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Best Tyres for the BMW Z3 roadster

BMW Z3 roadster drivers have left 15 tyre reviews on Tyre Reviews, covering 151,150 miles of real world driving. Every tyre they rated is ranked below, so you can see what actually works on this car. The numbers include 1 Z3 roadster variants, listed further down.

This page covers the BMW Z3 roadster specifically. For the full picture, the BMW Z3 page combines 21 reviews from every variant. All BMW Z3 reviews →

  • 15owner reviews
  • 151,150 milescovered on them
  • 13different tyres rated
  • 69%average tyre score
Most fitted size - 6 reviews 225/45 R17 To scale, mm
Ø 634 225 101 17" 101 All 225/45 R17 data →

The best rated tyres that fit the BMW Z3 roadster

The rankings above can only speak for tyres a BMW Z3 roadster driver has already reviewed. These are the highest rated tyres we hold that are actually manufactured in the sizes these drivers run - 225/45 R17 and 225/50 R16 - whether or not anyone here has fitted them yet. They are ranked on the TR Score, which is built from independent test results and every owner review of that tyre.

Summer tyres

No BMW Z3 roadster driver has reviewed a tyre in the Summer category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 is our highest rated, at 9.7 out of 10.

Highest rated Summer tyres made in BMW Z3 roadster sizes
# Tyre TR Score Made in BMW Z3 roadster reviews
1 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 9.7 225/45 R17 Be the first →
2 Continental PremiumContact 7 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
3 Bridgestone Potenza Sport Evo 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
4 Michelin Pilot Sport 5 9.4 All your sizes Be the first →
5 Falken ZIEX ZE320 9.4 All your sizes Be the first →
6 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Summer Tyres →

All Season tyres

No BMW Z3 roadster driver has reviewed a tyre in the All Season category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 is our highest rated, at 9.6 out of 10.

Highest rated All Season tyres made in BMW Z3 roadster sizes
# Tyre TR Score Made in BMW Z3 roadster reviews
1 Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF3 9.6 225/45 R17 Be the first →
2 Continental AllSeasonContact 2 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
3 Vredestein Quatrac 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
4 Michelin CrossClimate 3 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
5 BFGoodrich Advantage All Season 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
6 Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 9.4 All your sizes Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best All Season Tyres → Test winner: Goodyear Vector All Season 4

Winter tyres

No BMW Z3 roadster driver has reviewed a tyre in the Winter category yet. Of the ones made in this car's sizes, the Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 is our highest rated, at 9.5 out of 10.

Highest rated Winter tyres made in BMW Z3 roadster sizes
# Tyre TR Score Made in BMW Z3 roadster reviews
1 Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
2 Michelin Alpin 7 9.5 225/45 R17 Be the first →
3 Bridgestone Blizzak 6 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
4 Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 3 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
5 Nokian Snowproof 3P 9.4 225/45 R17 Be the first →
6 Kumho WinterCraft WP52+ 9.3 225/45 R17 Be the first →

Want test data as well as owner opinion? Best Winter Tyres → Test winner: Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3

Fitment comes from each tyre's manufactured size list, and the sizes are the ones drivers reported when they reviewed. Check the size, load index and speed rating on your own doorplate before buying - a size a previous owner ran is not always the size your car left the factory on.

Every tyre reviewed on the BMW Z3 roadster

The complete record, including discontinued tyres and tyres with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 11 tyres have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.

All tyres reviewed by BMW Z3 roadster drivers
Tyre Season Owner rating Reviews Distance reviewed
Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 All Season 77% 2 55,000 miles
Uniroyal RainSport 3 Replaced by Uniroyal RainSport 5 Summer 63% 2 2,800 miles

Tyre sizes BMW Z3 roadster drivers run

The sizes fitted in the reviews on this page. Each one links to the top rated tyres in that size, across every car.

BMW Z3 roadster variants, reviewed separately

These trims and body styles have pages of their own. Their reviews are already counted in the rankings above.

What BMW Z3 roadster drivers say

The most recent owner reviews from this car, in their own words.

73%
Kumho Ecsta PS31 205-55-16- BMW Z3 roadster 2.8 (twin VANOS) 21,500 miles April 26, 2022
Been driving on these since I bought the car in 2017 (started with 225/45ZR17, then switched to 205/55ZR16 on stock wheels as 225/50 was too expensive). Mostly driven quicker than general traffic (not quite spirited though), with occasional hard driving when conditions permit (although the South African potholes tend to make that hard). I can't really comment much on their wet grip as I'm not the type to do something stupid in the rain, but apart from when I had unstable toe at the back it's never disappointed in the wet. In the dry, they're excellent. They don't break loose unless I'm very deliberate, and even then the car is very easy to control. That being said, they do wear very quickly. I'm looking at 20-25k km on a set with rotation. So if you're looking for durable tyres, you'd best look elsewhere. But if like me you don't drive that much, then they give excellent grip for the money. And I can't say much about noise, as this is after all an inherently noisy car. I can definitely recommend them.
89%
Hankook Ventus RS4 225-50-16- BMW Z3 roadster December 7, 2021
I swear by these tyres having used for very aggressive driving on street and rough tarmac, has saved my life from kangaroos on more than one occasion at over 100kmh with rapid response, very good tyre for someone looking to get into spirited driving or tracking, it trains you well to receive feedback and get handling ability on-top of being great in the wet once you to temperature. Be aware of cold wet surfaces before warning tyres up as they are very slippy . Other than that I love these adj the price is very good considering it performs up with some of the more expensive tyres. Also it has had tonnes of skids and lasted alot longer than any of my economy tyrs
79%
BFGoodrich g Grip All Season 2 245-35-18- BMW Z3 roadster 1,000 miles July 5, 2021
Greetings from Canada. Having gone from 2 sets of Michelin Pilot Sport (excellent summer tire), to 1 set of Bridgestone Potenza (not a bad tire at all), to a new set of BFGoodrich g-Grip AS2, I must say I was shocked at the immediate difference in softness when cornering hard. I was so used to driving on rails and all of a sudden the car went "mushy" on turns. Also much noisier at their limit than the other two brands and overall feel soft . Which makes for a very comfortable and quiet ride especially when I put the roof down . Good grip on rainy roads but I wouldn't push the car in the rain. However I installed the new tires in March (couldn't wait to get my convertible out), and there was still snow on the ground and ICE on some spots in my parking lot. Now these tires were FANTASTIC even on icy surfaces! I could't move an inch with the other tires but these ones had grip and lots of it. VERY impressed! If you need a real All Season tire, for me this is it. ( I don't drive my BMW in the later part of the Canadian winters, I use Nokia Hakka9 Studded on my Range Rover and have been very happy). Cheers!
100%
Avon ZV7 225-45-17- BMW Z3 roadster 150 miles October 11, 2020
After putting up with tramlining for years with the continentals that were fitted when I bought the car I read on a website that the avon zv range may help. What a difference these tyres have made. It is like driving a different car so relaxing to drive now and goes were you point it and not following every irregularity on the road surface. I have had my bmw z3 nine years now and I wish I had found out a bit sooner.
33%
Uniroyal RainSport 3 225-50-16- BMW Z3 roadster 2,800 miles April 23, 2019
These tires are a joke! Especially their name "Sport"...
Probably the worst tires I have ever tested. Borderline dangerous.
Yes the rubber is grippy but they cannot keep a straight line to save their lives!
Even worst is their behavior to sudden turns. You will have a better driving experience on donuts.
That's how bad they are. The car has a floating feeling that is nearly uncontrollable after 120km/h.
If you push them hard at low speeds but very sharp road turns they will scream and you also have
a feeling that they are bending.
My previous tires were Bridgestone Adrenalin and the difference is abysmal.
In the wet they are grippy but they have the same behavior in terms of stability.
I have replaced half the bushes in my car, some with polyurethane, installed brand new sport
suspension and the difference I was able to make was minimal. I have just received new rims,
I am buying again Bridgestones and these tires are going to the junk yard were they belong.

If you are looking for some performance tires STAY AWAY from these.
Really, they are dangerous for any kind of sport driving.
92%
Uniroyal RainSport 3 225-45-17-V BMW Z3 roadster July 5, 2014
Just fitted this tyre all round - Previously praised Unis rainexpert tyre for sorting out my Mx-5 wet handling & these have vastly improved my Z3 handling feeling a lot more secure - have not tested yet in really bad rain but v happy so far!
97%
Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 225-50-16-W BMW Z3 roadster 48,000 miles March 13, 2014
They have been excellent tyres and I am going to replace them with the same.
93%
Bridgestone Potenza RE720 225-45-17- BMW Z3 roadster 20,000 miles June 7, 2013
I think this is the best tire ever created! ...and the most misunderstood.
Especially the one that was produced in Japan. Simply an amazing tire!
Phenomenal dry grip with excellent progressiveness and amazing performance
in wet roads. Never aquaplaned at any speeds! Even when the car started
to drift, it returned back very controllably. Cornering was like a train on
rails. Very stiff side-walls that translated into instant direction turning
and steer responsiveness. All this of course translates to fast tire wear.
They managed to create a stiff and at the same time fast wearing tire that
did not loose its elasticity!

Having said that, I think that Bridgestone made the biggest mistake when
they stopped producing the RE720. I have done more than 500.000 miles
with several tires and brands and I cannot find yet one that comes even
close to this tire. Some of them work ok in the beginning but their
performance deteriorates fast.

Now this tire is very much misunderstood by many people because they
were using it on lightweight cars and without proper warming up.

I have now ordered the Potenza Adrenalin RE002.
Lets hope its performance is similar to the RE720.
51%
Primewell PZ900 225-45-17- BMW Z3 roadster 4,500 miles May 29, 2012
I put these on the rear of my z3 they showed tread before I put 5000 miles on them.
62%
Federal SS595 SUPER STEEL 255-40-17- BMW Z3 roadster 5,000 miles April 20, 2010
Very poor grip levels and I am sliding around everywhere. Not something an MZ3 needs help with. The crazy camber on the z normally means it eats the inside of the rear tyres, but even with a concerted effort to wear them out so I have a proper excuse to get rid of them, they are not wearing at all. Probably why they have so little grip.
Very progressive breakaway though.

I found out recently that these are marketed here as drift tyres, which explains a lot.

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Where this data comes from

Every rating on this page was submitted by a driver through the review form on this site, naming the car, the tyre, the size and the distance covered. Reviews are checked by hand before publication, and the page rebuilds automatically as new ones arrive.

About the TR Score

The Tyre Reviews Score rates each tyre out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.

Who does the testing

Every test published as a Tyre Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tyres independently since 2007.

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