isaywhateveryo

I loved those on my previous cars and the stock Contis seem less than awesome.

For example, sometimes when there is a mild unevenness in the road, the car tries to jerk in another direction. I can't tell if it's the dynamic suspension or the tires, but my last car (M5) had a much harsher suspension and never did that. But I guess it could be an AWD thing.

Glisse

Make sure you are using the proper tyre pressures listed for "Normal" running in the manual, which should be somewhere around 39psi front, 36psi rear. If you are using the maximum load (IIRC 1600lbs of extra weight, meaning 5 passengers and a full trunk) pressure of 42psi the car will be harsh and will not handle correctly. doesn't sound like a tyre compound/tread pattern issue. I assume you are not running spacers or similar, as they will change the scrub radius which can affect steering performance as you described. Not so critical on a RWD BMW, but is on an AWD car.

Assuming your Continentals are SportContact 6, they are quite highly regarded in Europe, main weakness being high wear rates. I have Hankook Ventus Evo on my B9 S5, so can't comment on any difference. I do have Michelin Pilot Super Sport on my B8 S5 which work very well, their only weakness being a tendency to aquaplane in heavy water conditions, although all high performance summer tyres are susceptible to this to some degree. Apparently the newer Pilot Sport 4 is better in this regard.

isaywhateveryo

No spacers or anything. They are SportContact 5P. It could just be the way that the car handles, as I’m not used to AWD and it weighs much less than my previous car. But it also could be that I’m accustomed to Michelin’s ride. I was surprised to see how much less the street price for the Conti’s is compared to the equivalent Michelin’s.

And today I had nitrogen swapped in for air and the pressures switched from 42/42 to 38/35 in accordance with the manual. That’s a good idea. We will see if it helps.

liquidforce138

if there is a seam in the road I am pretty sure this is corrective steering from
lane assist. It thinks the seam is a lane line and that you are crossing over the lane marker. This happens to me at a certain off ramp under construction every time I approach it and has happened other similar locations.

heisnuts

So far, I have been really impressed with the OEM 19" Contis that came with the car. They handle great when going into tight turns at higher speeds and I have not experienced any abnormal wandering on highways. However, so far almost all of my driving has been on dry pavement at temps over 55 degrees. We did have a few days of rain last week and even then I didn't notice anything that caused concern. I am currently a little over 2,200 miles now and haven't noticed as much wear as I thought I would have by now considering they are super soft Summer only tires.

When we get into the 45 degree range, I will be swapping over to a set of 18" Winter tire set up that I ordered from Tire Rack. For Winter I went with the Michelin X-Ice Xi3, which came highly rated in the reviews on Tire Rack. Tire Rack made it really easy since I was able to order the tires and wheels together with them mounting and balancing the tires before shipping them directly to me.

buickfunnycar

I'm seeing Hankook tires on most of the cars here...

jk10

i also bought the x-ice winters along with a set of 18-inch enkei rims. this is my first time running a dedicated winter setup.

saxplayer

Jk10 and Heisnuts - which rims did you go with? For S5 SB yes?

heisnuts

I have the S5 Coupe and I went with this rim in 18" https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...8&autoModClar=

KapCoupe

I had the dealer switch the Hankooks that came on my S5 Sportback to Michelin Super Sport 4s tires (255/35-19 size on Cavo rims) before taking delivery. While I therefore cannot speak to the differences between the two tires, the Michelins have been terrific. I'm very pleased with the feel and handling of the Michelins and would recommend them without qualification. As you may know, the Michelins also are TireRack's top rated tire in the relevant category.