11-20-2019, 09:58 PM | #1 |
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Steering with Michelin A/S 3+
Hello all, I drive a 2020 M340i xdrive. The car is beautiful in so many ways and is a definite improvement over my old 435i in every aspect. The only thing that bothered me was the tires that they came with as standard. They came with pirelli p7 cinturato runflats and they felt like the car was riding on wood. They were surprisingly comfortable, but had no grip, and you could tell that by going on a semi-spirited drive. I did my research on good all season non runflats that are performance oriented and found that most people seemed to be impressed by the Michelin A/S 3+ tires. I ordered a set and had them installed yesterday.
I found that they impacted the steering in a really significant way. The steering is no longer as direct as it was with the runflats and its not nearly as heavy in sport mode. The heaviness doesnt bother me too much, as its pretty artificial, but I am bothered that it isnt as direct as it once was. The tires themselves are good, I definitely notice the extra grip, but I was surprised how they affected the steering. Has anyone else had this experience? Changing the stock run flats with non runflats and finding that the steering is now not as precise? I assume it has to do with the softer side walls. |
11-20-2019, 10:04 PM | #2 |
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I had the same experience with A/S 3+ tires on my F30. I think you do lose some of the steering feel because of softer sidewalls on the non RFTs.
I wonder how is the feel on cars that come with non RFTs performance tires from the factory. Is the steering tuned differently in some way for non RFTs on these cars? |
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11-20-2019, 10:05 PM | #3 |
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Uh oh, I will find out after this weekend but I am getting Conti Extreme Contact DSW’s installed. I figured it wouldn’t handle as well as my run flat summer tires I have on there now but was hoping it wouldn’t be too bad and would be more comfortable.
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11-20-2019, 10:06 PM | #4 |
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Conti DSWs reportedly have even more softer sidewalls than the A/S 3s.
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11-20-2019, 10:42 PM | #5 |
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I know, I considered getting the A/S3s for that very reason but I really liked how my DSWs handled in bad weather in the past and I didn’t want to give that up based on my prior experience with the tire.
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11-21-2019, 08:57 AM | #6 |
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I have P0(20'') on my summer set, I then switched my winter set recently. I am running this A/S 3+ as my winter tire(down to 19''). So far, I feel it is pretty identical to my P0. Just bit softer and lighter steering wheel feel.
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11-21-2019, 12:03 PM | #8 | |
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11-21-2019, 05:52 PM | #9 |
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11-21-2019, 06:49 PM | #10 | |
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After a few miles you will get used to the different feel, you will never miss the RFT. Current car M340ix, my summers are PPS 4s go flats. Winters are Pirelli Sottozero 3 go flat. I'm running 39PSI all around. That's what the manual recommends. |
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11-21-2019, 07:28 PM | #11 | |
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11-21-2019, 08:46 PM | #12 | ||
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11-23-2019, 04:05 PM | #13 |
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Had my Conti’s installed today. Little bit of a difference in steering but it doesn’t bother me as it actually rides better with my new tires so it’s a little bit of a trade off. However, I haven’t had a real chance to drive it hard yet so once I do maybe I will feel different.
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11-25-2019, 02:02 PM | #14 |
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I am going to get A/S 3+ installed next week as well. I wonder what would be the ideal pressures for non-RFTs. People with Pilot Super Sports 4 - what pressures are you running?
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11-27-2019, 07:06 PM | #15 |
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You may wanna try adjusting tire settings in your vehicle status. Change it from summer to "Winter/All-season". I found that it helps, and it gives you optimal tire PSI suggestions for the temp.
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12-02-2019, 08:07 PM | #17 |
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If you are referring to Pilot Sport 4s summer tires, 35 PSI in front 38 PSI in the rear. (Staggered configuration). The pressure ratings are on the nameplate when you open the door, remember this is done at cold temps.
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04-24-2021, 04:30 PM | #19 |
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04-25-2021, 10:01 AM | #20 |
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I just installed the A/S 3+ and can confirm that it does impact the overall steering feel.
I'm on an xDrive and it came from the dealer with a square setup with Pirelli Cinturato P7 all season run flats. Was not thrilled about them, grip was adequate at best, I could not stand the amount of tire noise while driving. It did perform okay during nominal weather conditions though. I recently upgraded my suspension, wheels/tires. Running a staggered setup with 19x9.5 +22 and 19x10.5 +35 with the A/S 3+. Such a night and day difference, the A/S 3+ performs better than some summer tires I've had before and with the wider setup, lower suspension, it really improved the overall handling and ride quality. The downside is that like this thread mentions, you do lose steering feel. I didn't mind losing the steering feedback but what bothers me is how much lighter the steering is now. I love weighted steering feel which was OK on the stock setup but with this new setup, even in Sport Plus, the steering has definitely lost its weight which really bothers me. I'm just trying to rationalize it in my head that the benefits I am getting with the new setup outweighs the loss of the steering weight, haha.
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05-18-2021, 10:01 PM | #22 | |
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