Yokohama Parada to Soften Ride?
 

We moved onto a really crummy road and the 235/55/17 Scorpions are pounding the hell out of the car. Can/should I put 235/65/17 Yokos on to soften things up? The reviews sound excellent. Will they hit anything? She wants a Range Rover, but it'$ not happening.

I'd get a grand touring tire like the Bridgestone SerenitY or Michelin PrimacY

Hey Guys, I'm new here and new to the X3s. We just got my wife one a couple weeks ago. I may be able to recommend a good tire though. Continental has just released the new Continental Extreme Contact and Extreme Contact DWS. We just put a set on an '09 Mitubishi Lancer GTS. They are a really quiet and smooth riding tire. I mention it here because some have mentioned the sidewall being a little soft (lancer forums and tirerack.com) which is just want you need to soak up bumps. Our Mitsu rides better now and still handles great (225/45/zr18).

FastLane
'06 x3 31k
'09 Lancer GTS
'88 Toyota pickup 22re 4x4, 5 spd. 58K mi.

I will caution folks about putting passenger car tyres on an SUV like the X3. There can be unintended handling consequences especially at the limit due to the sheer weight and dynamics of the vehicle. I put some nice Kumho summer tyres on my X3 for the summer set, and although they're more comfortable and handle pretty well, at-the-limit handling isn't anywhere near as good as it could be. Heck, my winter tyres handle more predictably.

Do you think it could be more of the quality of the tire, rather than the type? I noticed that some of the X5's come with passenger tires (Michelin MXV4's). Also, did you get the same load rating?

I considered perhaps it was the quality of the tyre but from most of the reviews and tests on Tire Rack, it seemed promising. The Kumho Ecsta SPT is highly rated and ranked 1st in the last test. The load rating is higher (99 I believe) than the original 94 rating, which I have on my winters. I did upsize +1 but only to the sport model size, P235/50R18 and the wheels aren't any heavier so it's not like I added a huge amount of unsprung weight.

Bridgestone Serenity worked for me. Softer ride for the Illinois streets.

I just replaced my Scorpions with the Pirelli P-Zero Nero on Saturday, and I've noticed a measurable difference in handling and shock absorption. I stayed with the 235/55/17, and am very happy with them. Granted, some of the difference that I'm noticing could be due to the fact that the Scorpions REALLY needed to be replaced. We'll see once these get good and worn in.

That's good to know. The pirelli's Pzero are favorably reviewed on tirerack and are cheap. About $50 cheaper than the Scorpians. The wear rating is the same but the warranty is 20k miles less.

One questions I have is do you have the sport package? I'm surprised they give such a good ride since the fall under the high performance category and they are "W" rated tires versus the "H" rating for the scorpians

That's the kicker... I do not have the Sport package. I have a regular '04, which if I'm not mistaken, the '04-'05s had the harshest ride out of the production runs (I think that they addressed this in '06, but I'm not sure.).