I have just fallen from my swiveling office chair I thought just prior to contacting a mobile fitter I best call to my local BMW dealership (Menzies Stirling)

'Good morning could you price for me please 2 x Continental 275/30 R19 96Y fitted please ?'

'Yes sir give me a momment'

Several seconds later

'They will be ?199 + Vat each including fitting (?467.65 total)'

(Thud as i hit the floor)

'Can you book me in for Wednesday please and don't spare the horses, many thanks i'm gone before you revise your estimate, see you wednesday this call has been recorded, many thanks byeeeeeeeeeeeeee'

Now having searched far and wide this is the best deal I can find and it's 5 mins drive from home, i work from home on a wednesday so it makes perfect sense, oh and having just checked i've dropped close to 1.7mm so it's perfect timing.

p.s. I know etyres were a little cheaper but it gives me the chance to browse the showroom and have the auto folding mirror option set on my key

 

That's rockin'! MyTyres list the tyres alone at ?246 each... I guess the SC2's are discontinued now so perhaps some stock clearance?

 

My local stealer offered conti SC2's at ?287 each inc vat !


Here's the wear on my rears, taken on camera phone (my excuse for quality!)



I ended up with Goodyear F1 Eagle Asymmetrics instead of GSD3 (which my dealer had difficulty obtaining). It must have taken them 30 mins for each tyre as two fitters and a machine tried to get the tyre wrapped round the rim! The F1's have bedded in quickly compared with the SC2's. May change the fronts early to see if they become quieter too.

 

In my experiences, BMWs usually have some negative camber at the rear wheels which will cause the inside edges to wear faster than the outside edges. (Clearly, if the center is worn more than the edges, there is an overinflation issue.)

Palmo, you indicated that one of your rear tires was worn on the inside and one was not and you were concerned about an alignment issue on the wheel where the tire was unevenly worn side-to-side. I can't say for sure but to me, I wonder if the wheel that wore evenly isn't the one that has the alignment issue since, as I said, the negative camber at the rear that BMW uses will cause "normal" wear to be accelerated on the inside of the tire.

Search the forums for negative camber and I think you'll find a ton of information about this...

 

Rudy's Negative Camber post

I ran my rears at 2.7bar as per the sticker on the inside drivers door. I think I should take my car down to the local stealer for an alignment check.

 

I was thinking more of the following thread:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=20977

And this one:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=10707

 

That is similar to my right rear, albeit mine was worn more in the centre with a more pronounced 'dish-shape'. My left rear was again similar on the outter and centre, but 'scrubbed' on the inside.

Thanks for posting picture!

 

Very interesting points Rudy - so it could be the right rear (the 'better wearing one') that is actually out of alignment. I used to have a Subaru Imreza with 'group N' rally geometry settings and this dialled in quite a bit of negative camber which did aid handling considerably but caused excessive 'scrubbing'.

On a bigger issue to me, do you think this could be contributing to the crosswind issue I have (mentioned in a number of other threads)?

 

Quick update from me, Menzies called this morning....

'Sir the tyres sizes you gave us are for Mercedes only tyres, you should not have those tyres on your car.'

I did NOT have to think but merely say 'please cancel my appointment on wednesday'

A BMW dealer that cannot even provide the right tyres for the car i bought new from them do not deserve my business, I've gone back to etyres who are only to happy to supply the right tyres and will be carrying out the job on Wednesday right on my driveway.

Dealers

 

Palmo - Had the full alignment carried out on my car today. It feels a lot better, but is still subject to, imo, too much deflection thro x-winds while I was coming back along the M5. Going to reduce the pressure slightly front and rear (my thought is about 0.2-0.3 bar)

Below is the alignment data before/after - I suspected the rear nearside was a bit out as I had knocked it very slightly on a 6" kerb when navigating thro' one of those unfriendly-to-cars (unless you drive a Micra) car parks in Cambridge.