[irablumberg]

Update 10/26/14: photos added, 1 shot straight on from front, 1 shot straight on from rear, 1 shot along side

Update: photos added, 1 shot of the front, 2 shots of the rear.

I just replaced the stock MPSS tires on my M4 with 275/30-19 front and 295/30-19 rear Yokohama AD08r tires. I'm still using the stock wheels. I'll try to get pictures by the weekend. Meanwhile, I think the set up looks very good. There is not any significant "bulge" in the sidewalls out beyond the edge of the rim. The sidewall flares out slightly, but it does not look radically different than the stock tire set up.

My observations so far are as follows (based on 40 miles of driving on public roads).

* The sidewalls on the AD08r are much stiffer than the MPSS. On the adaptive suspension, Comfort Mode now feels almost as firm as Sport. I don't mind this as it also gives the car a much greater feeling of control. I still drive in Sport mode and at least on the decent roads in my area, the ride is fine.

* Steering feel is heavier than stock. I use Sport mode for steering and it does feel like the steering weight has increased. This does amplify the effect that some have reported of slightly numb on center feel followed by fairly heavy off center feel. I believe I will get used to the new steering feel in just a few days. It also feels like I get more steering feedback now. In particular, I get a better sense of the road surface. Smooth roads still feel smooth. I can definitely now feel roads surfaces with small bumps or undulations much more clearly than with the stock tires.

* Tire noise is slightly louder than the MPSS, but not at all problematic even at 75-80 MPH.

* The tires appear to fit with no rubbing. I am using stock 19" wheels and no spacers. The tires do poke out from the fenders just a bit more than stock, but it looks good.

* With only 40 miles on the tires, it is a bit early to get a sense of traction. However, I did a few full throttle stomps from a 5 MPH roll accelerating to between 60 and 70 MPH (except for the one where I was a bit slow to react and suddenly I was going 80+ MPH). Out of 5 or 6 tries, I only had traction control intrude and cut power once. This may have been due to crap in the road. On at least 2 of the tries the traction light did not illuminate at all. On the others, the traction light blinked very briefly, but I felt no loss of power. This is already better than the performance of the stock MPSS. With the stock tires I would regularly feel power getting cut when I inadvertently accelerated too hard (not full throttle) from a stop light.

* There are very few roads with any "fun" curves in my area. As a result, I don't know if I will be able to get a real sense of changes in dynamic or steady state cornering. There is one 270* freeway ramp posted at 25 MPH that I previously took at 50 MPH. I will see how the car does on this bit as soon as I have a clear shot.

So far I do like the changes these tires have provided. I do think they will hook up much better than stock once they are fully scrubbed in. This is not a cheap upgrade, but I am happy with it.