Tire to Replace Tires - Go with OE Continental or Something Else?

[lencap]

Greetings -

My 2018 LR RWD M3 is closing in on tire replacement with 25K miles on the odometer. I have the 19" wheel option, which included Continental ProContact RX tires. I live in NC and while snow isn't frequent it is likely at least a few times during winter. I'd therefore prefer All Season Tires instead of pure performance options

TireRack suggests several options, but before deciding I would like your opinion on alternatives.

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS: I gave serious thought to swapping out of the M3 and into the S or Y, but I think I'll wait until Tesla announces their upgraded battery plans. Hard to believe that the Model S that I almost bought in 2011 cost $60K+ and the current Model S is $75K for a car that is vastly better in every way. I'm also on the CyberTruck wait list, but I'm not sure that I'll go that route when the truck is available. Hence replacing tires seems like the way to go, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Knightshade]

In Raleigh and wanting to be able to drive when it's below 30 and/or light snow? You want performance all seasons.

These specifically, the new replacement for the A/S3+

Pilot® Sport All Season 4

Should handle and stop considerably better than the stock Contis.

 

[Waltjo]

I Just replaced my OEM tires, with MICHELIN CROSSCLIMATE+ 235/45R18 98Y XL BSW ALL WEATHER TIRE, from Costco. The original tire lasted just over 21,000 mi. So far we like the CrossClimate tires. They actually (hard to believe) improve the driving feel and handling response of car. The noise is not significantly different either. To early to say if the efficiency has suffered through.

 

[tlr1000]

Were you happy with the OEM Contis? If so I'd stick with those as they are Tesla spec tires and designed to balance handling, efficiency, and noise. Changing to a different tire may achieve gains in one area but lose in another. For example, if you get a tire with better dry grip, it may be at the cost of noise and efficiency. I doubt there is a tire that beats the Contis in every single aspect but I could be wrong.

 

[Knightshade]

Were you happy with the OEM Contis? If so I'd stick with those as they are Tesla spec tires and designed to balance handling, efficiency, and noise. Changing to a different tire may achieve gains in one area but lose in another. For example, if you get a tire with better dry grip, it may be at the cost of noise and efficiency. I doubt there is a tire that beats the Contis in every single aspect but I could be wrong.

all tire are a compromise (and usually doubly so for all seasons, which are called that because they're always the second or third best option in ALL seasons)

Including, for OEM tires, on the cost to the OEM.

What one needs to do is decide where/what's important to them when they pick their own level of compromise on replacement tires.

Is a few percent less efficiency worth stopping the car 20 feet shorter? For some folks it is, for some it's not. Ditto with all the other possible tradeoffs.

What was most important to Tesla for an OEM tire probably won't be exactly the same priorities to an owner. (Hell, Tesla didn't even use the SAME oem tire on the 18s and 19s despite both being all seasons)

 

[XLR82XS]

I'm having great luck with the factory 19" Continental so far with lots of mileage. At replacement time I plan on getting Continental PureContact LS in 245/40 sizing. Good reviews including Tesla vehicles, EcoPlus rated, and decent price.

 

[Infiniti Pi]

Good comparison chart from TireRack.com if anyone interested:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surv...h=true&autoModClar=Dual+Motor+All-Wheel+Drive

 

[mswlogo]

Check out BridgeStone QuietTrack & Pirelli P7 plus. If tread life, efficiency and noise are critical to you. You will give up some wet grip for it. It’s always a trade off with tires.

 

[Infiniti Pi]

I've read some positive comments about the Pirelli's. I had good experience with them back in my BMW days

 

[Infiniti Pi]

...and the Bridgestone you mentioned is my #1 contender to sticking with Continental (PureContact this time)

 

[XJ9000]

In Raleigh and wanting to be able to drive when it's below 30 and/or light snow? You want performance all seasons.

These specifically, the new replacement for the A/S3+

Pilot® Sport All Season 4

Should handle and stop considerably better than the stock Contis.

It boggles my mind that Michelin doesn't offer this tire in the size to fit the 19" Tesla wheels.

 

[tlr1000]

all tire are a compromise (and usually doubly so for all seasons, which are called that because they're always the second or third best option in ALL seasons)

Including, for OEM tires, on the cost to the OEM.

What one needs to do is decide where/what's important to them when they pick their own level of compromise on replacement tires.

Is a few percent less efficiency worth stopping the car 20 feet shorter? For some folks it is, for some it's not. Ditto with all the other possible tradeoffs.

What was most important to Tesla for an OEM tire probably won't be exactly the same priorities to an owner. (Hell, Tesla didn't even use the SAME oem tire on the 18s and 19s despite both being all seasons)

Couldn't agree with you more. All I'm saying is if the OP is happy with the set of characteristics of the OEM tires, stick with them. If not, go for something else but that could (and likely would) be changing other characteristics which may or may not be wanted. As for stopping distance, likely a tire with 200TW or lower would be better than oem tires for stopping. This may be valuable for some but not so much for others as tires would need to replaced way more often. Just cautioning the OP that it is unlikely to find a replacement tire that is better in every single aspect that might be important.

With respect to Tesla using different manufacturers for different sizes, I'm guessing this is more likely a "don't-keep-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket" decision rather than a technical one.

 

[Knightshade]

Couldn't agree with you more. All I'm saying is if the OP is happy with the set of characteristics of the OEM tires, stick with them. If not, go for something else but that could (and likely would) be changing other characteristics which may or may not be wanted. As for stopping distance, likely a tire with 200TW or lower would be better than oem tires for stopping. This may be valuable for some but not so much for others as tires would need to replaced way more often. Just cautioning the OP that it is unlikely to find a replacement tire that is better in every single aspect that might be important.

With respect to Tesla using different manufacturers for different sizes, I'm guessing this is more likely a "don't-keep-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket" decision rather than a technical one.

TW on the All season PS4s is 540, should stops significantly shorter than the factory MXM4s- Like 20% or more shorter.

From testing I've seen they're very very close to the stopping distances of the Summer PS 4s (with a 300 TW) which we know drops the stopping distance from about 130ish feet to about 100 feet.

 

[tlr1000]

TW on the All season PS4s is 540, should stops significantly shorter than the factory MXM4s- Like 20% or more shorter.

From testing I've seen they're very very close to the stopping distances of the Summer PS 4s (with a 300 TW) which we know drops the stopping distance from about 130ish feet to about 100 feet.

20% is huge. Was that done on same car and same size tires?

 

[Knightshade]

20% is huge. Was that done on same car and same size tires?

It's been done by a number of owners here just swapping to PS4s tires... and it roughly matches the same difference in stopping distance between the P3D+ (with PS4s tires from the factory) and the P3D- (with MXM4s from the factory)- both are the same width tires though obviously sidewall is a bit different.

Also to cite a couple car magazine results-

Car and Driver tests from 70 mph to 0, and got 147 feet on PS4s tires, and 176 feet on MXM4s.... while Motortrend tests from 60 to 0, and got 99 feet on PS4s, and 128 feet on MXM4s.

In both cases roughly 20% shorter with the stickier tires

Tires are 100% of the interface between vehicle and road and folks routinely underestimate how much a difference they can make to nearly every aspect of the vehicles behavior.

 

[Hank101]

After considerable research, this is the most efficient tire that I have found for my M3 LR RWD 19", the stock tire that came on it.

PROCONTACT RX - SIZE: 235/40R19

Not the cheapest price, or longest life, but best efficiency/range.
I managed to squeak out 46K miles with 3/32" remaining tread depth, normal highway driving.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...6!3!72322456933!!!g!99873031453!&gclsrc=aw.ds

The Continental PureContact LS looks like a better tire for cost and life, but I have read where some have encountered a loss in range.

 

[nja321]

Could you put the MXM4 235/40R19 96V on the 19" sport wheels? Might improve efficiency, but have not heard of anyone whose done so.

 

[Infiniti Pi]

** UPDATE **
It's been about a year since I considered buying new tires. I went with the Continental PureContact LS. 10,000 miles later and I still love them. Soft, quiet and great performance.

 

[sa012]

**UPDATE**
It's been about a year since I considered buying new tires. I went with the Continental PureContact LS. 10,000 miles later and I still love them. Soft, quiet and great performance.

What about the efficiency?