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[agarbati]

I had been noticing that at cruising speeds the ambient noise in the passenger compartment was louder than normal. More like an insufficiently lubed front axle would sound on a really old car. Actually the loaner I have right now, an X3, sounds a lot quieter than my 330.

Also my car was drifting to the left.

Well I had to get my upholstery fixed so I mentioned the additional problems to my SA.

With regards to the first he said that the technician mentioned that my tires were starting to cup. He said that it would cost $800 to replace the tires, or, since I had quite a bit of tread life left, I should just drive on them and replace when necessary. He said that driving habits could be responsible for it. I don't drive my BMW any harder than my old Japanese cars, and they never had this problem!

As for the second problem, he mentioned that the run-flat tires have to be within a 1lb of pressure of each other or else they can cause drift.

They've had my car for 3 days now. And they still haven't replaced the leather cover on the passenger seat. He said that it should be done tomorrow. It took him 3 days to tell me that my tires were cupping?

I'm not too happy with this SA, what do you guys think?

[F32Fleet]

how many miles on your car?

[agarbati]

Originally Posted by Socom

how many miles on your car?

15,000 and change.

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by agarbati

I had been noticing that at cruising speeds the ambient noise in the passenger compartment was louder than normal. More like an insufficiently lubed front axle would sound on a really old car. Actually the loaner I have right now, an X3, sounds a lot quieter than my 330.

Also my car was drifting to the left.

Well I had to get my upholstery fixed so I mentioned the additional problems to my SA.

With regards to the first he said that the technician mentioned that my tires were starting to cup. He said that it would cost $800 to replace the tires, or, since I had quite a bit of tread life left, I should just drive on them and replace when necessary. He said that driving habits could be responsible for it. I don't drive my BMW any harder than my old Japanese cars, and they never had this problem!

As for the second problem, he mentioned that the run-flat tires have to be within a 1lb of pressure of each other or else they can cause drift.

They've had my car for 3 days now. And they still haven't replaced the leather cover on the passenger seat. He said that it should be done tomorrow. It took him 3 days to tell me that my tires were cupping?

I'm not too happy with this SA, what do you guys think?

if your not happy get your car back right away and bring it somewhere else. You dont have to get it serviced there.

[thekewl1]

Originally Posted by agarbati

With regards to the first he said that the technician mentioned that my tires were starting to cup.

pardon my ignorance, but what does that mean?

[foofighter]

cuppin is when alternating tire treads start to wear un evenly. so you end up w/ hi and lo spots across the tread. So when you drive, it become absolutely annoying as hell. it occurs more frequently with directionally treaded tires.

[thekewl1]

Originally Posted by foofighter

cuppin is when alternating tire treads start to wear un evenly. so you end up w/ hi and lo spots across the tread. So when you drive, it become absolutely annoying as hell. it occurs more frequently with directionally treaded tires.

thanx! i learned something new.

[supernova]

Originally Posted by thekewl1

thanx! i learned something new.

sooo did i

[foofighter]

and here's the official explanation from goodyear

Cupping (also called dipping or scalloping) is another common tire wear problem. According to Goodyear (www.goodyear.com), cupping typically occurs on front tires, though rear tires can cup, too. It may be a sign that your vehicle's wheels are out of balance, or that suspension or steering system parts are worn out.

[///Matt]

I'm a BMW tech... I see cupping, usually at the inner edge, fairly often. It's pretty normal, some brands do it more than others, and bridgestones do it a lot. It's loud as hell, and annoying, and costly to fix. It's up to whether or not you're willing to pay now for the noise, or wait and pay for worn out. =/

The 1lb thing... BS. 3-5 lbs could cause a drift. not 1. especially not on rfts, that have an exceptionally stiff sidewall. the flex of the sidewall, and the inherent excess rolling resistance of the wheel, is what causes drift with tires that are not equally inflated... so if your rft is STIFFER, why should it be MORE succeptible to inflation drift?

Sounds to me like you need an alignment, if you are drifting, AND experiencing excess tire wear (cupping). It's a nice penny, (probably between one and two hundred bucks, maybe a little more, but hey, if it makes your driving experience better, it's worth it.

No, the alignment is NOT going to be covered by warranty. They'll just blame road hazards.

As far as the seat leather goes, I'll assume you mean the ass portion of the seat. Replacing that (correctly!) takes a solid couple of hours, assuming you have the part in hand. This part is USUALLY one day OUT of stock, sometimes 5-7, depending on current demand. I assume you came in, they ordered the part, to be installed the next day, and then the tech got busy, and had to wait another day to install the seat leather. definitely NOT a stretch of my imagination to see this happening.

The SA should have called you sooner about the tires. He's slacking. Is this a reason to change dealers/SA's? I don't think so, but maybe if he does it again, I would ask for another SA next time.

any questions, feel free to PM or ask.

///Matt