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[btgM3]

Question.... Just found out today from the dealer I have a nail in my front driver side tire, and a bubble on the inner wall of the rear passenger side tire. I have a 2007 335i sport with the style 189 wheels and the OEM. Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT's. The tires only have 12500 miles on them.

Would it be OK to replace just the 2 problem tires, or do I need to replace all 4 given the placement of the 2 damaged tires? The dealer is trying to push me to take all 4, but the tires only have 12500 miles.

What do I do....would there be any difference in handling with only 2 new tires???? Im really stuck here.......

[methodtim]

You always need to replace tires in pairs because you don't want uneven wear b/t two tires. Since your front and rear tires are different widths, you have to replace all four.

[Noc57]

Ditch the RF's and get some michelin's, unless you don't mind spending $400-500 for one tire.

I had side wall bubbling in two of my RF's, dealer wanted $1000 ($500 each!)....I laughed and went with a better alternative.

[malave53]

Originally Posted by btg335i

Question.... Just found out today from the dealer I have a nail in my front driver side tire, and a bubble on the inner wall of the rear passenger side tire. I have a 2007 335i sport with the style 189 wheels and the OEM. Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT's. The tires only have 12500 miles on them.

Would it be OK to replace just the 2 problem tires, or do I need to replace all 4 given the placement of the 2 damaged tires? The dealer is trying to push me to take all 4, but the tires only have 12500 miles.

What do I do....would there be any difference in handling with only 2 new tires???? Im really stuck here.......

Yup you need four new tires. I would try to get away with a T-Patch for the nail. ETD did a great job on patching my runflats. As for the bubble, its got to go. If one tire is shot at 12,500 miles, you're gonna need a new one for the other side of the axle too. Always replace em' in pairs.

DONT go through the dealer! They will rob you. Look at your options with non-runflats vs runflats. Do a search and you'll see the pro's and con's. Its really personal preference.

I was in the same boat as you. Bubble in the R/F and R/R. So I had to get four new tires, and I opted for the OEM replacement Potenza runflats. Spent $1400.00 from tirerack.com! Installation was free as I work in a tire shop. 225/40/18's and 255/35/18's took me 2 hours with another person on a non-low pro machine!

Again, the nail is up to you. Technically you "shouldn't" plug or patch a RFT, but you can get away with it so long as the puncture is no bigger than 1/4". Also did you drive around with the nail with the TPMS light on for more than 50 miles? If so, the RFT has been compromised.

**As for your handling question, you should never replace just one tire on the drive axle. The difference between thread depth's is not good for the differential. If you replaced just one in the front, it would mess up steering.

As a tip, I always carry two jacks. If you have a rear wheel drive car, and a full size spare in your trunk and get a flat in the rear, jack up the back and front. If you have the same sized tire around all four corners providing even tread wear, swap the front tire with the flat and put the full size spare in the front.

[noro]

Do Not Get Tires From A Dealer.

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Originally Posted by methodtim

You always need to replace tires in pairs because you don't want uneven wear b/t two tires. Since your front and rear tires are different widths, you have to replace all four.

If you don't replace the pair, you get drag right? Can someone explain this to me please?

I had a nail in my tire and my local dealer said that both didn't need to be replaced because the tire still had plenty of tread.


OP, If you are going to replace your tires. I recommend Tire Rack.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by noro

Do Not Get Tires From A Dealer.

+1

[methodtim]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

If you don't replace the pair, you get drag right? Can someone explain this to me please?

I had a nail in my tire and my local dealer said that both didn't need to be replaced because the tire still had plenty of tread.


OP, If you are going to replace your tires. I recommend Tire Rack.

This is the way it was explained to me. If you have tires on the same axle with significantly different levels on tread, it could cause alignment issues, rough and uneven ride, and it could cause undue wear and tear on both tires.

From a common sense perspective, it doesn't make much sense to replace one tire and get yourself in a situation where you're always going to have uneven tread on your tires since you'll have to replace the worn one sooner than the new one.

I've always just taken it as a given that tires come in pairs.

[smallseafishie]

I think you'll be all right just replacing your two tires assuming you didn't do any aggressive tire wearing maneuvers. I compared my tread a 10kish miles vs a new one and it wasn't that much wear. Even at 20k miles now... the wear is not that bad.

but +1 on not replacing at the dealer.

They'll rape you!

[poiney]

I think it is fine to replace only two tires and it's better for the environment anyway, or patch if you can.

As someone said, that leaves you replacing tires more frequently, but on the other hand, if you get another random flat you won't be totally annoyed about having to replace another two tires!

Since it is also not recommended to rotate tires, I think the same effect is true that you will have a slightly less perfect ride, but nothing is perfect anyway, particularly RFTs to begin with. And anyway, there isn't consensus on tire rotation either which shows you that it can't be that important.

Arguments about the alignment and differential being damaged sound like comments made by the dealers that are either after selling more tires or CYA in case you end up complaining later about your differential or alignment, etc.

[stressdoc]

Originally Posted by Noc57

Ditch the RF's and get some michelin's, unless you don't mind spending $400-500 for one tire.

I had side wall bubbling in two of my RF's, dealer wanted $1000 ($500 each!)....I laughed and went with a better alternative.

Silver lining in your cloud -- get on tire rack and order some non-rft Michelin PS2s. This will transform your car. It will ride much more comfortably and handle better.

[DenverJayhawk]

tirerack.com

[SoYank]

If you replace all four tires and there is significant tread left on the undamaged one you should keep them (if you have personal storage ******* in case you end up with a puncture on the new ones. Mark the stored tires with which corner they came from. You don't want to put a left hand tire on the right side.

I've never heard of a differential being damaged because one tire had less tread. Before getting my BMW I would rotate my (radial) tires fore and aft all the time and the front tires always wore differently. Bias-ply tires would be rotated in a cross pattern, LF-LR, LR-RF, RF-RR, RR-LF.

[tomswift]

I have some experience with RFT flats.. I have replaced 3 for flats and 4 for wear. I also patched one. The dealer replaced the 3 and never recommended replacing the other tire. I had no problems and could tell no difference in handling. I replaced all 4 at 24,000 miles. The last one was a small nail center tread. I had it patched and plugged at Discount tire and have had no problems. Tom

[btgM3]

Thanks for all the responses and advice. I wound up going to my local dealer and asked them to take a look. As it turns out, I had a bubble in each of the rear tires and the nail in the front...so long story short, I just went ahead and replaced all 4 (knowing 3 definately needed replacement). I kept the front passenger side for a the future if needed or possibly to sell......if anyone interested??? Got a decent deal $1300 for all 4 tires, balanced and installed. Kinda pissed though b/c I could have saved myself a ton of cash by getting some really non-rft's, but my lease is up in another year and a half so I figured just go with the OEM's b/c I'll have to put them back on anyway. I only put 12500 mile on the first half of my 3yr lease, so I pretty confident I'll have these to the end (providing no more bubbles or nails). If all went well, I'd have to replace at least 1 set by the end of the lease.

Last question...anyone have any experience getting tire insurance after the initial purchase of the car?? I this something I have to go to BMW for, or can I check with my insurance company?

[TofuTurkey]

Originally Posted by btg335i

I only put 12500 mile on the first half of my 3yr lease, so I pretty confident I'll have these to the end (providing no more bubbles or nails). If all went well, I'd have to replace at least 1 set by the end of the lease.

Last question...anyone have any experience getting tire insurance after the initial purchase of the car?? I this something I have to go to BMW for, or can I check with my insurance company?

I bought tire and wheel insurance from Paragon Motor Club. It's about $28 a year, I clarified with them that non-RFT and aftermarket tires are allowed. I took my original wheels + tires off till the end of lease.

I had a ripped sidewall and replaced the non-RFT tire, it cost me $190. Made a claim, submitted the receipt, and I got a check from Paragon. I can't believe it, only 28 bucks.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by TofuTurkey

I bought tire and wheel insurance from Paragon Motor Club. It's about $28 a year, I clarified with them that non-RFT and aftermarket tires are allowed. I took my original wheels + tires off till the end of lease.

I had a ripped sidewall and replaced the non-RFT tire, it cost me $190. Made a claim, submitted the receipt, and I got a check from Paragon. I can't believe it, only 28 bucks.

I paid like $599 for 5 years