Potenza S001 tires instead of Ecopia EP500?

[Mg012]

I was thrilled to see this thread. I've always been disappointed with the skinny tires that came with the car and looked forward to replacing them with some with a larger footprint, but wanted to hear from other owners.

I've just ordered the Portenza S001 195/50 R20's for my 2015 i3. Discount Tire says the 215's require a 6" rim but the factory Gigaworld rim is supposedly only 5.5". Anybody know anything about this?

What tire pressures are you using for the S001's?

thank you
Michael

 

[KarlC]

I have been on the S001 tires so long, I can't remember what the stock Ecopia tires felt like. Maybe that means no meaningful difference in ride quality. Definitely less understeer with the S001s, which could be due to a combination of wider and stickier rubber up front. Maybe less tramlining on grooved highways with the wider tires.

I like the look better with wider rubber too. Less of a motorcycle tire appearance.

I can understand if some are bothered by the bulge effect of having these tires on the stock narrow wheels. It probably affects handling when aggressively carving corners....

For that reason, as well as attempting to lose unsprung wheel/tire weight, I am considering placing the 444 i8 wheels on the i3s. These wheels are 20x7 front, 20x7.5 rear, so 1.5 inches wider both front and rear. Interestingly, the S001 tires are the stock summer tires on these i8 wheels! So wider lighter wheels with the same size tires.

How are you losing unsprung wheel/tire weight by using the 444 i8 wheels on the i3s ? What do the 444 i8 wheels weigh ?

 

[PBNB]

For that reason, as well as attempting to lose unsprung wheel/tire weight, I am considering placing the 444 i8 wheels on the i3s. These wheels are 20x7 front, 20x7.5 rear, so 1.5 inches wider both front and rear. Interestingly, the S001 tires are the stock summer tires on these i8 wheels! So wider lighter wheels with the same size tires.

Blue, were you able to do anything more with this wheel swap idea? I ask because I have a set of wheels available in the local craigslist but they are wider at 7.5" and 8.5". This may make them useless unless I just get the fronts and then another set of fronts making a square setup and adding extra width at the front. Ideally the staggered setup would be better I would have to fit them and see how they work with the fenders and inner suspension parts etc..

 

[jadnashuanh]

The i3's contact patch is determined by the vehicle's weight and the tire pressure. Changing the width will not change the actual contact patch area, but will change the orientation of that patch to be wider. So, depends on whether you want more cornering grip versus acceleration. A wider tire will have more drag, so depends on if you are willing to accept the (slightly) less range.

 

[m6rk]

Hi everyone, I would like to share my experiences about that subject.

Until now, I did not use S001 to compare it with EP500, but I experienced something different...

I've used a 2014 i3 for 47.500 kms with 19' tomahawk wheels & stock EP500 tyres. The handling of the car was quite strange comparing many other cars I've experienced. After a while I've learned its handling characteristics and was happy with it... Needless to say, the car had a big understeering issues on quick corners.

In 2018, I've changed it and bought a i3s. It's been 42.000 kms until now & I am still using it with pure satisfaction. That one has 20' sport wheels, 175/55 at the front & 195/50 at the rear, again EP500 tyres. Apart form that, the i3s is 10 mm lower, 10 mm wider and has more sporty shock absorbers. The result is... fantastic!

So, I am writing this to tell you that the real upgrade would not be having ONLY wider tyres. I would suggest to i3 owners to do (respectively):
1) invest on i3s shock absorbers (the car will be lowered and become stiffer)
2) add some spacers (5mm is enough)

After all that, you can opt to use the i3s stock tyre dimensions (175/55 & 195/50)

This package will do a great job.

Cheers,

 

[DaveM]

So glad I found this thread! @BlueBMWi3s what tire pressure did you go with?