acribb

After about 15K on these tires, it is apparent that there is a wear problem with the set I have. All 4 tires are worn GREATLY in the centers. The outside edges of the tires have loads of tread while the centers of the tires have virtually none. All 4 tires are inflated to factory specs on the door and the car has the original factory 530i sport rims on it. Could the tires be defective? Has anyone else had this type of issue?

Thanks,

Adam

Howitzer

This happens for a couple of reasons usually:

1) Alignment is way off

2) Your camber is way off

Both of these things can occur if you've recently changed wheels, changed shocks, changed springs. You have to buy a new set of tires and have an alignment done. Don't go to BMW dealership they will rip you off.

Lets say for example you see a bow-legged fat chick walking down the road. Clearly she is walking sideways and shit... So you stop her and ask: "Hello fat one, may I please see the bottom of your shoe?" When you look, you see the outer heel is worn out while the inside isn't. Too bad fat chicks can't get an alignment right?

DrLev99

I know you said they were inflated to spec, but this wear typically is due to overinflation. You got 15K miles out of them, so just dump them for a new set.

acribb

Now the tire rep at Tire Kingdom, where my wife is getting the flat fixed, says that I need new struts and that BMW struts only last 60,000 miles. Is this guy blowing smoke here or what?

The car is 100% OEM by the way.

Ricracing

The tires (you didn't mention the size) should be good for some 20 k,
even if they are 19" ones.
17" should go 30 k and 18" at least 25 k.

I note that you say the wear is in center of the tire.
This is highly unusual, because modern radial tires should not get worn
in the center even if the tire pressures would be way over the high psi given.

Complain to BMW and if they don't reply write to GoodYear Dunlop Company
at www.goodyear.com

acribb

The tires are 245/40R18 all the way around.

The guy at the tire shop said that either over inflation or bad struts cause the tires to wear in the middle like this.

Would bad struts cause middle tire wear like this?

Is it common for BMW 5 series to need new struts at 65,000 miles?

The car is BABIED when it is driven, if that makes any difference.

I was thinking a course of action would be to buy new tires, get an alignment and then monitor closely for middle tire wear.

Where should I get an alignment? I thought the 530i sport could only be aligned at BMW on their equipment?

Ricracing

Yes it is.

Checkout the whole chassis.

Also at this point the front disks, pads and the rear disk pads should be changed.

Also the battery will soon be gone.

A full service is recommended.

At four years and some + 100,000 km's the car is ready for a full check out.

BrianTx5

What tires did you have on the car prior to these? How long did they last? Did they wear in the center too?
What came on the car originally? Run-flats?
The recommended tire pressure listed on the door might not apply to these tires if they are not the same type or size as the original tires. For example, if the car came with run-flats and you now have non run-flats, the tire pressure might be different.
I went through two sets of Goodyear F1 GSD3 tires on my E46 and was very pleased with the performance and life of the tires.

545felix

while it is true the dealer's price for an alignment is steep, every time I've had an outside shop do the alignment on my BMWs it never feels right afterwards. Also, if he's got active steering (an 04 with the sports package should) you really should get it done at the dealer anyway, because the alignment also involves centering of the steering wheel settings (ie it's not just put the wheel straight and do the alignment.)

545OH

It is definetly not true that if you have wear in the center of your tires than there is a problem with your car, alignment or tire pressure. Although typically the first thing that causes center wear, is a high tire pressure, this is not always the case. I had the exact same problem with a set of michelin pilot sport a/s 2 years ago. I rode the tires hard and by 6k miles the middle probably had half of the tread as the outer sides and this was evenly the case on all 4. That is never going to be an alignment issue if it is happening on all 4 of your tires evenly down the middle. My inflation pressure was even on the low side and I had 2 other pairs of tires before this, all the same size that never did this.

I have had 2 pairs of tires since then, obviously different brands and never had this happen again. As far as why the michelins did them is beyond me. Some tire companies use different materials down different parts of the tire and if that is a factor I do not know. Sometimes this happens and to be honest 15k miles is not bad at all. I have never gotten more than 9k miles on a set of tires in my 545 so consider yourself lucky and try a different set.

If you have a 530 I would not invest in such expensive tires as those. You will not see a performance difference with your car over some less expensive ones. I had some S drives in that same size that were great and half the cost. I actually have them for sale with 70 percent of the tread on them. I have 4 of them in that size now that I switched to 19s I put them for sale in the classifieds. I am selling them for 300 dollars for all 4. Sorry did not mean to advertise here but seemed to fit with this post!