Time to change the tires...........

[LeiZ]

Bought a set of 4 in 2009, so far has put 50K on it. Time to change them anyway. But how far can it still last? The budget is kinda tight recently.

Here's the pics. Pay attention to the inner. Either neg camber or excessive toe killed the tire.

[Ricky Bobby]

Its excessive toe.

Zero out the toe on your next alignment, and be sure your rear suspension components are in good shape. the wishbone control arm and lower ball joint are the biggest culprits in the rear which allows the alignment to go out.

Either way 50k is good for a set of meats, what size wheels/tires do you run? You're in CT so are you running winter tires too or are those year round meats?

I have Toyo Proxes STII year round on my staggered 20" 168's, they work great for me in the Jerz, aren't too pricey, those definitely don't look like 315's though so you may be able to get a decently affordable set.

[LeiZ]

Thanks RB. I think the dealer won't "Zero" out the camber & toe, but to set to factory setting. I'll have to ask them to adjust to the minimum Camber & Toe.

I'm running factory original size 235/65-17 all year round.

Do you have any link to the wishbone control arm and lower ball joint DIY? How hard is it?

Thanks for the input!

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

Its excessive toe.

Zero out the toe on your next alignment, and be sure your rear suspension components are in good shape. the wishbone control arm and lower ball joint are the biggest culprits in the rear which allows the alignment to go out.

Either way 50k is good for a set of meats, what size wheels/tires do you run? You're in CT so are you running winter tires too or are those year round meats?

I have Toyo Proxes STII year round on my staggered 20" 168's, they work great for me in the Jerz, aren't too pricey, those definitely don't look like 315's though so you may be able to get a decently affordable set.

[Ricky Bobby]

I wouldn't go to the dealer then, but that is just me. Way overpriced and they could care less about our 10-13 year old E53's, the dealer would rather we be leasing a new Bimmer. Just my experience, an indy shop with a good Hawkeye Elite machine can dial the alignment in as you want it, all other measurements should be in spec but you should get the toe close to zero in the rear.

For the rear wishbone, if you take the rear wheel off its extremely easy as its right in front of you, just unbolt the old and bolt in the new. Probably takes more time to unclip the plastic piece that routes the brake line and ABS sensor than to replace the actual wishbone arm.

This is what the wishbone looks like:



As for the ball joint here is a video of the removal/install:

BMW 5 Series (E39) 1997-2003 - Rear ball joint DIY, how to remove and install - YouTube

Special tool is needed as it will make the job 10x easier, and to be honest you can probably use a Harbor Freight tool but at $130 this tool is not too expensive and probably sellable/rentable to someone on the forums when you are done.

BMW Rear Ball Joint Bushing Tool E38 E39 E52 E53 E60 E61 E63 E64 E65 E66 E67 E70 | eBay

[LeiZ]

Thanks a lot, RB. Sounds a DIYable job for me. Is there any way to check if it's still good or on its way out? Town Fair Tire just confirmed they can do it, both Front and Rear. $69.99. Dealer? $169.99.

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

I wouldn't go to the dealer then, but that is just me. Way overpriced and they could care less about our 10-13 year old E53's, the dealer would rather we be leasing a new Bimmer. Just my experience, an indy shop with a good Hawkeye Elite machine can dial the alignment in as you want it, all other measurements should be in spec but you should get the toe close to zero in the rear.

For the rear wishbone, if you take the rear wheel off its extremely easy as its right in front of you, just unbolt the old and bolt in the new. Probably takes more time to unclip the plastic piece that routes the brake line and ABS sensor than to replace the actual wishbone arm.

This is what the wishbone looks like:



As for the ball joint here is a video of the removal/install:

BMW 5 Series (E39) 1997-2003 - Rear ball joint DIY, how to remove and install - YouTube

Special tool is needed as it will make the job 10x easier, and to be honest you can probably use a Harbor Freight tool but at $130 this tool is not too expensive and probably sellable/rentable to someone on the forums when you are done.

BMW Rear Ball Joint Bushing Tool E38 E39 E52 E53 E60 E61 E63 E64 E65 E66 E67 E70 | eBay

[Ricky Bobby]

This is kind of a double edged sword, but usually if the alignment shop can't get the camber into spec, you have a worn suspension item in the rear needing replacement.

My rear is all original except for subframe bushings now, and my rear left was able to be set to -1.9 (within spec) but the lowest the tech could get my right rear was -2.9 (out of spec), so I know I have some worn items to replace back there. I got my alignment done a year ago, but I had the tech set toe to 0 on both sides in the rear and my tires have worn evenly since then, so I'm not in a rush to do it (and pay for another alignment), I just know its something to tend to in the future.

If you jack up the air springs in the rear (if you don't have air springs then just jack up the spring perch to take the pre-load off the springs), to take pre-load off then you can do the jiggle the wheel test and see if you have any play.

For what its worth as well, even though my right rear camber was not able to be set in spec there was no issue to set my toe to zero, so the items of wear are not all interconnected (i.e. if your camber was out you'd have to change the guide link which sets the toe, etc)

Most make the mistake by jiggling the wheel with the suspension pre-loaded and it is tight as can be, even though parts are worn. Hope that helps!

[nebilex]

Originally Posted by LeiZ

Thanks a lot, RB. Sounds a DIYable job for me. Is there any way to check if it's still good or on its way out? Town Fair Tire just confirmed they can do it, both Front and Rear. $69.99. Dealer? $169.99.

Town fair tire can do the alignment? the one by me told me they don't do the alignment on all german cars because it has specific things the car needs... something about full thank of gas and some other weight in order to properly do the alignment.

[LeiZ]

What they said was correct. You have to have 60kg on both driver side and mid back seat, plus a full tank of gas. But by adjusting the toe and camber, their equipment is good enough to do it.

They just did mine. $75 after tax. Now it's back to straight again. I did asked the guy to change the toe to zero all round, of course out of spec by BMW std.

Originally Posted by nebilex

Town fair tire can do the alignment? the one by me told me they don't do the alignment on all german cars because it has specific things the car needs... something about full thank of gas and some other weight in order to properly do the alignment.

[davintosh]

Originally Posted by nebilex

Town fair tire can do the alignment? the one by me told me they don't do the alignment on all german cars because it has specific things the car needs... something about full thank of gas and some other weight in order to properly do the alignment.

Some alignment shops just have an irrational fear of German cars. I got the same runaround when I first looked for an alignment on my e32; "We don't have the special weights that BMW requires for an alignment." The funny part of that is the only thing that's adjustable on the e32 is toe in/out on the front wheels. What? No wrenches that can adjust tie rods?

[Daka]

As far as new tires, it depends on what you are looking for, Quiet? Soft ride? etc
I get a "read" from the TIRE RACK site...
I had Michelin MXV 4's and at 1/4 tread left they got very noisy, I replaced them with Yokohama Avid Envigor, now with about 5000 miles on them they are still very quiet and nice riding....absolutely changed the feel of the truck...great...and good value