Has anybody got any first hand experience of the most suitable tyres for the above. I have been running on Goodyear Eagle NCT 5`s(205 50 17W), but have been most unhappy with the handling- above 90 m.p.h. the steering becomes very light,
vague and lacking grip, which has spoilt my enjoyment of the vehicle. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
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On 3 series and 5 series I have had bad experiences with both Goodyear and Dunlop tyres. I have had good grip and handling at autobahn speeds from both Pirelli P 6000 and Continental Sport Contacts and Eco Contacts. I prefer the Continental tyres as they seem to wear less under my style of driving and give excellent grip in wet/ slippy conditions.
Check that your tyre pressures are correct, this is the most important item in sustaining good adhesion. Also remember that if the road is wet after a period of dry weather then the accumulated grease and rubber will make the surface very slippy. It is important to match your driving style to this, the wider tyres fitted to 3 and 5 series will give less kg/cm2 downforce than narrower tyres and will act and feel less 'grippy' than a narrower tyre at high speeds.
This very disconcerting on black ice or snow, and great care is required to keep these cars from sliding about.
It may be worth getting the steering geometry and suspension checked out, use the search on this website for the recommended experts.
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Try Goodyear Eagle F1 or Bridgestone S02. Two aquaintances of mine have these at the moment - F1's on an Impreza and S02's on a Celica GT4. Both swear by them.
Andy
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I suppose I could recommend you do the opposite of the switch that I made.
I went from Michellin Pilot H-somethings to NCT5's on my A4. The reason was that I found the Pilots overly stiff and uncomfortable and the switch to the goodyears an attempt to improve ride quality (which they did).
However from your point of view it seems that the increase in steering accuracy would be welcomed and the Michellins had bags of this.
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Is your model the much criticised 'latest model' but with out the recent changes to the steering? perhaps this could be the 'problem'
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That's right. On all the E46 forums they've been moaning about the light steering for at least a year. Especially people who had a E36 or early E46 which had heavy steering. It's now the "ultimate parking machine".
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Thought the steering on the 320D Compact I had a couple of weeks ago was perfect. This was the latest spec because you can't get the Compact diesel in anything else.
HJ
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maybe the diesel engine made everything feel heavier. I used to have a 325tds which had heavier steering than the 325i that I used to borrow from time to time.
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Thanks for your replys - the car was registered in Jan 2001, so would not have the latest suspension and steering mods introduced in the recent revamp from October 2001, which has transformed the handling - as endorsed by H.J`s report on the Compact 320d SE.
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