BMW E39 M5 Tyres

On this page you will find the best real world tyre reviews from owners of the BMW E39 M5.

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Tyre Reviewed Dry Grip Wet Grip Feedback Handling Wear Comfort
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (156) 94% 87% 88% 87% 80% 85%
Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta (237) 91% 88% 87% 85% 79% 85%
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (322) 91% 88% 81% 84% 73% 78%
Continental WinterContact TS 830 P (37) 86% 86% 82% 78% 85% 87%
Bridgestone Potenza Sport (104) 92% 87% 90% 91% 62% 72%
Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 (91) 84% 78% 77% 77% 75% 79%
Hankook Ventus S1 evo (44) 81% 73% 76% 73% 75% 72%
Falken FK452 (211) 82% 72% 75% 73% 69% 73%
Yokohama S Drive (65) 83% 69% 75% 77% 71% 68%
Toyo R888 (37) 90% 63% 80% 78% 59% 55%
Nexen N Fera SUR4 (6) 93% 44% 87% 88% 52% 52%
Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 (157) 84% 78% 76% 73% 60% 65%
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx (165) 79% 69% 69% 67% 63% 64%

BMW E39 M5 Tyre Review Highlights

Writing about the Dunlop SportMaxx RT 2 given 60% (275-35-19-)
Driving on mostly country roads for 1000 average miles
Replaced my rear michelin pilot tyres for these dunlop maxx rt2. They have alot softer sidewalls compared to the michelin. Car felt "wobbly" in the rear when cornering and doing quick overtakes at higher speeds. Otherwise a good tire but i would not buy again.
tyre reviewed on 2023-02-27 14:40:56
Writing about the Bridgestone Potenza Sport given 90% (275-35-18-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 3000 spirited miles
I run original E39 M5 wheels with oe size 245/40 R18 front and 275/35 R18 rear. Bridgestone Potenza Sport on both axles. I can't praise these tires enough. The grip is insane! I can floor it in 1st, and there is no wheelspin at all! Even on wet roads! With other tires, the car has been kind of a burnout machine, but the Potenza Sports tames it. They run pretty wide for a 275, so the outside of the rear tires touch the fender ever so slightly on full suspension compression. I haven't dared testing the cornering limit of the tires on public roads, but I have tried cornering on the limit of my own bravery, and the tires just grip. Wet roads is no problem either. The tires offer confident handling and gives good feedback. Very stable at all speeds, but on very worn (thanks to people with studded winter tires) asphalt there can be a hint of tramlining. Not as much as expected, considering the sharp shoulders of the tires, and doesn't feel scary. Comfort is ok. Not great, not bad. A lot of external noise, but the car is pretty quiet inside, except on old rough asphalt. Sadly they have already started ozone cracking slightly. That's disappointing for a tire in this price range. It's not because of washing chemicals or sun, as the ozone cracks is even apparent on the inside. The tires also get pretty brown, and the only thing I've found that makes them black again is Carpro Perl (water based tire shine, mixed 1:1 with water). The ozone cracks started appearing before I used any tire shine. Either way, I'm blown away with the performance of these tires. Wear is also very acceptable, with the rears down to 4,8mm on the inside, and 5,5mm on the outside (measured 6,3mm on the inner groove when they were new). The fronts are at around 5,5mm. Pretty good for a heavy and relatively powerful car on grippy sport tires over 3000 enthusiastic miles. I'm pretty sure I will buy another set of the same tires when they wear out.
tyre reviewed on 2021-08-23 05:50:51
Writing about the Nexen N Fera SUR4 given 74% (275-35-18-W)
Driving on track for 0 spirited miles
Perfect tire for track days.
Not the best on wet condition but they defeat well on an heavy car like mine (e39m5).

The wear is good, they are predictable and responsive. They can compare to hankook rs4.

They are noisy and not suitable for daily driving. (I use it to go from the track to the house.. 4 hour drive and it's enough)
tyre reviewed on 2019-08-31 14:31:39
Writing about the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 given 69% (275-35-18-W)
Driving on a combination of roads for 1000 spirited miles
I had Michelin PSS all round but they stopped making them in 275/35/18 for the rear.
The only option wanting to stay Michelin and close to PSS was to get the PS4,sadly they are everything to comfort,refinement ,grip that the PSS are to handling,feedback,precision.
They have totally taken the playfulness out of my cars handling,and it just feels numb and vague.

Michelin stated the PS4 was very close to the PSS but it's nowhere near as a performance tyre.

tyre reviewed on 2017-07-21 09:02:36
Writing about the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta given 93% (225-45-17-)
Driving on mostly town for 7000 spirited miles
Great tyres,
Anyone who drives an M5 knows how fast it can chew up tyres without even driving it hard. They are such heavy cars that they just seem to wear tyres out at a frightening rate, the vredesteins have lasted longest out of any tyres i have tried, they out lasted the continentals, the mitchelin ps2 but to name a few.The nankangs i tried once only last 8 weeks and the materials was coming through the rubber. All i buy now is vredestein ultrac as these lasted me seven months (at the rears), a new peresonal best :). Sticking to the subject mater they are quiet on the road and good in all weather and all seasons.
tyre reviewed on 2013-06-11 04:58:38
Writing about the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta given 71% (225-45-17-)
Driving on mostly motorways for 10000 spirited miles
i have been buying Ultrac Sessantas for 3 or 4 yers. I run an M5 and the out perform the Original Michelin Pilots in most respects. In the wet they are astonishingly good. Difficult to break traction. In the dry , good, although slightly soft on the limit.
The only major Drawback is wear rate. hard pushed in normal driving to get more than 12K out of the rears.
tyre reviewed on 2012-10-17 14:18:41
Writing about the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx given 36% (225-45-17-)
Driving on mostly country roads for 150 spirited miles
Fitted to an E39 M5 and completely ruined the cars handling. Rear of the car felt completely unstable. DSC light activated on undulating dry roads while maintaining a constant speed. Very unstable under braking and on corner entry. Changed pressures up and down which made no difference.

Stuck with them for 150 miles and had enough. Made a complaint to the supplier. They happily agreed to replace them with Continentals.
tyre reviewed on 2012-07-02 18:35:45
Writing about the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta given 99% (275-35-18-W)
Driving on a combination of roads for 17000 spirited miles
I first purchased these about 4 years ago on my RX8 after reading some good reviews on the owners website and I was astonished at how good they we're, completely transformed the car. Since then I have always purchased these tyres. I now own a BMW M5 e39 and have fitted these tyres all round and again I noticed an amazing transformation.

I am a big car fan and have experimented with many different tyres over the years and I can honestly say these are BY FAR the best tyres money can buy regardless of price.

I recommend these to anyone who asks which tyre to buy and have always brilliant reports back.

Just remember they cover the tyre in a protective coating so the first couple of hundred miles are very slippery..
tyre reviewed on 2011-07-11 05:48:12
Writing about the Continental WinterContact TS 830 P given 78% (235-45-17-V)
Driving on a combination of roads for 2000 average miles
Staggeringly good, all things considered. Whilst you cannot take liberties, these tyres allowed a 400hp rear drive car to get about on all roads and conditions during the recent snowy spell. In the cold and heavy rain too, they have far better bite than the summer tyres (PS2s on 18" rims). In the dry, up around 5-7 deg C, I still prefer the PS2, and the 830Ps feel quite floaty in comparison, but when the temperature drops to nearer zero deg C, regardless of whether it is dry or wet, or snowy and icy, the 830Ps win big-time. I have no other winter tyre experience to compare them with, but I have no complaints at all about the TS830P.
tyre reviewed on 2010-12-05 14:34:31
Writing about the Toyo R888 given 83% (275-40-18-W)
Driving on a combination of roads for 5 spirited miles
Well what can I say these tyres are truly astonishing! Bought two for the rear used off of eBay and loved them, so when the time came I got them all round. (did cost over ?1k, but hey!) They're fantastic on the road, heat up pretty quick and they have transformed the car into a cross between a big cruiser and a hot hatch! It really is unbelievable what these tyres can and will do.
You must warm them progressively to get the best life span out of them, skidding or spinning the wheels when they're cold really takes a lot of tread off! I have done 5,000 hard miles on these beauties including a Cadwell park track day and I still have about 3mm of tread left.
As others have said in the rain these are still very usable even on a big car like the M5. Very progressive and controllable if you know what you're doing.
I will definitely buy these again, no question.
tyre reviewed on 2010-10-22 13:03:43
Writing about the Falken FK452 given 80% (275-35-18-W)
Driving on a combination of roads for 12000 spirited miles
I think for the price these tyres are superb, I have them on my M5 which has 400bhp at the back and the car has never let go yet.I need new ones after around 12000 miles due to wear in the centre(over inflation perhaps) but i am defo getting these again.
tyre reviewed on 2010-05-19 13:28:54
Writing about the Hankook Ventus S1 evo given 91% (295-35-18-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 3000 spirited miles
Impossible to fault for the price.
tyre reviewed on 2010-04-25 16:54:52
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