[Kolenda52]

Looking to put new tires on our 2021 M40i and it appears the only BMW approved tire is the Michelin. I am looking for a tire with a little better mileage. I think the BMW Performance Center in Greer SC uses Continentals. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[Horseman]

Whereas I did put Michelin tires on my car at about the 18,000 mark, I put on All Weathers and didn't notice a lick of difference on handling (but I also don't take it on the track)

IIRC Continentals are being strapped on the new LCIs. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that's what I saw.

[Living Dead]

I replaced the 19" Michelins with Pirelli P-0s summer tire from my BMW dealer, virtually the same price as tire rack and are BMW approved the Michelins were significantly more expensive and both have the same wear rating. I have 17" with Blizzaks for winter use I also got from BMW. Next time I will probably go with something a little less aggressive even if not BMW approved.

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by Horseman

Whereas I did put Michelin tires on my car at about the 18,000 mark, I put on All Weathers and didn't notice a lick of difference on handling (but I also don't take it on the track)

IIRC Continentals are being strapped on the new LCIs. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that's what I saw.

They were on some in early 2023. My LCI has the Michelins.

The reviews on the Contis aren’t very good. They apparently wear faster than the Michelins do.

[Horseman]

Oof yeah and I don't want anything that can wear faster, that's for sure.... tires are too damn expensive lol

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Originally Posted by Kolenda52

Looking to put new tires on our 2021 M40i and it appears the only BMW approved tire is the Michelin. I am looking for a tire with a little better mileage. I think the BMW Performance Center in Greer SC uses Continentals. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Greer does use Continentals. I like the Michlins & stayed with them at 19,000 miles when a tire was killed by a nail. Overall tire wear required I buy a full set. Have had Contes on another car & felt they were/are a very good tire.

If you car is a lease you will need * (star) tires on turn in. If not buy what you want. If you want to stay within BMW approved tires go to Tire Rack & look up tires by vehicle. It will list any * tires along with everything else that fits.

FWIW I wore out the front tires by lunch on day 2 at Greer. They put on a fresh set while we ate.

Any tire will die quickly when really pushed very hard. Also there is a major set of different rubber used in the * tire when compared to the exact same normal retail tire. Its why they cost more.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by BEAR-AvHistory

Also there is a major set of different rubber used in the * tire when compared to the exact same normal retail tire. Its why they cost more.

Someone once posted a YouTube video that showed the difference between Michelin * tires vs. the retail ones you will find in tire centers and online. There is a difference.

[StanDiego]

Originally Posted by Kolenda52

Looking to put new tires on our 2021 M40i and it appears the only BMW approved tire is the Michelin. I am looking for a tire with a little better mileage. I think the BMW Performance Center in Greer SC uses Continentals. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

When due, I'll be going to Ultra High Performance All Season tires, either the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Plus or the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4. 560/540 treadwear rating for these versus 340/300 for the Max Performance Summer tires.

Yes, you'll lose some performance but it'll be unnoticeable for the way I drive the car.

Here's a comparison from tirerack.com:

tirerack.com comparison

.

[Argo]

Originally Posted by Kolenda52

Looking to put new tires on our 2021 M40i and it appears the only BMW approved tire is the Michelin. I am looking for a tire with a little better mileage. I think the BMW Performance Center in Greer SC uses Continentals. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

IMO manufacturer-specific (or approved) tires is something you can safely ignore in almost all cases. There's no way I'd choose to replace the tires on an M40i with another set of Pilot Super Sports when the Pilot 4S has been out for a while (and the Pilot 5S is coming soon), or something like the Continental ExtremeContactSport 2 exists.

Originally Posted by Horseman

IIRC Continentals are being strapped on the new LCIs. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe that's what I saw.

I believe this was due to a shortage and some vehicles came equipped with ContiSportContact 6 tires.

Originally Posted by Horseman

Oof yeah and I don't want anything that can wear faster, that's for sure.... tires are too damn expensive lol

Note that is for the SportContact 6 specifically, not all Continental tires. In general summer tires will give you between ~10K and ~20K miles. If you want them to last longer, consider High-Performance all Seasons (like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AS).

[dholaday]

Vredestein also makes a very nice tire that gets high reviews.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

Someone once posted a YouTube video that showed the difference between Michelin * tires vs. the retail ones you will find in tire centers and online. There is a difference.

I just found one video comparing the retail Michelin Pilot Sport 4s vs. the 4s*. I think there was another one comparing the retail Pilot SS tires with the Star version.

https://youtu.be/COA630Juf_U?si=HMgXmyKGz5jOa9BJ

[BEAR-AvHistory]

[perryinva]

I’m sure at that level of driving it makes a huge difference in feel. Since that will never happen with me, it is definitely more important that I have tires so I can use the car year round. I will use UHP All Seasons when I wear these out. Todays UHPAS tires are better than Summer only UHP tires were not that many years ago. My performance driving days are behind me.

[Kolenda52]

Originally Posted by perryinva

I’m sure at that level of driving it makes a huge difference in feel. Since that will never happen with me, it is definitely more important that I have tires so I can use the car year round. I will use UHP All Seasons when I wear these out. Todays UHPAS tires are better than Summer only UHP tires were not that many years ago. My performance driving days are behind me.

I have ordered the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4. I discovered that the tire size that the dealers BMW site shows is the wrong size. I would have thought that after all this time someone would have caught the mistake. It appears to show on all dealers web sites in the US.

[perryinva]

What size do they show? I am thinking the Contis instead of the Michelins, based on the Tire Rack tests. But they may be a next gen version by the time I am ready to swap them out. I was also going to check if +1 fits this wheel. I haven’t checked the numbers, but maybe 245/40-18 and 275/35-18. I don’t even know if they come in those sizes.

[Kolenda52]

Originally Posted by perryinva

What size do they show? I am thinking the Contis instead of the Michelins, based on the Tire Rack tests. But they may be a next gen version by the time I am ready to swap them out. I was also going to check if +1 fits this wheel. I haven’t checked the numbers, but maybe 245/40-18 and 275/35-18. I don’t even know if they come in those sizes.

Their Web shows 225/45R18 255/40R18

I believe it should be 255/40 and 275/40

[perryinva]

No, those are the correct sizes for standard 18” rims, (8” width) unless yours are 8.5-9” width, which actually may be the case if the M40i came with 18”, I’m not sure, as that is not typical. The 255/275 sizes are for 19” rims.

[Argo]

Originally Posted by perryinva

No, those are the correct sizes for standard 18” rims, (8” width) unless yours are 8.5-9” width, which actually may be the case if the M40i came with 18”, I’m not sure, as that is not typical. The 255/275 sizes are for 19” rims.

Not sure about earlier model years, but for 2023/2024 the 18" wheels in the M40i are indeed 9" wide in the front and 10" wide in the rear, same as the 19" options.

The s30i also has them as a no-cost option, but the standard equipment is 8" at the front and 9" at the rear instead.



--

More info here:

Originally Posted by BMWGirlFL

2024 & 2023 Z4 Pricing Guides & Brochures

[perryinva]

Ahh, that is what I alluded to. That would have been a no brainer free upgrade in a 30i, and I bet the automatic sizing programs do not take that in to account.