Opinions on new front tyres (tram lining)
 

Hi all,

I was just after some opinions on changing the front tyres on my factory 20" 214's. Basically I have been experiencing some pretty bad tram lining. The car just wanders all over the road and its very unpleasant. I had a wheels alignment done recently (it was way out) but that didnt really help at all. I have since swapped my wheels back to the 18's I had on it originally (they look terrible).

I was speaking to a mate of mine this morning and he has 19's on his X5 and was experiencing the same thing in regards to tram lining. He got a new set of tyres on the front and now says its brilliant.

On the 214's I am running Bridgestone Dueler RFTs. The front are becoming quiet worn so was thinking, would changing them to brand new tyres alleviate the tram lining. I was just after some opinions as it would cost me about $800 to change the tyres, and if you guys think there will be no difference then I wouldn't go ahead with changing them.

A wider tire will always tramline (follow ruts) more than its narrower counterpart. Unfortunately that's just the way it is.

If you have uneven wear between tires you could experience radial tire pull....but it doesnt sound to be the case here.

Further piece of info, I spoke to a guy recently who had the exact same X5 as mine with replica 214's. He said he didnt experience tram lining at all.

which X5 do You have? 3.0 ,4.4,4.6,4.8 ?

There isn't just one cause, although wider tires have a higher propensity to tramlines.

You have checked alignment, which is always the best place to start.

Different designs of the same size tire will react differently. Same with different tread compounds.

Worn tires will be worse than new tires.

So, it is worth trying replacement tires, but no guarantees on whether it will be 100% afterwards.

I have a 3.0D

sounds like a E70 , which year? no run flats, if they are , they run hard o the road, I have a E53 4.6 ,I have michellin latitudes 10" in the front 11" on the back stock 20"for the X5 4.6is, they roll but when You are driving hard on the freeways it handles great.

Its a 2004 E53 with the E70 214's on it.

we have discount tire direct here in the states,great online store[they also have tire stores in the west] go online and see what tires they recomand good luck.

Have you checked ALL of your front suspension components? Did you get the tracking done only, or did you have the geometry checked? Also, it would pay to get the rears done as well. They are pushing the vehicle from behind and so if the alignment is out at the back you can get problems at the front. Suspension-wise, ANY ONE single minor discrepancy can cause all sorts of problems with these motors.

Also, you didn't say what it was like since you changed back to 18's.. Are we to assume you have no issues (at all) when the 18's are on?