Anyone running Primacy MXV4?

[zhandax]

The Dunlops which came with the car bit the dust. I happened to see the passenger front last Friday and saw cord. I knew they needed to be replaced this year, but with the front suspension completely replaced last year, I was surprised at this. It probably did not help last year when I took a new exit, the yellow sign said 20mph, and, hell, those are always pessimistic, I took it at 60. Turned out to be a 180. First time I squeeled the tires on the 540. I was afraid I would break loose on that one.

My first choice would be the Michelin HydroEdge but they are not made in 225 60 HR15. Those were the last tires I put on the 528 and they were the best tires I ever had on it. Tire Rack shows Michelin Primacy MXV4 available in our size, and that is what I think I will use. I do not find any posts about these here, and thought I would ask before I order them. This is my third BMW and I have run Michelin on all of them. They have a 60,000 warranty, so should do maybe 10k better than the Pilots, which I mostly ran on the 528. Are the Conti ExtremeContacts worth the trade-off in handling, ride, quietness, etc? They are ~$150 cheaper (for 4) but NO warranty. Jeff?

[Elekta]

probably the best value for a 15" tire. If they wear out in 30k before the warranty exp's you can get new ones for practically 1/2 price.

It is prob the best all season tire made in it's price range

[Russell]

I considered Primacy, but went with Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S about 3,000 mile ago. So far so good, smooth and seem to do well in rain and track rather well especially around corners.

I replaced Bridgestone Turanza LS-H tires that had 63,000 miles.

[bubba966]

I'd take a good look at BFG Traction T/A's in the 225/60/VR15.

Put those on a friends '95 525iT and they're really great. Ride nice, handle well, are quiet, and I could break them loose on a hard (actually standing on the brake pedal) panic stop from 55.

They're 60k mile tires.

BFG is also owned by Michelin. So it's almost like buying Michelins.

If I had to get tires in that size that's how I'd go. FWIW I've had Michelin PS2's & Pilot Sport A/S's on my car (and have used a good deal of other Michelin/BFG/Pirelli tires on vehicles) so I know what a good tire is like.

Get your BFG's at Costco if you can. Full warranty, cheaper cost, and Nitrogen filled. A lot of people say that Nitrogen is 'snake oil', but I do know that it looses pressure a whole lot slower than just using compressed air. Good example is my truck (using Michelin XPS Rib's) as it'd loose 8-10 PSI/month on air, hasn't even lost 5 PSI over an entire year on Nitrogen.

The constant pressure gets you more miles out of the tires (my PS2's have nearly 20k on them and look to have another 10k+ to go and they're normally 20-25k tires). And the constant proper pressure also helps keep gas mileage good & keeps handling & braking steady & predictable.

[zhandax]

I kept Pilots on the 528 except for the last set (the HydroEdge). I only got ~40k out of each set. At the time, I had a 160-mile round trip to work, and bought new tires every 13-14 months.

Bubba, I don't think I understand what you are trying to say. What I call 'breaking them loose' is not a good thing.

This is getting more interesting. I went to Tire Rack to order the Michelins, and they are now on back order at all 6 warehouses. Looks like Sam's is the only place in town that has them in stock, and this is from the website. If they really do, I guess I will be joining Sam's. They are $132 compared to Tire Rack's $124. Tax here is within 50¢ of Tire Rack's shipping. That puts Sam's at $156 with tax installed, but includes only $9.50 a tire mounted, balanced, with road hazard which is better than I have found anywhere else (including Tire Rack). I doubt that they do nitrogen, though. Sears and Goodyear here both say they can get them, but the total they quoted me installed with tax was $183 per tire.

[rizal]

I kept Pilots on the 528 except for the last set (the HydroEdge). I only got ~40k out of each set. At the time, I had a 160-mile round trip to work, and bought new tires every 13-14 months.

Bubba, I don't think I understand what you are trying to say. What I call 'breaking them loose' is not a good thing.

This is getting more interesting. I went to Tire Rack to order the Michelins, and they are now on back order at all 6 warehouses. Looks like Sam's is the only place in town that has them in stock, and this is from the website. If they really do, I guess I will be joining Sam's. They are $132 compared to Tire Rack's $124. Tax here is within 50¢ of Tire Rack's shipping. That puts Sam's at $156 with tax installed, but includes only $9.50 a tire mounted, balanced, with road hazard which is better than I have found anywhere else (including Tire Rack). I doubt that they do nitrogen, though. Sears and Goodyear here both say they can get them, but the total they quoted me installed with tax was $183 per tire.
I've had 225/60-R15 Primacy's on my 1994 525iT for a couple thousand miles now and I LOVE them. I had the previous generation MXV4s before and these are silky smooth, very quiet, creamy, balance easily, and yet hold up better in corners without squealing, and bite better when changing direction. Costco said they were back-ordered indefinitely, but Discount Tire matched their price with a more comprehensive warranty and they were on the car within 3 days, after shipping from their warehouse. I can't say enough good things about them.

[Phatty5BMW]

FYI: Michelin is one of the ONLY brands that actually use natural rubber with a silica compound for an anti-water repellant. Most other brands BFgoodrich and all the others use synthetic rubber with no silica compound. Silica is a natural water repellant and when you use natural rubber, it has more gripping characteristics than the sythetic compounds. I learned that when I was selling tires and went to a seminar for michelin and cooper tires. Just some food for thought.

I have bfgoodrich g-force sports and I can't say too many bad things about them besides they suck ass in the winter :)

[zhandax]

rizal, did Discount Tire have to order them? They don't show that they have that size on their webpage. I found the number for the local store, and will call them tomorrow. Sure enough, Sam's did not have them in stock and said it would take 5-7 days to get them. Turns out these things really are in short supply (at least around here). One of the locals finally physically located 4 and quoted $701 installed. I need to find out if that includes tax. If so, that is only about $30 more than Sam's since I will have to buy a membership.

[sneekens]

MXV4 are great for everyday normal driving. they will last as much as 50,000 kms on it... thread wear is good, grip is OK, they look "meaty" with those stock 15" rims... Just don't expect it to perform in aggressive driving situations.... Noise is VERY minimal as long as you have good roads... I would get them if I need a set again...

[Robert K]

When we bought my wife's 2003 Honda Accord (used), it had a set of mismatched Michelins on it. I immediately ordered a set of the new Primacy MXV4 tires for it. As usual for Michelin, they are very round and balance out nicely. No shakes or anything like that. Also as usual for Michelin, they have very stiff sidewalls. Now that's great for handling, but not so great for ride comfort. Our Accord seems to be very stiffly sprung, so these tires really make it ride a bit rough over broken city streets or bad interstates. They really aren't bad tires, but they will ride a bit stiffer than others. We have a set of Continental ContiPremiers on my 1997 Camry. I like them a lot. They give up a bit of handling but they have a very comfortable ride and are very quiet. Take a look them.

Robert K

[healtoeit]

Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S

Absolutely great tire! The e34 525i write up on Tire rack about them is me! I had to use them on the track and boy were people surprised at how well they held up! I 2nd russel's point to consider these

[zhandax]

I took rizal's advice and called Discount Tire. They found me "the last two in the country" - direct quote - at a dollar less than Sam's. They are apparently on nationwide backorder for 6 weeks. I will have the two installed Saturday. At least I will no longer have two different brands on the same axle. I am also installing struts the following weekend. I wonder if the struts could have contributed to one of the Dunlops going before the others?