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      08-31-2012, 08:57 AM   #1
alfidog
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Unusual tyre wear

Hi, new to the forum, 2012 X3 3 litre diesel M body , looking for some help. I had a blow out in a continental SSR 3 19" front tyre. Took it to ATS tyre shop in UK and found that both front tyres had worn down to the wire on the inside last inch strip of the tyre. They told me to get in touch with BMW as they thought it was very unusual, and considering I had an accident at 5000 miles, a car blind sided me and caused £4800 plus VAT damage, they suggested that something was still at fault.

BMW in North Wales suggest I have knocked both wheels out of line in the last 6000 miles and it is not a warranty issue. I call bollocks on this, and a quick google shows a load of problems going back to 2009, with uneven tyre wear on run flats and cracked alloy wheels. BMW fobbed most owners off, until it got on watch dog , and then they appeared more amenable.

To get my car back on the road, I need to buy at least two new front tyres (6mm left in the middle!) and my staggered rear tyres are down to 2mm in under 12000 miles! I got the blame for this, because "I must be heavy footed , as I bought the 3 litre." I have a 4 year old porsche boxter on staggered run flats, and I have never had an issue like this.

I bought the car second hand and have never owned run flats on a 4 x 4 before. I am thinking of buying some 18" rims (or 17" and some 4 x 4 type tyres) and putting normal tyres on it. I did this with my range rover sport 2012, I took the 20" wheels off and bought some 19" rims with general grabbers on to go off road.

I love the X3 (better than the sport!), but I feel it is not fit for purpose with these rims and tyres.

Any advice greatly appreciated
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      08-31-2012, 09:12 AM   #2
n55x3
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Sounds like a camber issue. I don't think the tires are the culprit. When you replace the tires you'll need to be sure and get an alignment or it will happen again.

It will be hard to get BMW to cover under warranty as things like alignments can be considered a wear item, in that an alignment may loose it's accuracy the more distances you drive.
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      08-31-2012, 02:56 PM   #3
alfidog
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BMW did an alignment in January when they repaired the vehicle after the accident. How is it possible for me to knock both wheels out of camber/alignment to produce exactly the sam wear pattern on both front tyres?

If I want to get away from run flats and different sized wheels, front to back , what is my best option. I thought an 18" or 17" rim, and a proper tyre, plus a space saver in the boot. BMW tried to tell me that this is not an option that they would recommend, as the performance and warranty would suffer.

So having upgraded my freelander to an X3, for all practicalities it is not really meant to go off road or deal with the North Wales roads? This I find hard to swallow, is there any sympathetic dealers on here that would offer some help , on new wheels and more practical tyres?
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      08-31-2012, 03:07 PM   #4
n55x3
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You had an accident and BMW did an alignment? I think that right there is the root of your issues. I would say with a high level of confidence they did not do the alignment correctly if after only 8 months you wore thru the rubber and into the wires. It is highly unlikely that you knocked the tires out of alignment. You would have noticed such an impact. I would definitely lean on BMW to make things right.

With that being said, you can certainly run non runflat tires. This is pretty common. If you do decide to go with a tire that has a different outside diameter (than OEM) you have to have your computer adjusted so the mileage and speed is correct. If you went smaller your speed would register higher and miles/kms would accumulate faster than normal.

Taking the X3 off road shouldn't be a concern either. Obviously within reason. I'd personally explore some non-runflats to run on you 19" tires (will keep costs down) and it will be critical to have an independent shop do another alignment.
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      08-31-2012, 03:23 PM   #5
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From your description it does sound as if either, the alignemt is out, the tyre pressures are too low and/or you drive pretty hard. The fact your rear tyres are down in such a low mileage hints at the latter being at least part of the problem.

Of course you can change rims and tyres, but you won't get much help from BMW, as you are leaving the OEM fitment. BTW, what is the smallest diameter rim for your model? May find reference to size options on the door plate. That will give you a clue to where you can start.

As to moving from RFTs you'd need to decide exactly what you want and need performance wise. Insurance will most likely want tyres with the same load and speed rating as the OEM fitment, even if you move to non run-flats.

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      09-01-2012, 02:42 AM   #6
alfidog
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Thanks for the replies, I don't drive very hard, it is virtually impossible on the country lanes where I live.
When I bought my 2012 RR sport that I wanted to use off road, landrover were very helpful. They told me to order it with the 20" rims, buy a set of 19" rims off ebay and stick some general grabbers on it, which they then fitted. Idea was if I came to change it, I could put the 20" rims on, and not lose as much money (cause everyone wants the big rims).

Are you saying that I can put non run flat tyres on the X3 on the rims as they are, 19" 245 at the front and 275 at the back.

BMW quoted me (I think run flat again):
Front tyre size 245 / 45 19 . Our cost £324 inc vat each.

Rear tyre size 275 / 40 19. Our cost £336 inc vat each.

The tyres we have priced up are Pirellis.

Cost of a wheel alignment would be £149 inc vat should you want one.
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      09-01-2012, 06:03 AM   #7
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I hade a very similar problem with my Continental SSRs. Cupping on the outside and heavy wear on the inside. They did do an alignment, it wasn't far out and it was hard to see that as the culprit. However, following the alignment and later replacement of the tires with Pirelli P Zeros, things seem good. I cannot detect any radically uneven wear and the car drives a great deal better. Not able to tell definitively, but I've concluded it was the combination of a minor alignment issue and a poor tire that wore particularly badly as a result. I've had a lot of good years with Pirellis on BMWs and after this experience plan to stick with them.

My SA did say that X5s have a tendency to produce a similar wear pattern, and wouldn't be surprised to see the X3s do it (this was about a year ago, so he'd seen few of the new line). I think he was just trying to supply an answer where he didn't really know what was happening. I've not owned an X5 and have no direct experience, but with my other 4 3 series sedans we always experienced dead even tire wear even with "spirited" driving. None were xDrive and perhaps there's a difference there.
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      09-02-2012, 09:21 AM   #8
alfidog
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I looked on the UK BMW site and the 3.0 se comes with standard tyres, I might try something like this:
http://www.4x4tyres.co.uk/bmw-x3-201...ompatibletyres

With pirelli tyres, can you see any issues with that combination?

Or should I just put some pirelli run flats on my current rims?
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      09-02-2012, 10:22 AM   #9
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If you want to do the same as before and buy some second hand rims off ebay, both the previous generation X3 & X5 wheels fit.

I have previous generation X5 17" wheels with winter tyres ready for when the snow comes with 225 x 60 x 17 tyres. You need a minimum speed rating of 'H' to cope with the 'limited' top speed of 130mph to keep the insurers happy
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      09-04-2012, 11:59 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alfidog View Post
Hi, new to the forum, 2012 X3 3 litre diesel M body , looking for some help. I had a blow out in a continental SSR 3 19" front tyre. Took it to ATS tyre shop in UK and found that both front tyres had worn down to the wire on the inside last inch strip of the tyre. Any advice greatly appreciated
You should check the tyres regularly yourself, not only for pressure but also for wear and any embedded foreign objects.
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      09-14-2012, 06:09 PM   #11
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2010 BMW Z4 35is  [10.00]
2013 BMW X5 30d  [0.00]
I have the 30d msport.
My wife is the main driver.
Very sedate with the car.

At 14,000 km we had both inside edges wearing down, so in for an alignment.
After adjustment,
The car tram lined like a bejesus.
We were told it was normal.
At 20,000 both outside edges were worn off.. From almost full read to nothing in 6,000 km
Not happy

Took it in again and were told that the alignment was fine and 20,000km was normal tyre life
Not happy
BMW refused to help, dealer was more helpful discounting two new tyres.

The car is not tram lining anywhere near as much now, and we will be taking it in to the dealer for a progress check every 5,000km to be safe.

I get more than 20,000 out of my soft compounds on the Z4.
Not happy.
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