[kwcbimmer]

I just found that the front left tire on my X3 (<14k kilometres) appears feathering, the front right also has a little. Has anyone experienced the same issue? By googling, I know misalignment would be one of the major causes. but would it also be the tire quality issue? The tires are Pirelli P7.

in addition, I was told there is no need to rotate the tires on X3. However, my friend's 328's front tires appear more wear than the rear (he almost needs to replace the front). Should 328 be the same as X3?

[///Mposter]

Originally Posted by kwcbimmer

I just found that the front left tire on my X3 (&lt;14k kilometres) appears feathering, the front right also has a little. Has anyone experienced the same issue? By googling, I know misalignment would be one of the major causes. but would it also be the tire quality issue? The tires are Pirelli P7.

in addition, I was told there is no need to rotate the tires on X3. However, my friend's 328's front tires appear more wear than the rear (he almost needs to replace the front). Should 328 be the same as X3?

You are probably driving more aggressively. You may notice that you are able to turn at a higher rate of speed safely than other vehicles at the detriment of the outer edges of the tires. You might want to check the pressure on the tires as well as low PSI can lead to inner and outer wear.
If you have sport package and have staggered wheels then there is no need to rotate.

[pokerface]

I wouldn't think what happens on the 328 is the same as what you're seeing on your X3 as they would have differently calibrated suspension.

Try getting a 4 wheel alignment and make sure your tire pressures are proper. Monitoring both my dad's X3 and ours, I don't see any undue wear. Both have Pirelli P7 all seasons up until I changed mine out to Pirelli PZero.

I would rotate the tires regardless.

[Tjalle]

I would replace the All Seasons regardless - they are a disgrace. Living in Canada you would need proper winter tires.

[kwcbimmer]

Originally Posted by pokerface

I wouldn't think what happens on the 328 is the same as what you're seeing on your X3 as they would have differently calibrated suspension.

Try getting a 4 wheel alignment and make sure your tire pressures are proper. Monitoring both my dad's X3 and ours, I don't see any undue wear. Both have Pirelli P7 all seasons up until I changed mine out to Pirelli PZero.

I would rotate the tires regardless.

Thanks, I have booked it in next week to check the alignment. the dealer said if it is all right, they will claim off-spec tires. The TPMs never report low tire pressure, so I assume they are ok.

[Radioactive]

Originally Posted by kwcbimmer

Thanks, I have booked it in next week to check the alignment. the dealer said if it is all right, they will claim off-spec tires. The TPMs never report low tire pressure, so I assume they are ok.

DO NOT depend on tpm to monitor your pressure. TPM only measures relative change in pressure from the initial reset; NOT absolute tire pressure. Use a tire pressure gauge! Remember too, an over inflated tire can be as dangerous as under inflated tire.

Do a search; this was a problem on many earlier X3's concerning uneven wear and pulling.

[woodchuck1]

I followed BMW's suggestion and didn't rotate the tires, and my original tires wore out prematurely due to wear on the front inside edges. If I had rotated them, I think I could have gotten another 10,000 miles out of them. I was anxious to get rid of the run flats anyway, but in the future I plan to rotate.

[///Mposter]

Originally Posted by woodchuck1

I followed BMW's suggestion and didn't rotate the tires, and my original tires wore out prematurely due to wear on the front inside edges. If I had rotated them, I think I could have gotten another 10,000 miles out of them. I was anxious to get rid of the run flats anyway, but in the future I plan to rotate.

Do you have a square or staggered setup?

[woodchuck1]

Originally Posted by ///Mposter

Do you have a square or staggered setup?

Square.

[kwcbimmer]

I had the dealer check the alignment. They were all within the BMW specs, though not all of them were close to the targets. The dealer claimed the defective tires to Pirelli, who ended up with only agreeing to pay 25% of tires. I don't know what the rationale was. To me, it should be either 100% if they were defective or 0% if it was due to BMW's alignment and/or suspension settings. I was suggested to wait until they are totally gone, and then stay away from RFTs.

Now I am considering rotating the tires, but have a question (may be very basic, but I have no experience with TPMS): if DIY, would it be as simple as rotating tires w/o TPMS, or I have to go to a dealer or similar to deal with the TPMS?

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by kwcbimmer

I had the dealer check the alignment. They were all within the BMW specs, though not all of them were close to the targets. The dealer claimed the defective tires to Pirelli, who ended up with only agreeing to pay 25% of tires. I don't know what the rationale was. To me, it should be either 100% if they were defective or 0% if it was due to BMW's alignment and/or suspension settings. I was suggested to wait until they are totally gone, and then stay away from RFTs.

Now I am considering rotating the tires, but have a question (may be very basic, but I have no experience with TPMS): if DIY, would it be as simple as rotating tires w/o TPMS, or I have to go to a dealer or similar to deal with the TPMS?

You're saying your dealer suggested to go away from run flats once they are done? Are you sure? that's a massive liability recommending something against BMW worldwide's suggestions.

You should read the manual as to how you reset FTM readings (which is what it's called in Canada, not TPMS, since there is no Sensor in the wheel to be monitored, and the system monitors Flat Tires by measuring the rotating speed of each wheel, and when there's a flat, It recognizes it because the overall circumference of the tire is reduced and therefore it spins faster than the others to be able to go the same speed). Switching tires around the car makes no difference to the FTM (it has no clue which wheel is where) other than you just need to reset it because the rear pressure is obviously different than the front.

[gIzzE]

Originally Posted by Lotus99

You're saying your dealer suggested to go away from run flats once they are done? Are you sure? that's a massive liability recommending something against BMW worldwide's suggestions.

Run flats are not a BMW Worldwide suggestion as such, different markets allow you to spec a car with proper tyres.
BMW UK wouldn't allow proper tyres for quite a while, it has been nearly 13 years now since BMW started selling cars with run flats, and in the early days inside tyre wear was very common. As the run flats have got better the edge wear also seems to be less of an issue, however, on the heavier cars it is still not right.

I have had a few BMW with run flats now and ditched them all after a few weeks, my 535d touring was awful, through to the cords on the rear with 6mm in the centre and 7mm on the outside 1/3.
Soon as I swapped for proper tyres they wore evenly. Same with the 530d GT, that actually went through with again nearly 7mm on the other 80% of the tyre. Proper tyres, wore perfectly.

My X3 came from the factory with proper tyres as did my wife's X1, I have now done 12k miles on the X3 tyres since December and they are wearing perfectly evenly and amazingly when I checked them yesterday there is over 7mm remaining all round. They are Pirelli as well, which are not known for being the longest wearing tyres out there.

The difference in comfort and the way the tyre bites on rougher surfaces is also not to be underestimated either, it is not subtle.
if you're going to keep your car for 30k miles or more it will work out cheaper to make the switch and you get the benefits of going with a proper tyre too.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Run flats are not a BMW Worldwide suggestion as such, different markets allow you to spec a car with proper tyres.
BMW UK wouldn't allow proper tyres for quite a while, it has been nearly 13 years now since BMW started selling cars with run flats, and in the early days inside tyre wear was very common. As the run flats have got better the edge wear also seems to be less of an issue, however, on the heavier cars it is still not right.

I have had a few BMW with run flats now and ditched them all after a few weeks, my 535d touring was awful, through to the cords on the rear with 6mm in the centre and 7mm on the outside 1/3.
Soon as I swapped for proper tyres they wore evenly. Same with the 530d GT, that actually went through with again nearly 7mm on the other 80% of the tyre. Proper tyres, wore perfectly.

My X3 came from the factory with proper tyres as did my wife's X1, I have now done 12k miles on the X3 tyres since December and they are wearing perfectly evenly and amazingly when I checked them yesterday there is over 7mm remaining all round. They are Pirelli as well, which are not known for being the longest wearing tyres out there.

The difference in comfort and the way the tyre bites on rougher surfaces is also not to be underestimated either, it is not subtle.
if you're going to keep your car for 30k miles or more it will work out cheaper to make the switch and you get the benefits of going with a proper tyre too.

You don't need to explain to me the difference between run flats in regular tires. I know all the downsides. Especially grip - hence why no M car comes with them. I switched my 335's once the run flats were worn.

It's just that without a spare tire in the car, I'm surprised any dealer would officially recommend ditching runflats. So you guys can factory order an X3 without run flats, and it comes with no spare tire either?

[gIzzE]

Could have said earlier, would have saved me loads of typing!!

Yeah, when we factory order without run flats, the car comes with a compressor and gunk.

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Could have said earlier, would have saved me loads of typing!!

Yeah, when we factory order without run flats, the car comes with a compressor and gunk.

Interesting for sure. That makes my decision to switch away from run flats once they are done that much easier than!

[gIzzE]

Yeah, BMW UK took nearly 10 years before they decided that maybe they should allow customers to choose not to have run flats. Until then they were adamant that the cars could only have them, even when you pointed out the same car could be ordered without them in Germany they still argued the case.