cthree5o

Just installed the Michelin pilot alpin pa4 winter tires on the oem 20' rims, I double confirmed the size for the rears are 295/30R20, but the sidewalls look much wider than my original Pirelli p zero's, they just don't look right to me...
Has anyone ever installed these Michelin winter tires on their e63s before? Should I down size to 285 or 275 or change to different brand? Need your advices, thanks!

HBerman

i l

The tread width of the Michelin PA4 is 11.3",
The Pirelli tread width was 10.1". What are you using for the front tires? I personally do not like the look of the PA4. Also, you want a winter tire to be narrower not wider. Do you need Winter tires or can you use all-season? Bridgestone, Continental, and others make those in the OEM sizes. Perelli has OEM winter tires, Sotozero II, in the OEM sizes in tread with widths consistent with OEM summer tires.

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bobblehead

you mean the sidewall is taller ?

kponti

Since the sizes of tires are generally indicated on the sidewall with manufacturers going above or below that size I will say the solution to your problem is simple. Go a size narrower.
295/30/20 simply means 295mm wide treads, if the Michelins comes wider than the pirelli, go 10mm narrower on the Michelin to get the same look

HBerman

Unfortunately, the sidewall height will be reduced by doing that. Not good to lower the clearance IMO. Also, the first number is the ratio of sidewall to tire width, not tread width.

Mandarin

I got 255/40 on the front and 285/35 on the back, Pirelli SottoZero, and got the pretty same look on the back. I removed my 12mm spacers from the rear because I got rubbing in sport+ and race mods ))))

Think looks okay for the winter. I'm going to buy a new set of rims for the summer with better offset.

Mandarin

it depends by size. I put 255/40 and 285/35 and diameter of each wheel is a bit bigger than stock size.

HBerman

Agreed, but the OP was concerned about the look of the tires. Your solution is good, but it does change the look of the wheels.

amgcb

Ok so I was also scratching my head regarding winter tires and sizes because no manufacturer seems to have any exact size match in stock. I am not a tire geek and am lost when it comes to mixing and matching different sizes.

First I was gonna go 295/30/20 in rear and 255/35/20 in the front Pirelli SottoZero 3's as someone else on this forum did - looked pretty good, but I was a bit concerned about going to a lower size on the front.

Dealer recommended Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 all-season in 295/40/20 in rear and 265/35/20 in front, said he has done this setup on 3 - E63's. So this is what I went with.

For me, I just want to be able to safely rip it up in clear wintertime conditions, and not compromise the OEM look. doesn't have to scale a mountain in 2 ft of snow.

Mandarin

yes it is but not so bad as stock size ))))) I think my 285/35 looks better than his 295/30...by sides of course. And it so smoothes ride now )))

Mandarin

Thank you for sharing this.

Can you take pictures of the rear wheel to see how it looks like?

amgcb

I will as soon as I take delivery. Hopefully sometime early next week!

HBerman

These are the Bridgestone RE980AS tires in the OEM sizes installed on my E63S. Ride is superior to my Michelin PS4 and the look is excellent.

Mandarin

looks nice! Thank you for providing pictures!

Unfortunately, All-season tires don't work for me since I'm addicted to snowboarding and mountains in my area have really icy and snowy roads ))) Last night there was 16 inch of snow )

cthree5o

Thanks for your info! I think I can find the Pirelli sottozero in my local, but should I get the 295/30R20 or downsize to 285/30R20? Have you seen anyone (or any pics) installed size 295 Pirelli sottozero? Did the sidewalls look close to the Pirelli p zero? I am just so afraid that they might come out also too wide if I ordered another set of Pirelli settozeros...

HBerman

Pirelli SotoZero III in 295-30/20 - tread width is 10.1" same as the P-Zero OEM summer
Pirelli SotoZero III in 255-35/20 - tread width is 8.5" narrower than the OEM, but the Diameter is the same as the 295-30/20

If you need winter tires, these are a go in my opinion. If you don't need to drive on unplowed roads or in deep snow, then the Bridgestone RE980AS will work in OEM sizes as I've posted. Personally, if it is snowing so much that it's more than 4", I stay home and read by the fire. Hope this helps.

kponti

The first number is the width of the tires, the different manufacturers measure it differently is why you have 10.x" for Pirelli and 11.x" for Michelin both stating 295/x/20. The second number is an aspect ratio ie the percentage of the width. So a 295/30 will mean 295mm width and 0.3x295 in total sidewall height.
If Michelin is really using the .3 as the aspect ratio of their 11.x" thread tire, the sidewall height will not be significantly different despite going down to 285/30/20

E63Wagonesque

KarlG

I live in a snow belt. I went with a square set up with 265/35R-20 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D XL. I would have preferred Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 but none were available. I have Nokians on my 212 E63S and it's a Panzer.
I had good luck with 2 Porsche Turbos on Dunlop snows, so hopefully they will do the job on the new Hammer which is supposed to have an improved 4matic over the 212 model.