Best tires for BMW X3 (Reviews and Buying Guide)

When choosing a new set of tires for your BMW X3, you have numerous premium options to select from, so it is important to make the best choice.

The BMW X3 is among the best premium models that BMW has produced, and it has retained its popularity since its unveiling on the scene. With that in mind, the variety of tires available and their sizes are vast, and it can be difficult to make a decision if you are not sure what to look for.

This is why we write this review – we have compiled a list of the tire options you should consider. We also base it on several factors; these include the price, value for money, warranties, all-weather capabilities, and performance.

Best tires for BMW X3 – Comparison table

Tire	Best choice for
Continental Cross Contact LX25 radial tire	Best overall pick	Check here
Hankook Kinergy GT H436 radial tire	Best replacement tires	Check here
Falken Ziex all-season radial S/TZ-05 tire	Summer driving option	Check here
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S radial tire	High-performance driving	Check here
Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 tire	Best all-season option	Check here

Reviews of the best tires for BMW X3

Continental Cross Contact LX25 – Best overall choice

Continental CROSS CONTACT LX25 All-Season radial tire – 235/60R 18XL 107V

• EcoPlus+ technology and symmetric tread patterns to enhance smooth movements on the road and extend tread life
• Polyester cord body that supports two steel belts to enhance high-speed handling and responsiveness

This is an all-season tire that fits multiple BMW models, and aims to deliver excellent traction on snowy, dry, and wet road surfaces. It is mainly designed for smaller SUVs or crossovers, although it can work equally well on other car models since its style and size range allows it to compliment any car you pair it with.

The main feature in the tire is its use of EcoPlus+ technology in its tread composition, which helps it maintain traction on both wet and dry surfaces while improving your car’s fuel economy. The tread compound is in a symmetric pattern, which serves to enhance its stability when moving on highways, as well as its responsiveness.

The tire includes four circumferential grooves that increase its resistance to hydroplaning, similar to what you will find on all-season tires. Its inclusion of diagonal and lateral sipes also add biting edges to increase its grip on slippery surfaces, and the use of a polyester cord body supporting internal polyamide reinforcements help in enhancing responsiveness and stability.

Additionally, the tire uses QuickView indicators rather than indicators built into the treads, consisting of Visual Alignment indicators and Performance indicators. These are much easier to read, and combining them with the tread’s outer and inner Visual Alignment indicators allows you to quickly know if the wheels are properly aligned or not. The treadlife is quite long as well for an all-season tire, with a 70,000-mile warranty, although it is not the best choice for off-road or high-performance driving.

Pros

• Excellent resistance to hydroplaning
• Very good handling and responsiveness on multiple surfaces
• Quiet driving
• Very good treadlife and warranty
• Uses easy-to-read Visual Alignment and Performance indicators

Cons

• Tends to be noisy when hitting large potholes
• It cannot handle off-road or high-performance driving conditions

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Hankook Kinergy GT H436 tire – Best replacement tires for the X3

Hankook Kinergy GT H436 All-Season radial tire – 205/55R16 91H

• KINERGY GT exclusive tread design to provide excellent hydroplaning resistance
• Higher stiffness levels to enhance dry road performance and longer tread life

Thanks to its design, the Hankook GT H436 aims to satisfy the needs of luxury sedan and sport coupe car drivers looking for a set of high-performance, all-season options that maintain comfort and quiet rides. The tires use a tread compound consisting of high-grip silica, which also has an M + S (mud and snow) rating for additional traction when you move on snow-covered, dry, or wet pavements.

It has a wide steel belt layer that aims to increase overall stability while ensuring excellent handling and cornering performance. Due to its inclusion of four wide circumferential grooves, its traction on wet surfaces increases due to lower hydroplaning risks, and its center rib will improve handling and braking responsiveness.

The tire has lateral tread grooves, which will work alongside its circumferential grooves to reduce hydroplaning. Within the tire, there are two steel belts that have an external full-cover reinforcement, increasing the stability of the tires when you drive at high speeds while improving the 70,000-mile treadlife. Additionally, it uses a highly stiff bead filler to increase its responsiveness on the road.

Pros

• Very good on-center feel
• Excellent traction on both wet and dry roads
• Very good treadlife
• Ride emphasizes comfort even at high speeds
• Relatively affordable price

Cons

• Handling and traction in deep snow and ice is below average

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Falken Ziex S/TZ-05 radial tire – Best for summer use

Falken Ziex S/TZ-05 All-Season radial tire – 265/50R20 111H

• Comfort and all-season performance mainly for light trucks and luxury SUVs
• Wide shoulder blocks to increase stiffness in the treads, allowing for better stability and handling

Coming as an exclusive offering from the company, this tire will deliver sufficiently in all important areas that you need as a driver, unless you are looking for high-performance options. Since it is a touring tire, its priority is in ensuring you enjoy a calm and quiet driving experience without focusing too much on driving engagement, which is enough if you do not want or need to push the X3 to its limits.

It has a conventional tread pattern with four circumferential grooves and five rows of tread blocks to reduce hydroplaning and increase its water evacuation abilities. It has some notches in its center tread rib, but ultimately the design is of a single unit that allows for good cornering responses. It also has a single row of sipes in its exterior shoulder tread blocks, which improve its grip on wet and mildly snowy road surfaces.

Aside from this, there are plenty of jagged edges along the central tread blocks, which enhance the tire’s grip on wet roads, and help increase your confidence when engaging its braking and handling. Its 60,000-mile warranty ensures that it will last for as long as you need, even though its winter performance is not as good as some other tire options.

Pros

• Impressive grip levels on wet and dry surfaces
• Very good tread life
• Durable tire design
• Works well in the summer months

Cons

• Limitations in its winter grip

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Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tire – best for high-performance driving

MICHELIN Pilot Sport 4 SUV All-Season radial tire – 235/60R18/XL 107W

• Dynamic Response technology improves your control and feel on the road
• Lower rolling resistance compared to its predecessor

While you may initially assume this tire is the successor to the Pilot Sport 3, that is not actually the case – it is an upgrade of the sports-focused Super Sport tire, which tells you plenty of information about its performance potential. It only scores less points due to its cabin noise levels, although this is not much of an offset when you consider the design and performance updates it comes with.

The Pilot sport 4 SUV is among the Total Performance tire line from Michelin, which may initially sound like marketing hype – but is actually true. This means that its design aims to achieve much more value for your money while promoting longevity, which are goals most people look for in their tires. It will keep its focus on improving fuel efficiency, ride quality, grip, low harshness and noise vibration, high braking effectiveness, and cornering performance in dry and wet conditions.

Compared to most tires you may use on a BMW X3, this has a longer grip maintenance, and it has a sporty feel that supports the general outlook on Michelin as a brand. Its performance levels are excellent on both wet and dry surfaces, all without sacrificing efficient fuel economy.

Due to the use of an optimized tread footprint, you can ensure maximum safety and performance while driving, which is good news if you are looking for speed. It is worth noting that it is meant for summer usage only, and will not work as powerfully in below and near-freezing conditions like icy roads or deep snow.

Pros

• Very high-performance option
• Short braking distances
• Decent lifespan, considering it is a performance tire
• High-quality design and grip

Cons

• Unsuitable for winter conditions

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Continental Extreme Contact All-Season tire – Best for all-season driving

Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 All-Season Radial Tire – 215/50ZR17 95W

• Use of SportPlus technology makes it great for all-year driving and traction
• Traction grooves help improve its performance on snow-covered toads

It is not an easy task to improve on the performance of a high-quality tire, but the Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 aims to do so. Thanks to its inclusion of a new tread compound and SportPlus technology, it increases traction levels when you move on wet roads, delivers good treadlife, and gives you more control and accurate handling. It has a familiar asymmetric tread pattern as well, although different from its original form.

Taking some improvement notes from its predecessor, the tire boosts traction on both wet and dry surfaces through adding X-Sipe technology and adding traction grooves. Through this combination, it has noticeable improvements when you drive on light snow and rain, as well as enhanced cornering and braking performance.

Its responsiveness under various conditions remains crisp, whether you push it to the edge or drive in normal conditions. To add to this, it includes a sport sidewall and a two-ply sidewall that enhance its steering responsiveness regardless of the road conditions and improve stability. Additionally, expect the features present in other Continental tires, such as Tuned Performance indicators and an Alignment Verification system.

Pros

• Very good treadlife
• Excellent cornering stability
• Accurate steering and high responsiveness
• Very good traction on both snow-covered roads, as well as wet and dry surfaces

Cons

• Relatively short treadlife warranty

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Buying guide for BMW X3 tires

If you own a BMW, you know you have a high-performance machine in your hands, regardless of what that may mean to you. While you cannot deny its performance capabilities, it is also no secret that getting the best tire options will allow you to make the best use of your car in terms of its feel and handling.

BMW models do not have a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to their tires, and neither does the X3 model. It depends on several factors, which can also apply to you if you are buying tires for another car model.

Tire size

If you are unsure of the tire size you require, check the placard on the driver’s side door or the owner’s manual for a guide. For instance, a 215/50ZR17 107W tire indicates several attributes about it: the first part (215/50ZR17) are measurements for the diameter and width, as well as the sidewalls, while the last part (107) is an indicator of the load index – the weight that each tire can comfortably support. The last letter (W) indicates the speed rating, which is the maximum speed of the tire in relation to its load index.

While looking for a tire, you should ideally match the measurements of the tire, although you can have some flexibility in the speed rating and load index.

The type of tire you require

Numerous retail websites and car dealerships will give you a list of tires that you can get for your size, although this is not nearly enough; you will need to know more information to pick the best tire for your speed rating. This also requires you to keep your driving conditions and climate in mind when making your choice.

The various tire types are:

• All-season tires: You can get these either in T- or S-speed ratings. They are good if you want tires that have long mileage warranties and all-weather grip, and they come as the default tires in most SUVs and cars.
• Performance all-season tires: You can get these in V- and H-speed ratings, and they are mainly in newer cars; especially if you are looking for upgraded wheels or are a speed enthusiast. They may not have a high mileage warranty, although they have excellent cornering grip compared to all-season tires.
• Summer tires/Ultra-high performance all-season tires: These will usually have a Y-, W-, or ZR-speed rating, and are best for performance sedans and sports cars. Differentiating them can be difficult, but a key difference is the lack of a M + S rating on a summer tire.
• Snow/winter tires: These are easy to identify, thanks to their snowflake and mountain symbols on the tire sidewall. They also have busier-looking treads due to the inclusion of sipes, which are additional slits on the tread that provide additional traction.
• All-terrain and All-season truck tires: These come in large sizes, and are meant for towing of SUVs and light-duty pickups. They have a very aggressive tread pattern, helping increase their traction in off-road environments.

Your performance priority

After knowing what you want in your BMW X3 tires, it is good to know the priorities you have for your car’s performance. The best options for high performance options are performance summer tires, which help you push the limits of your car without the risk of damage or accidents. If you plan to use your BMW in a high-performance driving event, you will find this to be true, since you will need maximum grip levels and responsiveness.

On the other hand, aiming for a commuter-friendly driving experience will require all-season tires that have a long tread life, so getting a performance all-season tire is best. This will allow you to achieve the best performance abilities of the BMW while keeping the ride as comfortable as possible.

Fuel mileage

The increase in environmental awareness has led to tire and car manufacturers implementing eco-friendly improvements in their products, including car tires. Therefore, it is also good to consider the fuel economy the tire offers through checking the rolling resistance.

The lower the resistance, the more service life and optimal fuel mileage you can get from your car. These tires also have an environmentally-friendly design, and helps reduce the carbon footprint.

FAQs

When should I replace the tires on my BMW?

This depends on the rate of degradation, which is influenced by temperature, humidity, and UV radiation. As a general rule, it is best to purchase new tire sets after every 8 years, even if your tires have plenty of tread left. Additionally, retighten the lug nuts on the wheel rims when you change the tires and drive approximately 50 miles.

Can I get tire replacements from BMW dealerships?

Yes, although this will come with limitations in variety. Although dealerships can order your preferred tires, many automotive brand franchises will require dealerships to get the OE replacement tires from their distribution chains.

Does a BMW require special tires?

No, BMW models can use regular tires, although you must install all four tires if you choose to use them due to their significant performance and handling differences from BMW-specialized tires.

Conclusion

We have included the best tires in the market for a BMW X3 car model because safety is a top priority and premium options will go a long way to achieving this goal.