Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Bigiggs]

So I took my car in today for routine inspection, no big deal.
Everything checked out okay (no funky stuff), however my CA tells me that my rear tires have about 2.2 mm left of tread.

The car has 18K miles and I tend to obey speed limits and avoid excess tire wear, however I do have those days where I enjoy a spirited drive. I realize there are many variables/moving pieces to this question (driving conditions, weather, driving styles, etc..)

when did you guys/gals initially swap out the PSSs?

edit: I just remembered I have Bridgestones, but same question applies . Thanks!

[MuNkY6913]

My stocks lasted till 18k. Now I buy cheapo's that last the summer for the rear and the front is every two years. Had falken 245 last summer and they were shot after about 6-7k. Federal ss is what I got this year at ~$90 a piece for 255. 7-8k on them now. Lasted really well so far this summer still quite a bit of tread left. For the price they perform really well too. Unless I find something cheaper, pretty sure these are going to be my go to tires from now on.

[bradleyland]

I only managed about 14K per set out of the rears on my 135i. The problem is the torque that the car generates. Turbocharged cars are notorious for eating tires because of the low RPM torque swell.

[e90post_user]

On my previous E90 335i x-Drive the original conti's ssr rft tires lasted for 34K miles and still had enough thread left when I returned the lease.

[bbbbmw]

The dealer replaced my first set of rear tires before I bought it CPO, at 11.5k miles. Those rears now have 17k, and are nearly worn out. Fronts seem to last 2x as long.

[Bama335]

pretty aggressive factory rear camber + low treadwear tires + 300HP is not conducive to long lasting tires.

I got 13K out of my vert tires, rears were at wear bars, fronts at 4/32

I'm betting it'll be 10K or less for the "is" which is fine, as that means PSS will be replacing the Bridgestones

[TheCaptain]

I was always curious about this myself. I got mine with new bridgestone rft all around and the rears lasted about 7k, so I put on a pair of Conti DWs and they lasted about 8k. I picked up a pair of hankook ventus for cheap and they are going on today. The fronts now have 15kmi and they are just past 50% worn.

What are everyone's thoughts on the effect of having a DCT? With the sport button on it really slams into gear, especially the 1-2 shift, would this cause a significant effect on tire wear over time?

[Diver]

I have 12.7k on my Dunlop run flats. The right rear tire is almost worn out, the fronts look very good. I could go with a set of PSS for about $250 more than just replacing the rear tires. The PSS would perform better, but if I trade for another BMW (which is likely in the next 12 months) I would get a better trade in with the run flats.

[sixburgh]

Hey, listen to me. Drive the car like you stole it. You have a performance BMW. The BMW 1 series aka e82, was meant to be a head turner for the automotive market and it is. The suspension on a 1 series will chew up any tire. You are driving "top shelf" automotive pleasure. Thanks for your post. I hope you enjoy your choice of car.

[ejm3]

I brought my car in at 22k and they told me i needed new rear tires (stock Dunlop RFT's), which shocked me as I drive the car pretty conservatively.

I milked them to about 27k but I don't drive the car in the rain.

[JimD]

I don't know that it's the torque, I think the large rear camber is a major player. My rear tires wore out much more quickly than the front and I have a 128i. My front wheels are 0.5 inches narrower than the rears but the offset is the same. So I put the rear tire size tires on the front wheels - a square setup - when I got the PSS replacements. Now I rotate from front to back to equalize wear. I don't know if you can do that on a 135i but it might be something to investigate.

[bradleyland]

In any car, the drive wheels will wear faster than the non-drive wheels. It might seem that cornering loads would wear the fronts badly, but in a typical commute, you do far more acceleration/deceleration than you do turning. It is, ultimately, the rate at which you accelerate that will determine how quickly your rears wear out. The 135i has more available torque at a much lower RPM. I don't mean to say that the 135i must wear tires more quickly, just that in practice, it is difficult to resist dipping in to the throttle in order to feel that pull that the typical 135i buyer relishes.

[Kgolf31]

Toe is the wear factor, not camber.

Yes, camber will wear a bit but not to the extent that toe will.

[JimD]

I don't think it's the fact that its drive wheels unless you spin them. I am on my second Suzuki SUV. The first had a solid rear axle, the current has independent rear suspension, like the bimmer. The rear tires on the first one lasted much longer than the front. The rear tires on the current Zuke, like the bimmer, wear faster than the fronts. Something about the independent rear ends (toe?) causes the tires to wear faster.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by JimD

I don't think it's the fact that its drive wheels unless you spin them. I am on my second Suzuki SUV. The first had a solid rear axle, the current has independent rear suspension, like the bimmer. The rear tires on the first one lasted much longer than the front. The rear tires on the current Zuke, like the bimmer, wear faster than the fronts. Something about the independent rear ends (toe?) causes the tires to wear faster.

There are may factors that affect tire wear. Independent vs rear can have an impact depending on the rear setup. As you mentioned, there is no such thing as toe on a solid rear axle, so any IRS setup that includes rear toe will increase wear.

I can assure you, however, that drive wheels impact tire wear to a significant degree, even if you don't spin them. Tires wear during scrub, and scrub occurs any time the tire is loaded. When accelerating, only the drive wheels scrub. When decelerating, the wheels doing the most braking scrub. In a car without a lot of power, or a driver that always accelerates very slowly, it is not uncommon for the fronts to wear faster because they perform the steering of the car, and they perform most of the stopping (upwards of 80% of stopping power comes from the fronts).

[Vigilante375]

I changed out the crappy stock RFTs (only have ~2k miles on them) for some Michelin All-season tires and they have maybe ~18k on them now. Tread life is good and probably are just about broken in. There are a lot of factors that do determine a tires tread life: tire pressure, how you drive, where you drive, suspension setup, type of tire, etc. I don't see many people getting a lot of good life out of their stock RFTs as it seems they are always replacing one because of them just being crappy tires.

But a PSS tire is a high performance tire so what kind of life do you expect? 30k miles? You'll probably get 22k miles out of them, at the most if you very conservative.

[CAVU]

Originally Posted by Vigilante375

But a PSS tire is a high performance tire so what kind of life do you expect? 30k miles? You'll probably get 22k miles out of them, at the most if you very conservative.

I'm only expecting 15K out of my PSSs. I leased my car and put PSSs on at 2K miles. I also bought a dedicated winter wheel/tire/TPMS set. If I burn through those two sets of tires, I suppose I'll slap the stock run flats back on the car if I don't decide to keep it.

[edisapimp]

Previous owner sold me the car with Hankook ventus v12s, which lasted about 20k. I liked them enough to buy another set. They are a very decent tire for the price.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Toe is the wear factor, not camber.

Yes, camber will wear a bit but not to the extent that toe will.

+ 19309

[JimD]

So what should toe be set to for wear to be similar on the rear tires? Why not have it set that way?

I looked up what tire rack says. It says toe in, the tires closer at the front than the back, on the rear contributes to understeer. So making them closer to zero would decrease understeer and reduce wear.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by JimD

So what should toe be set to for wear to be similar on the rear tires? Why not have it set that way?

It's a RWD car, rear tires will always wear out faster.

Personally, I set my car up with a hybrid of 1M and 135i specs. Agressive for a 135i, but mild for a 1M, except for front camber. Tire wear seems.....appropriate. Was surprised when I did my first alignment, toe was at 0.0 at all four corners.

My camber is set to -1.9 degrees at all four corners (1M front arms and Dinan camber plates).

1M specs:
Front:
Toe:+0.02- +0.15 degrees
Camber: -1.58- -1.08 degrees

Rear:
Toe: +0.02- +0.15 degrees
Camber: -2.00- -1.50 degrees

135i specs:
Front:
Toe: +0.05- +0.22 degrees
Camber: -0.80- -0.13 degrees

Rear:
Toe: +0.10- +0.20 degrees
Camber: -1.92- -1.42 degrees

My Specs:

Front:
Toe: +0.06 degrees
Camber: -1.90 degrees

Rear:
Toe: +0.13 degrees
Camber: -1.90 degrees

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by JimD

So what should toe be set to for wear to be similar on the rear tires? Why not have it set that way?

I looked up what tire rack says. It says toe in, the tires closer at the front than the back, on the rear contributes to understeer. So making them closer to zero would decrease understeer and reduce wear.

Nature of a RWD car is that you're going to chew through the rear tires earlier than the fronts.

As well, you need toe in the rear to help put power down. Setting up a car with little to no toe in the rear can lead to great instability during a easy commute on the highway and sometimes downright scary events under an event like braking because you're making that rear end unstable now.

You are correct on the statement about understeer. Personally I have my front toe set to 0, and the rear is around 7 minutes IIRC