[jay-rock]

I bought this car 4 weeks ago and the front two tires need to be replaced. They're over 7 years old and tread is low. They are Continental DWS. The rear tires are Continental DWS 06 and still have decent tread. Washington's head on a quarter goes into the tread.

I live in FL so any benefit from snow traction with the Conti's is useless to me so I want to replace the front two tires with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's. Since the Continental DWS 06 and Michelin Pilot Sport A/S's are both All Season, this should be ok, right? Or would I be better off keeping things the same with the Continental DWS 06 on front and rear?

[tlow98]

Always better off with a fully matched set for handling and braking in an extreme situation. The DWS 06 and A/S 3 are very similar in function - no real advantage with the Michelin imo. I’ve owned both

[jay-rock]

Thanks for that info. The Conti’s are a little cheaper so that’s good.

I’m assuming they’ll put the new ones on the rear. Since the rear will have more tread, do I still rotate, or keep the ones with more tread always on the rear? Only rotate side to side?

[adam_c]

Since you have an xdrive, it's not usually a good idea to run different tire types, especially different tire sizes and wear levels

[jay-rock]

I’ve read as long as the tread level is within 3% the xdrive is fine?

[adam_c]

It's an AWD thing not just xdrive, how can you tell it's within 3% though, uneven size tires puts huge strain on the drive train

My BMW is RWD for this exact reason, I have an AWD SUV for those real shit days

[jay-rock]

Well if I could get a precise measurement of what the tread is now and what the new tread depth is I could figure out if it would be within 3%.

You think I should just go with all new set of 4?

[adam_c]

In the end, 4 tires is cheaper than a new drive train (depending on what broke)

But it's up to you

[jay-rock]

Right now the tread is noticeably different on front and back. Not sure what percent difference. Do you think I could be straining my drive train now?

I just had transfer case fluid changed and it was quite black...if that means anything

[jay-rock]

Just read on another post that 2/32 difference in tread depth is the limit for xdrive to function correctly. If that’s true, I need 4 new tires.

[adam_c]

Probably the better choice, it’s not just about tread depth, also the diameters of the tires need to be somewhat equal and not all tire manufactures are the same despite what their tires say as that only accounts for the diameter and side wall

[jt335i]

Better to replace all 4 tires as what others have said.
Can’t go wrong with either Continental or Michelin so it’s up to you and your budget.
I went with Michelins and have the A/S 3s on my 2005 Stang GT, and on my 2010 E92 335i, I recently replaced the second set of Michelin PSSs with the new Pilot Sport 4S. Both types are better than the OEM tires and my rides have greater handling, as well as, better grip on wet and dry roads.
Thought about ordering through Tire Rack, but I went local and got great deals on them via Discount Tire.

Good luck with whichever you choose.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by adam_c

Probably the better choice, it’s not just about tread depth, also the diameters of the tires need to be somewhat equal and not all tire manufactures are the same despite what their tires say as that only accounts for the diameter and side wall

this.


look up the revolutions per mile and I'd bet they're a bit different.

I would not mix manufacturers with the xdrive.
if you ever need to buy one tire it needs to be scrubbed to a matching tread depth.

[jay-rock]

I just found out the two rear tires only have about 7,000 miles on them. I'm going to pick up a tread depth gauge today. If the tread depth is like 7/32 and new Conti's are 10/32, what about having Tire Rack shave off 3/32 to make them even?

Tread life is supposed to be good on these DWS 06's and to just throw 2 good ones out irks me.

[TemjinX2]

always best to have matching tires and tread. With that said, if your just putting around in traffic all day, it should be fine. Obviously you should not do any spirited driving in that condition.

I would replace the rears ASAP but you should be ok for a short time.

I disagree with other people statements about the tires possibly damaging the awd. The bmw awd is relatively robust, the 335xi people are doing 600hp on the stock xdrive. I doubt mismatched tires would cause its down fall.

[jay-rock]

Just measured them. Front's are at 4/32's. Rear's at 8/32's. Its been operating with a 4/32's difference. Most of the conservative estimates I've read have said 3/32's difference is safe.

https://www.lesschwab.com/article/re...d-vehicle.html

The new Conti's should be 11/32's at the most. I'm going with two new Conti's and putting faith in the xdrive to handle the 3/32's difference.

[nsjames]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

always best to have matching tires and tread. With that said, if your just putting around in traffic all day, it should be fine. Obviously you should not do any spirited driving in that condition.

I would replace the rears ASAP but you should be ok for a short time.

I disagree with other people statements about the tires possibly damaging the awd. The bmw awd is relatively robust, the 335xi people are doing 600hp on the stock xdrive. I doubt mismatched tires would cause its down fall.

it will.

putting 600hp through it is a lot different than asking the two driveshafts to rotate at different speeds.

[adam_c]

Best case scenario, you get strange performance and weird tire wear

Worst case you snap a drive shaft, the differential breaks or the entire transmission goes, the more likely scenario is the differential would break (if it's worse case)

[jay-rock]

Audi says 4/32’s difference. Do you think xdrive would be that much different than Quattro?

[adam_c]

Like I said before, it's not just about tread depth, tires are different sizes as a whole

the xx/32 would be the same tire from the same manufacturer

You bought an AWD BMW, if ~$500 for tires is too much you should have gotten something different, not trying to be a dick

[jay-rock]

Oh I see.

Well I stuck with the Conti dws 06, so they’ll be same manufacturer, just tiny different tread depth.

[nsjames]

I had a pair of 5,000 mile conti dws on some wheels I got. I matched them with new. I put the new on the rear, after 3K miles they are nearly even tread wear. The used ones were about 1/32 worn.
that will be fine.
just don't mix and match manufacturers.