which size tyres

[eltel]

hi guys.... which is the best tyre size to put on my 325 saloon..it has 15" bbs with lowering kit, poly bushes etc....


would it be..205/50/15

or

205/55/15????

[Speedtouch]

original is 55 profile, 5 will give you a harsher ride.

[Speedtouch]

I meant 50!

[orangecurry]

what does 'best' mean?

BMW fitted 205/55/15s, but some people prefer a lower profile; your speedo will be slightly out with the smaller 50 profile, but from your other mods you'll probably prefer the smaller and so slightly stiffer sidewalls.

However IMHO you'd be better off getting the best quality tyres you can in either of those sizes.

[eltel]

cheers guys ..by 'best' i meant all round performance like...ride, handling, acceleration.

[Lordschleife]

Well you could always try 195/50/15 cause you can get the eagle f1 in that?

[orangecurry]

rolling diameter would be quite a long way out on those - that's VW fitment
576mm total diameter vs what BMW decided i.e. 606.5mm total diameter...

Have you tried it Lord?

[Lordschleife]

Yeah it'd drop the car half an inch and throw the speedo out 5%, but then on eg. on a 318is you could fit a 3.91 lsd, or the 325i maybe a 3.64 to offset this if it really bothered you

tomstickland, the guy with Simon13's old 318is seems to run that size:
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ight=eagle

I need new tyres soon, I was going to go for 205/55 or 205/50 toyo t1-r, but I'm tempted to try the 195/50 goodyears - should make for less dry grip, but less of a discrepancy between wet and dry grip also with a) the narrower tyre and b) eagle f1s wet weather prowess...

[DaveD]

I have just put 225/50/15 on the back of mine. keeping 205/55 on the front..not run it yet but it looks good

[orangecurry]

I need new tyres soon, I was going to go for 205/55 or 205/50 toyo t1-r, but I'm tempted to try the 195/50 goodyears - should make for less dry grip, but less of a discrepancy between wet and dry grip also with a) the narrower tyre and b) eagle f1s wet weather prowess...

dry grip with Eagle F1s is very very good; make sure you get GSD3 and not GSD2. I've had them; they keep their wet and dry handling abillity even when you are below the wear-bars. I only changed mine when the MOT station insisted
I made the mistake of trying Pirelli P-zeros (on a friends high recommendation) - P-zeros are pants in comparison to the F1s, wet or dry.