him.
Michelin, and the tires, left a positive impression on Shawn – especially given
his initial perception of Michelin. I on the other hand have had very good luck
with Michelin tires on street cars in the past, and was wondering if the Pilot
Sport A/S 3s may not be the key to good three season performance.
So, using my own pile of nickels, I purchased a set of
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3s in 215/40-18 fronts, 245/35-18 rear. They are not,
however, run flat tires. I ditched the Bridgestone RE050A RFTs after they wore
out and have not looked back. That meant a tow when when the Conti expired in
the pothole last year – but that was understood when I ditched the run flats.
So – now in mid-March – I have a new set of all season tires
on the 135i. And, with only 100 or so miles on them, I can say that the
Michelins seem to have better braking performance than the Contis they replaced
and are a bit harsher and noisier than the Contis also. Grip levels and
steering feedback are what I’ve come to expect from Michelins, it’s good. Now
as the weather eventually warms up, we’ll see how they perform. They are
supposed to have a greater optimal temperature range than typical summer tires,
but we may a get a chance to see how they do when it’s really hot in the August
time frame. And that may also give us an idea of how quickly they’ll wear out.
We’ll update this as time goes on, but hopefully we’ve found
a good solution for the spring and fall (and early summer in the mountains,
where snow and cold temps aren’t unusual) as well as the grip and handling we
expect from a sumer tire.
The article Michelin
Pilot Sport A/S 3 – REVIEW appeared first on BMW BLOG
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