[graham]

When my car went in for its ridiculous dealer window rubber creak fix (don't ask) it was brought to my attention that I will shortly need new front tyres.

Ok....but the car has only done 12k miles surely it can't need them yet.

Yes sir, they are 2 5 3 on the front.

Great!

My previous 118d wore the outsides down as well but after 24k miles.

Anyway, ihas anyone run non run flats on the front but run flats on the rear?

I don't want to buy all four yet but need some fronts pretty soon and I aint buying RFT's that is for sure.

The dealer numpty came up with every excuse under the sun as to why I should still fit run flats including that if my car was damaged due to them then it would not be covered under warranty.

I pointed out to him that the warranty didn't cover damage anyway and that there must be a reason why the M division do not fit them.

He looked a bit sheepish and changed the subject.

Graham

 

[mrash]

ive covered about 10k miles in a set at the front and they need replacing due to outside tread wear. Ive been told the geometry needs setting but its all day of a job by BMW and about £200. As i have a company car, i contacted the lease company and they just told me to get new tyres and wouldnt pay for the geometry re alignment!!!! bearing in mind my 1st set lasted me 20k miles....

 

[graham]

Thats what I would have assumed but the sales guy said it was normal wear!!!!???????

Hmmm.....

I may give them another call.

Graham

 

[mrash]

Its not normal wear, i drive no different now to when i 1st got the car, and the tyres are the same, continentals...

 

[northandy]

My pirellis all need replacing on my 120d Msport, did the backs last week and swapped to bridgestones, am doing the fronts in the next couple of weeks, they arent illegal but have worn the outside edges pretty badly...

My car has done 17k

 

[Matt EHR1]

For info, BMW told me my car needs a KDS Laser tracking at £243 !!

BMW M Style say they can do the same for £95 !....

I am going to get mine checked out soon, due to the steering wheel being slightly out and the car very slightly pulling to one side.

 

[dantheman]

A definite +1 here.

I've done 14k miles on Bridgestones and they're only about 1/2 worn. I'd say 2/3 of my driving is motorway though (although the rest could probably be described as enthusiastic ).

 

[pauljoyce]

Just sorted my tyres today. I have similar problems with the outer edges wearing excessively after 14500 miles. Apparently this is a trait of the 1 series and I was advised not to waste the £200 on a geometry check.
The tyre fitter at BMW informed me that the pirelli's i have currently are not handed and therefore offered to turn them around to increase the use out of the tyre, this involved removing the tyres from the rims refitting and balancing, new valves and to my surprise, he didn't even want to charge me for his 45 minutes labour.
He recommended that I change over to Bridgestones next which offer all round better performance.
He also recommended to run the fronts at 2.5 bar (34 psi I think).

 

[gIzzE]

Get the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Zero Pressure tyres, they are amazing!!

I hate run flats and always ditch them straight away, but I have the PS2's on my 335i and love them.

 

[Bumps]

I've got 17" pirelli euforias on my 120d Sport. They are wearing unevenly too (the car has done 16000 miles), especially on the front outer edges. Seems the Pirellis are worse than others. I called BMW UK yesterday for the 'gospel' on what tyres are available and recommended (RFTs) and the implications of getting rid of RFTs. They said:

In 17", for the 205/50 fronts, there are Bridgestone Potenzas (2 types of) and Goodyear NCT5s available. For the rear, there are only Goodyears available, according to them!!!!! What? So what's the point of doing three tyres in the front size and only one alternative for the rear? When I search Black Circles, the front size brings up no results at all. Suspect all is not quite as I was told.

Northandy - did you get your 17" Bridgestones from your BMW dealer? And I presume they are RFTs? If the 225/45 17 rears are available then they seem the best RFT option - would you agree?

Ref getting rid of RFTs, the warranty dept said that should any claim be found to have been due to the removal of RFTs, then it wouldn't be covered. I pointed out the M Division's refusal to fit RFTs to no avail. I also pointed out the poor/uneven wear, the dreadful ride which is shaking the car to bits on the roads where I live, and the very unpredictable handling, especially in the wet. Again, no response other than 'the car is designed for RFTs'.

I also mentioned this forum and asked if anyone from BMW kept up with it - the guy I spoke to hadn't heard of it.....

Has anyone on (mixed size) 17s ditched RFTs - and what are your experiences?

The saga goes on.

 

[Bumps]

About my last question - just found sulphur man's posts in another thread about Pirelli tyre wear. Looks like Potenza RFTs are the way ahead, and that they are available in mixed sizes for 142 alloys. I'm just glad that BMW UK knows its stuff...... In future I'll know where to come for authoritative information!

 

[Panda]

I'm about to step into the brave world of ditching the run flats, I've got my new wheels ordered, should be arriving any day! So thanks for the official BMW standing, I did wonder what they would think.

Most of the tyre industry will always advise that you stick to one brand of tyre all round, let alone mixing run flat and non run flat.

The issues are mainly with the amount of grip given by each tyre. It's more true for motorbikes, but I'm sure the same would hold for a car.

If you have less of a grippy tyre on the front, and a more grippy tyre on the back, then the front end is likely to give way before the other end, and may cause handling problems if you put any kind of abnormal stress on them, ie breaking or swerving heavily.

It's really therefore IMHO not a good idea to mix RFT's and Non-RFT's. I'm no expert, but I really wouldn't do it, sorry.

I may have completely misunderstood what you meant of course!!!

 

[uddhamsoto]

I've done 24,000 km on my contis and the tyres look like they can do another 12,000km.. driving mix similar to dantheman (2/3 motorway.. 1/3 erm.. fun driving)..

 

[northandy]

I've got 17" pirelli euforias on my 120d Sport. They are wearing unevenly too (the car has done 16000 miles), especially on the front outer edges. Seems the Pirellis are worse than others. I called BMW UK yesterday for the 'gospel' on what tyres are available and recommended (RFTs) and the implications of getting rid of RFTs. They said:

In 17", for the 205/50 fronts, there are Bridgestone Potenzas (2 types of) and Goodyear NCT5s available. For the rear, there are only Goodyears available, according to them!!!!! What? So what's the point of doing three tyres in the front size and only one alternative for the rear? When I search Black Circles, the front size brings up no results at all. Suspect all is not quite as I was told.

Northandy - did you get your 17" Bridgestones from your BMW dealer? And I presume they are RFTs? If the 225/45 17 rears are available then they seem the best RFT option - would you agree?

Ref getting rid of RFTs, the warranty dept said that should any claim be found to have been due to the removal of RFTs, then it wouldn't be covered. I pointed out the M Division's refusal to fit RFTs to no avail. I also pointed out the poor/uneven wear, the dreadful ride which is shaking the car to bits on the roads where I live, and the very unpredictable handling, especially in the wet. Again, no response other than 'the car is designed for RFTs'.

I also mentioned this forum and asked if anyone from BMW kept up with it - the guy I spoke to hadn't heard of it.....

Has anyone on (mixed size) 17s ditched RFTs - and what are your experiences?

The saga goes on.

I got a price from mytyres.co.uk first then called my local tyre dealer, I wonder if your dealer was talking about the speed rating ?.

I got 225/45 W 17 bridgestone Potenzas RFT's for the rear, the pirellis I binned were only V rated.... I paid £140 a pop for the rears, and taking the car in Friday for the fronts and paying £130ish

I must admit the back now seems much more planted, and it seems to have made the front tramline more, hopefully that will go when I change those Friday

 

[Bumps]

I'm about to step into the brave world of ditching the run flats, I've got my new wheels ordered, should be arriving any day! So thanks for the official BMW standing, I did wonder what they would think.

Most of the tyre industry will always advise that you stick to one brand of tyre all round, let alone mixing run flat and non run flat.

The issues are mainly with the amount of grip given by each tyre. It's more true for motorbikes, but I'm sure the same would hold for a car.

If you have less of a grippy tyre on the front, and a more grippy tyre on the back, then the front end is likely to give way before the other end, and may cause handling problems if you put any kind of abnormal stress on them, ie breaking or swerving heavily.

It's really therefore IMHO not a good idea to mix RFT's and Non-RFT's. I'm no expert, but I really wouldn't do it, sorry.

I may have completely misunderstood what you meant of course!!!

[/code]

Thanks for the post panda. I think I probably didn't explain myself very clearly! What I actually meant is that I was considering either binning RFTs in total or, if not, I was researching which types of RFTs seem to be the best option for my 17" 142 alloys, as the mixed sizes does throw up a few problems in sourcing tyres. BMW UK said that only the Pirelli and Good Year are available for the rear, which seems not to be the case according to this thread. It's a bit poor that they can't advise customers correctly.

Don't worry, I never mix makes of tyres, let alone RFTs and normal rubber. The handling is 'interesting' enough on my Pirellis thanks!!

By the way, hope you enjoy the AC Type 4s - please post some pics. That got me thinking too; as I recall most AC Schnitzer and Alpina wheels (approved by BMW remember) are non-RFT. You don't have to modify/re-tune the suspension when you fit them as far as I can gather (this was BMW UK's central argument against non-RFTs on a 1er), and dealers will sell and fit them happily. So that - to me at least - would appear to be BMW's argument dead in the water..... If not then it's potentially an interesting question for them.

I've got a bit longer to decide anyway but I really do baulk at spending around £150 per wheel for RFTs.

 

[graham]

Panda,

You didn't misunderstand what I meant and I do understand your point of view entirely.

I asked the other engineers at work (ex chassis engineers mostly) and they said not to worry.

Just take it easy.

However, it is not there car and they will not be driving it.

I like the idea of swapping them round at the front.

I was also going to up the pressure a bit.

If you look at the front geometry on full lock though (parked) you can see how the camber becomes more positive when turned. Coupled with a heavy 120d engine, I am beginning to understand why they are wearing like they are. I expected at least 20k out of them though.

I'll have to see.

My dad has an 06 R1 with Yoshi's by the way and he's 64!

 

[bmw120dmsport]

Hi guys I have never ever driven a car with RFT, what is the difference like and also I have noticed some of you have gone back to normal tyres, as the 1 series never came with a spare would this not be taking a risk if you got a flat one day etc

 

[Matt EHR1]

What tyre pressure's does anyone recommend for 142 rims on a 120D ?

should i use the standard pressure's or would a slightly higher front pressure avoid uneven tyre wear that people seem to be experiencing?

 

[AndyM]

I've always felt that the recommended front tyre pressure on my 5 Series is too low. So I do go to a higher pressure. I tend to look at the dust pick up on the tyre to see when it 'looks right'.

 

[Bumps]

What tyre pressure's does anyone recommend for 142 rims on a 120D ?

should i use the standard pressure's or would a slightly higher front pressure avoid uneven tyre wear that people seem to be experiencing?

MattEHR1, I assume you have the Pirelli Euforias. I had them (17" mixed on 142s) and despite experimenting with different pressures, the fronts wore on the outside edges badly and prematurely, despite mostly running at higher pressures than recommended. As I understand it from most of the threads here, the best thing to do is just not get any more when they do wear out and go for Bridgestones or Michelin RFTs, or ditch the RFTs altogether.