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Thanks for the very detailed tire option response, I appreciate the info.
I'm in Seattle where the temperatures year round are pretty mild. It's damp 6-7 months of the year and bone dry the other 5-6 months. Outside of a 2 week freak snow last year it very rarely snows and the temperatures usually are above 40 in Winter.
Everything I've read and videos indicated to me that ultra performance summer tires offer the best wet or dry traction and handling. All Season tires, while getting better, are still a compromise between winter and summer tires and while they are passable for mild winter weather and acceptable in the summer, they just don't have as much wet or dry traction compared to a ultra summer tire. I think the only people that should be AS tires is someone that can't justify 2 sets of wheels/tires but regularly needs to drive in sub 40 weather. Basically if you don't get regular sub 40 weather, there's no reason to even consider an AS tires as you're only losing wet and dry grip with no benefit. If you regularly see sub 40 weather, it'd be better to have a second set of dedicated winter wheels/tires, though I know not everyone wants to or can do that. My previous car had Michelin PSS and never had any problems throughout the year.
When I replace these silly skinny stock 18x7.5 wheels, I'll likely store them for if/when I sell the car someday or maybe if we get another silly 2 weeks of snow I could slap some winter tires on.
My M235i is my daily driver but I work from home. I'm pretty set on the Michelin PS4S though I've also heard good things about the Conti Sport Contact 6 or the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport (if they ever sell it in the US).
This purpose of this post has evolved a bit. Originally I was contemplating wider 19s after noticing how bad the Pirelli RFTs are and was wondering if ultra summer tires would ride with any more comfortable or about equal to the 18" RFTs. Since then after considering the slightly lower cost of wheels and tires in 18 and basically realizing that 19s don't offer any advantage, other than looks, so I think 18 is the way to go.
Now I'm trying to figure out the optimum offset to fit wider wheels and rubber without having to use spacers, roll the front fenders, trimming the rear fender liner or shock dust boot. I've basically decided to go with Apex ARC-8 or EC-7 and as I posted above they recommend the following:
Front: 18x8.5" ET35 or ET38 with 225/40-18 tires
Rear: 18x9.5" ET58 with 255/35-18 tires
Direct fit.
Popular fitment.
235/40-18 front tires can also be used, but we strongly suggest dialing in front negative camber to prevent rubbing. Amount of camber varies depending on tire brand and ride height.
265/35-18 rear tires may also be used, but may require 3mm or larger spacers, or trimming fender liner and shock dust boot.
I also plan on doing the Dinan springs with bumpstops and the M3/M4 LCA and possibly, which would add .5 degrees of camber but I don't know if that'd be enough to fit a 235/35 up front. I had adjustable camber arms on my previous car but I'm not sure I want to do something like that with this car.
I see some fitting 265 in back with no suspension changes then I read of others that were rubbing and I don't want to spend a few thousand bucks and not have things fit. I also don't want to further change the dynamics of the car... whereas BMW had a staggered setup with 225F and 245R. Going to a 225F or 235F and 255R or 265R would seem to add even more understeer characteristics.
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