Unusual tire wear

delio13 · 06-11-2012, 01:47 PM

Hello people I have a 2011 x5 35d with sport package. Anyhow, I am having a premature tire wear on the rear tire that would be the inside I have 11000 km on them. But I noticed it at 5000 km n reported it to the dealer n made an appointment when I got there ( after driving 1600 km) I was told by service guy that it is perfectly normal for the sport model to wear that way because of the 1.5 degree positive camber. Does anyone on this forum having the same issue. The rear tires are almost bald on the inside. From the inside edge towards the middle about the first 2 inches. That to me indicates a very aggressive camber but I don't know what value. I'll take in for a wheel alignment to get to the bottom of it then I'll hitem up for a new set of tires( wishful thinking ) The front tires as well seems like they have a negative amber. Thanks for input people

GKyri · 06-11-2012, 10:34 PM

Such high wear is unacceptable. Rear inside is definitely an issue on wear however and 20" tires are very difficult to align. I would insist on a camber degree that is less aggressive on wear. I doubt that you will recognise the difference in handling.

delio13 · 06-11-2012, 10:49 PM

Thanks gkuri for the reply it's worn so bad that I can see the second layer of rubber on the inside toe I might get them to align it to zero camber cause the tires are so wide that I don't have to worry about tipping over plus I am not racing if I did I would've gotten an M it's a diesel for crying out loud FUEL ECONOMY. Is there someone here from Vancouver that would recommend a place to get an alignment would be appreciated Thanks for the help guys

skalberti · 06-12-2012, 07:37 PM

BMW aligns their cars this way so that they "hug" the road. You can have them realigned so that the tires don't wear that way, but you will notice a difference in the handling. I did and had them change my alignment back to factory specs.

GKyri · 06-13-2012, 08:58 PM

I just can't accept that BMW engineers would design-in uneven tire wear as a trade off to handling.

For the record my Dunlop Sportmax tires (original fitment) went to approximately 30,000km but were exceptionaly noisy for at least 10,000 of those probably due to uneven tire wear.

I had the good fortune of driving over a 6" bolt that pierced my rear tire but thankfully did not go through the rim (left a dent on the inside of the rim though).

It was all the excuse I needed to change all four tires though, this time with Bridgestone Dueler RFT's and had them properly aligned. Having said that I have not done enough kms on the Bridgestones to be sure that the uneven wear won't return. But I will be re checking alignment at 10,000km.

Now the tire specialist told me that he used to work at a BMW dealer and it was up to the dealer to align the cars before customer delivery but some dealers just can't be bothered doing it. The truth is out there somewhere.

delio13 · 06-14-2012, 12:47 AM

Thanks again GKyri for the info.looking into getting a new set of tires looked on tire rack actually looked at the Bridgestone dueler how much did it cost you for the. New set of you don't mind me asking do you know of hand the alignment value for the front and rear. Having 11000 km on my tires and the wear indication that the alignment is way off huh. When I spoke to the service guy he told me that he has seen people go through tires at 14000 kms that's kind of odd eh. Just out of curiosity GKyri why did you choose rft tires over nonrft cause most people on here hates rft. Thinking of getting nonrft

GKyri · 06-14-2012, 07:16 PM

OK but don't laugh when I tell you. I paid A$500 for each corner which these days is equivalent to US$500. So $2,000 for the lot. Unfortunately we pay a lot more for things in Australia versus the US at least. Not sure how things are in Canada. They were generally $800 each but I shopped around. People in Australia are starting to direct import product from the US in particular which has pushed prices down. I looked at Tire rack with envy but decided to buy locally in the end.

Re RFT? Have you ever tried to remove the 20" wheel from the X5? Let's just say I called BMW Assist to do the job (and I copped a ribbing from the guys at the office for doing so - but hey that's what they are there for). The wheel is massive, heavy and would be quite difficult to remove on the side of a freeway (imagine in the dark). I would encourage people to practice it at least once before they go non RFT.

Despite the fact that a had a sizeable bolt through my tire I was able to continue driving until I found a safe place to park.

06-11-2012, 01:47 PM	#1
delio13 Private 9 Rep 83 Posts Drives: 2011 X5 35d Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: british coumbia iTrader: (0)	Unusual tire wear Hello people I have a 2011 x5 35d with sport package. Anyhow, I am having a premature tire wear on the rear tire that would be the inside I have 11000 km on them. But I noticed it at 5000 km n reported it to the dealer n made an appointment when I got there ( after driving 1600 km) I was told by service guy that it is perfectly normal for the sport model to wear that way because of the 1.5 degree positive camber. Does anyone on this forum having the same issue. The rear tires are almost bald on the inside. From the inside edge towards the middle about the first 2 inches. That to me indicates a very aggressive camber but I don't know what value. I'll take in for a wheel alignment to get to the bottom of it then I'll hitem up for a new set of tires( wishful thinking ) The front tires as well seems like they have a negative amber. Thanks for input people
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06-11-2012, 10:34 PM	#2
GKyri Private 0 Rep 75 Posts Drives: 2010 X5 30D Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	Such high wear is unacceptable. Rear inside is definitely an issue on wear however and 20" tires are very difficult to align. I would insist on a camber degree that is less aggressive on wear. I doubt that you will recognise the difference in handling.
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06-11-2012, 10:49 PM	#3
delio13 Private 9 Rep 83 Posts Drives: 2011 X5 35d Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: british coumbia iTrader: (0)	Thanks gkuri for the reply it's worn so bad that I can see the second layer of rubber on the inside toe I might get them to align it to zero camber cause the tires are so wide that I don't have to worry about tipping over plus I am not racing if I did I would've gotten an M it's a diesel for crying out loud FUEL ECONOMY. Is there someone here from Vancouver that would recommend a place to get an alignment would be appreciated Thanks for the help guys
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06-12-2012, 07:37 PM	#4
skalberti Major 614 Rep 1,133 Posts Drives: 2017 Mineral White M3 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas iTrader: (0)	BMW aligns their cars this way so that they "hug" the road. You can have them realigned so that the tires don't wear that way, but you will notice a difference in the handling. I did and had them change my alignment back to factory specs. __________________ It's good to be bad
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06-13-2012, 08:58 PM	#5
GKyri Private 0 Rep 75 Posts Drives: 2010 X5 30D Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	I just can't accept that BMW engineers would design-in uneven tire wear as a trade off to handling. For the record my Dunlop Sportmax tires (original fitment) went to approximately 30,000km but were exceptionaly noisy for at least 10,000 of those probably due to uneven tire wear. I had the good fortune of driving over a 6" bolt that pierced my rear tire but thankfully did not go through the rim (left a dent on the inside of the rim though). It was all the excuse I needed to change all four tires though, this time with Bridgestone Dueler RFT's and had them properly aligned. Having said that I have not done enough kms on the Bridgestones to be sure that the uneven wear won't return. But I will be re checking alignment at 10,000km. Now the tire specialist told me that he used to work at a BMW dealer and it was up to the dealer to align the cars before customer delivery but some dealers just can't be bothered doing it. The truth is out there somewhere.
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06-14-2012, 12:47 AM	#6
delio13 Private 9 Rep 83 Posts Drives: 2011 X5 35d Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: british coumbia iTrader: (0)	Thanks again GKyri for the info.looking into getting a new set of tires looked on tire rack actually looked at the Bridgestone dueler how much did it cost you for the. New set of you don't mind me asking do you know of hand the alignment value for the front and rear. Having 11000 km on my tires and the wear indication that the alignment is way off huh. When I spoke to the service guy he told me that he has seen people go through tires at 14000 kms that's kind of odd eh. Just out of curiosity GKyri why did you choose rft tires over nonrft cause most people on here hates rft. Thinking of getting nonrft
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06-14-2012, 07:16 PM	#7
GKyri Private 0 Rep 75 Posts Drives: 2010 X5 30D Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Australia iTrader: (0)	OK but don't laugh when I tell you. I paid A$500 for each corner which these days is equivalent to US$500. So $2,000 for the lot. Unfortunately we pay a lot more for things in Australia versus the US at least. Not sure how things are in Canada. They were generally $800 each but I shopped around. People in Australia are starting to direct import product from the US in particular which has pushed prices down. I looked at Tire rack with envy but decided to buy locally in the end. Re RFT? Have you ever tried to remove the 20" wheel from the X5? Let's just say I called BMW Assist to do the job (and I copped a ribbing from the guys at the office for doing so - but hey that's what they are there for). The wheel is massive, heavy and would be quite difficult to remove on the side of a freeway (imagine in the dark). I would encourage people to practice it at least once before they go non RFT. Despite the fact that a had a sizeable bolt through my tire I was able to continue driving until I found a safe place to park.
	Appreciate 0 Quote