[williams11]

Folks hope you can help . I recently purchased a 2005 e90 which came with mv3 alloys ( might be replicas i just dont know ) . My wife is the main driver , however i was driving on holiday recently and noticed that the cars backend wants to slide all over the place in a wet corner . Even when its dry i dont get a comfort feel when approaching a corner . It just doesnt feel as stable as the old mondeo i moved from . I just dont trust the car and this is really doing my head in . Im hoping its something to do with the tyre pressures . It is fitted with diamondback tyres 225/40 r18 92v . Now im not sure what pressure should be in them for my model of car ( 2005 e90 320d saloon ) . Also ive noticed when driving slow or coming to a stop a sort of noise that you would expect when the pads are only just starting to wear down . I replaced all 4 pads last week and the noise is still there . Might be just the road noise of the tyres .
any help would be appreciated . Oh there was 29 psi pressure in all 4 tyres when i checked at a local garage .
thanks very much

[willhollin]

What the hell are diamondback tyres???

EDIT - Just found out what they are and they retail for £46 each. Get some decent tyres. It does also sound as though you have replica alloys as they are not staggered.

Pressures should be around 36/38 psi for that size of tyre if I remember correctly.

[williams11]

Would love new tyres but the ones on it are new and when the mrs is only 6000 miles a year . That said if it turns out its the tyres then im defo getting them changed . The psi you meationed is interesting , makes me think that could be the problem . Anyone else confirm this ?
cheers

[Carrera RSR]

Tyre pressures are on a sticker on the drivers door jamb.

If you have dodgy tyres that would be part of the story. End of the day you have come from a front wheel drive to rear wheel drive. If you accelerate at the wrong point of a corner in the wet you will find the rear move but the DSC will never let the car oversteer. It's a new driving sensation...enjoy

[williams11]

Just had a quick check and the sticker doesnt cover r18 tyres . I appreciate the rear wheel drive aspect , ive grew up in the cortina , sierra, mk2 go faster escort etc , but this is different this is just hairy , and thats at low speeds . I reakon it may be the tyre pressures but hoping someone on here has the same type of tyre setup .
cheers again , keep them ideas coming

[COLSEN]

I made the mistake of buying some budget tyres once... NEVER again!! Everytime I went into a corner my DSC light would be on and it felt & sounded like the tyres were coming off the rim!! Even though they only had a few 100 miles on them I got them swapped for decent ones and straight away the problem was gone.

[smithysmith]

Definately ditch those tyres, yes new tyres are expensive and it may seem crazy if theres plenty of wear left in them but you really cant put a price on safety mate.

[Buttons]

the cars backend wants to slide all over the place

and your problem is?????

[williams11]

Ok thanks guys , so we are pretty much agreed it must be the tyres causing the probs . The alloys and tyres were newly fitted when i bought the motor a couple of months ago so i guess it must have been one of them aftermarket packages that the dealer fitted . Wasnt really thniking at the time as the wheels looked great . Hope its not the alloys and me goes and buys tyres . Im thinking maybe of looking out for a newish set of standard 16" maybe on gumtree or something . Kinda done the e90 on a budget so have to keep the costs down but i need to get this issue sorted quick. Keep yer eyes out for something , though im in Northern Ireland so i dont know if theres many members on here .
cheers

[bloopeta]

2 things you should never pennypinch on, oil and tyres.

There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that cheap branded budget tyres are to blame, instead of going for a crap set of wheels, why not get some decent part worns for your 18's? Theres any amount on ebay.

As for the noise from the brakes, did you renew the disks when you did the pads? and if not do they need doing?

[dxb335d]

Originally Posted by willhollin

What the hell are diamondback tyres???

EDIT - Just found out what they are and they retail for £46 each. Get some decent tyres. It does also sound as though you have replica alloys as they are not staggered.

Pressures should be around 36/38 psi for that size of tyre if I remember correctly.

Phuck me, he is running ditchfinders...

mate do you not value your life in any way? 46 pound a corner tyres...

[williams11]

Originally Posted by bloopeta

2 things you should never pennypinch on, oil and tyres.

There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that cheap branded budget tyres are to blame, instead of going for a crap set of wheels, why not get some decent part worns for your 18's? Theres any amount on ebay.

As for the noise from the brakes, did you renew the disks when you did the pads? and if not do they need doing?

Hi there
As i say the wheels where on the car when i bought it and to be honest with the Mrs doing the driving i never caught on the problem till i was doing the driving last week on holiday . Sure i knew i hadnt got state of art tyres on there but surely these things must pass british standards nowadays , never for one moment did i think they would be a problem ( well thats what i thought till i went ice skating outdoors in the summer ). Agreed with the oil , first thing i did was change it out for the mobil 1 gold and replaced the filters , ( man that air filter was a bitch) . Now the brakes , to be honest there was another while in them but i changed them anyhow . Discs were fine so i didnt bother with them . I reakon that noise im getting must be just road noise from them tyres . Tell me this , do a lot of people on here use aftermarket alloys with no problems cause it would be a shame to ditch them if indeed i could go down the part worn road route with the tyres .

[williams11]

.

[trixman]

Yep, get those things off, stick them on ebay to recoup some of the loss, and buy a new set of proper alloys with tyres with enough tread to last you the year from ebay or similar too.

Pressures will make a bit of difference but not that much. I play around with mine all the time to see the difference and it's not enough to warrant what you are describing here.

Do yourself a favour if it might be mechanical. Go do a test drive in an e90 of the same spec on a rainy day on a road you know (if you live near a dealer) and see if it handles the same, you might have something mechanically wrong with the car that you will only discover by testing a similar machine.

[pjs]

you didnt buy it from that big motoring world place did you?

seriously though, is a 320d es right for 18's? not that I'd know but someone on here will.

[MEGA]

I think You could order an es then spec 18s. Damn well not standard though. Maybe an ex-fleet and the owner had a little bit of company car allowance left. Who knows?

Anyway. Falken FK-452. Not too expensive in 18 fitment. Do it. Worth every penny if it stops you from having an accident eh?

[williams11]

Originally Posted by MEGA

I think You could order an es then spec 18s. Damn well not standard though. Maybe an ex-fleet and the owner had a little bit of company car allowance left. Who knows?

Anyway. Falken FK-452. Not too expensive in 18 fitment. Do it. Worth every penny if it stops you from having an accident eh?

You nailed there buddy , it was a ex fleet car that the local brought in from england . He then tarted it up with the set of wheels .
Had a quick look around and i noticed these
http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/87/43920387.html
Might give him a call to see if i can get them a bit cheaper .
One question see them tyres youre talking about , would i get them the excat same size as the ones i have or would there be a better r18 size .
Whats the thoughts on the gumtree jobbies ..

[williams11]

Originally Posted by pjs

you didnt buy it from that big motoring world place did you?

seriously though, is a 320d es right for 18's? not that I'd know but someone on here will.

bought in from a small local dealer

[andy69]

When i got my e90 it had replica alloys on and 18" 235 non run flat tyres all round. I didnt realise this until i got to 120kmph when my teeth started to rattle due to the vibration After a couple of trips back to the dealer i realised that the alloys were fakes, you can normally tell this as they do not have a stamped number near the wheel hub, if they are BMW replicas.

I got the dealer to put OEM wheels from another E90 he had on mine with run flats on and the problem was sorted. Now i have replaced the tyres with Falkens and i have a noise like you describe when slowing down and at low speed, tearing my hair out trying to find out what it is.

The tyre pressures on the door jamb are for run flat tyres, you have non run flats so increase the pressures, although the main problem could be the wheels. See if you can get a dealer to whack 4 wheels on for a test, even if you have to bung them a few quid, at least you will know for sure.

Good luck !

[bloopeta]

Originally Posted by williams11

Hi there
As i say the wheels where on the car when i bought it and to be honest with the Mrs doing the driving i never caught on the problem till i was doing the driving last week on holiday . Sure i knew i hadnt got state of art tyres on there but surely these things must pass british standards nowadays , never for one moment did i think they would be a problem ( well thats what i thought till i went ice skating outdoors in the summer ). Agreed with the oil , first thing i did was change it out for the mobil 1 gold and replaced the filters , ( man that air filter was a bitch) . Now the brakes , to be honest there was another while in them but i changed them anyhow . Discs were fine so i didnt bother with them . I reakon that noise im getting must be just road noise from them tyres . Tell me this , do a lot of people on here use aftermarket alloys with no problems cause it would be a shame to ditch them if indeed i could go down the part worn road route with the tyres .

I have replica 19" M3 wheels (look at my avatar pic) on mine mate with no probs at all,as do alot of other members, but I do have continental contacts on them.
I had replica MV2's on my E46 with no probs. I have also had a few sets of replica audi RS4's on both a golf and and audi A4 with no probs.

I really dont think its your wheels thats the problem, you just need some decent rubber, but as people have pointed out previously, BMW's in wet or ice are slide happy if you apply power when turning, regardless of tyres.

[bloopeta]

Originally Posted by andy69

When i got my e90 it had replica alloys on and 18" 235 non run flat tyres all round. I didnt realise this until i got to 120kmph when my teeth started to rattle due to the vibration After a couple of trips back to the dealer i realised that the alloys were fakes, you can normally tell this as they do not have a stamped number near the wheel hub, if they are BMW replicas.

I got the dealer to put OEM wheels from another E90 he had on mine with run flats on and the problem was sorted. Now i have replaced the tyres with Falkens and i have a noise like you describe when slowing down and at low speed, tearing my hair out trying to find out what it is.

The tyre pressures on the door jamb are for run flat tyres, you have non run flats so increase the pressures, although the main problem could be the wheels. See if you can get a dealer to whack 4 wheels on for a test, even if you have to bung them a few quid, at least you will know for sure.

Good luck !

Trying another set of wheels to see if its eliminates the problem is pointless, unless both sets of wheels have the exact same tyres fitted.

The new set would could have decent tyres fitted, so how would you know whether it was the new wheels or new tyres that cured the problem??

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by williams11

I recently purchased a 2005 e90 which came with mv3 alloys
It is fitted with diamondback tyres 225/40 r18 92v .

MV3's are staggered as a set (wider rear) so from your tyre size you have 4 front wheels fitted on your car.

Are the tyres rubbing anywhere to cause the noise you mention?

My E90 with 18" MV3 ran 32/35psi. So run flats should be a bit higher, so try 35/38psi IMO.

They are not hugely oversized wheels, so i doubt they can directly really cause handling issues except by causing rubbing or contact with body work / suspension parts.

Tyres are the no1 suspect, especially £46 ones.