Mixing tyres on front/rear axles X-Drive

[Jonny Wishbone]

G21 Alpina B3 owner here. The car comes on OEM Alpina marked Pirelli P-Zeros, which have apparently been designed with more pliant side walls to complement the set up of the car.

I’ve just trashed my third tyre (NSF) in less than a year (two previous punctures from potholes and now a bulging sidewall, probably from a pothole) and as there’s 4mm on the OSF, I need to replace both. The car is very unsettled by crap roads which is not helped by the 20” rims and low profile rubber.

The OEM tyres are £350 a pop, which stings, especially given I’ve already forked out for 3 in the last year but I’m philosophical about it. I’m currently having a bit of trouble sourcing the tyres (which wasn’t an issue last year) which isn’t surprising as these cars have been built in numbers counted in 3 figures. My main concern is having issues sourcing tyres in the future. On a separate note, I (along with some other Alpina owners I’ve encountered) have wondered whether I wouldn’t be better off with MPS4S all round, as I’ve generally had a preference for Michelins though as it’s an Alpina up to now I’ve sided with sticking to OEM..

The rears have only got 1500 miles on them though and I don’t want to ditch £700 worth of tyres whilst having to replace at similar cost. So my question is, bearing in mind the AWD system, how inadvisable would mixing brands on the axles (P-Zero rears, MPS4S front) be? I’m guessing the answer is “very” but there are folk on here who know more than me.