Tires

[blondboinsd]

Ok as many of you know I am not super good at this stuff, when do you really need to replace the tires? I have 20k miles on my X5 and I'm unsure when I should replace them?

Its a 3.0i with sport pkg ('05 (I think)

I also was wondering how much they cost?

[cmyX6go]

Unless you're doing burnouts you don't need tires at 20K miles. What do the tread depths look like?

[blondboinsd]

Whats that?

[cmyX6go]

Originally Posted by blondboinsd

Whats that?

You're kidding, right? Look at the tires - you will see grooves - the tread depth is the depth of the grooves compared to the surface that actually hits the road. There is a coin test, with a penny I think that determines if you need tires. I'm not sure where on the penny the tread is supposed to hit though.

[longodj]

There are also bar..type...things in the tire that when the treads get worn down you'll see, they run perpendicular to the direction of the tire.

[blondboinsd]

oh you mean those little things the water goes into and helps you get traction? I told you I don't know anything about this stuff, why do you think I picked a car where they do everything for me

[Driver8]

BBnSD - Odds are that your 2004-2006 E53 X5 w/ SPP came with the 255/55R18 Michelin MXV tires, a hardy and long-wearing tire. I'd wager that you aren't particularly hard on tires. Assuming you have these tires and drive fairly sensibly, It's probably a fair assumption that you have another 20,000 to 40,000 worth of tire life remaining, just guessing, of course. If you're unsure, take it to a full-service gas station next fill-up (or a tire shop) and have the pump jockey check it with a tread depth gauge...it should be more than 4/32" and I'd bet it's probably 8/32" or more (they're 10/32" new).

[X5Andrew]

Here is a good site to read up on.

http://www.carcare.org/Tires_Wheels/tread.shtml

Have a look at that.

[blondboinsd]

Its going in for service so I'll have them check it then