X3/X5 - Tyres - BMW Approved or not
Discussion
Tyre star markings and what size you fit to your wheels are two separate things.
So when your dealer says fit only approved tyres they're right inasmuch as you should only fit the BMW-approved sizes of tyre. But this is nothing to do with whether the tyres are star-marked from BMW, or not. You can happily go to a good independent tyre retailer and get premium quality tyres from them (As long as they're the approved size).
I worked for a tyre manufacturer and the star marking is solely a quality designation - these are the best quality tyres from the manufacturer. The manufacturer may make exactly the same tyre available to the general public, but the star guarantees the highest level of manufacturing quality. All car manufacturers demand the best quality tyres for their factory cars, whether marked or not. BMW happen to require them to be marked and have a nice sideline in supplying similar quality replacement tyres via their dealerships. It makes good business sense and owners know they're getting quality replacements.
Staggered or not, what aspect ratio you fit, etc. is a separate sizing and fitting issue. BMW will in effect defines a limited set of wheel sizes and tyre size combinations for any model and individual variant. These are listed in the Owner's Manual and you can now check your VIN online for what will fit. When replacing the original factory tyres, there can be a lot of confusion - especially when forum posters and tyre retailers don't always agree on what's OK.
There are always a subset of owners whose first act is to replace wheels and/or tyres with something that BMW wouldn't certify. This is particularly noticeable when you look at US forums.
The staggered xDrive 'problem' crops up from time to time. I suspect it's because people don't go back to BMW and check the certified spec' for their specific car and engine etc. They fit a wheel or tyre spec' that is not right for their car, and suffer various consequences. There are long Forum threads dedicated to 'Will an xxx/yy-zz tyre fit my ...' questions - I never understand why owners don't just ring up their BMW garage and ask the service department, rather than rely on some unknown person on a forum to tell them that 'Yes, this will be fine'.
My advice is that as long as you stick to well-known manufacturers, quality tyre products, and established retailers, then by all means replace your tyres with non-BMW-star-marked products. But first, check your Owner's Manual for what is certified by BMW in terms of sizes and if in doubt, ask your BMW Service Department.
As for xDrives, BMW replaced my damaged 3 Series xDrive front tyres with a completely different brand to the factory rears, so I don't think that there's a generic problem with using a different brand of tyre front/rear. But if X3/X5 owners are specifically reporting an issue with different brands front/rear than I'll defer to them if this is their recommendation (i.e. replace all 4).
So when your dealer says fit only approved tyres they're right inasmuch as you should only fit the BMW-approved sizes of tyre. But this is nothing to do with whether the tyres are star-marked from BMW, or not. You can happily go to a good independent tyre retailer and get premium quality tyres from them (As long as they're the approved size).
I worked for a tyre manufacturer and the star marking is solely a quality designation - these are the best quality tyres from the manufacturer. The manufacturer may make exactly the same tyre available to the general public, but the star guarantees the highest level of manufacturing quality. All car manufacturers demand the best quality tyres for their factory cars, whether marked or not. BMW happen to require them to be marked and have a nice sideline in supplying similar quality replacement tyres via their dealerships. It makes good business sense and owners know they're getting quality replacements.
Staggered or not, what aspect ratio you fit, etc. is a separate sizing and fitting issue. BMW will in effect defines a limited set of wheel sizes and tyre size combinations for any model and individual variant. These are listed in the Owner's Manual and you can now check your VIN online for what will fit. When replacing the original factory tyres, there can be a lot of confusion - especially when forum posters and tyre retailers don't always agree on what's OK.
There are always a subset of owners whose first act is to replace wheels and/or tyres with something that BMW wouldn't certify. This is particularly noticeable when you look at US forums.
The staggered xDrive 'problem' crops up from time to time. I suspect it's because people don't go back to BMW and check the certified spec' for their specific car and engine etc. They fit a wheel or tyre spec' that is not right for their car, and suffer various consequences. There are long Forum threads dedicated to 'Will an xxx/yy-zz tyre fit my ...' questions - I never understand why owners don't just ring up their BMW garage and ask the service department, rather than rely on some unknown person on a forum to tell them that 'Yes, this will be fine'.
My advice is that as long as you stick to well-known manufacturers, quality tyre products, and established retailers, then by all means replace your tyres with non-BMW-star-marked products. But first, check your Owner's Manual for what is certified by BMW in terms of sizes and if in doubt, ask your BMW Service Department.
As for xDrives, BMW replaced my damaged 3 Series xDrive front tyres with a completely different brand to the factory rears, so I don't think that there's a generic problem with using a different brand of tyre front/rear. But if X3/X5 owners are specifically reporting an issue with different brands front/rear than I'll defer to them if this is their recommendation (i.e. replace all 4).
Edited by msej449 on Thursday 2nd November 09:27
Just in case anyone was wondering what the difference is between OEM / Star tyres and the same tyre on the open market:
There are a variety of appearance and construction quality measures used by a tyre manufacturer. Once the tyre is finally vulcanised a set of QA measures are applied and as you might expect, there's a score below which the tyre will be scrapped. In my experience, it generally happens to a batch where a manufacturing issue affects a whole batch of tyres coming off the line. Most premium tyres retailed in the open market are pretty high quality but of course, there's always the occasional hidden flaw.
Tyres for manufacturers are usually built as a dedicated major production run, using higher than usual quality controls right through the processes. Often, a representative from the car company will be in the factory and be monitoring the process and applying independent QA measures. They are ruthless about rejecting anything even marginally below par, even if it's just external appearance. Some car companies do further testing, sometimes on track cars, before accepting a shipment.
So now you've worn the tyre(s) that came with your new car, what's the situation? Can you never get anything of quite that quality again?
With the BMW Star mechanism, yes, you can. You know if you source the tyre through BMW it'll be as good as the originals, which means the best that can be achieved. You may be prepared to pay a premium for this (although given the volumes, don't necessarily assume that there's much of a price difference).
Does it really make a difference? Just my opinion, but I'd say 'not really'. As long as it's a premium brand and quality product then you're talking about a very small additional probability of a fault if you go for non-Star replacement. You can't deny that the Star guarantees the best quality, but given the same product, the difference (i.e. in x-out-of-y,000 faulty) is very small.
Of course, if there's not a significant price difference between the BMW and an independent in terms of price, then you might as well go for the BMW Star product.
But just when you thought it was all clear-cut, the problem comes when you find that tyre reviews rate a tyre not supplied by BMW as better than the one you have fitted. I had this with my winters - I previously had Pirelli WInter Sottozero S2 supplied by BMW and then on replacement, saw that the new S3 was better in most reviews, but BMW didn't offer this. I went for the S3s.
There are a variety of appearance and construction quality measures used by a tyre manufacturer. Once the tyre is finally vulcanised a set of QA measures are applied and as you might expect, there's a score below which the tyre will be scrapped. In my experience, it generally happens to a batch where a manufacturing issue affects a whole batch of tyres coming off the line. Most premium tyres retailed in the open market are pretty high quality but of course, there's always the occasional hidden flaw.
Tyres for manufacturers are usually built as a dedicated major production run, using higher than usual quality controls right through the processes. Often, a representative from the car company will be in the factory and be monitoring the process and applying independent QA measures. They are ruthless about rejecting anything even marginally below par, even if it's just external appearance. Some car companies do further testing, sometimes on track cars, before accepting a shipment.
So now you've worn the tyre(s) that came with your new car, what's the situation? Can you never get anything of quite that quality again?
With the BMW Star mechanism, yes, you can. You know if you source the tyre through BMW it'll be as good as the originals, which means the best that can be achieved. You may be prepared to pay a premium for this (although given the volumes, don't necessarily assume that there's much of a price difference).
Does it really make a difference? Just my opinion, but I'd say 'not really'. As long as it's a premium brand and quality product then you're talking about a very small additional probability of a fault if you go for non-Star replacement. You can't deny that the Star guarantees the best quality, but given the same product, the difference (i.e. in x-out-of-y,000 faulty) is very small.
Of course, if there's not a significant price difference between the BMW and an independent in terms of price, then you might as well go for the BMW Star product.
But just when you thought it was all clear-cut, the problem comes when you find that tyre reviews rate a tyre not supplied by BMW as better than the one you have fitted. I had this with my winters - I previously had Pirelli WInter Sottozero S2 supplied by BMW and then on replacement, saw that the new S3 was better in most reviews, but BMW didn't offer this. I went for the S3s.
honest_delboy said:
Can I ask what brand you're buying ? Thanks
I already have them as they were put on in pairs only and didn't work with the pirellis I have. As I need four now I'll put them all on - they are Achilles Desert Hawk. Not starred as far as I can see but they are listed as an X3 option by some tyre websites.The only list I can find of compatible tyres is all Continental/Dunlop/Pirelli/Bridgestone and no others - I'm sure there must be a reference for more makes somewhere but I cant find it!
Ranger 6 said:
V6Pushfit said:
... Achilles Desert Hawk
I had to google those! 
Surprisingly decent for the price. My early research showed a lot of results for big V8 muscle cars in the states and Oz, and came back with good results.
V6Pushfit said:
Very pleased to report that the Achilles Desert Hawk were fitted today. 200 miles on them now and they’re fine.
They aren’t starred or anything but I suppose it was fitting all four that made the difference
HmmmmphThey aren’t starred or anything but I suppose it was fitting all four that made the difference
The tyres don’t affect the transmission but DO affect mpg which has gone from an easy 40-42 down to 34-36
Oh well.
VerySideways said:
Is the car a diesel? Winter diesel has waxy additives to prevent freezing, which increases fuel consumption anyway... so it's possible some of that difference is down to the fuel.
Yes but never heard of that before. The usual expensive tyres have part of the tread as ‘slick’ with no tread cut and are handed, Whereas these budget jobbies are any old way round and fully treaded so I thought that was doing it ie extra friction. Tbh I did notice straight away I’m having to push the car harder for the same speed (almost like the tyres are under inflated) and notice the bumps more (almost the opposite)Edited by V6Pushfit on Saturday 16th December 21:31
Transfer box damage is a thing. There are now reports popping up slowly of transfer box damage on xdrivers. Previous owner of our car reported grumbling when cheap tyres were put on. If you buy a £40k+ car new and try to put non star marked on, you may as well get cheap oil for it too. Personally, it's not worth it, considering how much of an investment these cars are nowadays.
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