BMW X3 Tyres

[Stuart]

Afternoon all,

 

Wifey's X3 getting ready for new tyres.  The Michelin Primacy 3s on there have lasted 30k miles but a new set of those is well over a grand now.

 

Probably a long shot here but can anyone recommend a decent alternative?  Would like to stick with runflats but can't find a definitive answer on the need for the BMW star mark on an X drive.  Hankooks are the cheapest star marked but the fully fitted places don't seem to have stock of the rear size (275/40R19) at the moment.  Nankang look decent value but aren't star marked and I'm unsure if they may be ditch finders.

 

Cheers,

 

Stuart

[Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative]

We had Bridgestone Potenza run flats on the Z4, how about those?

[Stuart]

3 hours ago, Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative said:

We had Bridgestone Potenza run flats on the Z4, how about those?

 

Thanks Julie. Did they wear well? 

[Julie Hall - WSCC AO Representative]

OK, nothing exceptional but yes ok

[Rob Hunter - Club Secretary]

I've removed the runflats off every BMW and Mini I've owned.... Transforms the ride and handling and saves a fortune! Just need a can of tyre foam in the boot.

 

I'd not worry about star marks, it's just a "manufacturer approved" tie in to drive sales. All the major car companies do it.

 

If you follow the EU tyre label for best wet grip, fuel economy and noise for your budget you won't go far wrong in my experience 

[Stuart]

Thanks Rob

[KevanP]

Non-Star rated tyres on X-Drives:

My advice on using non-star rated tyres on an X3 is be very careful. I used to own a 58 plate X3 from new, which had Dunlop star rated tyres on, got about 25k miles out of them and changed them to a set of Michelin Pilots (not * rated). Noting that the tyre sizes front to back on that vintage of X3 were different as standard.

Had loads of rumbling & hesitation from what I thought was the transfer box, so took it back to the BMW dealership, who changed the transfer box and rear diff oil, made no difference.

To cut a long storey short it went back lots of times over a fair amount of miles whilst changing quite a few bits to fix the problem. The rumbling noise/hesitation was still there. I eventually replaced the Michelin's to Bridgestone's & it made the problem even worse.

At that time, I'd had enough and took it back to the same dealership yet again.

Ended up with their master tech. looking at it. Straight away he swapped my wheels for a an identical set from another X3 they had in the workshop (with star rated tyres on) and the problem went away, it drove like it did when I first bought it, unbelievable difference!

 

He then measured the rolling circumference of the Bridgestone's and they varied hugely from front to back & wheel to wheel. 

In summary, he advised me that the differences in rolling circumference were out of tolerance for the spec. of the x-drive electronics/transfer box and told me I needed to put a set of star rated tyres back on. Reluctantly I did and the problem went away for good. He measured the rolling circumference of * rated tyres and I could see they were much tighter in tolerance. I ended up doing another 40k+ miles and had no issue before I sold it at about 100k miles.

 

There is a link here: X Drive Transmission Wind Up | BMWLand

 

Runflats:

Following on from the above, I had a 4series (non x-drive) on Bridgestone run flats, hated them, handling was awful. Just before I sold it I put non-run flats on and it transformed the cars handling.

[Michael Berisford]

As I work at a BMW Dealership, my advice is , stick with the original fitted tyres. The reason being that we have so many warranty issues for transfer box judders when people start chopping and changing tyres. 

[Stuart]

@KevanP yes I've read about those issues on the www hence my original question.

@Michael Berisford you mean the same brand? Don't even switch to another star marked brand? 

[Michael Berisford]

No, other STAR RATED brands are acceptable, just make sure they are compatible with vehicle. BMW’s stipulated tread depth deviation across the axle is a max of 2mm .. see attached, hope this helps 

[Stuart]

@Michael Berisford thank you. It's an X3 F25 30D on 19" staggered wheels. Originals were Michelin Primacy 3 run flats and the 2nd set of these are now about due. But I'm considering Hankook S1 Evo2 runflats as a set of P3s are well over a grand now. The Hankooks are star marked and used as original tyres (in different sizes) on the X3 G01, but if it's that crucial, how do I find out if they're compatible with the F25? 

[Michael Berisford]

Can you forward me the chassis number and I will check with our parts guys tomorrow? 

[Stuart]

Thanks very much @Michael Berisford I've just pm'd you.