BMW awards Bridgestone OE contract for X5M and X6M

July 04, 2009
Bridgestone Corp. is supplying BMW North America LLC with Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport RFT (run-flat tires) for the new 2009 BMW M automobiles.

With OE fitments on the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M, every class of vehicle manufactured by BMW is riding on a Bridgestone-brand tire. According to Mike Martini, president of the original equipment consumer tire sales division for the United States and Canada for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO, the majority of those fitments "are our run-flat tires."

The Bridgestone plant in Tosu, Japan, will be supplying the tires for the X5 M and X6 M, which will be produced in BMW’s Spartanburg, S.C., facility. The fitment sizes are:

Front: 275/40R20 106Y (Extra Load), and

Rear: 315/35R20 110Y (Extra Load).

Bridgestone-brand run-flat tires are based on the company's proprietary SSR (Self Supporting Run-flat) system, which features a special rubber sidewall reinforcement to carry the weight of the vehicle when the tire is deflated. When an RFT tire loses air, a tire pressure monitoring system notifies the driver of air loss.

In the event of a sudden loss of air pressure, run-flat tires give drivers the ability to travel up to 50 miles at 50 mph to a safe location.