M340i

Author
Discussion

JNW1

8,092 posts

199 months

Monday 30th January 2023
quotequote all
Pica-Pica said:
JackReacher said:
The Goodyear F1 runflats on mine have been pretty decent, and loads of tread remaining at 11k miles. I'll replace with PS4 when the time comes.
I have 18” Goodyear EfficientGrip on my F30 335d, swapped from 19” Pirelli P zeros. Both runflats.
The 18” Goodyears are pretty decent, and I feel no urge to go away from runflats. 15k miles in, I am probably half-way through their life, assuming I change at about 2.5 to 3mm depth.
I think run-flats have improved significantly since BMW first started to fit them when the E9X 3-series was introduced. I'm still not convinced they're quite as good as the best of the conventional tyres but if you're concerned about the potential consequences of a puncture there are now some perfectly decent run-flats around IMO.

I've been in no rush to get rid of the Pirellis that came with mine as they've performed pretty well in all conditions; by the sounds of it I tend to change at a similar time to you and, while I won't get 30k miles out of the set, I'll certainly get comfortably over 20k from them.


paulwirral

3,298 posts

140 months

Monday 30th January 2023
quotequote all
JNW1 said:
I think run-flats have improved significantly since BMW first started to fit them when the E9X 3-series was introduced. I'm still not convinced they're quite as good as the best of the conventional tyres but if you're concerned about the potential consequences of a puncture there are now some perfectly decent run-flats around IMO.

I've been in no rush to get rid of the Pirellis that came with mine as they've performed pretty well in all conditions; by the sounds of it I tend to change at a similar time to you and, while I won't get 30k miles out of the set, I'll certainly get comfortably over 20k from them.
I’ve got Pirelli run flats on my 340 ,it came with them when I bought it in 2016 and I’ve seen no reason to deviate from them . They’re not as good as a normal tyre would be but they’re a world away from the Bridgestones that were on a couple of z4s I’ve owned .


JackReacher

2,146 posts

220 months

Tuesday 31st January 2023
quotequote all
Just to add to my comment that I find the Eagle F1 runflats good, they do have a tendancy to slip slightly more on wet/cold roundabouts than previous cars on traditional performance tyres, putting the car into understeer. Think someone made a similar comment in relation to other runflats. I am sure PS4s tyres would improve that, but otherwise I am happy to keep the F1s for now. But as a family car I rarely get to push it, and knowing I am less likely to get stranded with a puncture is comforting.

williamp

19,474 posts

278 months

Tuesday 31st January 2023
quotequote all
Interesting thread. After reading this I checked mine and the rears (bridgestone) were just above the wear bar. This after 12k miles. I have some big drives coming up so having the tyres chnaged this week.

Both rears to michelin ps5. Will pick up an inflation can from halfords and carry this with me

MrCD

32 posts

55 months

Tuesday 31st January 2023
quotequote all
I've just ordered for fitment Saturday a pair of Continental Sport Contact 7 for the rears which are needing replaced.

They'll replace ps4s which I've had on for past 16k ish miles. Fronts still OK so will keep them as is and put the Continental when needing replaced.

Went back and forth on whether to stick with ps4s but this swayed my decision with the C7 out performing all other premium tyres https://youtu.be/t10y-87oiD4 and as it happens saved circa £100 per tyre!

JNW1

8,092 posts

199 months

Tuesday 31st January 2023
quotequote all
williamp said:
Interesting thread. After reading this I checked mine and the rears (bridgestone) were just above the wear bar. This after 12k miles. I have some big drives coming up so having the tyres chnaged this week.

Both rears to michelin ps5. Will pick up an inflation can from halfords and carry this with me
Apologies if I'm misunderstanding but will this leave you with a pair of brand new conventional PS5's on the rear and a pair of part-worn Bridgestone run-flats on the front? If so personally I wouldn't go that route - I certainly wouldn't mix run-flats and conventional tyres and different makes of tyre front and rear have been known to upset the handling on at least some BMW's. Also, if your car's an M340i you need to be a little bit careful about mixing new tyres on one axle with part worn ones on another.

JNW1

8,092 posts

199 months

Tuesday 31st January 2023
quotequote all
MrCD said:
I've just ordered for fitment Saturday a pair of Continental Sport Contact 7 for the rears which are needing replaced.

They'll replace ps4s which I've had on for past 16k ish miles. Fronts still OK so will keep them as is and put the Continental when needing replaced.

Went back and forth on whether to stick with ps4s but this swayed my decision with the C7 out performing all other premium tyres https://youtu.be/t10y-87oiD4 and as it happens saved circa £100 per tyre!
As I've just said to williamp, I'd counsel caution about mixing brand new tyres on one axle with part worn ones on the other if your car's X-drive. And, notwithstanding the PS4 and Contact 7 are both excellent tyres, I wouldn't be terribly keen on mixing them either; perhaps over fussy on my part but personally I prefer to have the same make and model of tyre front and rear.



williamp

19,474 posts

278 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
Yes that was my plan. Your response is worrying- what are the risks?

If I had a puncture I wouldnt change all 4 tyres, so i would have one different. Why not two different??

A serious question.

HM-2

12,467 posts

174 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
IIRC the manual indicates that all tyres should be within 2mm of each other in tread depth on xDrive cars

Edited by HM-2 on Wednesday 1st February 07:56

ClubsportStr

377 posts

80 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
williamp said:
Yes that was my plan. Your response is worrying- what are the risks?

If I had a puncture I wouldnt change all 4 tyres, so i would have one different. Why not two different??

A serious question.
Loads of threads on here , re mixing tyres and rolling circumference being different can damage x Drive transmission, and bmw won’t cover under warranty.

Costco tyres won’t change only 2 tyres on xdrive BMWs if there is more than 2mm difference in tread depth front to back .

BMW don’t tell you this when you are buying them, can double the cost of tyre purchases.

JNW1

8,092 posts

199 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
williamp said:
Yes that was my plan. Your response is worrying- what are the risks?

If I had a puncture I wouldnt change all 4 tyres, so i would have one different. Why not two different??

A serious question.
These are just my opinions - and doesn't necessarily make me right and you wrong - but here goes:

Firstly, I wouldn't be keen on mixing run-flats on one axle with conventional tyres on the other. I'm not saying it would be dangerous but the construction of the tyres are different and therefore I'd have thought it's quite possible you could compromise the handling by mixing the two. I wouldn't say it's as extreme as (say) having winter tyres on one axle and summer tyres on the other but in principle it's similar and something I just wouldn't do.

Secondly, even if all four tyres were either run-flat or conventional, personally I'm not keen on mixing make and/or models of tyre (and again that's because it potentially introduces variability into the how the car drives). That probably sounds a bit fussy as I know there are loads of cars driving around with different makes and models of tyre front to rear (and sometimes even across the same axle). However, a number of years ago a colleague at work bought an E46 325i from an independent dealer and was immediately complaining about the unpredictable handling and the tendency of the traction control and Dynamic Stability Control systems to be working overtime. The independent couldn't work out what was wrong so my colleague ended-up taking it to the main dealer who immediately identified the tyres as the problem; all four were well above the legal minimum - and premium brands - but the pair at the front were different from those on the back and the main dealer said that was enough to upset the handling. A number of us (me included!) thought what a load of rubbish but with nothing else left to try my colleague changed the fronts to the same make and model as the rears and the problem disappeared. So the lesson I took away from that is stick to the same make and model of tyre on all four wheels wherever possible!

Finally, specifically in relation to X-drive, there's a view that it's unwise to mix part worn tyres on one axle with brand new ones on the other because it can affect rolling circumference front to rear and thereby place additional strain on the transfer box. I do wonder if this is sometimes a bit overblown but if you've got a difference of (say) 4mm in tread depth between new tyres on the rear and worn tyres on the front I suppose it will affect the difference in rolling circumferences which the transfer box has to deal with; whether it's by enough to cause a problem with the X-drive system I'm not sure but it's a situation I'd probably avoid (and certainly if I was looking to keep the car long-term).

And I suppose what makes me nervous about what you're proposing is you're not doing just one of the things above, you're doing all three; mixing run-flats with conventional tyres, mixing different makes and model of tyre front to rear and mixing new with part worn tyres on an X-drive car. So for me it feels like a massive no-no but, like I say, all of the above is just my opinion which doesn't necessarily make me right! smile

Edited by JNW1 on Wednesday 1st February 14:44

williamp

19,474 posts

278 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
Very thoughtful answeds, thank you everyone!

Order for 2 tyres cancelled. 4 linglong ditchfinder XL here we come !! (Joking, honest)

ATM

18,781 posts

224 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
JNW1 said:
Firstly, I wouldn't be keen on mixing run-flats on one axle with conventional tyres on the other. I'm not saying it would be dangerous but the construction of the tyres are different and therefore I'd have thought it's quite possible you could compromise the handling by mixing the two. I wouldn't say it's as extreme as (say) having winter tyres on one axle and summer tyres on the other but in principle it's similar and something I just wouldn't do.
My mate had a 135i. It was 2014 era I think. You know the 6 cylinder turbo. It was a 3 door hatchback with go flat tyres. As the weather got bad he experienced a serious loss of grip. I know now this was because he had the Pilot Super Sports and they are really rubbish in colder temps. Anyway I have been a winter tyres fan for years. My constant ear bashing persuaded him to try a set. He found someone selling a used BMW wheel and tyre package for his exact car so decided to buy this. Used obviously. The wheels were all matching as were the tyres. So same size front and back. These were genuine BMW run flats. He put them on his car and wasn't very impressed. The car still had poor grip. I started on at him about how rubbish run flats were. He didn't seem convinced. So I offered to lend him a pair of go flat winters in the correct size for him to try. He had these fitted and unsurprisingly they were a lot lot better and he was suitably impressed. This fit and testing was all in the matter of 2 or 3 hours - can't remember exactly. The point is later that day he happened to be travelling on the motorway in traffic at around 55mph. He said the car became unstable. The best way I can explain it is that video clip from Top Gear where they are testing different machinery at the airport. There is a clip where a tow vehicle is driving down the runway pulling several trolleys with suitcases on. This all starts to see saw. And it gets worse and worse. As he explained it to me this is what happened to his car if travelling at around 50 or 55 - I can't remember. He fixed it by driving slower. And obviously swapped the run flat winters to go flats immediately. So it's not very scientific but I know it happened. Car was fine with 4 run flats and 4 go flats. But with a mix it started to exhibit some form of harmonic disruption. Not sure how else to describe it.

bad company

19,323 posts

271 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
My 340i is coming up to 3 years old so thinking about replacing. I haven’t driven one but thinking of changing to 440I xdrive Gran Coupe.

The 440 shape looks good but has anyone here compared the drive?

steve_n

428 posts

207 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
There is no XDrive on the 440i...

HM-2

12,467 posts

174 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
steve_n said:
There is no XDrive on the 440i...
The M440i GC is xDrive only (assuming he's talking about buying new). A 3 year old 340i would be a G20.

bad company

19,323 posts

271 months

Wednesday 1st February 2023
quotequote all
steve_n said:
There is no XDrive on the 440i...
https://configure.bmw.co.uk/en_GB/configid/qlxh0n1c

85.simo

2 posts

19 months

Thursday 2nd February 2023
quotequote all
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and thinking to buy my first BMW. I've seen and reserved a 2019 M340i that has everything I was looking for in terms of spec: dravit gray, black merino, comfort, shadowline and technology packs, but also has lots of miles on the clock (~75k). I'm very tempted but the mileage seems quite high. Found an almost identical vehicle at £4k more, same year and spec, swap merino for vernasca and less than half the mileage, both are BMW approved. It'd be great to know what you guys think about this.

HM-2

12,467 posts

174 months

Thursday 2nd February 2023
quotequote all
85.simo said:
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and thinking to buy my first BMW. I've seen and reserved a 2019 M340i that has everything I was looking for in terms of spec: dravit gray, black merino, comfort, shadowline and technology packs, but also has lots of miles on the clock (~75k). I'm very tempted but the mileage seems quite high. Found an almost identical vehicle at £4k more, same year and spec, swap merino for vernasca and less than half the mileage, both are BMW approved. It'd be great to know what you guys think about this.
20-25k miles a year suggests it's probably seen a relatively motorway focused life. I would have no issues buying in the higher mileage ranges as long as servicing etc was all above board. The B58 is pretty bulletproof and you should get at least a year of BMW warranty.

How had the interior withstood the miles?

85.simo

2 posts

19 months

Thursday 2nd February 2023
quotequote all
Thanks for your reply smile

I haven't seen the car in person yet, but haven't noticed any obvious marks/creases from the photos and video in the listing, apart from one of the back seats which shows some sign of usage. Interior seems to be in a good condition as far as I can tell. Re: past services, the description mentions 'a service record in line with the high standards set by BMW' which I'm interpreting as a full BMW service history. MOT history shows it passed 2 different MOT tests in 1 month, which seems odd to me, but I'm not sure if it should be considered a red flag.