[Ejryan10]

Hey guys, I recently purchased a 2016 X3 and took it for an alignment and to have my local trusty BMW mechanic take a look at it to ensure I was all good for a big trip I have coming up. Well the mechanic had me take it to another local guy to have the alignment done first as their equipment at his shop isn't setup yet since they've recently moved to a new building. Upon having it aligned, a mechanic came out to me and told me I need to bring my car back to the dealer to have them fix my different tire sizes. My front two tires are 245/50 R 18s and the back to are 225/50 R 18s. The mechanic told me that I shouldn't even drive my car back home, nonetheless drive it an hour away to where I purchased the vehicle from without the risk of destroying my differential. I called the dealership I purchased it from and they are more than willing to fix the problem, they admitted they messed up, and are willing to fix it all, but I will have to make the drive to them. I've called and talked to my local mechanic that I trust, as well as a couple impartial BMW dealerships around the local area, and they all think it'll be fine to drive back to the dealership to have them fix it. I've been driving it on the daily since I bought it 10 days ago, and I haven't had any warning lights pop up nor noticed anything unusual while driving it. What do you guys think, will it be safe to make the hour trip as long as I'm doing my best to not gas it or hit any massive potholes?

I should add I that I have already posted this in the Runflat thread in here, and I got a wonderful, detailed response from WGosma, I was just hoping for some more opinions. Any help is appreciated!

[335iAP]

It will be fine on the way there, but I would make sure that there's a note in your service records about potential wear on the transfer case and it being their fault, in case anything comes up in the future. Maybe ask for a slightly/fairly extended warranty on the transfer case.

[Ejryan10]

Originally Posted by 335iAP

It will be fine on the way there, but I would make sure that there's a note in your service records about potential wear on the transfer case and it being their fault, in case anything comes up in the future. Maybe ask for a slightly/fairly extended warranty on the transfer case.

Follow up question about tire sizes! So my rear tires are relatively new on the rear. I just measured the tread depth in the rear tires and they're 8/32". I know the original tread depth on pirelli cintaruto p7 245/50R18 is 10/32". Is this too big of a difference between the two different sets? Or will it be ok if the back 2 are 8/32 and the fronts are 10/32? My local tire shop is suggesting I have all 4 replaced.

[pokerface]

I would put the newer tires in the rear but 2/32 difference is not much at all. The rear will see more wear due to rear torque bias. I do see about the same diff Front to Rear on our X3.

[Ejryan10]

Originally Posted by pokerface

I would put the newer tires in the rear but 2/32 difference is not much at all. The rear will see more wear due to rear torque bias. I do see about the same diff Front to Rear on our X3.

Thanks for the reply! That's what I ultimately ended up doing today, I out the old tires in the front and had the new ones installed on the back. Saved me a good chunk of change.