Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[FNV]

I spoke with 2 dealerships and they both stated that I have to use
winter RFT for my E90. Is this true or are they just trying to sell RFT?

[nmulax]

that's

You can put whatever you want on your E90.
The only issue is that our cars don't have a spare or a jack. Therefor if you go with non run-flats, I'd suggest picking up a tire kit like this

Also, don't buy tires from the dealership. My dealer quoted my a price around $2600 for a winter setup; I got mine off tirerack for $1200.

[stressdoc]

Definitely check out TireRack. There are several rft snows options available. I really think that it's an especially good idea to get rims and tires so that you do not have to remount the rfts over and over.

[Carnage]

Originally Posted by nmulax

that's

You can put whatever you want on your E90.
The only issue is that our cars don't have a spare or a jack. Therefor if you go with non run-flats, I'd suggest picking up a tire kit like this

Also, don't buy tires from the dealership. My dealer quoted my a price around $2600 for a winter setup; I got mine off tirerack for $1200.

I agree. My winter tires are non-RFT. Definitely get a set of rims too. It makes switching out much easier every year.

[GregL]

I got RFT's on separate rims for peace of mind. But whatever you end up getting, stay away from the dealer's parts department and find either a local place or order from online like TireRack.

[MrSilver]

I have non-rft winter tires on right now.

No problem whatsoever.

I was also told that I HAD to buy the BMW wheels.

They are just trying to make money off of you.

[FNV]

Thanks for the info...I found some nice Bavaria rims and cooper winter tires for half of the price of the dealership.

[HeadlessChicken]

Originally Posted by MrSilver

I have non-rft winter tires on right now.

No problem whatsoever.

I was also told that I HAD to buy the BMW wheels.

They are just trying to make money off of you.

Silver, did you go with the Tire Rack package. How are you liking them so far. What size did you get. I picked up my 335 (e90) a couple weeks ago and am considering snow tires for the winter. I should have at least one more month in DC before snow comes. My only concern was with the break size on the 335 sport. Any issues?

[DJF3]

Hi,

I have a 325i with Styling 162 wheels. These come with Run-Flat tires. Now I want to change the rubber to Winter tires.

-Do I *have* to switch to RUN-FLAT winter tires or can I use regular winter tires?

-Do run-flat winter-tires exist in the following size:
front: 8.0Jx18 inch 225/40 R18
back: 8.5Jx18 inch 255/35 R18

-How do I know if a tire (for example) Michelin XXXXX/etc/etc is a runflat tire? Is there a special code for run-flat tires that I can recognize?

Thankyou!
bye
DJ

[gos]

Originally Posted by DJF3

Hi,

I have a 325i with Styling 162 wheels. These come with Run-Flat tires. Now I want to change the rubber to Winter tires.

-Do I *have* to switch to RUN-FLAT winter tires or can I use regular winter tires?

You can use whatever you want, it's your car. Out of curiosity, I contacted BMW Assist, and they assured me they don't care what tires are on your car, they'll tow you from anywhere if necessary.

Originally Posted by DJF3

-Do run-flat winter-tires exist in the following size:
front: 8.0Jx18 inch 225/40 R18
back: 8.5Jx18 inch 255/35 R18

Not that I can see on tirerack.com... There are winter tires in those sizes, but they aren't runflats. There are 4-5 different runflat winters in 17" sizes however, so perhaps you could get a set of winter wheels too?

Originally Posted by DJF3

-How do I know if a tire (for example) Michelin XXXXX/etc/etc is a runflat tire? Is there a special code for run-flat tires that I can recognize?

Thankyou!
bye
DJ

Every brand is different. Dunlop uses DSST or ROF to indicate runflat, Continental uses SSR, and Bridgestone uses RFT. They're all different, but should indicate "Run Flat" somewhere. I don't think Michelin makes a BMW-compatible runflat, since Michelin was designing a competing tire/wheel system for runflat mobility which required special wheels.

--gos