Flowerfred

What's the reason for advising against non-runflats? (I have 124's too)
[/quote]

Apparently they don't fit 100%. The lining is said to be different.

markt540i

Golfnut, on my '01 540i sport I replaced my OE dunlop 2000's with Potenza S-03's and hated them. They stuck to the road better and had less sidewall roll than the dunlops and my current Bridgestone Potenza RE750's, but and a big BUT, they tracked every grove in the road to the point that there were roads that I traveled alot and knew where to hold on with both hands to fight it back on track. It was scary if you were just crusing along with one hand or casually with two hands and the car jerked out of line due to the pavement. For the race track, I bet the Potenza S-03s are probably unbeatable. They got really noisy too after a couple thousand miles.

I like the Potenza RE750 although I can tell the diffence in handling from the S-03. The RE750 never follows groves in the pavement and handles well enough.

Go to tirerack.com and read ratings on the tires you are interested in. You can search by ultra performance tires specifically for your car year make and model and it will return just tires that fit your car. You can read hundreds of testimonials from tire owners as to their opinion and experience with the tires in question. The Goodyear F1 was the tire I wanted -- it got great ratings, but after a two month wait on backorder I gave up and got the RE750's.

Also, it is my understanding that a wheel designed for run flats is designed differently than a regular wheel, but I don't know if the tires are interchangeable or not.

Good luck.
Markt

colejl

Damn, I was looking forward to ditching them soon

I'm still a little surprised because I thought that a tyre size was a tyre size and should fit... What bit is the 'lining'?

EBMCS03

Damn, I was looking forward to ditching them soon

I'm still a little surprised because I thought that a tyre size was a tyre size and should fit... What bit is the 'lining'?
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really is that true? I would hate to have to stick with run flats. I was plannin on changing to regular tires after this set is over.

BangleBox_530d

12,000 miles isn't great, but it's not that excessive that BMW would entertain a "warranty" claim.

Will be interesting to see what mileage I get with the Goodyear tyres I have on. The torque of the diesel engine is always pushing the traction limits of the rear tyres. So I'm not expecting to get great wear from them.

I'm also undecided what to replace them with. I'm not impressed with the ride of the runflats. But I'm hoping that there's some resistance to pothole damage, with a stiffer sidewall. Hopefully by the time I have to replace them, there will be a bit more consensus on which tyre to get.

If you're going for a non-runflat tyre, then I highly recommend the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyre. Second to that the Continental ContiSportContact 2. IMHO both are better than Pirelli Pzero or Dunlop SP 8000/9000

golfnut

Thanks for the suggestions guys. The problem gets worse: it seems that my tyre size - 245/50/R17 is only available in UK in the Dunlop SP01 runflats I have, or Pirelli P Zero. That's it! Anyone had any experience of Pirelli P Zero?

Anyway, I'm off to the dealer tomorrow to see if he will accept some of the excess wear under guarantee. I'll ask about approved alternative tyres then.

cashvanveen

[quote name='golfnut' date='Jan 24 2005, 05:38 PM']
Thanks for the suggestions guys. The problem gets worse: it seems that my tyre size - 245/50/R17 is only available in UK in the Dunlop SP01 runflats I have, or Pirelli P Zero. That's it! Anyone had any experience of Pirelli P Zero?

Anyway, I'm off to the dealer tomorrow to see if he will accept some of the excess wear under guarantee. I'll ask about approved alternative tyres then.

Hi

I don't know what wheels you have but I've got the 122 8Jx17 and it has 245/45/R17 fitted. These are Bridgestone Potenza 050. There ?150 each from a local dealer. The car has done 10000 miles and still has 5mm all round.
We are happy with the Bridgestones and would have them again. Can you not have the 45 profile tyres fitted?

Cheers Paul

golfnut

Thanks Paul - now this is where I get really confused! If I have lower profile tryes, doesn't this mean that the radius is smaller ( the width being the same)? Doesn't this mean the car is lower and the speedo/milometer is going to be reading high too?

I'd love to fit lower profile tyres, but I thought the wheels are set for one profile only. Guess I need some idiot advice here.

cashvanveen

Hi

The 45 is the % of he width of the tyre in the height of the side wall, so yes it would affect the gearing. My 17" wheels are standard fit BMW so I can not see that BMW would re-gear or calibrate the speedo any different for my car to your car. You will notice that the larger wheels are wider with a lower profile and the smaller wheels are more narrow with a higher profile ie 225/55 R17 keeping the gearing/calibration the same.
I can only assume that the difference between 45-50 must be so slight that it makes no odds.
The effort for BMW to change settings to maintain 0-60 times etc would not be cost effective, are you sure that the tyres are the standard one's for the wheels you have? Are you sure they are 245/50 and not 225/50 which seems to be the standard fit for some of the BMW wheels. The 245 all seem to be 45 profile on 17" rims.
What wheels do you have?

Cheers Paul

golfnut

The wheels are 122 8Jx17 and as you say, the standard tyre is 245/45/R17. Mine have 245/50/R17 fitted all round - I have checked! Hmmm.. I wonder what's going on here? I'll ask the dealer tomorrow - perhaps they changed the spec.