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I again spoke to the local dealership who confirmed that they are unable to switch the tires until the car is bought and driven "around the block" at which time they would do anything that they are asked re the RFTs. They would give full refund of the cost of the tires but insist that THEY supply and install the conventional tires,
That is only the word from our 1 local dealer.
I have a 325i with sport/premium package and my runflats sound terrible after 8k miles. I am thinking about swithcing to the non RFT's. How many miles have you put on the Michelin non RFT's. Do they make as much road noise as the RFT's and are they lasting longer? My run flats are also cupping on the inside of the front tires but the alignment has been check twice and no probems. Are you noticing any cupping with the non RFT? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
bwmeier
I have the 328i with Sport Package, and have been checking Tire Rack since last October. The selection are few and only getting worse, especially for the rear tires. How can the Continental ContiSportContact be on "back order" forever? Now, even the OEM Bridgestone Potenza are gone. The two Pirelli models are the only choices, one of which has "less than 9" rear tires in stock. Not to mention to get a set of 4 tires will set you back more than one grand before shipping and installation.
I would have switched to GFT if my car were not leased. Any other option or source do I have?
Best regards,
Shipo
I was quoted an outrageous $950 for these 2 tire replacements by the BMW dealership, so I started reading about my Bridgestone RFT : noisy (not for me), stiff to drive (I confirm), a behavior of its own when driving on a pothole (I confirm), and really expensive (my main concern) !
I'm now at the point of changing the 4 tires. I do not care about winter conditions as I leave in Arkansas (not by choice, believe me). My website of reference is tirerack.com, but I cannot find the exact tires mentioned by others in previous threads on this forum.
REAR: Bridgestone RE050A 255/35R18 90W
FRONT: RE050A 225/40R18 88W
I've now 2 choices:
1) Going still with RFT option:
- set of 2 rear RE050A: $700 for just 2 rear tires: NO !
- set of 4 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP: even more expensive than Bridgestone !
- Continental ContiPro Contact SSR mentioned earlier: reference not available on tirerack, I can only find ContiSPORTContact 2 or 3 ($900 total for the set of 4), but these ContiSport seem to be GFT ?
2) Going with GFT option, (I lean toward$ that choice for now):
- Michelin Primacy MXV4: not suggested by tirerack when I enter my car reference; it seems not to exist in R18 version (my luck !)
- Some readers suggested GFT among Michelin Pilot Sport, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, Pirelli PZero, Sumitomo HTR Z, Yokohama, Dunlop Direzza, I'm lost, which one is better ???
I would appreciate any advice (Shipo ?) and possibly exact reference of alternative tires with these options. Thanks fellow drivers !
1) The noisy Bridgestone RFT issue was primarily limited to non-SP cars.
2) The Continental ContiPro Contact SSR referenced earlier in this thread are for non-SP cars only.
3) Likewise, the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires are also only for non-SP cars.
4) Unless you're "tracking" your car, then I wouldn't mess with summer only / performance tires.
5) There are four sets of all-season GFTs that I'd consider for my personal car were it that I was driving a 2006 330 SP (in order of how I'd choose them, cost no object):
-- Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season ---- $672
-- Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ---- $1,100
-- Yokohama ADVAN S.4. -------------- $830
-- Pirelli PZero Nero M&S --------------- $712
Factoring the cost of the tires in, I'd probably opt for the Yokohamas.
Best regards,
Shipo
While I have only experienced 2 sets of RFTs on my 2006 330i (with Sports Package), the first set became "noisy" at approximately 17,000 miles. I replaced them at approx. 25,000 miles.
The second set is beginning to show some "noise" at 13,000 miles.
Took car into BMW dealer 2 weeks ago. After looking at suspension etc. thay claim noting wrong and blame tires, (but agree with "noise").
Took car into independent mechanic to substantiate BMW dealer claim. He agreed.
There are arguments pro / con re these tires. All arguments are costing the buyer hard earned $$$$. North America is a testing ground for RFTs on BMWs and until we are not the world's largest BMW consumer, we will remain that testing ground. But, stay tuned AND voice opinions LOUDLY as some day, BMW may hear the complaints through lost sales and bring about favorable changes, be it better RFTs or conventionals.
Regards..John
A few months ago, when the tread depth was still much more than 4 mm, our family took a trip to Monterey, California. We set off before dawn, so it was dark. I ran over a big pothole on Interstate 5 just outside of Los Angeles. The bump was so severe that my coffee jumped off the cupholder. No sign of damage at the time, and we continued on driving 250 miles to Monterey and another 100 miles or so around the city in the next 2 days.
We took Highway 101 (along the Pacific Coast) back to L.A. on the 3rd day. About 1/3 into the trip, the tire pressure warning signal went on. I stopped and took the pressure. The right front tire, which hit the pothole first, was at 20 psi. I then notice a crack on the tire near the rim. If you know that section of Hwy 101, you know there is nothing but ocean on one side and mountain on the other. I was about 80 miles from the nearest gas station according to the GPS. By the time I got there, the tire had gone down to below 10 psi. I pumped air in to 32 psi, but when I stopped at the next gas station about 10 miles away, it went down to 10 psi again. Naturally, the gas/service station did not carry the size of tire for 328i sport package, not to mention RFT. I found a BMW dealer in San Luis Obispo about 25 miles away (thank God for the GPS). By the time I pulled in to the dealership at around 5:30 p.m., the tire was 0 psi and almost fall off the rim. And guess what? The dealer did not have my tire, either. :mad:
Luckily, the service manager referred me to a tire shop nearby. The need to special order the OEM RFT tire and will not have it until 2 days later. When I told them I needed to go back to L.A., they were kind enough (and lucky for me) to find a used GFT of same size to put it on at no charge except labor. I have been driving with 3 RFT and 1 GFT ever since.
I honestly did not think I was going to make it home that day when I first discovered the crack, because I was in the middle of nowhere. I did not replace the RFT because I did not want to buy 5 tires (4 GFT and 1 RFT), and I though the choices and prices of RFT should get better over time. In retrospect, I should have bit the bullet and done it. Living in a big city where there are service station and tire shops every other block, I feel okay without a spare. Needless to say, I dare not drive outside of the metropolitan.
Sorry for the long post. My conclusion about the RFT and from the ordeal:
1. I strongly believe that the crack was caused by the rigid sidewall of RFT; a regular GFT would have survived the pothole.
2. RFT can be a good idea, but it should be given as an option.
3. A spare tire is always necessary even with RFT.
The second set is beginning to show some "noise" at 13,000 miles."
The thing you're missing here is that pretty much ANY car from ANY manufacturer will exhibit the same noise and advanced tire wear when shod with summer performance rubber, regardless of whether they're RFTs or GFTs. The only two cures I've found for noisy summer performance tires are to A) rotate them, or
Case in point, my 530i SP (which came from the factory with summer performance GFTs) started making noise by 12,000 miles. The next spring when I put them back on following the winter tire season, I rotated the tires front-to-back (same side), and the noise was instantly gone. That said, my 530i had the same size tires at all four corners, and that allowed rotating.
If you check back (way-way back) in this discussion, you'll find posts I made before my personal fortunes took a turn for the worse and I was planning on buying a 2006 330i SP. In those posts I made it very clear that I would most likely do the following to the intended new ride:
- Buy a second set of wheels and tires for winter use
- Buy two wheels that match exactly (in both size and style) the factory front wheels of the car
- After ~10,000 miles, remove the rear wheel/tire assemblies and replace them with the two new wheels
- Also after ~10,000 miles I would remove the factory tires off of the front wheels and then wrap four identically sized summer performance GFTs around the (now) four identically sized wheels
- Rotate the tires as necessary
With the above said, the same would hold true if I had bought any other car with asymetrical sized wheels and tires (regardless of maker).
Long story short, the tire noise exhibited by the summer performance RFTs isn't considered to be an issue because virtually all summer performance tires, regardless of whether they're RFTs or GFTs, make noise and wear out quite quickly.
Best regards,
Shipo
My wife's 328xi has the Bridgestone EL42 RFTs and they also sound fine after at least 8,000 miles. I actually like them better for handling than the Continentals.
Both cars drive right out of any snow conditions we're experienced in New England.
It seems to be a recurring thread that the '06 models with the RFTs, even with newer tires, have had significant problems. Maybe it's the combination of the suspension calibration and the RFTs together that cause a problem? That might explain why BMW claims there's nothing wrong with the suspension.
My 335xi has SP, but not the lowered version because of the x-drive. Perhaps that also makea a big difference?
I've hit some whacking great potholes in the Boston area (virtually impossible to avoid them) and have not damaged any tires or rims. I religiously keep the inflation correct and have never rotated my tires on this car. The tires don't lose more than a few pounds of pressure over a few weeks but I typically don't wait that long to check the pressure and reset the TMS. I don't track my car nor take corners on 2 wheels.
If you want your tires to last, treat them right.
Just my $0.02.
xeye
My wife's 328xi has the Bridgestone EL42 RFTs and they also sound fine after at least 8,000 miles. I actually like them better for handling than the Continentals."
The thing is, neither of your cars has a true Sports Package (the emasculated one that is available on the xi models doesn't count), and as such, both of them came from the factory with All-Season tires and NOT summer performance rubber.
As for your point 5), the Yokohama tires are coming in 3rd position in your preferences independent of cost, they are the 3rd more expensive set so why would you opt for them when factoring the cost in ? Seems to me that you meant Goodyear Eagle F1...
Personal question: do you always get the Road Hazard Program when you get your tires ?
5) There are four sets of all-season GFTs that I'd consider for my personal car were it that I was driving a 2006 330 SP (in order of how I'd choose them, cost no object):
-- Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ---- $1,100
-- Yokohama ADVAN S.4. -------------- $830
-- Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season ---- $672
-- Pirelli PZero Nero M&S --------------- $712
Factoring the cost of the tires in, I'd probably opt for the Yokohamas
There, does that make more sense?
Best regards,
Shipo
As for the Road Hazard Program, do you recommend it ?
My advice is - start with an understanding how you drive, what you use your vehicle for (short commutes, city, highway, track days, autocross, do you max out the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) , what you expect from your tires, and then you can pick a set. You can always call the Tirerack on a couple of occasions and ask the reps you get what they think. they give pretty good advice.
Another really good source of information is your local BMW Car Club of America. They will usually have a very broad unbiased point of view on all things BMW with a great deal of expertise available to you
The car handles just fine for me. My point of the post was to state that, if you take care of the tires, they shouldn't split/rot/bubble/crack/cup, etc prematurely.
I guess I must have 'magic' tires since they seem to be working for me.
Best regards,
Shipo
Tirerack website did not make it easy but I found a chart that put side by side the performances of tire, at least the ones I'd been considering:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS link title
Based on the feedback I got on this forum, I think I'll go with the YokohamaADVAN S.4.
I never buy the road hazard insurance and I have not regretted that decision
I checked the website of Discount Tire (no store where I live) but it's much less comprehensive than Tirerack.
So if I wanted to lower the category of my tires ( < Ultra high Performance All-Season), would you have a recommendation
Best regards,
Shipo
The limitations are determined by a set of parameters in a computer program, that is what gives you the limited options. It is more to do with lawyers and potential liability than with safety. . That is why I suggested they make contact via telephone where the individual may have a bit more discretion, or to travel to a local store to make the inquiry.
For example the Yokohama Advan S.4 that is one of the recommended tires for the vehicle has a speed rating of W, and is designed for ultra high performance driving and suitable for a maximum speed of 168 miles per hour. An excellent tire, but when I asked about usage, etc and it is basically doing highway commuting and will not travel at extremely high speeds for long periods of time, I pointed out there may be alternatives that are less costly. That was my whole point. I think the Yokohama's are excellent tires but they may be an extra expense for no real value to the driver.
Best regards,
Shipo
Also, you are probably not aware of it, but just for future reference, when you put words in all capital letters, it is presumed that you are raising your voice. I can't imagine you raising your voice on this subject since we are both just trying to give a person some answers to a reasonable question?
All my best
Mike
Don't take this wrongly. I am not a RFT supporter as you can see from past comments I have made. But the options are out there for the drivers who do not wish to stick with RFTs.
I was fortunate (I guess) that I did not replace them last March, as the conventional Michelins that I was going to replace them with were recalled.
My comments regarding "limited choices" were very specific in that they were directed to someone looking for a matched set of long wearing (aka. all-season) tires that will fit a 330i with asymetrical 18" Sport Package wheels (which call for 225/40 R18 front tires and 255/35 R18 rear tires). Within that limited context, my research came up with four matched sets, no more, no less. Is there another matched set or two of all-season tires out there that I missed? Certainly possible. That said, would you say that six tire sets qualifies as anything other than "few choices"?
Best regards,
Shipo
-- Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus ---- $1,100
-- Yokohama ADVAN S.4. --------- $830 (no I don't want to yell at the Yokohamas!
-- Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season ---- $672
-- Pirelli PZero Nero M&S --------------- $712
It's also interesting to see that my current Bridgestone R050A RFT are ranked 22nd / 27 on tire rack's Max Performance Summer chart link title. What a piece of crap !
Ed
I was going to sell the car and then kill myself when my wife found out how much $ I would lose because of the horrific ride, BUT - JUST ONE DAY WITH THE PIRELLI'S and I will keep it forever. Fantastic and unbelievable! IGNORE THE BMW 'advice', sacrafice bit of boot space AND DO IT!!
Good to hear that sanity may be creeping back into the BMW run-flat situation. Not surprising that Australia is at the head of the parade, given the vast distances that often need to be covered, with minimal services of any sort, let alone facilities that could replace a RFT in anything under a couple of days (shipping time).
I live in the Western U.S., which also has many stretches of hundreds of miles with no tire service available, especially at night.
Thanks for the report.
I have mentioned it in the past and I will once again. If you are going to change from RFTs to conventionals, and your BMW warranty is still in effect, MAKE SURE WITH YOUR BMW DEALER THAT YOU DO NOT VOID THAT WARRANTY by making that change. Get it in writing. My local BMW dealer Service Manager (also a friend) warned me that BMW "could" nulify their warranty as the owner "modified" the car. Reading the Warranty, one could interpret it that way.
They'd have no legal basis to deny warranty claims on parts of the car that have nothing to do with tires, which is just about all of it aside from the tires. I don't think BMW even warranties the tires themselves. The tires company does.
Let's hope sanity will rule the day.
HighlandPete
The part numbers are seperate .....
for the tyre - BM-36120416268
for the wheel - BM-36116750007
the cover - BM-88881800859
the jack kit - BM-71106773536
The total was A$ 561 including tax. I found out that if you order or buy the 'made up kit' rather than the items seperately it is A$849. Exactly the same items, except the kit is in one box and the other bits are in four seperate boxes. Its called 'marketing'...the same idiot who decided to save money by using the runflats probably thought this up to try and save face with his boss. I only found out by accident because a guy in the parts dept. told me 'on the side'. There are straps on the cover which clip onto the luggage hooks behind the rear seat to stop it from sliding around. The cover is zip up and expands to take the alloy if you get a flat so the car doesn't get dirty. All bits are BMW genuine with their labels on them.
About the tyres I put on, MichelinP7 they were reccomended by the tyre dealer who does performance cars and are excellent )so far). Cost A$205 each fitted which is OK compared to other majors which seem to be about $250. Had one runflat puncture and it couldn't be fixed because of their rules (a little screw only) - cost was $325! go for it.
When I bought my 330i new, I did not like the wheels, let alone the RFTs.
I wanted to pay the difference of haveing one of the set of "M" wheels installed.
I was first told that the change would nullify the warranty. Had to get the Customer Service fellows at BMW North America involved before the dealership would install the "M" wheels.
SAD
Need some advice. My new (CPO) 2006 330xi has some 17k on it. I put about 1000 highways miles in the past couple of months since I bought it.
Thinking of driving up to Vermont for a ski weekend. Will the RFTs handle this ok? The last couple of time I drove in icy conditions, I did NOT feel comfortable in this car, all wheel drive and all..
Cant afford to replace the tires right now, but just wanted to check to see if they cant handle driving up slopy and icy roads..
Thanks!
Also I am a poor spot for advise as I live in Oregon where we have had 2 days of snow since I bought my 2006 330i new.
However, have driven to Vancouver, Canada many times (born and raised there) through snow with the Bridgestones (RFTs) and they tracked just fine. Continuous snow driving---------they NOT made for. Drove from Vancouver up the coast to Whistler (you are a skier so you will know that name) (I am not a skier but love that area) and found that IN SNOW / ICE I will N O T do that again in the Bimmer.
You with the xi may be OK. Don't know.
All the best.
John
THESE ARE THE NUMBERS FOR STEEL WHEEL, DONUT TIRE, COVER AND JACK KIT.
HE COULDN'T BELIEVE THEY HAD THE PARTS.
MY CAR IS A 2009 335IX WITH SPORT ETC.
MY RFT'S ARE BRIDGESTONES WITH A 300 RATING, NOT THE 100 RATING THAT MY 2006 330IX HAD.
NOW I HAVE TO DECIDE TO EITHER GET THE DONUT KIT OR BUY A FULL SIZE WHEEL WITH THE JACK SET. OH WELL...