[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Re tyres, I'm sure run flats vs non-run flats is still apparent although I guess RF's have come on a long way these days (I'd hope).

I'd still always go for non-RF given the choice.

None of the F40's are on run flats... But what is strange is the non run flat Bridgestone T005's on mine remind me far more of the Bridgestone run flats on my 340 than the Pirelli's on my Golf...

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by DaveA

None of the F40's are on run flats... But what is strange is the non run flat Bridgestone T005's on mine remind me far more of the Bridgestone run flats on my 340 than the Pirelli's on my Golf...

Wow, I didnt know BMW were fitting more non-run flats these days. A few years back you could only get them on the M140i (ie M Lite) and M cars.

BMW have finally woken up after fitting RF's for 15 years.

Mind, if they are fitting non-RF's that are as bad as RF's, then thats not much progress!

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by DaveA

None of the F40's are on run flats... But what is strange is the non run flat Bridgestone T005's on mine remind me far more of the Bridgestone run flats on my 340 than the Pirelli's on my Golf...

To be honest, I've never driven any car on Bridgestones and thought they were a great tyre. Whereas, I've never fitted Michelins and not thought that they were a great improvement on what went before. (My criteria usually being ride quality and predictability rather than outright performance/grip)

[KRS_SN]

@DaveA
1. in the past on my 335d I got rid of the pirellis and put michelin pilot sport 4. Comfort improvement was so so perhaps because it was a performance tyre. Road noise was definitely lower. Grip was much better no tramlining etc as with the rft's.

2. If it's any consolation even in the x5 with air suspension over broken roads and surfaces there is patter and light judder feedback more heard than felt coming through to the cabin.
Its fine over big potholes and speedbumps etc handles them with ease but broken road surfaces seem to create noises and seems UK roads are at fault.
Grip and feel of the oem rft pzeros is great though even in wet. Sticking with them. Had one experience of non runflats blowout and the inconvenience it causes when out with family is enough to put up with the drawbacks of rft for me and with 7 seats a spare tyre isnt an option(though if this isn't an issue for you should be ok).
Lower pressure does help I'm running 0.1 bar below the recommended. Don't mind if they wear out early but at 13k miles the pzeros look like they have plenty of tread left.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by KRS_SN

@DaveA
1. in the past on my 335d I got rid of the pirellis and put michelin pilot sport 4. Comfort improvement was so so perhaps because it was a performance tyre. Road noise was definitely lower. Grip was much better no tramlining etc as with the rft's.

2. If it's any consolation even in the x5 with air suspension over broken roads and surfaces there is patter and light judder feedback more heard than felt coming through to the cabin.
Its fine over big potholes and speedbumps etc handles them with ease but broken road surfaces seem to create noises and seems UK roads are at fault.
Grip and feel of the oem rft pzeros is great though even in wet. Sticking with them. Had one experience of non runflats blowout and the inconvenience it causes when out with family is enough to put up with the drawbacks of rft for me and with 7 seats a spare tyre isnt an option(though if this isn't an issue for you should be ok).
Lower pressure does help I'm running 0.1 bar below the recommended. Don't mind if they wear out early but at 13k miles the pzeros look like they have plenty of tread left.

Good points... I'd say that any car, if vibrated enough, will make noises, so that is why I am in a sort of conundrum as to whether to not it is these particular tyres that are creating/passing on something that other tyres would not, or if something needs looking at under warranty...

... and, to be fair to the car, some of our road surfaces are shocking now...

None of the F40's come on run-flats now, so it's either a repair kit (no space in the M135 for a fitted spare) or BMW emergency services...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

To be honest, I've never driven any car on Bridgestones and thought they were a great tyre. Whereas, I've never fitted Michelins and not thought that they were a great improvement on what went before. (My criteria usually being ride quality and predictability rather than outright performance/grip)

To be honest with you, I cannot think that I have even been on Bridgestone tyres that I was really happy with...

I see a swap to the PS4 star marked tyres coming soon...

[Hartside]

Originally Posted by DaveA

None of the F40's come on run-flats now, so it's either a repair kit (no space in the M135 for a fitted spare) or BMW emergency services...

For info DaveA, an 18” space saver fits under the boot floor snugly in mine, maybe your floor pan is different due to the extra diff? I bought one and put it in there just in case. I know it won’t fit over the huge front disc and caliper but if push comes to shove it will fit the back and the back wheel can be put on the front. Got to consider those situations when the rain is pouring down and you have no phone reception you know!

[Gaz330d]

Great post DaveA and congratulations on the new car.

Another M140i owner here moving to the M135i xdrive in September as the new car is on order.

My previous BMW's have been M135i (N55) and F30 330d.

Had the M140i for 3-years from new and it's been a great GT car. I won't call it a hot hatch as it doesn't handle like one unless you start doing suspension mods.
The highlight for me has been the B58 engine which is so strong and effortless.

Moving on to the incoming new M135i car. I was a bit nervous about going ahead with the order because I test drove a demo last weekend and was a bit underwhelmed mainly to the lack of drama and the 2.0L engine was down on power and not as strong as the M140i.

My mistake was trying to compare the two and that was wrong. As they are different cars all together.

So I then remembered the amount of times the M140i has nearly killed me in the wet and winter conditions :-)

On the new M135i I have gone for Storm Grey with 18" 554M V-Spoke Orbit grey as I want adaptive suspension which means I can't have 19". God knows why . But I read that the adaptive makes the car 10mm lower.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Hartside

For info DaveA, an 18” space saver fits under the boot floor snugly in mine, maybe your floor pan is different due to the extra diff? I bought one and put it in there just in case. I know it won’t fit over the huge front disc and caliper but if push comes to shove it will fit the back and the back wheel can be put on the front. Got to consider those situations when the rain is pouring down and you have no phone reception you know!

Yeah, I think the under floor space is smaller in the 135, but I will definitely have another look...

[Gaz330d]

Originally Posted by Hartside

I was able to spec the star marked Michelin PS4 tyres on mine as the “performance” tyre option at no extra cost. The car rides really nicely on these, no intrusive tyre noise, very grippy in dry and also wet conditions. Last time I checked they were around £110 fitted for the star marked ones. I’d certainly recommend them if your looking to fit new tyres

Just spoke to the dealer and he said I can't do this :-(

I have chosen the 18" 554M V-spoke style alloy wheels Orbit Grey with Performance tyres. Can't have 19" as I have adaptive as well.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Gaz330d

Great post DaveA and congratulations on the new car.

Another M140i owner here moving to the M135i xdrive in September as the new car is on order.

My previous BMW's have been M135i (N55) and F30 330d.

Had the M140i for 3-years from new and it's been a great GT car. I won't call it a hot hatch as it doesn't handle like one unless you start doing suspension mods.
The highlight for me has been the B58 engine which is so strong and effortless.

Moving on to the incoming new M135i car. I was a bit nervous about going ahead with the order because I test drove a demo last weekend and was a bit underwhelmed mainly to the lack of drama and the 2.0L engine was down on power and not as strong as the M140i.

My mistake was trying to compare the two and that was wrong. As they are different cars all together.

So I then remembered the amount of times the M140i has nearly killed me in the wet and winter conditions :-)

On the new M135i I have gone for Storm Grey with 18" 554M V-Spoke Orbit grey as I want adaptive suspension which means I can't have 19". God knows why . But I read that the adaptive makes the car 10mm lower.

Storm Grey was definitely on my list of colours I was considering and is a great colour...

Yes, I think you hit that nail nicely on the head there, the 140 and new 135 are not the same sorts of car... and my initial experiences with mine are that it is a lot quicker than it feels sometimes and I think that is down to a combination of quite a few factors... I definitely prefer this car to the Golf GTI I had...

The engine of the F40 135 is basically a development of the B58, I believe... So it might loosely be thought of as a B58 with two cylinders knocked off... which is what they did when they first developed the S14 engine in the M3 back in the 80's (from the M88 6 cylinder)...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Gaz330d

Just spoke to the dealer and he said I can't do this :-(

I have chosen the 18" 554M V-spoke style alloy wheels Orbit Grey with Performance tyres. Can't have 19" as I have adaptive as well.

So, I think how it works with the "performance tyre" option (which I could not get when I ordered mine, this is a new option) is that you get pot luck on the "HP" approved tyres... so, in the case of the F40, that would be Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (star marked) or Pirelli PZero (Star Marked)...

If you order the standard 18" wheels, you get pot luck on the Bridgestone, Goodyear or (possibly) Continental...

I am not aware that you have even been allowed to specify which you actually get within those parameters ...

Tyres for F40 Link

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by DaveA

To be honest with you, I cannot think that I have even been on Bridgestone tyres that I was really happy with...

I see a swap to the PS4 star marked tyres coming soon...

On the Golf R forum people are receiving their new Golf R Mk8's with either:

Bridgestone S005
Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3
Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport

Those getting the Bridgestone's were dreading it and talking about swapping them out straight away. However, I think everybody has reported it is a surprising good tyre with no reason to swap it.

Much better than other Bridgestone's that people have had. So I don't think all Bridgestone's are equal! (ie not all are crap!)

Seems the new S005 variant is OK. (non-run flat of course)

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

On the Golf R forum people are receiving their new Golf R Mk8's with either:

Bridgestone S005
Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3
Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport

Those getting the Bridgestone's were dreading it and talking about swapping them out straight away. However, I think everybody has reported it is a surprising good tyre with no reason to swap it.

Much better than other Bridgestone's that people have had. So I don't think all Bridgestone's are equal! (ie not all are crap!)

Seems the new S005 variant is OK. (non-run flat of course)

Aye, to be fair, my previous bridgestones were the 19" RFT's on my 330 and 340… and they never wore out…!!!!

Like like those on the 19 inch bridgestones on babybmw are really just saying they are fine but tun lower pressures… think they would be similar to the ones on the golf and are not RFT…

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

Seems the new S005 variant is OK. (non-run flat of course)

Just checked and, yes, that is the 19" Bridgestone on the M135... in 235/35 R19 size...

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by DaveA

Just checked and, yes, that is the 19" Bridgestone on the M135... in 235/35 R19 size...

On the Golf those 3 I've mentioned above actually come on both 18" and 19" tyres. Same tyres, two sizes.

I think the Good Years would be the pick of the bunch for sure, but the Bridgestones are not as bad as expected.

And one guy was adamant to change his Bridgestones the minute the car came for Michelin PS4S. He said the PS4S are better but at the expense of more road noise.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by dopper99

On the Golf those 3 I've mentioned above actually come on both 18" and 19" tyres. Same tyres, two sizes.

I think the Good Years would be the pick of the bunch for sure, but the Bridgestones are not as bad as expected.

And one guy was adamant to change his Bridgestones the minute the car came for Michelin PS4S. He said the PS4S are better but at the expense of more road noise.

The main thing people seem to be talking about on BabyBMW forum about the 19" Bridgestone tyres is rapid wear, particularly in the centre, with some folk saying they have worn out in the middle after just 5,000 miles... Hence they are talking about pressures recommended and how that is impacting on wear...

From what I have read (and, to be fair, I have not spent hours going through the threads) this seems to be with the Bridgestone but not with the Conti tyre...

Minimum recommended TP's for me, on the 18's, are 39psi front, 33psi rear... which does seem high, particularly at the front with XL tyres... Mind you, the Golf GTI was 40psi front, so...

There is a Goodyear option for me which seems a reasonable price... EAGLE F1 ASYMMETRIC 3... Not sure what folk generally think of them compared to the PS4* tyres...

[Hartside]

Originally Posted by Gaz330d

Just spoke to the dealer and he said I can't do this :-(

I have chosen the 18" 554M V-spoke style alloy wheels Orbit Grey with Performance tyres. Can't have 19" as I have adaptive as well.

Mines a 128ti and it’s a no cost option for it. Your right with the M135i it cannot be done for some strange reason

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Hartside

Mines a 128ti and it’s a no cost option for it. Your right with the M135i it cannot be done for some strange reason

There is a performance tyre option now on the M135 (there was not at the time we got our cars ordered) but you cannot specify that it has the Michelin tyres... I think it is pot luck if you get the Michelin or the Pirelli...

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by DaveA

To be honest with you, I cannot think that I have even been on Bridgestone tyres that I was really happy with...

I'd extend that to say I don't think I've ever had Japanese tyres that I've been happy with! Yokohoma, Bridgestone, Toyo... They've all struggled with feel and to work well across a wide operating temperature. They've also all had high wear rates for the relative grip on offer, the S001's being the exception but then they're just terrible by all other objective measures and you'd rather they did wear quickly!

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by DaveA

I have just been out in it again tonight and had a play with the tyre pressures a bit, dropping them a couple of PSI...

Whilst (on the roughest surfaces) I am still getting some vibrations into the cabin, and I get some trim noise from that, it did seem a little less with the lower pressures, so I am sure I am on the right track here (also, it gave me a better idea where the noise comes from if that ever needs to be looked at)...

However, before I do anything, I want to find the chance to drive another 135 on the same wheels but with different tyres, just to see if my suspicions are correct...

It could very well be that a tyre with a different construction and a softer compound would not send anything like the same vibrations into the car...

I am going to post a question on BabyBMW to see if anybody has done the swap on the 18's and what they think...

So, to experiment, I dropped the tyre pressures another couple of psi tonight... So I am at about 36 front and 32 rear...

...and what a transformation...

The trim vibration noises are now 99% gone and the whole drive experience seems smoother and more progressive... Strange what a big difference what such a small (apparent) change can make...

To be fair, it is also a fair bit cooler here tonight, so that may have had some impact, also, and so I shall have to keep an eye on things... but, well, that was a pretty big impact, have to say...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

I'd extend that to say I don't think I've ever had Japanese tyres that I've been happy with! Yokohoma, Bridgestone, Toyo... They've all struggled with feel and to work well across a wide operating temperature. They've also all had high wear rates for the relative grip on offer, the S001's being the exception but then they're just terrible by all other objective measures and you'd rather they did wear quickly!

That is so true of the RFT's I had.. Like I was willing them to wear out...