maruzo

Hi all,

I have a 2010 535 xdrive base sedan with 4X Goodyear Eagle RS/A 225/50 r17 94w tires. I had the dealership change all 4 tires around 10,000 miles ago. Now the rear right has develop a bulge on the inner tread area and i'm getting a very wobbly ride. It gets worse if I get on the highway.

Anyway, took it to a local tire shop and they switched out the damged tire with the spare. I'm attempting to find the exact same replacement but looks like this tire size is no longer available on most tire shops.

My question is, can I use a different brand, or same brand, but different tread pattern, on both rear tires? I know I have to change tire in pairs, but since this is an all wheel drive sedan, American Tire Depot tells me I should use the same tread pattern and tire brand, as well as size, on all 4 tires.

Much obliged for any info!

Mars

JayArras

The important factor is that both tires on an axle need to have the same rolling circumference on an xi. You should replace two tires, but brand doesn't matter as long as the thread pattern is comparable with the fronts. American Tire Depot doesn't appear to know much about bimmers, because staggered setups also work as long as you stay within the rolling circumference parameters.

BMWThor

Have you checked tire tread height? ESP problems can appear if wheels has different size on one axle.

maruzo

Took out 3 quarters and measured the depth of the treads on my 3 OE tires. They are all approximately at 8/32 of an inch. I was able to find a new unused OE tire on ebay, made circa 2015. I've bought it and will install it on the rear right wheel.
If I understand it correctly, the xDrive system on the E60 is tolerant of the 2/32 difference between my 3 used tires and the 1 new tires. Hopefully the exact same tread pattern and tire size will made this one tire swap work.

If I start getting wobbly drive feel after the switch, I'll go ahead and purchase 2 new Goodyear Eagles, but they'll have to be a different tread pattern since I can't find the Eagle RS-A with my size at any tire shops that I've searched..

maruzo

The ESP didn't kick in, but when I was still driving with the damaged OE tire on the rear right wheel, I was getting wobbly drive feel and it gets worse as the car accelerates. I did a 35 mile freeway run and had to keep the speed below 55mph because the wobble was so bad. It was like one of the tire was of the incorrect size, now that I realized what had happened.

The tire shop that checked on all 4 of my oe tires found the rear right to have a bulge on the inner tread. When he took it out, I was shocked at how severe the damage was. Basically 1/3 of the tread had bulged upward and causing extremely uneven and severe wear on the inner treads. So the entire 1/3 of the tread was getting shaved because that part was in contact with the road the most.

JayArras

Now you have another problem... It's unadvisable to drive on tires that are more than 6 years old, regardless of thread depth. The rubber gets old eventually and the bead may separate. You would be better off with two new tires on the rear, but that's just me.

maruzo

Fair point. Upon checking the date codes on all of my oe tires, I found 1015 and 4714 for the front 2, and 4911 for REAR tires! The new one from ebay shows 0415 and is actually newer than the rear one I'll be replacing.
I don't know what caused the inner treads to bulge upward. Perhaps I hit something on the road hard enough to cause the bulge?

Anyway if I need to replace the 2 rear tires because of the tire's age, I might as well replace all 4 since the 2 on the front are both over 6 years old as well.

JayArras

...or the fact that you're running with old tires may be the reason right there.

maruzo

The bulge, per the tire shop, is indicative of a nasty impact with something on the road. But it may well be that, old tires. I looked at the other rear tire and the rubber looks pretty good. No dry rot, no visible cracks, tread still fairly deep.

These tires were installed by the dealership a few years back, around 2015, i think.

I didn't put too much miles on them, probably around 10,000 or less. And the car is stored indoor when not used. So storage condition is fairly good for the rubber components.