Potenza S001 tires instead of Ecopia EP500?

[BlueBMWi3s]

Howdy! Just picked up my blue 2019 i3s. Not that pleased with sole-sourced wheels and tires. I noticed that Bridgestone also offers Potenza S001 tires in 195/50-20.... and was interested to know if anyone has placed these tires on the rear of an i3s.... :?:

 

[jadnashuanh]

If performance is your only goal, they may be a good choice, but they make no claims about low rolling resistance that can affect range, and the UTQG is only 280 versus 440 on the OEM tire.

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

My other car is a 2017 Ford Cmax Energi. It came with Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires that would start squealing at the sight of an onramp. When I placed lightweight Konig wheels and slightly wider Pirelli Pzero Nero GT tires on it, the driving characteristics completely changed (from eco-saver to super-fun).

I'm not willing to go down the route of custom wheels, and I will assume BMW has done us well with lightweight wheels. I have done some minimal Googling, and haven't found the answer to a related question: Do the rear i3s wheels fit on the front axle of an i3s (that is, clear the suspension and wheel well arch)? If yes, then would it be interesting to go square and then be able to fit the S001 performance tires all-around?

 

[alohart]

I noticed that Bridgestone also offers Potenza S001 tires in 195/50-20.... and was interested to know if anyone has placed these tires on the rear of an i3s.... :?:

A couple of i3 owners have installed these tires and reported their impressions on the Facebook i3 Worldwide group.

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

Huh... I hadn't even considered searching on Facebook. Thanks for the pointer! Besides the i3 Worldwide group, I also applied for the USA group, as well as the Performance and Tuning group.... Looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me, if my applications are approved.

I will come back here and summarize, in case someone lands on this thread.

 

[derekgates]

Huh... I hadn't even considered searching on Facebook. Thanks for the pointer! Besides the i3 Worldwide group, I also applied for the USA group, as well as the Performance and Tuning group.... Looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me, if my applications are approved.

I will come back here and summarize, in case someone lands on this thread.

I certainly appreciate if you could report back with your findings; I ditched Facebook a couple years ago and have been dismayed that the i3 activity circles around the FB group.

The 'only one tire' has been plaguing me since I purchased, would love an alternative!

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

Knowledgeable owner/track driver Tom Wiggins at the Facebook Tuning and Performance group says he has installed Potenza S001 tires in 195/50-20 (front) and 215/45-20 (rear) on the stock 20" i3s wheels with no spacers required. I have placed my order for these tires, and will report back in a couple weeks after I have them mounted/balanced/installed on my 2019 i3s. Please stay tuned....

 

[derekgates]

Knowledgeable owner/track driver Tom Wiggins at the Facebook Tuning and Performance group says he has installed Potenza S001 tires in 195/50-20 (front) and 215/45-20 (rear) on the stock 20" i3s wheels with no spacers required. I have placed my order for these tires, and will report back in a couple weeks after I have them mounted/balanced/installed on my 2019 i3s. Please stay tuned....

Thanks for updating! I've jotted that down as a note for future tire possibilities. Wonder if dealer would even consider that as a tire or give me a hard time about trying to mount it...

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

Mounted the 215/45-20 and 195/50-20 Bridgestone Potenza S001 tires on the stock 2019 431 i3s wheels. No fitment issues.

The S001 tires are each about 2 pounds heavier than the Ecopia EP500 tires. The EP500 are, of course, narrower. Also, it seems the EP500s have more flexible (thinner?) sidewalls.

First impressions: Very pleased with the extra grip! Out-accelerated an unsuspecting Porsche Carrera S from a red light, and then had to make a turn onto an onramp. I'm pretty sure I would have understeered with the EP500s.... no issues with the S001s!

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

One additional item: I had the tires mounted by my local speed shop. They didn't mention anything about trying to mount slightly wider tires on those narrow stock wheels. And the end results look fine; no objectionable tire bulge, in my eyes.

 

[derekgates]

Mounted the 215/45-20 and 195/50-20 Bridgestone Potenza S001 tires on the stock 2019 431 i3s wheels. No fitment issues.

The S001 tires are each about 2 pounds heavier than the Ecopia EP500 tires. The EP500 are, of course, narrower. Also, it seems the EP500s have more flexible (thinner?) sidewalls.

First impressions: Very pleased with the extra grip! Out-accelerated an unsuspecting Porsche Carrera S from a red light, and then had to make a turn onto an onramp. I'm pretty sure I would have understeered with the EP500s.... no issues with the S001s!

Hey thanks for replying! That sounds like a fun setup. I am constantly shocked by the level of grip on the i3 and having more grip would be even better, haha.

Where did you source the tires? I found the 215/45-20 but having trouble finding the 195.


I am curious how the tires will hold up for you, especially making Porsches weep at every light.

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

Regarding 195 S001, please search on ebay:
s001 195/50-20

Read the description carefully, as some items are listed as 2015 production, while others are listed as 2017 production.

 

[joni3s]

Mounted the 215/45-20 and 195/50-20 Bridgestone Potenza S001 tires on the stock 2019 431 i3s wheels. No fitment issues.

The S001 tires are each about 2 pounds heavier than the Ecopia EP500 tires. The EP500 are, of course, narrower. Also, it seems the EP500s have more flexible (thinner?) sidewalls.

First impressions: Very pleased with the extra grip! Out-accelerated an unsuspecting Porsche Carrera S from a red light, and then had to make a turn onto an onramp. I'm pretty sure I would have understeered with the EP500s.... no issues with the S001s!

so now that you've had some time with the Potenzas, what type of hit have you seen on the range? thx

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

I am probably the worst person to ask about battery range effect! :lol: I have access to a free L2 charger near work, so I don't really pay too much attention, other than determining whether I can go two days or three days between charging. [I am devoting way too many brain cycles to figure out if I want to do Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Friday charging!]

I have not noticed any range degradation... But I probably already got only 110 miles with my 120Ah battery... Although after a full charge, my i3s still optimistically suggests I have a 130+ mile range.

[Bonus anecdote: Out-accelerated my neighbor's VW Golf GTI over the weekend....but of course, that was a given!]

 

[joni3s]

I am probably the worst person to ask about battery range effect! :lol: I have access to a free L2 charger near work, so I don't really pay too much attention, other than determining whether I can go two days or three days between charging. [I am devoting way too many brain cycles to figure out if I want to do Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Friday charging!]

I have not noticed any range degradation... But I probably already got only 110 miles with my 120Ah battery... Although after a full charge, my i3s still optimistically suggests I have a 130+ mile range.

[Bonus anecdote: Out-accelerated my neighbor's VW Golf GTI over the weekend....but of course, that was a given!]

nice. no spacers needed on the stock i3s setup?

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

No spacers with the stock 20" i3s wheels.

 

[electronchaser]

No spacers with the stock 20" i3s wheels.

Thanks for bringing all this insight and test fitting everything and reporting back. I wanted to copy over this setup (but with 195s all around), ran into problems sourcing i3s wheels (ive got a plain i3) . So I figured why not order a set of rear 175's and at least throw them onto the front wheels and get 40mm more contact patch. Granted they're going to be the ecopia tires, not the s0001s but i think it might buy me a few mph faster turn ins and more high speed stability (even if i lose a few miles of range). How is the comfort and road noise aspect of the new setup?

 

[TNi3s]

Hi BlueBMWi3s, thanks for sharing your experience with the new tires. Can you give any feedback about the ride, is it softer or more harsh than the stock tires? I also have an i3s and I'm thinking in changing the tires to the Potenza....

 

[BlueBMWi3s]

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.

 

[electronchaser]

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.

Interesting, I was also looking at doing an i8 wheel swap as well, but wanted to use only the 7inch wide wheels front and back for a square setup. Ended up looking at too much money, I'll just upgrade fronts to 175s until i can find a set of used i3s rims, or aftermarket wheels that wouldn't break the bank.

off subject, but anyone know if the car would encounter handling issues if I were to put the summer ecopia 175 upfront and leave the all season ones on the back?