I own a 2008 328i Sport Wagon w/sport pkg. It has 18,500 miles and I am getting ready for new tires. Since it seems to be hard to find threads dedicated to the Sport Wagon I am looking to start one discussing ride, handling and tire choice. I live in a mild climate area, Wilmington, NC and have narrowed my choice down to two brands. My last car was a Mini Cooper S w/runflats and when it came time for new tires I went with conventional tires and a can of inflate-a-flat. The change was night and day for the better. Better ride and handling and twice the mileage. The Bridgestones that came new with my 328 are not satisfactory for ride or mileage although they do seem to grip pretty good. My choice for new tires are 1. Kumho Ecsta XRP runflats or 2. Michelin AS+SPT conventional. They cost about the same from Tire Rack and I wonder if anyone has some thoughts or suggestions for which of these are the best for 4 season use or other tire in the same price range and criteria. I am surprised that there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm for the Sport Wagon in the CCA community. I love the car as a multi-purpose vehicle and actually thinks it balances out better than the 4 door 328i sedan. I look forward to some responses as it is approaching time for the new tires.
I just sold my 08 328xi auto and am awaiting the arrival of my '10 E91 328i. i switched my run flats on the 08 at 3k miles to michelin pilot exalto A/S. they were INCREDIBLE in dry, wet, rain, snow, you name it. gripped the road beautifully. highly recommend them, got em from tire rack.
Thanks jlwsbw, I'll check out the exaltos. I heard some good things about the Kumhos but I still think I'd rather go back to conventional tires. Seems like most of the posters just want to bitch... so I appreciate your tip.
I picked up my 2010 E91 ZMP a few weeks ago and love it. I always wanted a sport wagen and got a great deal thru Military Sales. I have ContiSportContact 2's (summer performance) tires on the 17" sport wheels and they are great tires, but I'm not pushing them since it's in the middle of Winter and below freezing most of the time. I got a second set of wheels (Style 216) and Continental Contact DWS Extreme from TireRack and am having them mounted next week. FYI:2010 BMW's do use a new Tire Pressure Monitor = you can't use one for a 2009 or older BMW.
