Slippery in Seattle - Tire Question - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

bnvi · 5th February 2005, 02:34

Hi everyone - great board, I just joined up and love all of the informative posts. I recently moved from San Francisco to Seattle - the drive up was pretty hairy (snow on the pass & ice storm in Portland)...the beast survived (2002 silver/black 25k), but was not happy on the ice or snow.

I am ready to retire the Dunlops and am looking for a better performing tire. From reading the posts, it appears people are pretty happy with the PS2's - which is what I am leaning towards. Many people here have reccomended going with the PS A/S here because of the wet roads - but I would prefer going with the PS2's for the performance. Anybody have a similar dilemma they faced? Can the PS2's handle wet pavement without the traction control kicking in every 2 seconds? I don't want to go the route of having a summer tire, and switching to a different tire in the winter (as it only snows here 1-2 times a year, and the beast will be sleeping in the garage when it does)...

BTW - any other PacNWest beast owners on the site? Thanks for the help!

Suretyagent · 5th February 2005, 02:50

Please read the many threads on this subject. But to answer your question: The PS2's are great in the wet. Go for it.

Derek

PS - By the way, when the road is wet you're going to get a lot of DSC activity no matter what tire you run. That said, the PS2's and the Goodyear F1 DSG3's are great choises for wet roads.

BMWsilverstreak · 5th February 2005, 02:58

I have run the Goodyear F1 DSG3's are great in wet, I think even better than the PS2's but the PS2's may be better in dry but Ilike the F1's a lot. I do switch tires to Dunlaps 3's in winter and cannot believe how well they work

Martin A. · 16th February 2005, 23:40

Welcome to Seattle, though I'm a bit late, as I am usually somewhere else in the world at any given time.
I've run Dunlops (not good),S0-3s(good, but "mushy", even with 36f,34r pressures) and Pilot Sports (old tread pattern) in Seattle. The pilots are the best, though they ride firmly( I like). As you have found, not too much need for A/S tires here. If youre skiing ar using the passes in the winter, use the other car....
Avoid the Pilot A/S,It's not right for the M5, had them on the wife's 540,and they chunked like crazy (she did push them at the track though), my Pilots just scuffed a bit the same day.
Welcome to the sunny west!
Martin

atomic80 · 17th February 2005, 03:26

Welcome to Seattle too! I'm also here in Seattle but I spend a lot of time in the Bay Area too. I'm still using the original Pilot Sports which I absolutely recommend hands down if you manage to find a set. I haven't tried the newer PS2's yet but I've heard that it's not as good in the wet as the originals. I did hear that the Goodyear F1's are good in the wet but haven't verified it myself.

Brother Methias · 17th February 2005, 03:49

PS2s are all around great in summer, i think in the rain they work quite well.. but if you find yourself in the snow better call a towtruck before you total your ride..
I've heard somewhere on this board that the "37 degrees chime" is meant to warn you of a critical temperature below which your performance rubber turns to hockey puck causing slippery driving even without snow or wet;
might make snow tires a little more desirable, I sure love my dunlop wintersport M2s.

M5Kid · 17th February 2005, 05:07

Jason,

Check out Derek's post above and his other posts regarding the PS2's. Obviously being in the Northwest and driving 15-20K miles a year makes your opinion valid, and Derek finds the PS2's to be the best tire in dry or wet weather he has used on his M5. Better than previous tires such as Goodyear GS D3, original Pilot Sports, and Dunlops.

Thought you might be interested, and take care.

Travis

tomlavelle · 17th February 2005, 07:17

you Seattle guys with the silver M5s - either of you heading northbound on Western Avenue Tuesday at about 5pm? I came up along side of one on the way home from work. Just curious.

tomlavelle · 17th February 2005, 07:46

An additional point for the other Seattle guys - friend of mine has a relative in the service department at a local BMW dealership. He was told that just about every car that has come in with a cold air intake system has developed internal engine rust problems. Evidently the air is too wet here to use a cold air intake. I'm still probably going to move the intake air temperature sensor at some point, though ($100 mod) to prevent the summertime heat soak problems that so many others have complained about.

atomic80 · 17th February 2005, 08:00

Tom,

Are you sure about the rusting issue? I've had my CAI for about 3 years now and I haven't had any problems like that. What are the symptoms that marks such an issue?

I already have the UFMotorsport IATS mod. I highly recommend this mod for anyone considering it!

And finally, it wasn't me driving on Western. I haven't driven the M5 in a while.