[tommac]

Hi all,

Well had two new rear tyres on the 56 plate 320d msport- has the 17inch rims. Fair enough really- 23.5k out of them is ok! However upon closer inspection of the fronts atthe garage- the inside edges are fubared and the drivers side front had shreded the outside edge. To the point that the tyres were not legal- great- my previous e46 coupe did about 30-35k on the fronts no sweat. had the fronts replaced this am- and my wallet is now alot lighter. Just spoken with bmw and they claim that 23.5k is doing very well out of front tyres- not amused.

Any one else had a similar prob?

Also what pressures are people running in the rft's?

Thanks in advance

Tom

[creepy coupe]

Pressures are on a plate just inside the drivers door, our company 320d has 18K on, and it's tyres look nearly done.

[Dave_3]

23.5k is not bad at all.

I've had other "prestige" cars with more sporty compounds that chewed through tyres regularly at just over 10k.

If they are wearing irregulary get an alignment check (full KDS recommended).

D.

[tommac]

Im using the pressures as discribed on the plate just wondered if people were running at different pressures?

My other "weekend" car is a porsche- the fronts on that (continentals) have currnetly done 32k and still look healthy as you like- rears on the other hand only lasted 12k uhmmm anyway- hence why i was surprised by the bm chewing the fronts!

KDS was also mentioned by the stealer- currnently on offer at £99 sir- so i may take it in and get it checked!

Thanks for the replys guys

[Dave_3]

Probably a lot less weight/loading on your Porsche's front tyres

I have my tyres set to the upper band. Slightly crisper handling and no discernable effect on ride comfort (they are slightly crashy at the best of times anyway).

D.

[tommac]

very true dave- alot less weight up front!

Im running on the lower band as its usually onlyme in the car but will try upping it and see how it is!

Thanks
tom

[NFS]

Originally Posted by tommac

Hi all,

Well had two new rear tyres on the 56 plate 320d msport- has the 17inch rims. Fair enough really- 23.5k out of them is ok! However upon closer inspection of the fronts atthe garage- the inside edges are fubared and the drivers side front had shreded the outside edge. To the point that the tyres were not legal- great- my previous e46 coupe did about 30-35k on the fronts no sweat. had the fronts replaced this am- and my wallet is now alot lighter. Just spoken with bmw and they claim that 23.5k is doing very well out of front tyres- not amused.

Any one else had a similar prob?

Also what pressures are people running in the rft's?

Thanks in advance

Tom

Runflats definitely wear faster - I got 25K out of my rears, but on previous BMW's have managed over 40K.

The fronts shouldn't wear as fast and my initial thought was that this sounded like the result of low pressures. Because of the reinforced sidewall the RFT's don't deform at low pressure (which is why they work) and this means that the car is mainly loading the outer edge of the tyre.

As you seem to be on top of the pressures this might well be down to a problem with wheel alignment.

[ChrisMWard]

The Bridgestone rears on our last 330d Sport were knocked out at 20K. The current 335ds PS2 run flats rears seem to be wearing very well with about 5-6mm left after 12K. On the 120d all four Bridgestone RFTs are almost shot at 22K, I will have to get them changed in the next month. I would imigane the lower powered cars get fairly similar wear front to back whereas the higher powered varieties destroy their rears a bit sooner.

Regards

Chris

[1stKnight]

My front tyres need to be replaced - plenty of tread except at the outside edge which is flat! 16500 miles...
The rears are still fine but won't reach 20000 miles.

My previous car managed around 25k for both front and rears on runflats.

[hmi1750]

my rear bridgestones are at 3mm now... so I am getting them changed.

But most likely I will just get non-RFTs all round now.

As with 20k miles/yr I will need to change them in the next 2yrs again anyway if not sooner.

I am going to change them in the next few weeks.

[mgarvey]

My rears only lasted about 13k miles or so. Fronts lasted nearly 30k, which was pretty good. I've been trying to run my tyres at the top end of the stated pressures, which seems to work a little better wear-wise.

[ROCKETRON]

I Run my tyres at a couple of psi above the recomended to make sure that the tread width is doing something and the tyres are not running on and being supported by the stiff sidewall only which will give the smooth outer edge and saw tooth wear patterns that lots have seen. Mine dont seem too bad at the moment but have only done 14k miles.

[Koalway Kid]

10K outa Rears on 335D Gutted!!!!

[ShereKhan]

I got 31 on my original set of RFT's and i've just had a screw on one of the rears. The tread depth was 4mm after 6mths/10k miles.

Maybe the OEM tyres in the factory just last longer.....

[jjbirch]

18k all tyres were done tom where abouts in devon u from, my neck of the woods

[ChrisMWard]

Originally Posted by Tony Morgan

10K outa Rears on 335D Gutted!!!!

You must be on a mission, 5mm left after 13K now on the 335d.

Regards

Chris

[Cafe.Racer]

This is interesting - mine's at about 21k and at the 20k service the dealer pointed out that I needed £ new tyres - few more miles in the rears yet.

Interestingly, the front right has worn really oddly - the outside edge has worn at an angle from the rest of the tyre and is "probably" illegal.

My tyres usually get a hammering and I was keeping an eye on the rears, but the front right surprised me.

You think it's the harder sidewall on the RFT's?

[mgarvey]

I think I got about 30k out of my fronts. Rears last about half that. I also run my tyres at the high end of the recommended pressures to try and avoid too much wear at the edge of the tyre.

[CardinalZeus77]

Hi,

I had to change my Rear RFTs at 30K and Fronts at 33K. You got to regularly check the pressures on the RFTs.

[en1gma]

Just had to change both my rears on my 320dSE (17"). At 30,000 miles... The vast majority of my mileage is motorway, though.

I tended to keep the pressure at the higher end, too (coz' of the "high speed" motorway use (!)); but the wear was textbook over-inflation i.e. across the middle 3" of the tyres, the outer edges looked OK. Have been advised to keep 'em at the lower "single occupant, low weight" pressure unless the missus and kids (and luggage) are in for a long journey...

Fronts seem OK, though wear is more on the inside edges; compared to
center and outer edges.

They were Continental Contact Sport RFT, now have Bridgestone RFT Potenza RE50s (approx £134 each, incl, fitting, valves, etc) as they were much cheaper than the Contis. They give a better ride, grip seems good - but from reading the above entries, not sure if they will last as long

[PhilR]

Wow......30,000 miles and changed because of uneven wear. You should be smiling mate. I normally don't keep a car for that sort of mileage

I would settle for that now - my first set of Potenza's lasted a mere 18,000 - all 4 of them. Cost a noticeable £700 to replace (Potenza's again) and I am anticipating having to change them when the motor has done 36,000.

I have noticed quite a few threads were people have opted for Michelin RFT instead - are these any better than Potenza's for wear / traction etc ?

Those Continental with 30,000 miles sound good to me?

PhilR

[en1gma]

Originally Posted by PhilR

Wow......30,000 miles and changed because of uneven wear. You should be smiling mate. I normally don't keep a car for that sort of mileage

I would settle for that now - my first set of Potenza's lasted a mere 18,000 - all 4 of them. Cost a noticeable £700 to replace (Potenza's again) and I am anticipating having to change them when the motor has done 36,000.

I have noticed quite a few threads were people have opted for Michelin RFT instead - are these any better than Potenza's for wear / traction etc ?

Those Continental with 30,000 miles sound good to me?

PhilR

I'm not as much 'in tune' as most posters appear to be, but i will say that the Contis had a pretty damn good ultimate grip. I'm in W London, and frequently have to use the fabulous M25 junctions that connect to the M4, M3, and M40 and it is not unknown to be doing (at least) 80MPH and still be accelerating

The Potenzas appear perfectly fine (and also handle the above corners very well!) - but do seem to be softer (no science, just feedback from my hands and backside!) - and give a better overall ride; giving the impression they won't last as long as the Conti Contact Sports. The Potenzas also seem a lot quieter.

From what I have read on the topic, Michelin RFTs are made slightly differently to other brands - from a reinforcement perspective, and the fact that Alpina use them (although bespoke ones) made me seriously consider them; but they were hard to get hold of. If you are near a Costco, and are either a member or know someone who is (you can buy from there as a 'guest'), they have the best prices. They also fill their tyres with nitrogen (instead of the normal air/mix). Which is apparently A Good Thing (probably a topic for another thread).

I originally ordered from them, but they didn't have the RFTs in stock (can't remember the model name/number; but my car has 225/45 R17s) and it was over three week's leadtime. And my rears were seriously illegal and had to change p.d.q...