Our team here at SimpleTire has gone through the catalog and picked out some of the best premium tires for your BMW 550i, including all-season, all-weather, winter, and summer/ultra-high-performance (UHP) tires. We ranked them in Best/Great/Good order and handed out numerical scores for traction, handling, and longevity, using our SimpleScore method that looks at data points for each and then boils it all down to a number. Ready? Let’s get started:
1. Continental PureContact LS: Best All-Season tire
Let’s get our list going with the Continental PureContact LS. The PureContact LS is a tire that’s designed for long wear, sharp performance, great handling, and a quiet, supple ride; in other words, it can check all the boxes that drivers expect from Continental. With the Continental PureContact LS, you’ll get cornering and steering response that are accurate and immediate, composed road manners, and year-round traction along with the kind of supple, forgiving ride comfort that usually goes along with a Grand Touring tire. Steering accuracy, road feel and driver feedback are all exemplary thanks to its solid center rib. Cornering dynamics are excellent with an asymmetric tread pattern and large, stable tread blocks, earning it a SimpleScore of 9.4 for handling. The Continental PureContact LS is also designed for even treadwear and great wear properties, with next-generation materials such as temperature-activated polymers in the tread compound that also help with excellent traction and low road noise. With a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty, we decided the Continental PureContact LS rates a SimpleScore of 9.7 for longevity. When you need reliable grip in rainy or light wintry weather, Continental infused +Silane additives in the tread compound that boosts wet-weather grip. For nastier winter conditions, there’s a system of circumferential grooves, sweeping grooves, sipes at the shoulder and outboard area, and “traction grooves” that retain snow to provide snow-on-snow friction, totaling up to a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction.
2. Bridgestone Weatherpeak: Best All-Weather tire
Our next tire in this roundup is a great all-weather choice for your BMW 550i, the Bridgestone Weatherpeak. In parts of the country that might see several inches of snow and days of subfreezing temperatures ensure that the roads are snow-packed for days or weeks, you may have already learned the hard way that most all-season tires just are not going to be able to reliably get the job done for you. All-weather tires may be unfamiliar to many drivers, but they’re pretty similar in most ways to all-season tires. The key difference is that tire makers design them for improved performance in snow and slush. With those design goals in mind, Bridgestone engineers ensured that the Weatherpeak’s tread can deliver consistent grip in winter weather. The all-weather tread pattern multiplies traction in snow and slush with\ a dense network of sipes, the hair-thin slits that give drivers the advantage they need by adding hundreds of extra biting edges. The sipe design of the Weatherpeak is a unique 3D mold that will continue to boost your winter traction even as the miles pile up and tread depth wears down. It’s especially ingenious since worn tread usually means poorer traction with just about any tire. The Weatherpeak also features “snow vices”, grooves that enhance winter grip by actually trapping and retaining snow to build snow-to-snow friction. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that the Bridgestone Weatherpeak has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service. Testing shows that the Weatherpeak is capable of braking distances that are as much as 30 feet shorter than the competition’s tires. Our team calculated a SimpleScore of 9.7 for traction for the Bridgestone Weatherpeak. SimpleScore for handling comes in at 9,5, thanks to its rubber formulation and tread features. Steering response and cornering are also superb with performance that’s direct but never touchy or jumpy. Road manners, steering response, and cornering ability are also commendable with this tire, regardless of weather and road conditions. Our SimpleScore for longevity is a best-in-class 9.8, and Bridgestone covers the Weatherpeak with a 70,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life.
3. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric: Great UHP tire
Our pick for a UHP tire is the world-class Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric is designed for thrilling performance and spirited driving – it’s the OEM tire for several sports sedans and coupes. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric gets a respectable SimpleScore of 9.1 for traction, thanks to its asymmetric tread design, soft, sticky tread formulation, and a contact patch designed to keep the most rubber in contact with the road at all times. The shoulders and reduced tread pattern flex of the Eagle F1 Asymmetric mean this tire stays stable and neutral while handling the lateral forces of cornering and braking, for a very strong SimpleScore of 9.1 for handling. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric does lose some points for longevity (SimpleScore of 8.2), which isn’t surprising – this is a performance-oriented summer tire, and the softer tread compound of UHP tires can wear quickly. The Eagle F1 Asymmetric is not covered by a manufacturer’s treadwear warranty. Along with refined ride quality and phenomenal performance, the Eagle F1 Asymmetric is also designed for lower rolling resistance, giving you real savings in fuel costs over the life of the tire.
4. Toyo Proxes Sport A/S: Great UHP All-Season tire
Toyo tires have been making an impression on the SimpleTire team for some time, and the Proxes Sport A/S is no exception. The Proxes A/S Sport is designed to deliver accurate, responsive steering, short braking distances, and great cornering ability along with all-season, year-round performance. A system of angled grooves, circumferential grooves, and multi-wave sipes work together for enhanced grip on wet, dry or snowy pavement for a SimpleScore of 8.9. Handling is another real strong point with this tire, thanks to a contact patch that’s optimized to put the most rubber in contact with the road, a specialized rib design, and a silica-rich rubber compound for a score of 9.1. The Toyo Proxes Sport A/S is covered by a 40,000 mile warranty, enough to justify a SimpleScore of 8.3 for longevity.
Order BMW 550i Tires Online
Buying tires online can be a stressful process, but it really doesn't need to be. SimpleTire offers a simple approach to finding the tires that are best for you and your BMW 550i. Select your BMW 550i below, then tell us a few more things such as year and trim level to determine your tire size. From there, we'll show you tires that fit your vehicle and are the best match based on performance characteristics, but you can also look for the best value tires, tires that are on sale or part of a promo, have the longest tread life, and much more
Bmw 550i Tires
