Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Kelor]

I'm picking up my 335d on Friday, and will likely immediately replace my tires/wheels with winter tires/wheels.

Do most people purchase their winter tires through the dealer? If so, do they often give some sort of allowance for switching them out every year? (I know, I'm probably dreaming).

Is there any reason why I shouldn't purchase through a local, non BMW, tire store?

Do most purchase a combination wheel/tire? Or is there better justification to just doing the tire?

Thanks much,

I'm slightly overwhelmed as this is the first car I've purchased that NEEDS things done to it immediately.

[cb1111]

Go to Tirerack.com

They have good prices, great service and the tire.wheel/TPMS combo gets shipped to your door in a few days ready to bolt up.

The most popular combo seems to be the Rial Salerno wheel with the Dunlop 3D winter tires. These are "performance" winter tires so they work very well on dry pavement as well as on snow. They give up a bit in pure winter (snow/ice) performance and if you need that then you'll wanto look at the ContWinterExtreme or the Michelin Xice2's

[alanized]

Hi Kelor,
I have an 09 335d and purchased a wheel/package through tirerack. I did the same thing when I had my 02 330xi.
The 335d was a bit more expensive to get a package for because of run-flats and tpms.
I've bought a number of packages from them and they have made some mistakes but always made it right in the end.
With this vehicle, they failed to have the tpms sensors installed (they arrived later in a seperate box) but they paid a local garage to install them. They also deducted somthing off of my bill for the time involved.
Anyway, I recomend getting the package and a floor jack and switching the setups twice a year.
aRk

[Kelor]

Thanks for the help.

I'll check it out.

Further question. Would you purchase 4 or 5?
Do you think runflat is an important add on?
Do you have a suggestion on the wheel? I sure don't want a wheel that doesn't look good enough for the car.

[cb1111]

Originally Posted by Kelor

Thanks for the help.

I'll check it out.

Further question. Would you purchase 4 or 5?
Do you think runflat is an important add on?
Do you have a suggestion on the wheel? I sure don't want a wheel that doesn't look good enough for the car.

The runflat/no runflat is a decision you need to make. Since our cars don't come with spares you can do one of three things:

Buy a bottle of Slime and an airpump (or a slime kit that includes the pump.) The slime kit (slime.com) is one of the few that says it is TPMS safe. The Continental kit says that it is NOT for TPMS equipped tires.

Buy a spare and throw it in the trunk

Rely on AAA to tow you.

Unlike others, I have no real objection to runflat tires, but I didn't buy runflat winter tires for two reasons - the additional cost and I'm not going to even attempt to change a tire in the snow/slush/ice on a dark road. I'm going to pull off to a safe place, put my hazards on and wait for AAA.

That said, I bought TPMS to alert me to a slow leak - the kind that makes your tire go flat over night, but generally doesn't keep you from driving to the nearest gas station/tire place.

Wheel design is really personal. I hate any wheel that looks aftermarket but I've found that the 17" RIAL Salerno looks very OE - especially when you order the BMW centercaps with them - but be careful - not all 17" wheels will fit, nor will BMW centercaps fit all wheels.

[Kelor]

Thanks for all your help.

I called tirerack on the phone and was completely impressed. Tires and wheels are on the way. Within 1 1/2 hours of placing the order, I had my UPS tracking numbers.

A young sales rep named Tucker was MORE than helpful. He looked up the BMW dealerships address, is sending them direct to them fbo me, and knew the wheels and tires inside and out. Wow was I impressed.

[LRF]

Originally Posted by Kelor

Thanks for all your help.

I called tirerack on the phone and was completely impressed. Tires and wheels are on the way. Within 1 1/2 hours of placing the order, I had my UPS tracking numbers.

A young sales rep named Tucker was MORE than helpful. He looked up the BMW dealerships address, is sending them direct to them fbo me, and knew the wheels and tires inside and out. Wow was I impressed.

I have also had good luck with Tirerack.com in the past.
Along the same vein, I just ordered a set of Rial Salerno rims and winter tires for my '09 335xi.

I have 2 questions:
1. Does anyone know which centercap size fits that rim?
2. Has anyone tried using the jack kit from www.bavauto.com?
Item# is 71 10 6 773 536. Thoughts on whether or not this would work on my ride?

Thanks!