Quote:
Originally Posted by classy335i
Driverman, did you lose steering feel and experience more rolling going from RE050 RFTs to Michelin PS2 non-RFTs?
I am thinking of going from RE050 RFTs to PS2 non-RFTs. I really do not want to lose that "planted feel" for lane changing and taking turns at maximum speed because that is one of the things I really enjoy with the 335i.
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I definitely lost SOME steering feel, especially when the PS2's were new. And I think I understand why. RFT's have very stiff sidewalls that can carry the weight of the car with zero air pressure, which explains why they ride so poorly on rough roads. I got some of that steering feel back by increasing pressure a few pounds, but I also lost some of the ride improvement. As the PS2's wore down, they felt more responsive but they also rode worse. Towards the end of their life, they felt very responsive but they also rode even worse.
I think these are tough decisions. On one hand, the RFT's provide fantastic steering feel and that wonderful "planted feel", you don't have to carry a spare and it feels like our cars were designed to work with these tires. On the other hand, they ride terribly and hop around on rough roads, they turn our cars into rattle traps, they are expensive, they have low tread life, they are hard to repair and they are heavy. My 4 Conti DW's weigh 30 pounds less than the RFT's and it seems like my car is a bit more responsive.
The bottom line - it depends on the roads you drive. If I drove on good roads, I'd consider going back to RFT's. But since I don't, I'm very happy with the Conti DW's.
