[PsychDoc]

Even though I probably won't need to replace tires for a while now, I was wondering if there's any consensus on the best all-season tire for 245/45-19 rims. My car came with Continental ProContact and they're fine but I've always felt Michelin made the best tires.

Any thoughts/recommendations?

[Llarry]

Continental makes some good tires; their DWS06 Plus is highly regarded and I have sets on both my M3 and Porsche Macan.

I confess, however, to some prejudice in favor of Michelin. I think when I bought the Contis the desired Michelins were either not available in the size I wanted or backordered. Depending on your priorities:
1) Pilot Sport All-season 4 ($263 at Tire Rack) -- the most performance-oriented of the lot.
2) Primacy Tour ($280 at Tire Rack) -- probably the best ride comfort
3) Cross Climate ($299 at Tire Rack) -- an all-weather tire that has the 3-peak winter tire symbol and likely the best in slippery conditions. I do have a set of these on my Honda pickup, which I consider my most capable vehicle in wintery conditions.

The Tire Rack prices are simply to give you a feel for pricing. Your preferred local tire store may match the Tire Rack price but likely can't quite go that low.

[ToddRGuy]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

Even though I probably won't need to replace tires for a while now, I was wondering if there's any consensus on the best all-season tire for 245/45-19 rims. My car came with Continental ProContact and they're fine but I've always felt Michelin made the best tires.

Any thoughts/recommendations?

It's weird but my G60 540 is a week away from production, and I've already been looking at this as well.

All seasons are a must for me, so I've been browsing around on Tire Rack.

What do you think of the Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3's? I've not had any experience with Pirelli's, and like you, have always leaned toward Michelin. These seem to be better rated as far as reviews go.

[PsychDoc]

Originally Posted by ToddRGuy

It's weird but my G60 540 is a week away from production, and I've already been looking at this as well.

All seasons are a must for me, so I've been browsing around on Tire Rack.

What do you think of the Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3's? I've not had any experience with Pirelli's, and like you, have always leaned toward Michelin. These seem to be better rated as far as reviews go.

Yes! Those Pirellis edge out the Michelins and are about $40 - $50 cheaper and have better ride comfort ratings. I'll dig deeper but they may be the way I'll go.

[Edit] Aren't all the OEM tires supposed to have a star on the sidewall that allows them to be "recognized" by the car's software? Do you know if the tires we're talking about have this star rating on the tire's sidewalls?

[ToddRGuy]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

Yes! Those Pirellis edge out the Michelins and are about $40 - $50 cheaper and have better ride comfort ratings. I'll dig deeper but they may be the way I'll go.

[Edit] Aren't all the OEM tires supposed to have a star on the sidewall that allows them to be "recognized" by the car's software? Do you know if the tires we're talking about have this star rating on the tire's sidewalls?

I'd love to see what options are available for 'Star Marked Tires' at 19" in the software. If it's just the OEM tires, then that leaves the Bridgestone Turanza LS100's which have pretty mediocre reviews, in comparison to the other two we were discussing.

Is that software feature something you have the ability to change yourself? Or is that something the dealer has to do? Also, what exactly does the iDrive software "do" per se? Is it something to do with the TPMS?

[ToddRGuy]

I'm more inclined to think that by selecting a tire brand/style that the software has onboard, it's able to default specific pressures for the model, based on the fact that 'star rated' tires are those that BMW has tested/tracked themselves with the vehicle and they've determined what the preset pressures should be.

The non-star tires are those they haven't tested, so they won't commit to a specific pressure. Quit honestly, if this is all that it is, I don't care. I can make my own judgement on tire pressure based on the tire manufacturers specifications.

It looks like it might be customizable?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v0eWQdAvI6o

[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by ToddRGuy

I'd love to see what options are available for 'Star Marked Tires' at 19" in the software. If it's just the OEM tires, then that leaves the Bridgestone Turanza LS100's which have pretty mediocre reviews, in comparison to the other two we were discussing.

Is that software feature something you have the ability to change yourself? Or is that something the dealer has to do? Also, what exactly does the iDrive software "do" per se? Is it something to do with the TPMS?

From what I have seen there are 2 settings. "Automatic", where the car detects the tires, and sets the values for them. I assume they need to be STAR marked tires. And "Manual", where you can go in and set the tire size. I don't know if you can set the pressure for the TPMS on these as well.

[PsychDoc]

What tires have that "star rating?"

And other than the car being able to automatically detect the type of tire is there anything else that the star rating provides?

The car's software allows us to manually input the type of tire re: whether they're all-season, the speed rating, etc. so it's not as if going with a non star rated tire forces you to give up much.

Unless I'm misunderstanding this....

[AiredaleDad]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

What tires have that "star rating?"

And other than the car being able to automatically detect the type of tire is there anything else that the star rating provides?

The car's software allows us to manually input the type of tire re: whether they're all-season, the speed rating, etc. so it's not as if going with a non star rated tire forces you to give up much.

Unless I'm misunderstanding this....

Doc. Tires that have been tested and approved by BMW have a STAR on the sidewall. If you go to Tirerack.com and enter the information for your car, and select OEM, they will show you tires that are STAR rated only for your car. If you don't select OEM, they will show you all tires they have that will fit your car. The OEM BMW STAR ones will show up first. You might see the same tire below but without the BMW STAR rating. Your car should automatically sense the STAR rated tires. If not, you have to put in Manual, and enter the details it asks of the tires. Other than that if you buy your tires from a BMW dealer, they will only sell you STAR rated tires. I have seen advertisements form my local dealer here, that have 50% off sales for tires. It might be cheaper if your dealer has a sale going on.

Here is a link to Tirerack.com for 2024 BMW 540 XI: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireS...erformance=ALL

[PsychDoc]

Thanks Airdale!

[AiredaleDad]

Glad to be of assistance. While I have been playing the waiting game, I have been watching a lot of U-tube videos. and playing around with stuff like mods, tires, etc. I also like they organize them in sets for staggered setups as well. I found out that Tirerack.com, and Discount/America's tires are the same company now.

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by AiredaleDad

Doc. Tires that have been tested and approved by BMW have a STAR on the sidewall. If you go to Tirerack.com and enter the information for your car, and select OEM, they will show you tires that are STAR rated only for your car. If you don't select OEM, they will show you all tires they have that will fit your car. The OEM BMW STAR ones will show up first. You might see the same tire below but without the BMW STAR rating. Your car should automatically sense the STAR rated tires. If not, you have to put in Manual, and enter the details it asks of the tires. Other than that if you buy your tires from a BMW dealer, they will only sell you STAR rated tires. I have seen advertisements form my local dealer here, that have 50% off sales for tires. It might be cheaper if your dealer has a sale going on.

Here is a link to Tirerack.com for 2024 BMW 540 XI: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?tireIndex=1&autoMake=BMW&aut oYear=2024&autoModel=540i%20xDrive%20Sedan&autoMod Clar=M%20Sport%20Brakes&frontWidth=245/&frontRatio=40&frontDiameter=20&frontSortCode=5985 0&rearWidth=275/&rearRatio=35&rearDiameter=20&rearSortCode=60000&p erformance=ALL

Not just tested/approved but they will have slightly different characteristics to the non star marked tires of the exact same model. If BMW wants the tires to emphasize better handling, lower noise or whatever, the tire manufacturer will alter the compound to give BMW what they want. There’s a video where a British tire test site compares the Michelin PS4S on an M4 both star marked and non star marked and the tests showed different performance results. You don’t have to use the star marked, and they typically aren’t more expensive, but they will have slightly different characteristics. I don’t think I’ve ever used star marked tires after the ones from the factory were replaced and never any issues.

That said, Michelin PS4S (max performance summer), PS AS4 (high performance all season) and Continental DWS06 seem to be the most favored tires for ICE 5 series depending on your needs. Notice they are probably not the best selection for the i5’s.

[1987illini]

My 540i came with Michelin Primacy 245/45-19. I'm very happy with them in over 4,000 miles. They are quiet and I get great gas mileage on the highway (38.5 - 40.1). Wet traction is excellent also. I haven't been on snow yet

[S6F]

I took a different approach with my 2019 540MSport (704). Seeing that the new BMWs with 19s all use a 245/45 profile instead of 245/40, I decided make this switch using Pirelli P7 AS+3 tires. My pervious tires were also Pirelli non-run-flats, P7 AS+3 in 245/40 profile. The improvement in ride is quite noticeable and now the speedometer shows you t your corre

[S6F]

Sorry, that is: now the speedometer reads your correct speed.

[tsbrown]

Originally Posted by S6F

I took a different approach with my 2019 540MSport (704). Seeing that the new BMWs with 19s all use a 245/45 profile instead of 245/40, I decided make this switch using Pirelli P7 AS+3 tires. My pervious tires were also Pirelli non-run-flats, P7 AS+3 in 245/40 profile. The improvement in ride is quite noticeable and now the speedometer shows you t your corre

I have the same 2019 540i M Sport with 704 suspension. I ordered it with all seasons and it came with Pirelli P7 run flats. Worst tires I’ve ever had and replaced them after about 10k miles for Michelin PS AS3+ non run flats that were vastly better grip, feedback and low noise. But I have high standards for tires and 99% of the time use only Michelin Pilot Sport variants. Not saying you’re wrong but I had a very different experience.

[ToddRGuy]

Originally Posted by tsbrown

Not just tested/approved but they will have slightly different characteristics to the non star marked tires of the exact same model. If BMW wants the tires to emphasize better handling, lower noise or whatever, the tire manufacturer will alter the compound to give BMW what they want. There’s a video where a British tire test site compares the Michelin PS4S on an M4 both star marked and non star marked and the tests showed different performance results. You don’t have to use the star marked, and they typically aren’t more expensive, but they will have slightly different characteristics. I don’t think I’ve ever used star marked tires after the ones from the factory were replaced and never any issues.

That said, Michelin PS4S (max performance summer), PS AS4 (high performance all season) and Continental DWS06 seem to be the most favored tires for ICE 5 series depending on your needs. Notice they are probably not the best selection for the i5’s.

What's interesting is that the overall review ratings for some of these are much higher than the OEM's. Now granted, this is across multiple brands and vehicles, so the reviews aren't BMW specific.

[PsychDoc]

Pirelli Cinturato Weather Active vs. Michelin

CrossClimate2?

These seem to be the top two rated grand touring tires on Tire Rack.


Does anyone have any opinions or experience with these tires? I'm leaning towards the Pirellis because they have slightly better ride comfort and treadware ratings.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...TSRpEnrZnRNTed

[Scrapula]

Originally Posted by PsychDoc

Pirelli Cinturato Weather Active vs. Michelin

CrossClimate2?

These seem to be the top two rated grand touring tires on Tire Rack.


Does anyone have any opinions or experience with these tires? I'm leaning towards the Pirellis because they have slightly better ride comfort and treadware ratings.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS&srsltid=AfmBOork2pDr9g E1TE_9gdUigs0R1AA2w0ffzMZ6d8TSRpEnrZnRNTed

I had the Pirelli Cinturato on my Jaguar. They gripped well and were great in the Seattle rain.