I'd like to know what is the normal tyre wear pattern for a 530D SE Touring (2004).
The reason I ask is that this is my first rear wheel drive car and also my first BMW. My last car was an Alfa Romeo 156 and these were notorious for uneven tyre wear (wearing the inside fronts a lot quicker than the rest of the tyre).
I've noticed the outside fronts are wearing more than the rest of the tyre - is this normal or do I need to get the alignment checked? If so, can anyone in the UK recommend a good wheel alignment place in north Kent (or even south Essex as I live near the tunnel)?
The car is currently running on Bridgestone RE 050 run flats (245/40 x 18).
Thanks.

 

I'm afraid this is a side effect of the camber and runflats. You must keep an eye on the insides as they wear really quickly due to the stiff sidewall. Since I ditched the runflats things are wearing more evenly...

 

Usually, the inside rear wears the fastest. I wouldn't expect to see the outside fronts wearing abnormally, but a slight bit of wear on the outside would be normal due to cornering.

 

Whoops, didn't fully read your post... How much cornering are you doing? And how uneven is the wear? (How many mm outside, middle and inside)

 

Personally, I've developed a "saw-tooth" pattern on the outer edges of both my front and rear summer Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's. They are not runflats. I've had my car aligned at least 6 times since May, so who knows? I feel it moving my fingers from back to front on mine. My inner edges are fine. Anyone else notice that uneven pattern as you drag your fingers along your outer edges?

 

Have had that before on front motorbike tyres - due to heavy braking! Do you brake hard?

Thanks for all the other replies guys - I haven't had the car very long so it's not down to how I drive.

 

I don't brake hard. And I really didn't abuse the tires or car at all this past Summer. Maybe I should start! Some say the saw-tooth pattern is a "toe-in" issue, but it's never shown issue on the alignments, just camber problems. I guess that could do it too? I have felt many tires of mine in the past with the same wear, so who knows?

 

Well, last weekend I got the wheel alignment checked and it was out all over the place.
In fact, one front wheel had a bit too much toe in and the other had slight toe out!
Cambers were also out of spec front and rear.
Had it all fixed and it does feel better. Hopefully the tyre wear will now stabilise and go back to normal.

 

Can the alignment be checked with worn tyres on the car?? Will the irregular wear not effect the geometry of how the wheel / tyre meets the road?

 

The alignment tools measure things from the wheel hubs, and the tires won't affect anything in terms of getting it into spec. You could align the car without tires, theoretically. Now that doesn't mean your car will ride perfectly afterwards if your tires are bad...