Replace 19" Tires or switch to 18" OEM package

[IronQQQ]

There's a been a lot of discussion of whether to order 18" vs 19"... but I think a lot are aimed at ride comfort or ordering. I've got a 2019 LR RWD with 59k miles with 19" sports. I'm running Bridgestone Quietracks which I hate. They are heavy, stiff, noisy and have caused me a 6% hit on efficiency, going from 259 Wh/mi on the factory tires to 279 Wh/mi on Quietracks. The 800 ATQ wear rating make for way too hard tire. I have 20k miles on the Quietracks. I want to switch them next spring for Conti Pure Contact LS which have had positive reviews.

I've come across someone who will sell me a set of factory Michelin MXM 4, 18" wheels with tires for about $1000 with only 100 miles on them. I will have to spend about $200 to 250 in mounting and aftermarket TPMS. I'm hoping this will restore some of my lost efficiency and perhaps improve on my original config with the 19s. Cost wise it's comparable to the price of getting a new set of Conti Pure Contact LS.

Looking further down the road, I'm not certain there are any great tires for the 18" size. Michelin MXM4 have had poor reviews and the new OEM Hankook Kinergy GT 436 cost around $240 with the same ATQ rating of 500 as the Michelins. Looking around, there are just not too many compelling options for non-performance oriented tires. After wearing out the these set of 18" michelins I will pickup from this seller, I'm not sure there is a compelling reason to keep driving on these.

My preference for tires is to last 50k miles and not take a huge hit on efficiency. I do a lot of road tripping so efficiency is pretty important to me. A lot forum posts say there's little difference in noise and comfort between the 18 and 19" sizes.. so likely I will not gain on noise and comfort between the tire sizes either. 235/45-18 doesn't seem cheaper than the 235/40-19 counterpart either.

Right now I just don't think there is much of a compelling reason to go 18" beyond the tires that will come with this set of rims.

any advice? thanks.

 

[mswlogo]

I went from 18” OEM with Aero Covers to Pirelli 19” P7+ On OEM wheels on a M3 AWD. The P7+ was very similar spec tire as the Quiet Track. Surprised they were so bad. I loved the P7+ and I didn’t notice any loss in efficiency.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

I can’t speak to the 19” wheels and tires. However, I had the 20” UberHeavy wheels and switched to 18” T Sportline wheels and PS4S tires. I am seeing a significant improvement in efficiency even with the PS4S tires.

The 18” PS4S tires have a relatively small tread width and they aren’t stretched like the Pirelli tires on the wider 9” Uberturbine wheels. I believe that tread width spec is crucial for efficiency. Check to make sure that isn’t too wide.

 

[ZoomsansVroom]

+1 for 18” wheels being an improvement. I like my primacy tires, but I was mostly concerned about noise and ride.

 

[jackmott]

There are tons of good tires in either size. The MXM4 gets bad reviews BECAUSE it is a tire with great range and lasts a long time. So grip and feel is not so good because it isn't optimized for that. If range is what you want, that's the tire to get.

 

[mswlogo]

There are tons of good tires in either size. The MXM4 gets bad reviews BECAUSE it is a tire with great range and lasts a long time. So grip and feel is not so good because it isn't optimized for that. If range is what you want, that's the tire to get.

There are tires out there that do everything better including range.

 

[jackmott]

There are tires out there that do everything better including range.

cool, which tires do better on range and where did you find data on their range?

 

[IronQQQ]

I went from 18” OEM with Aero Covers to Pirelli 19” P7+ On OEM wheels on a M3 AWD. The P7+ was very similar spec tire as the Quiet Track. Surprised they were so bad. I loved the P7+ and I didn’t notice any loss in efficiency.

Looking at the pirellis, it seems the treadwear rating is 500 for the P7 vs 800 of the Quietracks. I'm thinking lighter and less stiff for the P7.

What did you think about the difference in road noise and comfort? Handling?

 

[mswlogo]

Looking at the pirellis, it seems the treadwear rating is 500 for the P7 vs 800 of the Quietracks. I'm thinking lighter and less stiff for the P7.

What did you think about the difference in road noise and comfort? Handling?

Make sure you are looking at P7+ (P7 entirely different tire). There is also a version II now that I have no experience with.

P7+ was the best all around tire I’ve ever had. It was quieter and just as efficient ( for me) as the OEM 18”. Which I was shocked at. Had a rim protector, no foam and cheaper too.

I’m a big fan of Pirelli’s now. I had Pirelli Winter tires (OEM 20”) on my X that I preferred over the summer tires.

Also the Summer 19” Pirelli’s are proving to be better (more efficient) than the Michelin Sport AS4.