Tires
 

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?

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

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.

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.

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 :(

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).

Here is a good site to read up on.

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

Have a look at that. :thumbup:

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