09-09-2016, 04:02 PM | #1 |
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tire wear (inner edge)
To finish the summer on a high note we headed out on a camping trip about 5 hours away. With our tent trailer in tow we got to our destination without any issues, had a great weekend and got on the road back home on stat holiday Monday. After about 1.5h of driving we got a warning to stop safely as one of our tires had lost pressure. No problem, i have runflats, a car pump and a tire repair kit. Well, when I looked at the tire in question to see what punctured it I was shocked to notice that the inner edge of my driver side rear tire was so worn that white threads were clearly visible. BMW roadside assistance advised us that the tire could explode if I tried to pump it up and we should definitely not drive the vehicle any further.
After a lengthy ordeal that included an overnight in a small town, a 2 hour tow to the closest BMW dealer I was informed that this type of tire wear is most often caused by an alignment problem. Along with having to replace both of my rear tires ($$$) to ensure even wear on both side of the vehicle I would have to pay for an alignment which according to my SA is recommended once per year but not included as part of the regular servicing. I was a little surprised that no one has mentioned this "recommended" maintenance task to me before, despite my past wheel problems (see past posts). If I knew that this relatively cheap annual task would save my tires from destroying themselves I would have done it along time ago. Part of this could be my ignorance but I was under the impression that all of my recommended servicing was covered for the first 4 years. I do have to go to my local dealer on Monday as the dealer that installed my new rubber didn't balance the wheels properly. While there I intend to ask about this apparent recommended service but wanted to get your thoughts on this issue first. I look forward to your comments. Last edited by ramsal; 09-09-2016 at 04:20 PM.. Reason: spelling |
09-09-2016, 06:11 PM | #2 |
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Most BMW's are actually setup/designed to run camber. Even within spec, the rears are surely running some heavy negative camber. I had the same issue with my Pirelli stockers, insides were worn bald and the middle/outer edges were probably 35-40%. Our E82, when stock, had the same issue. Your experience is quote common with BMW owners, visual checks of the outer tread blocks are easy when washing, but few actually squat down and inspect the innermost tread blocks. I did an alignment when I lowered mine, so I can't comment on how far "out" the OEM setup was. What I can say, is that even when aligned to spec, it still runs camber in the rear.
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09-09-2016, 10:20 PM | #3 |
Mmmmm…
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I think I may get my car in for an alignment next time I'm due for service.
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09-10-2016, 02:06 AM | #4 |
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My dealer has worn me about the problem and they have done the allignment within specifications but at their limit so the rears are as parallel as posible. It seems that is working at least until now!!!
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09-10-2016, 09:16 AM | #5 |
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A few months ago I replaced the Michelin Latitude RFT's on our '14 35d after a bit more than 30K miles. The maximum deviation in tread wear across the width of any of the tires was 1/32". Indeed, the maximum deviation in tread wear between any of the tires was 1/32". Quite even wear. The alignment done at the time of the tire replacement was the first since new.
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