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Ciao for now,
For me, I wouldn't hesitate to replace them with another set when the time comes. I expect to drive them through at least one more New England winter with no issues.
Maybe I just got lucky with my tires, or perhaps I'm just more reasonable with my $50,000 worth of high end transportation?
I leased BMW 328 coupe i on May 2009. Overall, the car is good, but lately I have concerned about rf tire. eventually, last night, there was "low pressure" sign. after checking each tire, I found one of front tire was 23, but should have been 32~35....
So, I went to a gas station to put air in the tire. Tonight again, "low pressure" sign again and checked the same tire again and pressure went down to 25 again...
Do I have to change the tire? my car only has 1500 miles on it. I cannot believe if I have to change the tire. Please let me know..
I have a couple of more questions regarding tf tire.
1) if I have to replace the tire, should I buy non-rf tire and replace with rf tire when my lease is up. I know I have to return the car with rf tire, but I dont think I can change tire regularly.
2) If I change with rf tire, where can I buy it? I searched on-line, but I just cannot find any store selling rf tire.
3) How much does it cost?
Thanks in advance.
ie--my daugher and one of our family friends kids sons both got pontiac GPs at about the same time --the friends kids tires wore out much faster than our daughters tires and they complained to Pontiac about that--
I had no doubt that its how you drive--this is not a critisism its just the matter of more aggressive driving.
I have had a situation where my front tires became out of alignmnet and in short time the front tires wore out and fast fast. So I watch alignment and tire wear.
ya have to be honest with yourself.
THE TOTAL BILL WAS $375.69 THATS TAX, SPEED BALANCE, NEW VALVE STEM, IT RUNS BEAUTIFUL BETTER THAN WHEN I PURCHASED IT, IT'S A 2007 328I. SO MUCH FOR ALL THESE TECHS SAYING YOU CAN'T CHANGE THEM, OH AND I RESET THE TIRE LIGHT AND I PUT OVER 450 MILES ON IT AND NO PROBLEMS.. GOODYEAR WOULD EVEN SELL ME A WARRANTY IF I WANTED.. SO GO CHANGE THEM GUY'S YOU WILL BE VERY HAPPY!!!!!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
IDOC
Bridgestone is coming out with 3rd gen run flats--that are suppossed to be much closer to conventional tires in terms of noise, handling, hard ride (or not) and wear.
the article in wards auto week graded tires as follows--
conventional =95
1st gen rft= 115
2nd gen_ 110
3rd gen =100
the trick is a strong enough sidewall which if flat does not flex to much to create heat. new rubber product enable this.
When i went from the first gen to 2nd gen rfts on my vette there was a world of difference so I was not fearful of rft on the 335. To me its been just fine.
is there a BMW package for this? Cords are coming thru my rear tires and I don't wanna buy rft's? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
LeatherZ spacesaver tire
Click on that link for one vendor.
regards,
kyfdx
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of the various brands, anyone find one they think wears longer
I have a 2007 BMW 335 w/ Bridgestone run flat tires. I have under 16K miles and drive only on smooth roads. I have had 2 of the run flat tires damaged when the flat tire monitor came up and i was driving less than 10 miles at 35-40 miles per hour. After finding a gas station to put air in, it wouldn't even take the air as the inside side of the tire was just leaking the air out. This has happened to each of the 2 tires within the last 8 months.
Has anyone had this problem and do you have any suggestions. I had to pay around $500 for each tire and I think this is a company defective tire.
Please advise.
Thank you!
Johnny Lara
good luck
Being young and somewhat stupid, I ignored the advice & put a bias-ply spare on the rear of my MGB with three radials. The first time I went around a 270 deg ramp, I learned they were right.
Never mix tires with vastly different sidewall characteristics on the same car.
No, that was almost 40 years ago.
Happy to learn that bias vs. radial ply has nothing to do with sidewall stiffness or performance. Even at my age, you can learn something new every day.
I have a 2007 335 and only drive in the streets. less than 16000 miles and 2 have busted within the last 6 months. I never even drove past the 40 mph mark when the flat tire warning came on and i got as far as 10 miles before it was undrivable. These run flats do not run flat.
BMW keeps telling me to complain to Bridgestone.
Help!
jvlara@aol.com
As for "consensus", I don't think you will get it either here or on any of the BMW boards (Bimmerfest, etc). Everyone has an opinion. I suggest you go to Tire Rack and read all of their comparisons and make your choice yourself.
Many of us are hoping not. I find myself wondering if BMW is going to learn anything from Honda's retreat from the RFT market segment, and if they do, what will their fall-back position be for cars like the 3-Series that don't have a spare tire well.
Best regards,
Shipo
What a total waste of a "good" car.
I also carry a "donut" spare (and all the accessories) as I have found out the hard way that replacements could take a minimum of a day to arive in Springfield, Oregon.
Yes as far as BMW is concerned, their customers love RFTs and they are sticking with them.
Will be a factor in buying a replacement for this car before warranty runs out.
John :surprise:
My Conti RFTs in my '07 335xi have almost 22,000 miles and heading into their 3rd winter in Boston with no concerns. My wife has about 13,000 miles on her EL42s on her '08 328xi. Maybe we've been lucky - noise, without direct A/B comparison to a GFT is no different, grip is fine (Bridgestone slightly better in curves), and the tires hold air better than most tires I've ever had.
I won't even write about a flat for fear of jinxing myself. My wife's previous '95 318ti buried the REAL spare under the floor. If BMW could do that with a REAL tire on the current turbo'd line, it would make for an epiphany moment with these readers and have me as a customer for a long time. Unless they go that route, I will have to make at least twice as many trips to the leaf dump by losing the fold-down seat capability and a gigantic tub of rubber siting in my trunk like my father's 1968 Chrysler 300 (with the 440 4-barrel carb, BTW).
I make a lot of trips up I-89 to Montreal. If it happens that I get marooned between exits with no wheels, you can bet I will be, to say the very least, the most vociferous advocate for suggesting that every RFT manufacturer take their tires and do the unnatural with them.
But that's just my $0.02. Happy motoring, and may your travels be trouble-free.
xeye
BTW, is anyone in the area going to the BMW Concours d"Elegance at Wagner Motors in Shrewsbury on Sunday September 13th (9 AM to 3 PM)?
Read this..... Bridgestone "3G" Third generation run-flats. I'm sure BMW will fall in love with Bridgestone once again.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/06/reviewed-bridgestone-3g-rft-tires-taking-the-- shock-out-of-run/
I'm in contact with a Bridgestione field engineer for comments on use in the UK.
HighlandPete
I'm going to try out the third generation run flat tires, but my next car will have 17" tires in the 50-55 size range. You get out of those high performance tires by ordering your car directly from the factory. But if you buy what the dealer has on the lot.... guess what, you are stuck with high performance low profile tires. Check out what the BMW and Lexus sites show as standard equipment, then check the dealer's lot.
As well, what is the consensus between Conti ProContact and these new supposedly better Bridgestones? I have the Contis now and I'm happy with them, but I'll likely need a new set within 10-15K miles.
Are the 3G tires even generally available yet?
Thanks.
(335)xeye
1) A multishield protection package - 5 year coverage of tire and wheel damage, Door Ding repair, Windsheild repair, and emergency roadside assistance. It seems that the last feature is useless on the car, but given the trouble people are reporting with the run flats, I wondered thoughts of the tire and wheel damage feature. It costs about $900.
2) A Nanotechology (from paradigm automotive) covering paint (an exterior protection plan), glass, and interior stains, including rips, etc. Again, about another $900. Again, a 5 year plan.
Any thoughts on either of these, or has anyone had experience with same?
Thanks!
My last car an Acura TSX needed tires do to bubbles on sidewall after hitting a pothole after snow storm.
The tire and wheel for me was for 5 years. Haven't used it yet but still have a few winters to go.
On Bridgestone vs. Conti, we have issues with both here in the UK. Premature edge wear and strange driving characteristics. I sense many US users have a thing about mileage. In the UK we are used to shorter tire life, due to running performance tires for many years, so 20k miles is not an issue. Tire performance is.
HighlandPete
Lot of people on this forum are talking about changing the run flats on their bmws for regular tires. Is there any issue with the manufacturer's warranty if regular tires are used? Meaning if I were to use regular tires would it void the warranty or would dealers refuse to cover something under warranty?
Thanks
Best regards,
Shipo
You did not say if you have the Sports Package which brings up another problem (larger / more expensive rear tires). My 2006 330i has the SP and when I changed from RFTs to Rads the sticker shock on the rears left me wondering if I should invest in a new car.
Also hope that your BMW new car warranty is up as some dealers will not cover "some" repairs if they see that Rads have been installed.
I've got almost 32k miles, so it's currently under warranty. If I make any changes it won't be until after the warranty expires.
Where do you live? :surprise:
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I live Houston, Tx.
1. Will the 205/50/17 fit over my BMW rims or would I have to buy new rims?
2. What happens with the sensors in the rims when non-RFT winter tires are installed on the BMW rims? Will the tire shop know how to turn off the diagnostics that manage the TPMS and the sensors that indicate a flat tire?
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I do not understand how BMW can continue to harm its reputation by using the RFT's. I am having to spend money after the sale to improve a "premium" vehicle by replacing new tires after 6 weeks of owning the new 328. Makes it very unlikely that I will ever own another BMW.
The last tire rotation was done by a dealer and at this point they cross rotated the tires and did a wheel alignment which also took into account the suspension's camber. As the tires wear out unevenly, they affect the camber and this inturn eats up your tires faster.
For regular rotation I trust Tire Kingdom at about $55 vs $200 at a dealer.