So I picked up my car tonight, after having my RFT's swapped for Blizzak LM-25's (245/40/18). Got some good news and some bad news...

The good news is, the car handles absolutely insane! It handles better than my SUV! I took it to an open lot where there was still plenty of snow and ice. The car grabbed the road better than I could have ever expected. I turned DSC off, as well as DTC and it was so much fun! Anyway, these tires are just amazing and the AWD system is a work of art. Great job BMW! Now, I just want it to snow more so I can go out and play!!

Now for the bad news... The tire shop I took it to rashed (might as well be curb rash) a few of the wheels, put some chips around the edges and left a gash in one of the spokes. I assume this was from taking off the RFT's. I even asked them if their machine was made for RFT's and was told yes. Anyway, I went back and showed the owner and they're going to send all my wheels to one of the top refinishing shops in NY to have them looking like new again (no cost to me of course). I guess that's ok, but now I have to leave my car again for another day to get fixed. Sucks!

Anyone else have this happen to them when they removed their RFT's on their car? If so, did you live with it or have the shop fix it?

Overall though, I'm thrilled. I just want to drive this thing constantly in the snow. It's that much fun!

 

Congrats on the improved handling with the new tire set.
Any chance that the damage on the wheels might have been caused by all that playing in the snow? Glad to hear that the tire shop will pay for it

 

Dunno whether you have OEM alloys or others but be careful to get warranty on the repair. I stupidly curbed one of my 172 style 19" OEM alloys and its a painted alloy requiring polishing then re-painting. If a poor job is carried out, you may find flaking and chipping occuring on your alloys after a couple of months...

 

RFT are definately not easy to mount/dismount. I currently have a couple of RFT 18's and PS2 19's in my basement and the sidewall stiffness of the RFT is incredible.

I had my snows mounted just after I picked up my new car at a local tire place (stealer wanted to charge some huge amount of money for the tires + $150 for mounting and balancing) when the car had 8 miles on it. I watched them the entire time and those RFT definately give the tire tech a workout when removing - probably the most stressful 2 hours of my life....

Anyway, I lucked out and there were no scratches/dings/chipped paint on my wheels. If you live near a Town Fair Tire location, I highly recommend them - they matched the price with shipping from the tirerack, only charged me $9/tire for mounting and took great care of my car.

 

My wheels had a few minor scratches when I changed out to snows. I told the tire dealer about it but haven't pursued getting repaired this winter. Hopefully the scratches will buff out.

 

Nope, my OEM 18's are in perfect condition. I'm very anal about my car. I never have to park along a curb, so curb rash is never an issue. There's no doubt they did this to my wheels.

 

They're the OEM 18" 123 Wheels. I didn't get the warranty for the wheels, as I never had any issues on my last E39. I've VERY careful about where I park and how I park.

 

Good pros are hard to find these days

I would sue them for brand new wheels, that's no way to go

What wheels and tyres will you have while they are at some quack

 

They will do the job in 1 day. I will drop the car there in the morning and come back that evening to pick it up...thank god!

 

I've had two replacement tire sets installed on my wheels. Dunlops -> Bridgestones at the dealer and there were a few minor, barely noticeable nicks that I did not complain about. Bridgestones -> PS2's at Costco and no new damage. I watched them do the work and they were very careful. Your guys should have been able to install your tires without any damage.