Best Tyres for the BMW E36 328i Sport

Had these mounted early 2025 and after having done lots of daily driving in various conditions, including a 6000 km roadtrip in central Europe with top speed runs on the autobahn, I am very impressed. Handling is balanced and progressive at the limit, both in the wet and dry. So far the wear is barely noticable. Only complaint is that turn in feels a little dull for the size and sidewall height, but it also translates in to less tramlining.

These tyres look nice and have a V tread pattern and handle good in the dry with no problems. BUT in the wet pushing 200BHP+ rear wheel drive these tyres are poor and I had no confidence in throwing the car around and had to slow for roundabouts as was always worried about the tail end slipping out, as I had experienced previously. Not bad for a budget tyre but compared to the Michellins PS2 I have now.......... well you cant compare them......... simples!!

These tyres were good in the dry as most tyres are and braking in the dry was good too. But they are lethal in the wet and I had to be very careful as the back end could easily slip out due to my driving style. They did not last that long either. These are a poor budget tyre for a sports saloon and dont perform well in the wet at all. And seing in the UK we get loads of wet weather i would not have these again. Dont get excited by the V tread and look of this tyre thinking it shifts water well as it does not.

These tyres are slightly overated in my honest opinion the dry and wet grip are good but not brilliant as I have read on these threads and they dont last that long either. A good mid range tyre.

Where to start, fantastically priced tyre, grip is very good if not excellent in the dry, only had them sliding once in the wet, but that was deliberate on my behalf, after crashing in the bloody car park in the wet ( 20mph ) on Goodyears, I was rather sheepish about driving in the wet in this, my first BMW, and a 328 sport to boot.
Anyway, the only fly in the ointment is the wear rates, I'm gutted, just looking for a 3rd set of rears in less than a year, and I dont have a lead foot, mostly m'way driving at 80mph, I do over 30k a year, and a generous estimate of 7k per tyre just isnt good enough.
I've had the tracking checked and all sorts, fronts are still top bollox after 25k, but am eating rears at the same rate of knots as my m'bike!. . .. sheesh!!!

Where to start, fantastically priced tyre, grip is very good if not excellent in the dry, only had them sliding once in the wet, but that was deliberate on my behalf, after crashing in the bloody car park in the wet ( 20mph ) on Goodyears, I was rather sheepish about driving in the wet in this, my first BMW, and a 328 sport to boot.
Anyway, the only fly in the ointment is the wear rates, I'm gutted, just looking for a 3rd set of rears in less than a year, and I dont have a lead foot, mostly m'way driving at 80mph, I do over 30k a year, and a generous estimate of 7k per tyre just isnt good enough.
I've had the tracking checked and all sorts, fronts are still top bollox after 25k, but am eating rears at the same rate of knots as my m'bike!. . .. sheesh!!!

So after 10,000 miles or 16000 kms on rubbish NZ roads with coarse mix, these tyres have done very well. Excellent turn in and very chatty compared to my previous Toyo Proxes CT01. Good initial bite when cornering and very steady without requiring steering corrections. Have worn down to nearly half after 10,000 miles but very spirited and very poor roads are probably to count for that. Can be noisy but that is the price to pay for outright grip.

Bought two of these for the rear after the previous rubber made me seriously uneasy in the wet. Read the reviews and nothing seemed to come close. Was a little bit sceptical about the reviews, thought they might be exaggerated, but decided to give them a go.
This really is a great tyre, hampered only by it's lack of durability. Wet and dry grip is unparalleled. Communicates nicely when it's about to let go, though to be honest, you need to really push them to get them sliding... more than what would be considered responsible and mature. Regardless of the weather, they inspire confidence.
The only thing that would stop me from buying them again (which I promised myself I would after the first month of driving) is the rate at which they wear. Obviously these tyres wear quicker than a hard compound tyre, and the soft compound is a trade-off for the grip levels. But I still would say the wear is just too extreme. I've covered 6000 miles, and I'll be lucky to get another 1000 out of them. It was all going well till I went on a bit of a road trip through Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro in summer. With temperatures between 30 and 40degC, the rubber was getting ridiculously soft, to the extent that you could feel it disintegrating when you ran a finger across the tread. I could almost picture the chucks flying off as I drove along the coast.
To conclude, if money's not an issue, buy these, I've not experience anything better. Yes, they are expensive compared to some others, and I wasn't impressed by the wear rate, but you just can't beat that level of grip on a normal (non slick or semi-slick) tyre. As for whether I'd buy them again... well, I'll need to have a word with the bank manager ;)

Not a great tyre IMO. It is good value to buy, and has good aquaplaning results, but dry grip and grip on wet surfaces is no better than average.

As a upmarket budget tyre it is ok, but compared to upmarket brands it appears a poor performer. It is also not as good as similar priced Toyo proxes T1R or Falken FK-452. So my summary, ok but you can do better. :-)

With the BMW 328i Sport being rather overtyred using the same sizes as the E36 M3; a 245/40/17 at the rear, tyre choice is chosed with half an eye on cost.

I really wanted to have Michelin Pilot Sport II's all round, however they were coming in at about ?170 per tyre!

So I was recommended the Marshall KU17 by my trusted tyre fitter.

As he explained, they use the same Silicon technology as the top brands, Goodyear F1's for example, meaning superior grip and wear.

Add to this, the tyre was only ?70 a tyre - and it looked nice enough - very similar in design to the original Michelin Pilot Sport (i.e. Symmetrical).

Having had them fitted and bedded them in, now I have got over the initial 'lets not wear them out so quick this time', I've set to really leaning on them.

And the good news is: They really are very very good. Especially at that cost.

In the wet, perhaps because I'm pushing 200bhp around at the rear, and I'm always looking to move the back around, they don't perhaps have as much grip as I'd like, however they do work well.

They clear water very well, and a fairly quiet.

However dry grip is their party piece.

I simply have to be a nutter to get them sliding, and into corners, setting the car up well, they just grip and grip. Very progressive in their movement across the thread as well.

All in all, as a budget performance tyre, they really are amazing.

Very much recommended, and should Pilot Sport II's still be expensive, I'll be getting more of the same.