[Iarathron]

Hello guys,

I have a 2012 X3 2.0d XDrive automatic. Its original non run flat tyres, Pirelli P7's, are completely worn (after 29.000 km) and it's time i got some new ones.

I don't really know much about tyres, but compared to my previous (non BMW) car, i felt that the P7 tires should last a bit longer than 29.000km. Otherwise, i feel that the car handles very well and the tyres are not loud or anything.

I asked a friend who is more knowledgeable about cars than i am, and he suggested i go for Hankook RA33. Some reviews i found online suggest this is a good tyre.

I went to a tyre shop this morning, and the guy there told me that if i want the hankooks he would have no problem installing them, but added that for a car like the X3, he would strongly recommend i use the same tyres as those that the manufacturer chose for it, i.e. the Pirelli P7s. He said that if i insisted on the Hankooks he would first check with BMW if they are appropriate for the X3.

He even said that in some cases, if the car will not "like" the tyres, its computer puts it into a "halfway or cut-down" mode and does not perform properly until the "bad tyres are changed". I think this sounds like fiction...

His price for the Pirelli P7's is 20 euros per tyre cheaper than the BMW dealer price, so i am wondering if i should go elsewhere, or just go to the BMW dealer and have them install new P7's (my annual service is due anyway).

Any ideas, or feedback? Has anybody opted for other non run flats?

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

Iam

[Braumin]

That is all fiction. The car doesn't care what tires are on it. Ideally, they should be the same size, but of course you could also change the size as long as you keep the height the same.

Also I assume you are doing all four tires.

[brissim]

Its always disappointing when you hear such crap and rubbish coming from someone in the tyre industry. As Braumin said - its all fiction.

Generally speaking by law (and you should be able to check what your local laws are) any replacement tyre must
1. either the same size or within an allowable tolerance of overall tyre diameter (your speedo and odometer works off the rolling diameter of the tyre). For example here in Australia you are allowed a -26mm/+15mm variance from the OEM tyre diameter.
2. must have an equal or higher load rating from the tyre you are replacing.
3. in some countries, must have same or higher speed rating (in Australia replacement tyres for passenger cars only have to have a minimum speed rating of S - 180km/h).

But as I say - check your local laws. If you don't know about load and speed ratings, and tyre wear ratings - just do some Google searching.

For 4 years now I've been running non-RFTs on my X3. I'm biased somewhat toward Pirelli and generally speaking you can't go wrong. I currently have Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Seasons on my X3 30d. No complaint, very quiet and the last lot I got nearly 50,000 km of hard driving on bad roads out of them. P7s are more of a passenger car tyre (as opposed to an SUV tyre) and don't think have a very high wear rating compared with the Verde All Seasons. However given your location I assume you also have to give consideration to performance in snow and ice - something I don't have to worry about.

Even though its a US-based website - I've always found the tirerack site (tirerack.com) a great source of comparative information between tyres. I'm sure there's equally useful sites in Europe.

Tony

[Portimao318]

you must be driving like Niki Lauda .Tires should last for about 50.000 km.
On my Renault the Continentals lasted over 60.000 km (also 4 x 4).

[JSGR8]

I agree, 29,000km seems a bit low for the tires to be worn.

And yeah, you can go with other tires other than the stock tires as long as the size is the same. Seems kinda shadey what the guy was saying. What if a manufacture discontinues a tire? Does that mean the model year X3 computer will always be complaining about the wrong tires being on? Come on.

[Iarathron]

Hi guys and thanks for responding.

I am changing all four tyres.

Like you, i also found the story incredible - that's why i thought i would check what others thought of it.

I think that 29000 km is way too soon for the P7's to fade - that's why i don't want to go back to them.

I will certainly look into the Scorpion Verde.

Have any of you any experience / feedback with the Michelin Primacy 3?

My current tyres are rated V. Would i be ok using H rated tyres?

By the way i have moved further south in Europe and snow is not an issue here...

Thanks again for your time.

Iam

[brissim]

There's nothing wrong with Michelin tyres - they make quality product. Here in Australia the only real thing against them is they tend to be more expensive then what I consider to be equally good Pirelli tyres. Price differentials may be different in Europe.

My only point of concern with the Michelin Primacy 3 is that - like the Pirelli P7s - they are primarily considered to be a passenger car tyre - not a tyre designed to be used on an SUV like the X3. I would certainly recommend you look at tyres specifically designed for use on SUVs. In the Michelin this includes the various Latitude range of tyres (ie Latitude Tour, Tour HP, Sports etc) and for Pirelli the Scorpion range (Verde, Zero, P-Zero etc).

I don't have any specific experience with them but people do also highly rate the Continental CrossContact range of SUV tyres.

The key thing in choosing a tyre is that the load index must be equal or greater than the OEM tyre load rating. In Australia this OEM load rating is shown on a tyre placard fitted to the inside of the driver's door sill. I assume there is a similar thing for Euro-spec vehicles. I must admit I'm a little surprised the P7s and Primacy 3s being passenger car tyres have a sufficiently high load index.

For me a speed rating of H (ie 210 km/h) is OK. Our Pirelli Verde's only have a speed rating of H despite the original OEM tyres having a V speed rating. But as I said in my previous reply, we're allowed to do this Australia (only has to be S or above). Confirm with your local laws that you are allowed to relax the speed rating from the OEM rating.

Tony

[Flipflop99]

Our X3 2.0d that was new in Sept 2015 came from the factory with non runflat Dunlop Sport Maxx TT tyres. They maybe another one you could consider as they're obviously a BMW approved tyre. We've only done 4000 miles on them so far though so unable to give an indication of how well they are lasting.

[plymjack]

29K km is about 18K miles so seems a bit low, ours have done over 30K miles so would agree with the 50K km most others are suggesting.

We run RFTs with no problem but if I was choosing I would go for the P7s unless your doing a lot of off road driving.