Tyre choice for BMW 3 series, and opinions on blackcircles.com?

[Dadam]

Car is a 14 plate BMW 330D GT XDrive. Fronts are 225/50 R18, rears 255/45 R18

It's been a few years since I've had to choose as I don't do a lot of miles these days. In recent years I just picked the best bang for buck offered by our usual local garage, or more accurately the tyre supplier used by the local garage.

The car currently has Conti Sport Contacts with varying levels of wear as they've been replaced adhoc, I'm looking to replace all 4 with decent mid-range tyres. Front runner on blackcircles.com is currently Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 at £169 fitted for rears and £154 fronts.
These have a rating on that site of A for fuel efficiency/rolling resistance, A for wet grip and noise level of 69dB.
In contrast the Contis are rated D, B and 72dB

The rating for the Hankooks above is for the rear size. Strangely the fronts are worse at C, A and 72 but still better than the Contis

Any strong opinions either way on the Hankook tyres or better alternatives?
Any experiences with blackcircles.com?

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Blackcircles are fine, I've used them a few times. We have Hankook AS tyres on one of the cars at the moment, having used them before. I rate them as one of the best of the non-premium brands, and the difference in performance between they and Michelins et al is smaller than ever.

 

[Dadam]

Blackcircles are fine, I've used them a few times. We have Hankook AS tyres on one of the cars at the moment, having used them before. I rate them as one of the best of the non-premium brands, and the difference in performance between they and Michelins et al is smaller than ever.

Ta Bonefish. Did you get them fitted by BC at home? If so were the fitters good: punctual, professional etc?

 

[fossyant]

Hankook have a decent reputation.

How about Michelin Cross Climates. We fitted these to the Qashqai and the tyres are superb. Really good in wet cold conditions, and handle snow fantastically - better than a 4x4 SUV on summer ? Ideal for Northern weather TBH.

I've got Goodyear Efficient Grip 2 on the Van (people carrier so runs car tyres fortunately), so far so good - done 1,000 miles on them in 6 weeks (a lot for me, but we've been on trips, which is what the van is for).

 

[fossyant]

We have a local BC depot at our Morrisons, just book a fitting time. It's basically a couple of portacabins and a covered roof for the 'fitting'.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Ta Bonefish. Did you get them fitted by BC at home? If so were the fitters good: punctual, professional etc?

I use a local fitter on the BC list - BC delivers them direct in time for the fitting appointment. I think workshop kit tends to be better than the van-mounted stuff, but I'm sure both are perfectly fine.

 

[Dadam]

Cheers Fossy. The Michelins look good but spendy and BC don't carry them in the 255/45 size. Looks like Costco do though. I'm a member so maybe worth talking to them.

 

[fossyant]

Need to do all four on our Aygo. Currently has Avons which have been great and lasted well, but looking at Goodyear all seasons for about £75 each. Kumho Eco Wing are coming in at £58 each (small wheels) on black circles fully fitted. Conti all seasons £72 ! Crazy thing is, you can have them fitted at ATS, I thought only the Independent's did it. ATS want £86 for the Conti's. Black Circles are doing some offers on premium tyres.

 

[fossyant]

The Goodyear Efficient Grip 2's are coming in at the cheaper end for Premium tyres. Fuel and wet grip is A, and 70db for noise. Good reviews too.

 

[Jody]

The Goodyear Efficient Grip 2's are coming in at the cheaper end for Premium tyres. Fuel and wet grip is A, and 70db for noise. Good reviews too.

I was on BC yesterday with the same quandry as Dadam.

These seem pretty good VFM and I'm going to put a set on the Scud

 

[fossyant]

I was on BC yesterday with the same quandry as Dadam.

These seem pretty good VFM and I'm going to put a set on the Scud

I've a front set brand new on the Van I've just bought. Rear has some Michelin Primacy's on which I'll replace with the Goodyear's once they wear out. Happy with them, not noisy and grip well.

 

[Drago]

Hankooks not so well know over here but are a huge South Korean manufacturer of quality boots, OE on Mini and some BMWs these days. I'd have no hesitation choosing them. Black Circles are usually fairly pride competitive.

Ther aside, there's little point me or anyone specifically recommending Continetal XYZs or Dunlop ABCs as none of us have exactly the same car as you, and just because they suit a Ford Tippex nicely doesn't mean they will your Bimmer,

As a point of order, the noise rating is a drive-by measure and is not automatically indicative of the noise transmitted into the cars cabin.

 

[Gwylan]

Car is a 14 plate BMW 330D GT XDrive. Fronts are 225/50 R18, rears 255/45 R18

It's been a few years since I've had to choose as I don't do a lot of miles these days. In recent years I just picked the best bang for buck offered by our usual local garage, or more accurately the tyre supplier used by the local garage.

The car currently has Conti Sport Contacts with varying levels of wear as they've been replaced adhoc, I'm looking to replace all 4 with decent mid-range tyres. Front runner on blackcircles.com is currently Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 at £169 fitted for rears and £154 fronts.
These have a rating on that site of A for fuel efficiency/rolling resistance, A for wet grip and noise level of 69dB.
In contrast the Contis are rated D, B and 72dB

The rating for the Hankooks above is for the rear size. Strangely the fronts are worse at C, A and 72 but still better than the Contis

Any strong opinions either way on the Hankook tyres or better alternatives?
Any experiences with blackcircles.com?

No opinion on the car or the choice of lifetime partner or tyres.

Have worked with Black circles several times over the years. Vans and cars.
Always been aggressively priced and the selected fitter been good.
I would use them again.

 

[Jameshow]

Have a look at toyo prices...

https://www.blackcircles.com/brands...JoHh3i8g1mivLchaK7jXyIoPIWn0W6mhoCs9IQAvD_BwE

 

[Dadam]

Hankooks not so well know over here but are a huge South Korean manufacturer of quality boots, OE on Mini and some BMWs these days. I'd have no hesitation choosing them. Black Circles are usually fairly pride competitive.

Yes I've been aware of the brand for a number of years on car forums, generally a positive rep.

Ther aside, there's little point me or anyone specifically recommending Continetal XYZs or Dunlop ABCs as none of us have exactly the same car as you, and just because they suit a Ford Tippex nicely doesn't mean they will your Bimmer,

A fair point. It was more to indicate "big heavy car with variable AWD", as opposed to a little city runabout. That said in a forum of many thousands of members it's a fair shout that there are a few 3 series Bimmer owners.

As a point of order, the noise rating is a drive-by measure and is not automatically indicative of the noise transmitted into the cars cabin.

Duly noted, though I suspect there's reasonable correlation between outside and inside noise. The geek in me thinks differences in outside vs inside noise might be a function of frequency, i.e you'll hear lower frequencies more in the cabin as they'll be transmitted through the body and maybe also set up sympathetic vibrations in the trim.

In any case the Autotrader review for the Hankooks measured inside noise and rated them good on noise. My boy racer days are well behind me and I like a quiet refined ride.