BMW 116i Tyres

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Tyre Reviewed Dry Grip Wet Grip Feedback Handling Wear Comfort
Vredestein Sportrac 5 (100) 88% 85% 84% 83% 86% 84%
Barum Bravuris 3HM (66) 88% 83% 82% 80% 87% 84%
Vredestein Quatrac Lite (7) 86% 87% 80% 81% 86% 87%
Continental WinterContact TS 850 (56) 88% 90% 85% 85% 85% 90%
Kleber Krisalp HP3 (35) 85% 85% 82% 81% 84% 88%
Tigar Hitris (9) 88% 90% 78% 83% 73% 76%
Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125 (120) 89% 80% 80% 79% 80% 80%
Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance (251) 86% 84% 76% 78% 73% 85%
Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 (45) 79% 85% 73% 73% 85% 83%
Sava Eskimo S3 Plus (31) 74% 73% 70% 72% 77% 82%
Kumho Ecsta KU31 (165) 83% 75% 77% 76% 72% 74%
Michelin Energy Saver (136) 83% 71% 74% 71% 85% 80%
Bridgestone Turanza T005 (153) 82% 79% 73% 73% 65% 72%
Hankook Ventus Prime2 (61) 79% 73% 72% 71% 67% 72%
Bridgestone Turanza T001 (107) 80% 70% 69% 67% 63% 72%
Goodyear EfficientGrip (144) 77% 68% 64% 61% 70% 72%
Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Run Flat (144) 72% 54% 55% 48% 55% 33%

BMW 116i Tyre Review Highlights

Writing about the Bridgestone Turanza T005 given 87% (205-55-16-)
Driving on mostly motorways for 19000 average miles
Very good tyres and very good price
tyre reviewed on 2024-11-24 12:43:22
Writing about the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance given 79% (205-55-16-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 52000 spirited miles
I am using for 85000 kms and it was good over all. The problem was sidewall soft but goodyear made it very well. It was quiet. But last 20000kms it was little bit abs working and wheelspin. 50000 kms is enough for this tyre. If you want to buy this tyre again, don't, just buy the newest generation efficientgrip performance 2. I bought it today. Sidewalls are harder and comfy. I will write midlife review later.
tyre reviewed on 2022-09-28 11:59:04
Writing about the Vredestein Sportrac 5 given 86% (205-55-16-)
Driving on track for 32300 easy going miles
I've got these tyres mounted in my BMW 116i since almost 4 years. After 52.000 kms, they should be at the end of their lifetime, but it seems they will perform well for other 10.000 kms. I spend half of the use in town, and half in motorway. Although I'm a careful driver, it does not mean that I don't push the car to the limit from time to time. And the tyres are not yet wear. I've used them mostly in dry conditions (I live in Spain), but sometimes in wet and even in snow, given that I'm a snow sports lover. The performance in dry is really, really good, although they work not as good in extreme wet conditions. As overall, I'll buy them again.
tyre reviewed on 2022-09-19 02:39:51
Writing about the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance given 79% (205-55-16-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 50000 average miles
I got it for 80000 km(50000 miles) on it for my 1 series. It has got very good dry grip and wet grip. But the sidewalls are week. It is silent tire and soft rubber is best for comfort. I will try the 2nd generation. If you are going to buy this efficientgrip performance series buy the 2nd generation it is better by % 10-15 .
tyre reviewed on 2022-04-29 10:44:19
Writing about the Vredestein Sportrac 5 given 90% (205-55-16-)
Driving on a combination of roads for 22 average miles
Sportrac 5 behaves really well at dry. Not being -extrictly speaking- a sport tyre, the behave and response are quite good for a usual driver. The wear is even slower than expected (35.000 kms done and aseems to remain at least 20.000 kms else). The main weakness is the wet weather. Under moderate rain, they still go well, but if there are puddles, the behaviour start to decrease. I also had the chance to drive on snow, and...surprise! they fitted well!! I would recommend them for normal and conservative drivers (non sport style), specially for dry and/or eventual rain. It worths the price-durability-sensations you got.
tyre reviewed on 2021-09-03 06:46:02
Writing about the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen 2 given 97% (205-55-16-)
Driving on mostly country roads for 3000 spirited miles
Had these on my BMW 1 series for winter 2019 to 2020 on the front as my summer tyres were breaking traction at temps around zero on damp roads at relatively low speeds on the front. The handling transformed, I could drive the car as hard all over winter as I could in summer. It was a mild winter with little in the way of frosts and I don't remember there being any snow. Once the weather warmed up I put the summer tyres back on, I never changed the rears as the traction control and the Hankook Ventus Prime 3's had the back end covered well enough. The Kumho Ecsta's I had on the fronts were out of control on the rear before and not good enough for the front either. I had some spare wheels so swapping over was easy. I will do another review later but had to have just one vehicle until recently as I was in and out of work. I've just got a Golf diesel so I don't have to drive my van all the time so these will be going on there next winter and might see a bit of track action in the wet too.
tyre reviewed on 2021-05-16 14:25:30
Writing about the Goodyear EfficientGrip given 100% (225-45-17-)
Driving on mostly town for 25000 average miles
Runflats fitted to a BMW 116i (205/55R16) and couldnt be happier. They really pleasantly surprised me in the wet. No slip at all. Comfortable, quiet great tyres. Would definitely buy again and highly recommend to others.
tyre reviewed on 2020-05-08 19:27:46
Writing about the Kleber Krisalp HP3 given 95% (195-55-16-)
Driving on for 1500 average miles
Didn't have any stressful situations with these tires in the snow, but I have tested them in the snow and they seemed good. I did have a stressful situations in dry and wet grip and they performed great and quite good respectively. They are very quiet as far as winter tires go, can't say nothing about wear. Obviously with winter tires you don't push them to the limit too much, but for more spirited driving they will not dissapoint as long as you don't go overboard.
tyre reviewed on 2020-03-01 06:01:57
Writing about the Hankook Ventus Prime 3 K125 given 96% (205-55-16-V)
Driving on mostly country roads for 8500 average miles
Fitted these to my BMW 116i last summer to go with a pair of hardly used but old Kumho Ecsta KU31's that were my previous favourite tyre. Intitially I fitted the Prime 3's up front so as to wear the older tyres first on the rear.
Even with the car kicking the rear out a bit grip and feedback was always superb on the front, once in damp conditions the rear got away and I had to counter steer and brake to avoid hitting the bollard at the exit of the roundabout I was playing on. No problem!!
Grip and aquaplaning resistance was always great in the wet too and even in cold weather when winter came around it was still up there.
Over winter I switched the Prime's to the rear as the Kumho's were getting well loose even with full traction and ESP on with just the standard 115bhp. The front was noticeably less grippy with the Kumho's but still pretty good, the rear however was transformed allowing slightly wreckless driving again as long as the electronics were left on.
This summer I couldn't be arsed to swap the tyres back around, after roughly 8500 miles the Prime 3's are down to 6mm of tread which is not much wear and the engine has had a remap so is slightly more powerful. Kicking the back out is not quite as easy as with the Kumho's on the rear partly because the front will try to understeer a bit now but the car does handle better with the Primes on the rear if you just want to go fast in the corners.
I've just bought a E46 330d coupe for summer so this will be my winter car now, when I need tyres for the 330 I'll be buying more Ventus Prime 3's at least for the front.
tyre reviewed on 2019-06-29 18:56:07
Writing about the Kumho Ecsta KU31 given 77% (205-55-16-V)
Driving on mostly country roads for 10000 average miles
I bought these tyres in November 2011 on a deal at £100 for a pair to fit to the front of my BMW E36 323i replacing a pair of 225/50 Pirelli P6000.
The Kumho's transformed the front end giving so much grip the rear would now swing around like hinge every time I really gave it some throttle. Before it would understeer slightly making the rear easier to control but now the front even in winter conditions could be thrown into corners with gay abandonment. At the time the front end of the old beemer was as good if not better than anything I had ever owned with these on.
After that car was retired 2500 miles later I put the wheels and tyres into storage until I purchased the BMW 116i and fitted some brand new Hankook Ventus Prime 3 to the other pair of wheels.
I bought the car at the beginning of summer and fitted the wheels with the Kumho's to the rear of the car figuring it would be better to wear the older tyres out quicker. The combo of Kumho's on the rear & Ventus Prime's up front was awesome. Turn off traction control and I could almost drift the rear of the car around roundabouts as the feedback was excellent and the grip & feel on the front was also rock solid. Come winter though and traction control was a must as the short wheelbase 1 series would constantly snap out on the cold tarmac.
I swapped the tyres around as the Ventus Primes had won the 2018 Auto Bild test and the Kumho's had proved brilliant on my old car. This sorted the handling, you still needed TC but the car definitely handled better and the Kumho's had almost as much grip on the front as the Hankooks.
So to sum up, the Kumho's work great on the front of a BMW as the weight of the engine increases grip and they have great feel on the rear in summer. They tend to snap out easily on the rear of a rear wheel drive car in winter so not suitable for that application.
The only other fault I have is that once the tyres were down to 6mm (after about another 7000 miles, around 10,000 in total) they were prone to aquaplaning. Maybe this wouldn't have happened on the 323i as it was heavier on the front but it certainly does happen quite a bit on the 116i.
These are an old tire now and technology has moved on so I doubt I would buy again, I also have a feeling they may become dangerous well before reaching the legal limit but they were great in 2011 for the price. They may not aquaplane as much on a heavier car, a 205 section tyre is quite big for a car the size of a 1 series.
tyre reviewed on 2019-06-26 15:01:45
Writing about the Barum Bravuris 3HM given 84% (205-50-17-V)
Driving on mostly country roads for 1000 average miles
No comments left
tyre reviewed on 2017-10-08 02:47:49
Writing about the Michelin Energy Saver given 71% (205-55-16-W)
Driving on a combination of roads for 38000 average miles
The Energy Saver were mounted from factory at my 136CV BMW. After 62.000 kms, half driven in the city, half at the highway (110 140 km/h). They have a very good dry grip and a not as good grip in the wet, specially under heavy rain.
I'd say it's a very predictible tyre, specially indicated for calm drivers, nothing sport, although they allow you some small fun. Furthermore, these tyres last eternally (more or less), not changing very much their behaviour. I've driven 62.000 kms in 3 years and a half, and still 4-5 mm deep, so I guess they may last until... 80.000 kms? Absolutely insane.

Indicated for calm style, more than 20-25.000 kms/year, not expecting nothing sport, but a safe and reliable (and a little more expensive) tyre.
tyre reviewed on 2017-08-24 04:04:19
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