X5 TYRES

[alanis35]

I have an X5 with 20 inch wheels they have worn on the inside edges over about 25mm right through too the reinforcing can any one tell me why over such a small area.
Also do I pay £650 for 2 run flats or change them over for std tyres at £380 and buy a couple of cans of foam.
I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks Alan Gardner

[Smalleyboy]

I have a 320D on run flats and once had excessive wear on the inside third of both front tyres. I spoke to my local dealers tyre fitter and he told me it was down to having them at the wrong pressure. He said runflats are very sensitive to the correct tyre pressure and the pressures should be checked regularly.

I have had several sets of tyres since and had no problems and I don't check the pressures that regularly. I can remember what make of tyres I had fitted then but that may play a part in the problem?

[msh]

alanis35 said:

I have an X5 with 20 inch wheels they have worn on the inside edges over about 25mm right through too the reinforcing can any one tell me why over such a small area.
Also do I pay £650 for 2 run flats or change them over for std tyres at £380 and buy a couple of cans of foam.
I would really appreciate some advice.
Thanks Alan Gardner

I had the same on my X5, but i noticed it before it had gone through to the cord. I wouldn't fit non-runflats just on the rear , you need to change all 4 tyres if this is what you are going to do. I dont think you can mix and match.

The reason it happens is to aid stability, so when pushing hard into a fast corner the tyre then moves onto the full tread pattern. Or it could be that the rear bushes are fecked!!

[liquidken]

X5's run a high degree of negative camber - this is to promote grip under fast cornering, should you be inclined to do so in a 2 tonne Chesterfield.

Nevertheless, if the suspension geometry is set up correctly, you should get relatively even wear as opposed to reaching the canvas on the inside when you still have healthy tread on the outside of the tyre.

Get a 4 wheel alignment check done to ascertain the true state of the car. Visit www.alignmycar.co.uk and put your postcode into the search engine for a dealer near you. Check to see if they have the Hunter Hawkeye system (I use this for my cars) then pop along to get it checked out.
They'll give you a before and after breakdown of the set up so you have a frame of reference for the future. BMW's KDS system is exactly the same but three times more expensive; that's before getting into manufacturer bias where your car is concerned.

[alanis35]

Thanks for the advice and thoughts.
Having spoken to a couple of mechanics I am going to ditch the run flats and have the alignment checked/adjusted.
To be honest I don't really get run flats yes if you get a puncture you can drive off the motorway "but" when I was away in Devon I got a puncture no one would repair my tyre which was 2 mths old and it took 2 days for a local kwickfit to get the tyre and charged me 25% more with a harder ride.
A mate is going to get me a spare wheel,jack and foam can.

[Beardy10]

I ditched my RFT's on my X5 after I couldn't find a local tyre dealer to repair the very slow puncture on one of my front tyres. I now have some Vredstein tyres and a can of foam and a compressor in the boot. The only thing I would say is that it hasn't made as big a difference to the ride as I had hoped, it is a little bit better but it is not a huge difference. I ditched the RFT's on my previous 535d Sport which has 18's....the difference was much greater. That may well be because of the riduclously low profile on the 20" wheels. I love the X5 with the exception of the ride, I live in an area with a lot of speed bumps and it's shocking over them...my wife's Golf GTi has a better ride.

I agree completely on the RFT's...they just don't make economic sense to me...I know the tyre companies love them as they are much higher margin than the regualr tyres.

If you do change tyres check the load factor for the replacement tyres....from memory certainly the Michelin tyres that come in the right size aren't the right spec. The better tyre dealers won't fit anything below spec and I think it's something that should be declared to the insurance company as a modification to manufacturers spec. I'd never even looked at load factors til a couple of tyre dealers refused to quote on the Michelin tyres.

[eliot]

liquidken said:

BMW's KDS system is exactly the same but three times more expensive; that's before getting into manufacturer bias where your car is concerned.

That may not be true. My understanding is that they load the car up with lead weights to simulate a loaded car before aligning it.

[liquidken]

eliot said:

liquidken said:

BMW's KDS system is exactly the same but three times more expensive; that's before getting into manufacturer bias where your car is concerned.

That may not be true. My understanding is that they load the car up with lead weights to simulate a loaded car before aligning it.

Who, BMW or 3rd party alignment garages?

Most cars should be weighted to align them correctly - BMW is one such marque. The KDS systems I've seen have all been based on the Hawkeye system sans Hunter branding.

Edited by liquidken on Thursday 18th March 19:28

[eliot]

liquidken said:

eliot said:

liquidken said:

BMW's KDS system is exactly the same but three times more expensive; that's before getting into manufacturer bias where your car is concerned.

That may not be true. My understanding is that they load the car up with lead weights to simulate a loaded car before aligning it.

Who, BMW or 3rd party alignment garages?

Most cars should be weighted to align them correctly - BMW is one such marque. The KDS systems I've seen have all been based on the Hawkeye system sans Hunter branding.

Edited by liquidken on Thursday 18th March 19:28

I was referering to the BMW KDS alignment.
I never realised that the KDS was a rebranded hunter mind you.

[alanis35]

Smalleyboy said:

I have a 320D on run flats and once had excessive wear on the inside third of both front tyres. I spoke to my local dealers tyre fitter and he told me it was down to having them at the wrong pressure. He said runflats are very sensitive to the correct tyre pressure and the pressures should be checked regularly.

I have had several sets of tyres since and had no problems and I don't check the pressures that regularly. I can remember what make of tyres I had fitted then but that may play a part in the problem?

I think this was the problem with mine thanks.

[alanis35]

your so right about the ride 20 inch rims look good and on main roads are great but around town pot holes and speed humps not a nice place to be!!!!

Beardy10 said:

I ditched my RFT's on my X5 after I couldn't find a local tyre dealer to repair the very slow puncture on one of my front tyres. I now have some Vredstein tyres and a can of foam and a compressor in the boot. The only thing I would say is that it hasn't made as big a difference to the ride as I had hoped, it is a little bit better but it is not a huge difference. I ditched the RFT's on my previous 535d Sport which has 18's....the difference was much greater. That may well be because of the riduclously low profile on the 20" wheels. I love the X5 with the exception of the ride, I live in an area with a lot of speed bumps and it's shocking over them...my wife's Golf GTi has a better ride.

I agree completely on the RFT's...they just don't make economic sense to me...I know the tyre companies love them as they are much higher margin than the regualr tyres.

If you do change tyres check the load factor for the replacement tyres....from memory certainly the Michelin tyres that come in the right size aren't the right spec. The better tyre dealers won't fit anything below spec and I think it's something that should be declared to the insurance company as a modification to manufacturers spec. I'd never even looked at load factors til a couple of tyre dealers refused to quote on the Michelin tyres.