Is there a better tire for my needs than the Conti ExtremeContact for what I need on my new wheels?

DD, occasional AutoX, maybe an HPDE here or there (not a ton or hardcore). Decent life and grip, etc. 

The car currently sits on the stock BMW 261 wheels, 18x7.5, 18x8.5, 215/40/18 and 245/35/18 Pilot SuperSportX (Run flats since the car has no spare). And these have plenty of life, Pilot SS aren't exactly a "winter tire" but we typically don't get much wintry weather here, and if we do, I work from home.

The new wheels for the 135i are, Satin Black ARC-8s. Going an inch wider front and rear so the new sizes will be 18x8.5 and 18x9.5. And I'll be stepping up to 235/40/18 and 265/35/18. If I wait and do the coilovers first, I'll do 245/35/18 up front, since the 135i is a bit porky. 

Thoughts?

I ran that model tire on my 135i and I loved them.  I came off a set of worn Pilot SS in stock 18" sizes, and chose the Conti Extreme Contact Sports for their superior wet performance and stellar dry performance at the price point.  I did one higher speed autocross (on road course) and they were surprisingly good and plenty of street miles.  

For what it's worth, I went to 235's on the front, and still had some rubbing on occasion even after working the fenders a bit on coilovers and M3 control arms for more camber.  Wheels were 8.5's on front, but I don't recall the exact offset.  I ran 255/35's on the rear on 9.5's. 

It's tricky to get much tire on these without getting offsets exactly right and pushing on the fenders a bit, camber, etc.  

Yep, the 235/265 combo is a "no-rub" fit according to Apex, that's why the rear has a weird ET58 offset on the stock suspension.  245/35 is a no-rub up front with camber and 5mm spacer (I'm also converting the car to studs). 

Apparently you can pull off 255/275 with camber, fenders rolled flat and the perfect offset. 

I guess no other suggestions? 

z31maniac said:

I guess no other suggestions? 

I mean, you could get the Firehawk Indy 500, but they're not as good.

Wow, didn't realize the 135i had that little room up front. I would have thought it was similar to an E36. (I could fit 255s on 17x9s pretty easily with spacers and a +45 offset.) 

I have BFG Sport Comp-2s on my 128i. They're fine, but they have zero winter capability (I run snows in the winter).

CyberEric said:

Wow, didn't realize the 135i had that little room up front. I would have thought it was similar to an E36. (I could fit 255s on 17x9s pretty easily with spacers and a +45 offset.) 

 

That initially turned me off from them, then I drove one and realized while it may not be the absolute most beastly track weapon even with the SuperSports only at 215 there is still great grip and feel.

I got tired of paying PSS prices for the M3 so I tried Kuhmo Ecsta PS91 and I am way impressed.

Ooohhhh. Those are cheap! If I went that route I may be able to put the wheels on sooner rather than later. 

I've had the car two months and it's still bone, stock. 

I think the BRZ had a catback, tune, and coilovers within 3 months of owning it.

I can't give them an unqualified recommendation yet.  I haven't used them at enough tracks enough times to be 100% sure what's going on. 

I have a lot of time on PSS at the track as a baseline, and based on a couple of weekends (VIR and Summit Main), the PS91s were getting the job done in a very similar way.

I have given up using PSS.  I went through a couple sets when I was trying to find a way to show up in the M3 at the track without a spare set of wheels, go all weekend with a decent amount of traction, and then go back to daily driving.  Unfortunately, the PSS kept getting worn to the cords at the shoulders, in about 4 weekends.

I don't mind paying PS91 prices for the privilege of arrive-and-drive, even if they are gone in 4 weekends.  

Most times I will suck it up, put the NT01s or the Federal Z-201s in the back seat, and do the wheel-swap hokey pokey.  They are so much better than anything streetable, it's totally worth the effort.  But it's a half-hour of work on both ends of the day, and sometimes I'm already so tired that it will be a day-wrecker.  Plus if it's raining off and on all day, I lose interest in making multiple swaps. 

For the other track-specific cars, I use track-specific rubber.  But I'm always looking for a bargain in track-specific rubber.

That's interesting about the wearing the outer edges.........I wonder if that's the PSS thing or did you not have enough camber?

z31maniac said:

That's interesting about the wearing the outer edges.........I wonder if that's the PSS thing or did you not have enough camber?

Always a good question to ask yourself when you're looking at edge wear. 

I'm using Terry's (Vorschlag's) nice-nice track camber plates.  I can't remember the exact setting, but it is the "consensus" negative number for an E92 M3, high enough that I figured I'd wear out the inside edges off the track first so I made sure I was at 0 toe.

Gotcha, possibly you needed even more! I noticed on a recent post from the guys at 949 Racing they are up to using -4° on their GT350 for HPDE on street tires.