CME

Hi All,

First post to this forum. Ordered a 2007 E61 last week for delivery in early May. Wanted to know what the sport steering wheel looked like with the 2007 sports package. Is it the same one as E60 w/the SMG?

I also ordered the 18" wheel option that comes with Run Flat Tires. Is the ride quality with RFT's an issue and worth avoiding. I could probably go back to the base 17" wheels and use them for snow tires in the winter.

Thanks.

Chet

tcoz

From what I've seen in pictures, it looks to be the same sport steering wheel as the E60.

There have been many posts on this and other forums about RFT's regarding ride quality AND susceptibility of the wheels to being bent. Almost all people agree that RFT's give a much firmer ride bordering on unacceptable to many of them. Due to the rigidity of the sidewall, it's also agreed that the wheels are much more prone to being bent from running over potholes. A number of people have gone through quite a few tires and rims over a short period of time and many have changed to non-RFT's.

General consensus also seems to be that the purchase of a wheel/tire protection package from your dealer would be well advised if you're going to keep the tires. In most cases, they can't be repaired and once a RFT is removed from the rim, it can't be put back on and reused.

idoru

The 18" wheels look great, but the ride quality with RFTs sucks - with sports suspension it is unacceptably rough riding, but even without it the RFTs are very hard, and that not only leads to a very jiggly, crashy ride but also traction/roadholding is compromised. The thing I always loved about BMWs was how 'planted' they felt on the road - that feeling is lost with RFTs. I swapped mine out for ContiSportContact2s after 1K miles, a big improvement on all fronts.

bobr

Been thinking about doing the same - can you put normal tyres on the same rims used for runflats or does it need a new set of wheels?

bobr

Sorry guys - stupid ie newbie question. Just done a search and answer seems to be OK to put non-RFT on the 135 rims.

Herwig

Fully agree on what has been said about RFTs - the ride is compromised and simply said poor.

Guess 18'' with non-RFT is the better option.

maninblack

I am not being critical, but I sometimes have to wonder when I read posts like this. Why? Because you are about to buy a very expense vehicle, if you want to know what the steering wheel or any other part of the car looks like, then insist on your dealer showing you.

You would want the 18's for summer and 17's for winter. RFT's ride harder but all low profile tyres ride hard. If you want a softer ride the skip the sport pack and go with 17 not runflat. 17 RFT's go harder, sport suspension harder again, 18's harder again, 18 RFT's even harder.

Now you can insist on getting non-RFT's if you want. Tell your dealer it's a no-deal otherwise. Unless you have done the deal and put down your deposit, then your sunk. Years back a car I bought came standard with Pirelli's. After concluding the price negotiation I told the dealer I had one more condition. I wanted Michelins or no deal. After a few phone calls by the dealer I got the tyres I wanted.

Depends also on what sort of driving you do. The car is a very fine piece of engineering, even with the 17's and no sports suspension, most drivers will never test the limits of the car.

Gotta say though, runflats are a handy invention and a big improvement on having to fit a midget spare. Despite some posts I have read, the car handles great (but hard) on runflats but different brands will have different characteristics, BMW supply at least 3 brands, maybe more and as far as I know the Michelin will soon have a ZP tyre for the 5 series, which I will consider strongly when it arrives.

tmoody

General consensus also seems to be that the purchase of a wheel/tire protection package from your dealer would be well advised if you're going to keep the tires. In most cases, they can't be repaired and once a RFT is removed from the rim, it can't be put back on and reused.
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I DEFINITELY second that notion. the tire/wheel pkg warranty has covered myself and several people that i know from damage to the bigger wheels on the SP models from various road hazards and the like. you can get these warranty pkgs for around $500 when buying the car and they're good for OEM approved tires for 5 years. let's just say that it more than pays for itself the first time you have to replace one wheel and one tire......