On a more serious note... [Tire trouble!]

[850CSi]

Over the last 2-3K miles or so, I've been hearing a constant whirring noise coming from the tire wells. At first, I just figured it was the engine and my ears were playing tricks on me, but as time went on the noise has gotten louder and it's defenitely not the engine.

I figured I would have it checked out when I took my car in for service today; I thought they'd probably just recommend a tire rotation or something along those lines. To my surprise, the service advisor immediately dismissed that. He said that they've been getting a ridiculous amount of complaints about the run-flats (Bridgestone Turanzas), and the problem is just that "they're loud tires". He said it would be a good idea to log a formal complaint with BMW - usually they'll either pay for replacements or at least part of the cost. I'll be doing that soon.


Now here are the questions...

Should I take this opportunity to sell my stock rims/tires (I think I could get $400-$500 for them) and do an entirely new setup? 17" or 18" BMW replicas (M Parallel, E46 M3, E39 M5)?

As far as tires, do you guys think it's a good idea to screw run-flats and just get normal tires? I don't know if there's enough space in my trunk to fit a spare.

Any suggestions? I'm not going to run multiple sets of tires, so I need all-seasons. I've heard a lot of great things about Michelin Pilots..

[MX793]

If you don't get run-flats and you can't fit a spare in your trunk, you might want to get one of those roadside "fix-a-flat" kits.

As far as tire suggestions, check out the user reviews/ratings on the Tire Rack.  Michelin makes a nice tire, but they tend to be a little pricy.  You can get tires that are just as good for less.  I've heard good things about Continental ContiExtreme Contact performance all-seasons.  I'm considering getting a set myself come spring.  Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S tires also have a pretty good user rating.  I've generally been impressed with Yokohamas as well, so check out what they offer.

[280Z Turbo]

My Z has no spare and I don't worry about it. A flat tire is a very rare thing, driving with run flats is an everyday thing.

I would keep your current rims for winter tires and run dedicated summer wheels and tires if you can.

I've always been a fan of Kuhmo, Yokohama, and BF Goodrich. They seem to offer the best performance at the lowest cost. When you look at tirerack.com, you can see there are a lot of crappy tires that cost a whole lot of money. Sometimes the cheapest tires are the best.

I would not run rims larger than 17" because they start to get heavy and ride crappier after that. It takes HP to turn wheels and it's more unsprung weight. I don't care what anybody says, big rims are just for looks.

[JYODER240]

I'd keep your stock wheels and put snow tires on them and then get other wheels with summer tires.

If your set on one tire and all-seasons then check out tirerack.com. I can't help you out much with HP all-seasons though, I like my Pilot Sports so you might want to checkout the Pilot A/S.

[Lebowski]

I'm not sure if you have a case to complain to BMW - runflats in general are loud.  Runflats also ride harsh, and have major compromises in terms of tire life and dry vs. wet performance compared to non-runflats.  The people over on Corvetteforum call them "runcraps". 

But changing them is a tough choice, and I'm in the same boat - I could get, for my next set of tires, Michelin PS2s for about the same as my current Eagle F1 Supercars (runflats).  The PS2s are better in just about every way (quieter, stickier, better in the wet, and last much longer).  But they're not runflats, and my car doesn't have a spare.  So it's a big compromise, especially given my car is a daily driver.

As much as I dislike many of the things about runflats, I'd think long and hard if I were you about replacing them.  This car is your daily driver, right?  Are you ok calling AAA and waiting for a tow in the event of a flat?  You can carry a patch kit and small compressor with you, but many flats can't be patched onsite.  On the other hand, a lot of flats are "slow leaks" where if you monitor your tire pressure often enough you may be able to avoid getting stranded.  It's a tough choice, and honestly I haven't decided what I'm going to do when my current tires need to be replaced.

On the wheels, I'd stay stock.  If you switch, go to a factory BMW rim (you may be able to get them cheap and almost new if you buy from someone who buys a new BMW with the wheels you want and takes them off to go aftermarket).  I could be wrong, but I've heard most "replicas" aren't as good as OEM wheels (for example, they may be significantly heavier).

[JYODER240]

Personally I would replace the runflats. It's not worth the sacrifice in performance IMO.

[Colonel Cadillac]

I wonder if you could buy a small, cheap spare and just put it in your trunk? A small one really can't take up too much space, and it would be a huge advantage.

[850CSi]

This came out of nowhere...

I picked up my car earlier and met with my service advisor... He completely surprised me - BMW is replacing my tires for free. I'll be taking the car in next week to get the new ones mounted.

The problem, then, is that I'll probably be replacing tires as often as engine oil until my warranty is over.?

With that in mind, I suggested to my dad that maybe it would be a good idea to shine up the rims and sell the complete rim/tire set after I get the new ones mounted (would probably get decent $$$ for a stock setup with new tires), and go with a new setup - especially since it isn't exactly guaranteed that BMW will do the same thing in the future. But he just won't listen to me. He won't even let me spend my own cash on the car.

So, I'll probably resurrect this thread about a year from now.? The good thing is that I actually remember liking the tires when they were new.

[850CSi]

I'm not sure if you have a case to complain to BMW - runflats in general are loud.? Runflats also ride harsh, and have major compromises in terms of tire life and dry vs. wet performance compared to non-runflats.? The people over on Corvetteforum call them "runcraps".?

Here's the deal... We all know about the pros (one main one) and the cons (many, in varying degrees depending on the tire) of run-flats. BMW knows this as well, and they must've engineered the cars with this in mind (Run-flats are standard).

HOWEVER, this is something of a specific case. Why?

I've been reading a lot on E90 post about this, and even the service guy at the dealership hinted at it: The 16" Turanza, for whatever reason, is just a particularly bad tire - even compared to other run-flats. Sport package 325i owners also have run-flats, but there haven't been very many complaints.

IN ADDITION to that, this hasn't been an issue from Day 1. Like I said, I actually remember liking the tires (The only issue I had with them at first is that they sort of 'give up' once you get into triple digits - but that's a problem run-flats seem to be notorious for, they get twitchy at those speeds) up until I started noticing them getting louder and louder: The problem has gotten progressively worse, it's not a constant.

In an ideal situation, I'd get the new tires, mount them, clean up the rims, and sell them. I'd buy OEM 17"s or some sort of good replica (I love the M Parallels from the old 7ers) and get standard Pirellis or Continentals (maybe even something close to what BMW originally used on the said rim).

My parents won't let me do it. And even if I could, there's one major thing that would prevent me from getting a non run-flat setup without an extra full spare: I'm a college student. School is 200 miles from home. I travel a lot, I usually come home every other weekend, and sometimes EVERY weekend... It's not a risk I'm willing to take, getting stuck on I-65 in rural Indiana. I'd be willing to compromise on that and get another set of different run-flats even with my current rims, but my parents won't let me do anything.

[Rupert]

What's so bad about carrying a spare? (Which is to say, why don't cars still come with a spare?)

[MX793]

What's so bad about carrying a spare? (Which is to say, why don't cars still come with a spare?)

Some cars lack spares due to space constraints.  I suspect premium automobiles favor runflats because they feel their typical clientel doesn't want to put up with the hassle of dirtying their hands changing a tire at the side of the road or waiting for roadside assistance.  Runflats provide a certain level of peace of mind in that regard.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Well, clientels are stupid. If they did happen to get a flat tire on their "run-flats", they probably wouldn't even notice (unless their fancy tire pressure monitoring system told them), and would continue driving on it until it asplodes, then before you know it they're suing some tire maker who was only making the tires to the specifications provided by the automaker, who was only trying to sell cars to stupid clientels who don't know how to change a tire.

[r0tor]

^ Runflats are actually illegal to use without a tire pressure monitoring system ^


For the record, my Dunlop Wintersport snow tires are runflats and they are quieter and softer riding then my non-runflat Bridgestone RE040 summer tires (which are horrible sound wise).  So i don't think that noise is an inherent problem in all runflat tires.  It seems some tires sizes within a particular line of tires has worse harmonics then others in that line, and some manufacturers don't seem to have a good hand on that


noise could also be caused by a bad wear problem on the tire, particularly "feathering" of the outer edge.

[Colonel Cadillac]

What about my brilliant idea of buying a cheap, small spare? They can't be more than $50 or $60.


No that I've read the thread all the way....I will re-suggest my brilliant idea in about a year

[MX793]

What about my brilliant idea of buying a cheap, small spare? They can't be more than $50 or $60.


No that I've read the thread all the way....I will re-suggest my brilliant idea in about a year

You'd also need to stock a jack and a wrench, since I doubt those items are present in cars that use runflats in place of a spare.

[JYODER240]

Rotor: Those RE040's are horrible period. They come on some Z's and no one likes them. You'll probably notice a big difference if you replace them with something different.

[Lebowski]

What about my brilliant idea of buying a cheap, small spare? They can't be more than $50 or $60.


No that I've read the thread all the way....I will re-suggest my brilliant idea in about a year

It's not the $50 or $60, it's the fact that your trunk space is gone once you put it in there.

Most cars that come w/ runflats simply don't have the space.

[Colonel Cadillac]

A 3er should have plenty of space in the trunk, and when the space is needed, you could simply take it out and hope for the best.

A Corvette, in your case, does not have enough space. That is a good example where my brilliant idea would not work.

In the end, MX793 has a pretty valid point--there is no place on the side of the car to jack it up on.

Damn, so much for my brilliant idea.

[Lebowski]

A 3er should have plenty of space in the trunk, and when the space is needed, you could simply take it out and hope for the best.

A Corvette, in your case, does not have enough space. That is a good example where my brilliant idea would not work.

In the end, MX793 has a pretty valid point--there is no place on the side of the car to jack it up on.

Damn, so much for my brilliant idea.

You can buy jacking pucks that will give you a spot to jack from.  Then a small jack and wrench could be carried.

My hatch does physically have the space for a small spare (it's at least as big as a 3er's trunk), but practically speaking I wouldn't have much room for cargo if I had a small spare in there.  Also, I'm not sure it would be a good idea to put a donut on my car (might not fit well in the back replacing the 19"s).