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[Ralph123x]

Hey all,

I have a 2012 BMW 128i M-Sports.

I just got new tires (Came as staggered):

GEN GENERAL GMAX AS05
205 /50 R17 93W XL BSW (Front)
225 /45 R17 91W SL BSW (Rear)

Previously, it had run-flats.

With the new tires, car feels great on low speed, however, when I reach 90 mph, it starts to feel very... wobbly/bouncy?

With run-flats, I could reach 120 mph, and I could go straight smoothly. Now, I reach 90 and the steering is VERY sensitive. Like if I go even a little left, car starts going left fast, and I can't bring it back right smoothly without the car starts wobbling left and right. I'm not sure if I'm describing it correctly, but "bouncy" is probably the right description.

I checked the PSI. I'm doing 35 PSI front, 38 PSI rear. My manual recommended 36/44 if I drive over 100 mph... but when I had it at 36/42, that was way more bouncy so I had to bring it back to 35/38. It helped a little but the bounciness remains.

Any ideas?

[NorthernDancer]

https://www.roadrunnerbmw.org/

Join BMWCCA; meet the members. Must be a few who have a 1 series. We're all car crazy. If you were here, we could put on a 2nd set of wheels I have. I bet your problem is tires or balance.

[tracer bullet]

Directional tires on backwards?

Slightly different size widened the track width a little, and changed how you fit in the inevitable W shape the roads take on?

Alignment (toe) happened to change at the same time even if accidentally?

Tread pattern wants to follow the grooves in the road more than the last set?

[Ralph123x]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

Directional tires on backwards?

Slightly different size widened the track width a little, and changed how you fit in the inevitable W shape the roads take on?

Alignment (toe) happened to change at the same time even if accidentally?

Tread pattern wants to follow the grooves in the road more than the last set?

Just checked the tires direction. It seems these are non-directional tires. All says 'Outside' on the tires.

Do you think an alignment might be a good idea? Don't really want to throw money into something unless necessary.

I have less than 50 miles on these tires, so I'm hoping it settles itself out when it reaches 500 - 1k miles.

But yea, at 50 miles, still feels weird.

[tracer bullet]

I really think it might just be the tire tread... Theoretically the tires are the only thing that changed...

An alignment check is rarely a bad idea, I would suggest it. Toe is the angle the front tires are pointing - dead straight, slightly in, or slightly out. Toe issues can make the car want to change directions with practically no input as the tires sort of take turns being the one that points straight while the other tries to pull a new direction.

Were your old tires worn funny at all? That might be an indicator.

[Ralph123x]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

I really think it might just be the tire tread... Theoretically the tires are the only thing that changed...

An alignment check is rarely a bad idea, I would suggest it. Toe is the angle the front tires are pointing - dead straight, slightly in, or slightly out. Toe issues can make the car want to change directions with practically no input as the tires sort of take turns being the one that points straight while the other tries to pull a new direction.

Were your old tires worn funny at all? That might be an indicator.

Yea exactly. Tires are the only thing that changed. And one other thing that changed was I was running 32 PSI/35 PSI on my RFTs. Now I'm doing 35 PSI/38 PSI. I don't know if 3 PSIs would make that much difference.

And gotcha about alignment. Would the toe issue be caught during an alignment test?

If the problem doesn't improve after 500 miles, I'll get an alignment.

I am not too sure about old tires unfortunately. They are Goodyear Eagle RFTs or something. I bought this car 8 months so I don't know the history too well.

Thanks for all your help so far!

[Almuliman]

Yes, an alignment includes toe (just had mine done yesterday). Don't know how many miles you have on your car, but it may just be worth getting an alignment in any case to eliminate that as a possibility. Should be around $200.

[Blau]

Since no one said it, try taking the wheels off and re centering them. Are you on spacers or aftermarket wheels? Make sure they're hub centric and when you put the wheels back on you make sure they're on correctly.

This sounds like the issue. I'd still consider an alignment though if it's been a while.

[am135i]

I just put on some new Pirelli P Zeros and have felt the same thing, I put it down to tread design picking up the groves in the road.

[Ralph123x]

Originally Posted by WeShallCallHerBlau

Since no one said it, try taking the wheels off and re centering them. Are you on spacers or aftermarket wheels? Make sure they're hub centric and when you put the wheels back on you make sure they're on correctly.

This sounds like the issue. I'd still consider an alignment though if it's been a while.

No spacers. Just stock 17" rims.

Originally Posted by am135i

I just put on some new Pirelli P Zeros and have felt the same thing, I put it down to tread design picking up the groves in the road.

Hmm... I see. How many miles have you had on the wheels to far? I think it gets better after 500 miles.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Fer123x

Yea exactly. Tires are the only thing that changed. And one other thing that changed was I was running 32 PSI/35 PSI on my RFTs. Now I'm doing 35 PSI/38 PSI. I don't know if 3 PSIs would make that much difference.

And gotcha about alignment. Would the toe issue be caught during an alignment test?

If the problem doesn't improve after 500 miles, I'll get an alignment.

I am not too sure about old tires unfortunately. They are Goodyear Eagle RFTs or something. I bought this car 8 months so I don't know the history too well.

Thanks for all your help so far!

Definitely drop the pressures to whatever they say on the door. 3psi can definitely make a big difference. How often before you put these tires on were you traveling at speed?

From what you describe sounds like the suspension is too soft

[Ralph123x]

Originally Posted by chris82

Definitely drop the pressures to whatever they say on the door. 3psi can definitely make a big difference. How often before you put these tires on were you traveling at speed?

From what you describe sounds like the suspension is too soft

Yea, that sounds good. I would love to drop it back to 32/35 PSI as labeled on the door. However, my manual says 36/44 if I ever drive over 100 mph.

If I have it at 32/35, and occasionally go over 100 mph, how dangerous would that be?

[WeryPert1]

Not sure if it's the same thing, but my car felt very 'squirrely' when I ditched the runflats for Pirelli P-Zero Nero GT summer tires.

Replacing the RSFB's made a huge difference for me. I had been pretty unhappy/disappointed with the handling of the car since I bought it, but replacing the RSFB's made me realize there was still hope. Supposedly BMW chose to make the OEM RSFB's squishy to offset the harshness of the runflat tires. I went with the 2-pc Whitelines, but honestly, anything will be an improvement over stock.

But that did not resolve all of my issues. My car handled / felt great on asphalt and surface streets but on our grooved Socal freeways it was still tramlining badly, darting left/right without rhyme or reason - not a comfortable feeling at freeway speeds. Figured it was just the shape of the tire treads interacting badly with the grooved concrete. I was also figuring an alignment might help but before I got a chance to try that I got an unrepairable puncture in one of the tires.... and decided to buy all new wheels AND new tires.

So the solution to my issues were new RSFB's and new tires. 2nd time I went with Conti DWS06+ All-Season tires, which I've had and loved on other vehicles. They are awesome tires.

[Ralph123x]

I made an appointment this Thursday to change these general tires out for: 'CON EXTREME CONTACT DWS06 PLUS' (205/50/R17, 225/45/R17).

Hopefully this fixes the problem. Really not enjoying the wobbliness.

[Ralph123x]

I'll conclude my thread with this: The new tires feel MUCH BETTER and they've only been on for 50 miles. I guess the lesson learned is never cheap out on tires.

[BMWCCA1]

I switched my 18's from track tires to DWS06 and felt I'd lost most of the amazing direct feedback from my E82 that I'd enjoyed so much. Amazingly, after less than 200-miles, either the tires broke-in or my hands and brain adjusted and we are now once again at peace in one of the best-handling BMWs ever produced.

I will at some time reinstall the stock 17s and their DW06 to see if it gets even better.

[choboy9242]

I think one thing to keep in mind is also the oils on the top thin layer of a new tire?
I hear there needs to be a break in period of getting to fresh rubber before feeling it.
I felt a little slippery when I went from RFT to Ventus V12's, i've had these tires a few times on my last car, grippy as hell after a few hundred miles.

[BMWCCA1]

Yeah, and I have I have at least three other BMWs with DWS106 without any regrets.