Blown tires!

[tonyportnof]

Hi All,

I have an '06 ZHP Coupe, bought it 2 years ago, BEST CAR I'VE EVER OWNED! However...

I live north of Boston, and the roads are some of the worst in the world. In 2 years, hitting potholes (even with maximum vigilance), I've blown 2 tires, and then last night I hit another one, and blew BOTH on the right side. Never even saw the hole.

My son drives an '06 E90, which was mine before the ZHP; low-profile there too, also several blown tires. Even my mechanic isn't laughing any more. But: I re-did the struts & shocks a year ago, Bilstien's from Bav Auto, and since, with luck, no more blown tires on that car. So:

Does anyone know a combination of shocks, struts and tires that can alleviate this problem on the ZHP? It's killing us, and pushing me in the direction of unloading these noble beasts.

Help!

Tony in Boston

[Jon D]

Hate to say this but go to 17" wheels with a higher aspect ratio, tires will absorb more impact.


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[Smilez]

some 17s would be your best option.

[ELCID86]

Yeah my car came from that area and the PO had changed the style 135s to 17"ers. I just sold them on CL.


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[BCS_ZHP]

There are style 135 replicas available in 17"

[ELCID86]

There are style 135 replicas available in 17"

Good idea


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[sna77]

Hi Tony,
I have been driving my ZHP on stock 18" wheels for 4+ years now. I've been through my share of tires, but have finally settled on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. The minor performance sacrifice is worth the stiffer sidewall and longer tire life--especially in New England. No need for 17s during the summer. If you are driving during the winter, you'll definitely need a set of 17" wheels though. I run Vredestein snow tires during the winter and love them (Tire Rack stocks them).

Good luck!

[tonyportnof]

Guys,

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated! I've been considering all options.

1) 17" replicas, very difficult to find! Haven't hit them yet, but it's still on the table. If I go the 17" route, replicas would preserve a ZHP look, although I've read elsewhere that there's a quality sacrifice when you go replica.

2) Stiffer sidewall tires (as sna77 suggests), maybe in addition to a more forgiving suspension arrangement. I'm not enough of a techie to know what I've got vs. what might work, but the car is over 80K now, and might be due, so it could be opportune to do it that way. Additionally, I was having a similar problem on an '06 E90 with the "sport package", also lower profile tires, and when we did the suspension (Bilstein HD shocks/struts) it seemed to alleviate the problem. On the ZHP, if I keep the stock rims, I think I'll have a wheel repair guy look them over for warping and cracks at this point.

I should add that the car is a daily driver, mostly N. Shore of Boston to the airport & back. sna77, I've got what you're suggesting for the winter--17's, symmetric, with I think Arctic Alpins. Works great, no problems, the car will handle some moderate snow in NH & VT also!

Thanks again for your suggestions!

Tony

[sna77]

Forget to comment on the suspension... I think the ZHP stock suspension is the perfect combination of stiffness + performance for New England roads. I owned 2 other e46's and both times I messed with the suspension and it became too stiff for driving here. Not sure how many miles your suspension has on it, but I replaced the stock suspension a few years back with OEM ZHP suspension (BMW had a "repair kit" package that included sway bars, struts etc) and it drove good as new again...

[sna77]

ZHP suspension repair kit (basically everything you need minus the springs):
http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-front-suspension-kit-e46-zhp-oem-33500429577

[tkundhi]

Upgrading the suspension will not solve the problem. Your experience on the E90 is coincidental. More sidewall is what you need. I'm a bit surprised to hear to flattened two tire and have yet to bend a rim. It is more common to have bent rims from rough roads. Are you sure you had proper tire pressure? More sidewall will definitely help. I would not replace suspension components unless your mechanic feels yours is worn out. It is easy to identify worn suspension parts. Look for leaks, cracks and any play in the bushings.

t.

[az3579]

Hi Tony,
I have been driving my ZHP on stock 18" wheels for 4+ years now. I've been through my share of tires, but have finally settled on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. The minor performance sacrifice is worth the stiffer sidewall and longer tire life--especially in New England. No need for 17s during the summer. If you are driving during the winter, you'll definitely need a set of 17" wheels though. I run Vredestein snow tires during the winter and love them (Tire Rack stocks them).

Good luck!

Whoa, look who made an appearance!


Upgrading the suspension will not solve the problem. Your experience on the E90 is coincidental. More sidewall is what you need. I'm a bit surprised to hear to flattened two tire and have yet to bend a rim. It is more common to have bent rims from rough roads. Are you sure you had proper tire pressure? More sidewall will definitely help. I would not replace suspension components unless your mechanic feels yours is worn out. It is easy to identify worn suspension parts. Look for leaks, cracks and any play in the bushings.

t.

I totally agree.
Our roads suck horribly here as well but I've yet to destroy a tire due to the roads. You just have to be more careful when driving on terrible roads. I tend to go slower on roads that I know are atrocious. The slower you go, the less of an impact it will be on your car. I know, it's really hard, but it's a fact of life that we must face as drivers of performance vehicles in the Northeast. :(

[tonyportnof]

Excellent info, thanks!

Ah, I went to page 2 and saw the rest of the comments...so, here's the rest of the story: I had just checked the tire pressure (32 front, 38 rear) and I'm a fairly conservative driver, but 1A in Revere is something like Calcutta (no offense to all my friends from the subcontinent!) and I never even saw the hole this time.

Game plan as of now: take the rims to a good wheel shop to get them checked/repaired off-season (I put the 17' winter wheels on a little early, yesterday) and let my ace mechanic in Salem look over the suspension (the car has 80+ K on it, so it could be due) and if we agree that it's time, I think I'll go with the stock replacement as per sna77. tkhundi, any tire suggestions that might add some sidewall strength?

[tkundhi]

Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

[az3579]

Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

The unusual thing is, the factory pressures listed on my door jamb are 39 front and 46 rear(no, these are no max figures). 46 rear seems like way too much, but the factory front pressures could potentially be something to try.

[pfr]

The unusual thing is, the factory pressures listed on my door jamb are 39 front and 46 rear(no, these are no max figures)... ''

The yellow sticker on my car that has these numbers also says "over 100 mph only"

[az3579]

The yellow sticker on my car that has these numbers also says "over 100 mph only"

Mine doesn't say that. :dunno

I wonder why on earth we have sooooo many different tire pressure stickers for the same model car with the same performance package. lol

[tonyportnof]

Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

What would be a good choice for stiffer sidewalls?

T

[sna77]

All season tires have stiffer tires than summer tires (as do run-flats, which have extremely stiff sidewalls)... That's why I suggest the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3.

For summer tires, generally Contis have soft sidewalls, Bridgestones have stiff ones, and Michelins are pretty sift too.

[az3579]

For summer tires, generally Contis have soft sidewalls, Bridgestones have stiff ones, and Michelins are pretty sift too.

This must be why I wasn't able to bend or crack my BBS wheels this summer. I drove over some nasty stuff, with only Bridgestone S04 245/35 tires.

[LivesNearCostco]

I've never blown a tire (except two really worn tires that were cording) but I cracked two of my ZHP rims. I agree 32psi is too low, especially with 18" rims. I try to run my fronts at minimum 34psi and usually aim for cold pressures of 36F, 38R. It rides harsher than 32 or 34psi but protects my rims. With 17" rims I normally aim for 34psi cold.


Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

[tonyportnof]

Gents,

All of this info is extremely helpful. I love this car, but I don't have the deeper tech knowledge that many have. I had no idea what kinds of tires had softer sidewalls, for example, (apart from run-flats, which I had on the E90 and hated) and the mystery is clearing a bit: I've been running the ContiContacts, and I guess they're maybe unusually vulnerable to the Gotham-style Revere potholes. So:

I think I'll try either the suggested heavier-duty summer tires, or just go with the all-seasons. There's a performance sacrifice, I think, and if I lived in SoCal or FL I might get away with the softer tires, but not here.

Great info on suspension options and tire pressures, too.

I bought this car two years ago with 60+ K on it, Imola red coupe, and it's my far the most fun I've ever had driving. I'll drive this thing untio it won't drive no mo'.

Thanks again!

[tkundhi]

All season tires have stiffer tires than summer tires (as do run-flats, which have extremely stiff sidewalls)... That's why I suggest the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3.

For summer tires, generally Contis have soft sidewalls, Bridgestones have stiff ones, and Michelins are pretty sift too.

Are you sure about this? I've heard that performance tire have stiffer sidewalks than all seasons. An all season is a compromise tire.

Within the performance (summer) tires I have no data on if one brand is stiffer than the other. The reality is an 35 aspect ratio tire will have a stiffer sidewall than the same brand tire with a higher aspect ratio. Going from 18 inch wheels to 17 inch wheel will require an increase to the aspect ratio. More sidewall. That is the key. Along with proper tire pressures.

A stiffer sidewall means less compliance. Better turn in. More responsiveness. All while sacrificing ride quality to some degree.

Talk to a tire expert to determine actual difference in sidewall stiffness. Tire Rack may have this data. Call and ask.

t.

[Hermes]

Are you sure about this? I've heard that performance tire have stiffer sidewalks than all seasons. An all season is a compromise tire.

All seasons are in general a compromise on compound and tread pattern, but it's a toss up on sidewall strength and can go in either style's favor depending on construction of the specific tires being compared

OP, get some 17s.