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.


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[BCS_ZHP]

There are style 135 replicas available in 17"

[ELCID86]

There are style 135 replicas available in 17"

Good idea


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[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-...em-33500429577