Star Marked Tyres on X Drive Models - Square set up.
Discussion
Chlorothalonil said:
g3org3y said:
Staggered set up?
No.E-bmw said:
I just wouldn't take the chance on either set up if it were me, quite simply, why risk it.
Others may have done it & not had an issue, but that would be no comfort if it were to cause an issue.
Because the tyres I want (Michelin CrossClimate) seemingly knock any of the BMW OE equivalents out the park for performance.Others may have done it & not had an issue, but that would be no comfort if it were to cause an issue.
Appears I'd need to fit inferior tyres because of the sensitivities of XDrive. I can accept that with the staggered set up given what I've researched on various forums - annoying but what can you do. It seems to me on a square set up, the risk is minimal.
Edited by g3org3y on Wednesday 11th May 18:57
E-bmw said:
All I have said all along is "I wouldn't be risking it".
That is me.
Stop trying to say I am saying something else for another reason.
I'm certainly not trying to put words in your mouth, it's just you keep saying non-star marked tyres present a risk but don't seem to be able to articulate what those risks are. I've been happy to try to explain why I think non-star marked tyres don't present a problem so, if you're continuing to say the opposite, surely it's not unreasonable to ask you to try to explain why? That is me.
Stop trying to say I am saying something else for another reason.
g3org3y said:
JNW1 said:
g3org3y said:
As I mentioned, if it was a staggered set up, I'd be buying Star Marked.
It's because I'm keeping the square, I feel I can deviate from this (as all 4x corners the same)
As I said at the start of the thread, I think that position only makes sense if you believe star marked tyres are made to tighter tolerances in terms of size than their non-star equivalent. I don't buy that personally but it's your money and I respect your choice! It's because I'm keeping the square, I feel I can deviate from this (as all 4x corners the same)
I note this from another thread:
bunchofkeys said:
Bit of a thread revival, but I've been looking around to try and find out more about these * tyres, and i think that it's necessary to have them fitted to an X drive BMW.
I recently bought a MY2010 e70, which was fitted with 3 x Continental ContiSport5 SSR and one Bridgestone Duler (on the rear), all with the * mark. The car would drove without any issues with these fitted.
With the "winter snow, beast from the east" approaching, i thought i would invest in some winter tyres.
So i bought into 4 WinterContacts TS860S, non *, and had then fitted.
Whilst driving about town, i did notice that there was a bit more of a vibration felt in the cabin, and that tight turns would (for lack of a better word) scrub the tyres on the ground.
Worst of all though was when accelerating there would be a jerk/judder throughout the car, much like slipping the clutch in a manual.
Had the X5 checked through by an BMW indy, and then measured the circumference of the front and rear tyres, which were the correct size for the 20" oem staggered alloys.
Turns out that the front were 25mm larger in circumference than the rear and the transfer case needed to adjust different size tyres, hence the jerk when pushing on.
Thankfully i still had the old tyres, so i have the local fitters swap them back over, and the jerky driving/judder/vibrations have now gone.
Seems like i've spent quite a bit on tyres that i can no longer use, which i'm a bit pissed off about (guess i will dump them on ebay), but lesson learnt.
The * mark is a necessity on at least the X drive BMW, and having non * marked tyres can be a costly mistake.
Although i doubt that any BMW, which is not an X drive, would be bothered by the * marks on the tyres, as they are only rear wheel drive.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...I recently bought a MY2010 e70, which was fitted with 3 x Continental ContiSport5 SSR and one Bridgestone Duler (on the rear), all with the * mark. The car would drove without any issues with these fitted.
With the "winter snow, beast from the east" approaching, i thought i would invest in some winter tyres.
So i bought into 4 WinterContacts TS860S, non *, and had then fitted.
Whilst driving about town, i did notice that there was a bit more of a vibration felt in the cabin, and that tight turns would (for lack of a better word) scrub the tyres on the ground.
Worst of all though was when accelerating there would be a jerk/judder throughout the car, much like slipping the clutch in a manual.
Had the X5 checked through by an BMW indy, and then measured the circumference of the front and rear tyres, which were the correct size for the 20" oem staggered alloys.
Turns out that the front were 25mm larger in circumference than the rear and the transfer case needed to adjust different size tyres, hence the jerk when pushing on.
Thankfully i still had the old tyres, so i have the local fitters swap them back over, and the jerky driving/judder/vibrations have now gone.
Seems like i've spent quite a bit on tyres that i can no longer use, which i'm a bit pissed off about (guess i will dump them on ebay), but lesson learnt.
The * mark is a necessity on at least the X drive BMW, and having non * marked tyres can be a costly mistake.
Although i doubt that any BMW, which is not an X drive, would be bothered by the * marks on the tyres, as they are only rear wheel drive.
With the original versions of X-drive the rule of thumb was you couldn't have more than a 1% difference in rolling circumference front to rear but on some current models (e.g. M240i) there are wheel and tyre combinations supplied from the factory that exceed that historic maximum. That suggests BMW have made changes and improvements to the X-drive system over the years and, while tyre sizes remain important, current versions seem less sensitive in that respect than was once the case.
JNW1 said:
E-bmw said:
All I have said all along is "I wouldn't be risking it".
That is me.
Stop trying to say I am saying something else for another reason.
I'm certainly not trying to put words in your mouth, it's just you keep saying non-star marked tyres present a risk but don't seem to be able to articulate what those risks are. I've been happy to try to explain why I think non-star marked tyres don't present a problem so, if you're continuing to say the opposite, surely it's not unreasonable to ask you to try to explain why? That is me.
Stop trying to say I am saying something else for another reason.
That being the case why take the risk of an enormous bill & 100% blame?
It is a complete no-brainer to me.
E-bmw said:
JNW1 said:
E-bmw said:
All I have said all along is "I wouldn't be risking it".
That is me.
Stop trying to say I am saying something else for another reason.
I'm certainly not trying to put words in your mouth, it's just you keep saying non-star marked tyres present a risk but don't seem to be able to articulate what those risks are. I've been happy to try to explain why I think non-star marked tyres don't present a problem so, if you're continuing to say the opposite, surely it's not unreasonable to ask you to try to explain why? That is me.
Stop trying to say I am saying something else for another reason.
That being the case why take the risk of an enormous bill & 100% blame?
It is a complete no-brainer to me.
Or alternatively, if you think there's something additional to rolling circumference differences that cause problems with X-drive, can you explain what that is and how having a star mark eliminates or reduces the risk?
E-bmw said:
Bored with repeating myself now, just keep reading my last post every time you want an answer..
The only thing that's clear from your posts is you don't actually understand what causes the problems with X-drive; you just keep telling everyone non-star marked tyres are a risk but when challenged it's obvious you have absolutely no idea why. But I'm also bored now so I'll just leave you to it....JNW1 said:
E-bmw said:
Bored with repeating myself now, just keep reading my last post every time you want an answer..
The only thing that's clear from your posts is you don't actually understand what causes the problems with X-drive; you just keep telling everyone non-star marked tyres are a risk but when challenged it's obvious you have absolutely no idea why. But I'm also bored now so I'll just leave you to it....Pica-Pica said:
JNW1 said:
E-bmw said:
Bored with repeating myself now, just keep reading my last post every time you want an answer..
The only thing that's clear from your posts is you don't actually understand what causes the problems with X-drive; you just keep telling everyone non-star marked tyres are a risk but when challenged it's obvious you have absolutely no idea why. But I'm also bored now so I'll just leave you to it....we are taking our X4 in tomorrow for £900 worth of Goodyears to replace the ones that are on it.
Thats what it came with on it so thats what it having.
Last service i think there was a millimetre difference in wear on the fronts and the backs, not bad and done 44k unless the first owner managed to burn a set in 13500 miles.
Thats what it came with on it so thats what it having.
Last service i think there was a millimetre difference in wear on the fronts and the backs, not bad and done 44k unless the first owner managed to burn a set in 13500 miles.
g3org3y said:
FWIW, just ordered 4x Michelin CrossClimate 2 SUV tyres for the X5. Being fitted Saturday. Will report back if I start having issues.
Good choice, the Michelin CrossClimate 2 is an excellent tyre in my experience! I very much doubt you'll have any issues as a result of fitting them but will be interested to know the nature of them if you do....
Look great, hope you have a nice trip! When I put a set of winter tyres on my car then went on a long drive I was really surprised to be oversteering on slight bends (it was a 118i). By about 50 miles in they were grippy as anything but wouldn't go on a long trip again on fresh tyres personally. May have just been the Pirelli Sottozeros I had.
JNW1 said:
Depends whether you believe star marked tyres are made to tighter tolerances than their non-star equivalents. From a trading standards perspective I've never been convinced they are as I can't imagine tyre manufacturers would be allowed to sell tyres which weren't to the specification stated (size, load rating, etc) and hence I think the star mark thing is over-hyped (to put it politely!).
As you say, the key with X-Drive is to make sure the rolling circumference front to rear is close enough to prevent issues with the transfer box; a square set-up obviously achieves that and with a staggered set-up it's easy enough to work out (and if you stick to BMW's recommended sizes you shouldn't have a problem anyway). But I would argue all that can be achieved with tyres that aren't star marked - providing they were the right size and load rating I would't have a problem fitting Michelin Cross Climates to my X-drive BMW even if they didn't carry a star mark.
I thought this was marketing bullsAs you say, the key with X-Drive is to make sure the rolling circumference front to rear is close enough to prevent issues with the transfer box; a square set-up obviously achieves that and with a staggered set-up it's easy enough to work out (and if you stick to BMW's recommended sizes you shouldn't have a problem anyway). But I would argue all that can be achieved with tyres that aren't star marked - providing they were the right size and load rating I would't have a problem fitting Michelin Cross Climates to my X-drive BMW even if they didn't carry a star mark.
t and when it came to tyre time on my X5, I went with non-star marker non-runflats and saved myself a tidy sum. A short time later, I was in Germany when I noticed a distinct whine at 60 mph. Not below or above, but at 60mph and seemed to be coming from the transfer box area.It caused me some worry and on my return to the UK I replaced all 4 with star marked tyres and guess what? The whining noise was gone. I'm as cynical as they come when it comes to what seems to be marketing hype, but in this case, I was wrong it seems.
Riggie said:
I thought this was marketing bullst and when it came to tyre time on my X5, I went with non-star marker non-runflats and saved myself a tidy sum. A short time later, I was in Germany when I noticed a distinct whine at 60 mph. Not below or above, but at 60mph and seemed to be coming from the transfer box area.
It caused me some worry and on my return to the UK I replaced all 4 with star marked tyres and guess what? The whining noise was gone. I'm as cynical as they come when it comes to what seems to be marketing hype, but in this case, I was wrong it seems.
Was it a square or staggered step up? t and when it came to tyre time on my X5, I went with non-star marker non-runflats and saved myself a tidy sum. A short time later, I was in Germany when I noticed a distinct whine at 60 mph. Not below or above, but at 60mph and seemed to be coming from the transfer box area.It caused me some worry and on my return to the UK I replaced all 4 with star marked tyres and guess what? The whining noise was gone. I'm as cynical as they come when it comes to what seems to be marketing hype, but in this case, I was wrong it seems.
What did you do with the non star marked run flats?
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