BMW 1 Series Coupe Forum / 1 Series Convertible Forum (1M / tii / 135i / 128i / Coupe / Cabrio / Hatchback) (BMW E82 E88 128i 130i 135i)
 





 

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      08-30-2009, 03:44 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Monterra View Post
RPM: Your A4 was designed to run square on probably 235s so going to 245 probably not much diff. On the 325, did you get wider wheels to accommodate the wider tire in front? If not then you also may not perceive the difference. What I'm saying is if you went 8.5 inch wide wheel up front on the 135- A) it would overhang the the fender and probably rub, and B) look and perform badly. You can understand BMW going wider in the rear for the look as you say but why wouldn't that be true for the fronts too? Manufacturers stagger for a reason- Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo, Corvette, and I don't believe they do it for looks. The same look could be easily and more cheaply achieved by just spacing a 225 out 20mm. The cars you cite are also having to cope with big nose heavy V8s over those front wheels so it can benefit from wider front rubber and I wouldn't consider any to be awesome handlers and their buyers will likely want to be able to power oversteer them and induce smoky burn outs without having to try too hard.
Lastly, your complaint of going through staggered tires faster doesn't make sense to me. The rears are going to wear at one rate, the fronts at another. To me, all rotating accomplishes is the convenience of replacing them all at once, but you bear the added expense of having them rotated a few times for that convenience unless you do it yourself of course. But your net gain is at most convenience, not extended tire wear.

Having said that, I agree the 135 is no Ferrari and didn't "need" to be staggered, at least not the way they suspended the car. 225 or 235 square would probably work well, I just think 245 is pushing it, seems more front tire than would be beneficial to me.
I'm not saying that staggering the tires doesn't have some merit to handling for some chassis. I question it on this car and even the 3 series.
My 325i had the same size all around, the 330i of that same model had staggered. Performance difference? Other than more power for the 330i, nothing. For the 135i, most of this understeer is due to being under-tired at the front, as there needs to be more bite. But, the tire width is too narrow. BMW didn't tune the suspension to compensate for the narrow front width. Look at the size of that front hub. Why is it so wide?
Right there BMW could have had more room to add at least a 235 if not more.

The rears and fronts wearing at different rates is due to not being able to rotate them. That's why the driving tires wear faster.
On a RWD the rears will obviously wear quicker as they are what powers the vehicle, just as the fronts power a FWD.
Notice on cars that have the same size tires, as the drive wheels start to wear, you rotate them, so that the less wear tires are now the driving tires. For me I see you get even wear and extend the useful life of all 4 tires. And, when it's time to get a new set, you get 4 new, fresh, full tread tires that will get even use as they wear away.

Take the car in a staggered setup. Let's say your rears are done at 20k miles, but the fronts still have good useable tread. You now have to replace the rears. But, if you only do the rears, then you have to replace with the same kind of tire to match the fronts. Your choice is limited to that brand and type of tire. I like my tires to be replaced at the same time with the same tire. I don't go for changing just 2 tires and mixing type and brand.

Look at the RFT situation. Most people seem to hate them. When the rears are worn, people are still replacing all 4 so that they can get away from the RFT's. No savings there as you're throwing away still good tires. You go with a different set, but the rears are wearing twice as fast. So, when they wear you have to get new rear tires. But, you want to try something else. Well, you have to replace all 4 again, even though the fronts may have 1/2 their tread left.
This happens because you can't rotate the tires to get 100% full use of all 4.

If you only replace 2 tires, then you're back in for 2 more very soon and you're back to the same situation of never having a fresh new full tread set. You're always driving on partially worn tires in front or in back.
I don't like having to buy tires that often.
How much benefit is this staggered thing really giving me?
Not much I think.
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      08-30-2009, 03:49 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimD View Post
I had my wheels off today (painting the calipers) and looked at the tires. The wear rating was 240 (Goodyears). It seems like that may be higher than some of you with quick replacements.

My SUV is my first independant rear end rear wheel drive vehicle. My 128 is my second. My SUV definitely wears the rears harder. It's interesting to hear Tom say bimmers do to. It seems a little odd but what about swapping the fronts to the rear? I have the sport pack so they are not the same size but I think the fronts are wide enough for the 128. Might not be worth the trouble and slightly odd look but I like it when all 4 wear out at the same time.

Jim
The powered/driving wheels will always wear quicker as they do the work to move the car. In a FWD the fronts wear quicker as they are the driven tires. AWD cars tend to have less uneven wear, but even in my AWD A4, the rears wore a bit more than the fronts, but since they were the same size all around, I balanced the wear with proper rotation every 6 months.
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      08-30-2009, 10:41 AM   #25
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I don't think running a different branded tire on the rear until the fronts are done is a big deal at all provided they have like performance characteristics. With mine I'll probably wear the rears until they're nearly slicks- (I don't really drive the car in the rain anyway) and by that time the fronts will likely have a few 32s and as I'm going to non-RFTs, I would like to change all 4 together for that reason. But I'm not going the throw the fronts out if they still have 5-10k left on them. I'll buy all 4 and keep the fronts in the garage until the OEMs are done. After that I plan on having to change the rears twice as often as the fronts. The conti dw has a 340 treadwear which is pretty amazing for a max perf. tire so that should help with not having to change them quite as frequently.
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      08-30-2009, 11:17 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimD View Post
I had my wheels off today (painting the calipers) and looked at the tires. The wear rating was 240 (Goodyears). It seems like that may be higher than some of you with quick replacements.

My SUV is my first independant rear end rear wheel drive vehicle. My 128 is my second. My SUV definitely wears the rears harder. It's interesting to hear Tom say bimmers do to. It seems a little odd but what about swapping the fronts to the rear? I have the sport pack so they are not the same size but I think the fronts are wide enough for the 128. Might not be worth the trouble and slightly odd look but I like it when all 4 wear out at the same time.

Jim
Somehow, I doubt that putting smaller tires on the rear of a RWD car is a good idea, even with only 230 hp. I'd be wary of oversteer, plus even more of a F/R wear differential. I also have the NCT5s and frankly, I'm happy with 24,000 miles out of a pair of rear tires.

On my Z4, I rotated the OEM tires (non staggered 225/45WR17) once at 16,000 miles and got nearly 30,000 miles out of the set - and these were the Bridgestone 050A RFTs that all our 135i brethen love to complain about.

Tom
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      08-30-2009, 02:32 PM   #27
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yeah thanks....i was actually kind of planning to take a closer look also.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom K. View Post
X97, are you sure you need to replace all 4 tires? Why not invest $5 in a tread depth gauge so you don't have to rely on the dealer? I say that as every BMW I've owned has worn the rear tires just about twice as quickly as the fronts. So I plan to buy 2 OEM RFT tires for the rear (but not from a dealer - check Tire Rack or a local tire shop) when the originals on my 128i go at about 24,000 miles (no less than 2/32" tread depth across the tires).

Tom
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      08-30-2009, 02:34 PM   #28
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Questions:

Does the tire pressure monitoring system still work if you do not have Run Flats?

Also -- what do you guys do if you DO HAVE A FLAT with one of the non-run flats? that is my concern....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartikus View Post
I couldnt wait to get those runflats off my car. My tire replacements came around 15k if I remember correctly.
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      08-30-2009, 02:35 PM   #29
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Same question for you,
Questions:

what do you do if you DO HAVE A FLAT with one of the non-run flats? that is my concern.... obviously id like to save a few bucks with traditional tires, but i don't want to be stuck with a flat
Thanks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oasis3582 View Post
Tire Rack - buy non-RFTs for a ton cheaper.
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      08-30-2009, 04:34 PM   #30
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The TPM senders are contained within each wheel and don't care what kind of tires are mounted. And without a spare or RFTs, do what touring motorcyclists do - carry a small 12 volt compressor and plug kit. In my 128i, they easily fit beside the battery.

Tom
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      11-16-2009, 04:31 PM   #31
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I read on one of the other threads that Tire Rack is coming out with RFTs by Kuhmo in early 2010. Gotta be better than the OEMs.
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      11-16-2009, 05:04 PM   #32
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that's all good and wonderful but come trade in time I imagine that without the little star on the sidewalls like the bridgestones have the dealer will try to say no to these tires too
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