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The alignment on these cars is set up to favor responsiveness and grip instead of long, even tread wear.
See below for one person's experience with Firestone's lifetime alignment program:
http://www.firestone-kills.com/alignmentscam.htm
For comparison purposes, I have about 9200 miles on my 17" summer sport-package tires. Front-rear rotation can't be done on these because they use different sizes on the front and rear. New tires in those sizes have 10/32" of tread. Mine have 8/32" remaining all the way across on the rear tires. The fronts have 7/32" on the outside edges, 9/32" in the middle, and 8/32" on the inside edges. I'm not very concerned about the wear pattern because it's symmetric, the tires are producing no more noise than normal, and the amount of wear is consistent with what I would expect from a high-performance summer tire.
2) as to the issues becoming apparent - Yes, they became apparent after my lease. I did not focus on the tires.. my ignorance. As this was my 4th BMW, I ASSUMED that whatever BMW did engineering-wise was fine. Their cars IN THE PAST had been superbly designed and engineered. I lease and have had no horror stories. In a three year lease, generally, the car goes in only for 15k service...
So, my past experience lulled me into complacency... You live and learn... caveat emptor- buyer/lessee beware!
Based on my recent experience, I consider myself knowledgeable about run-flats. I would never go near them again. Indeed, I just leased an Audi for my bride. An Audi with a full-size tire in the trunk!
Keep in mind the BMW puts Michelins on their high end $95K M5's and they do not give them a spare tire either.they do not mess around with RTF's on their fancy sports cars! They give them a"comfort package" with an air compressor that plugs to your cigarette lighter to reinflate a flat with enough air pressure until you get to a garage station that can fix the flat. I was told this kit is available online for about $70.Much better than carrying a donut and not runk space left.
If I could, I would get the Audi Avant I just drove.
With regards to your website "firestone-kills".....give me a break. This is one mans story and it's old news. The site was last updated in 2002. We can all find "tabloid" left wing anti-anything websites, out to destroy companies and organizations. I would guess there are several left wing sites beating up BMW also. I respect free press but I avoid tabloids in the supermarkets as well as on line. I have more faith in my states DMV and Consumer Protection Department as well as the Attorney General's office.
Lastly your reference for comparison does not fit my situation. Totally different scenario. Totally different tire. As you state, "front end rotation cannot be done".
Are you employed by BMW???
I don't see cyber gripe sites as having a political slant... For each site that exists, there is a consumer that is very hacked off about their experience (or, in the alternative, has no experience at all, and fabricated the story because they are disgruntled for some other reason), and often the company being targeted has failed to take basic steps to remedy the situation.
I am here because I have not experienced the same severity of issues that others have with the run-flat tires. Yes, the ride is harsh at times, and yes, the availability of shops that can mount or repair the tires is an issue, but my tires haven't worn out in 8,000 miles, cupped, started making noise, etc...
Lastly, I am not employed by BMW. I have said enough nasty things about them and their dealer network (here and other places) that it is highly unlikely they would consider me a candidate for hiring. My car is not perfect and has its issues, they're just not related to the run-flat tires.
I don't know about you, but I did not purchase a $42,000+ car expecting to spend another $1200 replacing the tires every year.
They did not specifically address RFTs. I'm going to call the dealership for a copy of the Bridgestone warranty.
owner6
Automakers dump spare tires to increase gas mileage (FortWayne.com)
Interesting post here about run-flats failing when flat:
mcase2, "Run-flat, self-sealing, PAX tires for Minivans" #441, 8 Jan 2006 8:39 am
Steve, Host
So, question: do you think if I ditch the run flats and take my chances with regular tires I’ll improve the ride as I describe it? I’m fairly certain it will handle the bumps a lot better but what about the choppy road vibration and bounciness? Does anyone know if there's a way to relax the suspension? Has anyone actually replaced the run flats with regular tires? I have to do something. I can’t go on driving this car the way it is!
I took the car to the dealer to make sure there were no defects in the suspension, which of course there weren’t. I asked the service manager if I could replace the run flats with a standard tire without voiding the warranty or other issues and he said yes, I could absolutely replace the tires without issue. He mentioned he had a customer who recently replaced the optional run flats on a new 5 series. He was concerned though that that may not be the whole answer to the rough ride problem.
I’ve decided to do it anyway. My plan is to replace the run flats with Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S since I want to stick with all-seasons. They’re not cheap, but got very good reviews on Tirerack.com. Since I’m leasing the car, I know I’m going to go through at least one set of the EL42’s anyway, so I might as well replace them now and put them back on the car when I return it from lease. Pay now or pay later. Might as well take a shot at a better ride now. I’m also going to buy the ContiComfort Kit and throw it in the trunk in case of a flat. Available at Tirerack: http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/conticomfortkit/index.jsp. I"ll keep the forum posted of the results.
I am so upset with BMW NA's lack of concern regarding this RFT issue that I vowed to never buy a BMW again. I switched from a Benz and I will switch back. BMW has no consideration for their customers. They are so rigid it's incredible. They are programmed and they provide programmed answers.
Good luck with your problem, but don't take the easy way out, and don't compromise. You're not leasing a $15,000 sub compact. Your leasing the Ultimate Driving Machine and you should not have to go and buy tires to replace the problem tires that BMW installed on you car. Replacing them is the Ultimate Embarrassment.
But you're absolutely right - this is not at all the experience I'd expect from a $40K+ 'Machine', and BMW should be mortified by the realization of this major mistake. But they won't be, for the same reason iDrive is great, we all just don't know how to appreciate it.
Although the BMW service manager was very courteous and not at all arrogant, he still acted like this is the first he's heard of the problem (in anticipation of this move, I printed out about 25 posts from various message boards about the less than joyful expereiences other BMW owners are having with the run flats and told him 'happy reading -now you're informed'). Amazing how dumb they think we all are.
My problem with BMW is now more than the RFT's. It's BMW NA's attitude. Here is part of my recent response to BMW NA: "I have spoken to the service staff at my servicing dealer. I am interested in speaking to someone from BMW NA. That's not possible with all of your restrictions, so I will find another way to resolve my problem. It's interesting though........my tire problem has now escalated to a total dissatisfaction for BMW as a company -a non consumer oriented company. It's no longer a problem with the tires but a problem with BMW in general, because of this stance to not allow me to converse with a technical expert from BMW NA. Your company's inability to address issues and to stand behind their product and their policies is incredible. Remember, "you only know how good a company is when you have a problem with their product or services". I know where to rank BMW NA on a scale of 1 to 5 the next time someone asks.
Here's some more to consider - The RFT that they took off my car is really built well in terms of sidewall thickness and strength. I started my career in the tire business and believe this is really a good technology at the early stages. Needs to be way more refined based on this feedback we are experiencing. I wonder how the Vettes are doing with the RFT setup?
Anyway, I liked the performance at 0 pressure at 65 mph when I had my experience. Also, the car tracks really well in the wet or dry with these tires IMO and is flat around all turns with the setup stock but the rough surfaces are tough, real tough. Just do not order sport package if you lean towards smoothness over handling. The tires are heavy duty, bottom line but many more tires will perform on the luxury side way better.
Good luck with the change and a good strategy. I will wait out through about 20 -24 months in my lease term to see what RFT options evolve. I drive 80% highway so I should not have a wear problem and will get about 10 - 16 months on new rubber for the balance of my lease (36 mo.)
I'm also not experiencing excessive road noise with the RFTs. It's just hitting some of those bumps and whishing there was a little more give in the tire to do some absorbing.
The most compelling aspect of my experience was when my car was on the lift at a major tire dealership in Fairfield County, Connecticut (not exactly remote), the wheel had been removed, the Bridgestone EL42 was found to be damaged, and the dealership had no exact (or approximate) replacement tire available. There was no way to even roll the car off the lift! We ended up putting the damaged tire back on the car just to get it out of the bay and onto a vehicle transport truck that arrived 2 hours later to take me to the nearest BMW dealership.
There were a number of unique specifics about my experience that aren't necessarily relevant to a general discussion of the topic, but I believe every car owner's experiences are similarly complicated in their respective ways, and I have no reason yet to believe that 4 wheels are better than 5 (or 6, as I have for my 2002 325xi).
"325xi and 330xi have steel lower arms and a steel subframe, plus an aluminum thrust plate."
Thr tire profile is the same as standard 330i without SP so I think this makes the difference. I definately felt improvement (handlung) but again, the harshness was more evident between rough and smooth pavement on my car verse the i.
owner6