Bridgestone runflats going at 17K - replacement ideas?
 

I noticed coming back from my 4K trip last week that my tires were getting noisy. The sound is actually worse on blacktop than concrete. Seems to be getting worse by the day now.

The tires are the 18" Bridgestones. We have Bridgestone RFTs on a 3 series a couple of years ago and had the exact same problem.

I searched the forums here and didn't see too many discussions on what people were replacing the 18" tires with. I do have a spare, so I'd really like to ditch runflats and go back to regular tires.

Interested in what others have done. Also -- can a full-sized spare fit in the well for the spare?

i was wondering the same thing but for 20's??:cool:

I just ordered my 20s and switching from RFLTs to none RFLTs Vredestein, heard nothing but good things about this tires. Until today I´m still running with stock 18s with Dunlops, really noise and I feel every little stone on the street.
Not satisfied with RFLTs, I hope with the change get better results and smoothness rides.

Just changed mine a month ago. I had a problem with my rear tyres wearing more than the front unitl it got to a point where I had to change them.

Changed to Conti Cross Contact UHPs 255/55/18s. The tyre seems great, less road noise, not so harsh a ride as compared to my Dunlop RFTs that came fitted to my X. I would.ve loved keeping to run flats, but unfortunatey when I changed mine there was a shortage of run-flats available in South Africa in the size I needed. If I had to stay with RFTs I would have had to wait for 6-8 weeks for tyres!!!
Glad I didn't though, X is alot less noisy and quite a bit less bumpy....

Go with Michelin's. I had them on my car at delivery, but my wheels were damaged at delivery. The dealer swapped out my wheels and tires. Now, I have those crappy Bridgestone tires and wish I had my Michelin's back. The first thing I noticed when I got on the highway was the tire noise. The Michelin's are quiet and have a much better ride, also handle better...

Craig

The Dunlops 20" are the best of the bunch for runflats, the Bridgestone are way noisier, next best are the Michelin's, have tried them all.

I have found the chunkier the tread pattern the noisier the tyre!

I switched to Dunlop non runflats (21 inch) and found the comfort improvement amazing ! However, these non runflats seem to wear a lot faster !

I have Michelins w/ 29k miles and no noise and still have descent tread

I have ordered some non-runflats to replace my Bridgestones (from the Tire Rack). Should have them installed at the end of the week and I'll report back.

what kind of tires you ordered?

I know the sound you are talking about as I had an E53 2004 sport 4.4 and I had the darndest loud tire noise about 20,000 until I put on new rubber. The kicker here is that the 2004 didn't have runflats. I don't think the runflats are your problem, it's the wider tires and suspension or else why would it have been a problem on a 2004?? I think you'll need to get the tire you want and go for it. If you don't want runflats, fine, but they are not the cause of the tire noise.

As an add on ..... I have 20,000 on my 19 inch runflats and no tire noise and I expect another ( hopefully ) 10,000 miles.

Gene, what brand tire are you running?

Craig

Michelin may be better
 

my E70 3.0 d comes with a stock continental 18" tire
I at about 34kilometer now and it is very noisy as well....

I have hear the Michelin has a much lower noise....
However, we I call up the local tire shop and notice it is
out of stock island wide.....
I do mostly freeway driving and do not do much driving on the winding twisty roads in the moutains....
with about another 3 to 4 mm of tread depth before reaching its indicator mark..... I am going to keep driving until the Michelin is avaliable

Michelin!! How many miles you got on the diesel?? Still liking it??

I currently have 19" Bridgestones RFT on my X5. I have 6200mile (10000km) on the vehicle now and I never notice any tire noise.

I carry tire sealant and small compressor in the truck storage. I heard the Slime sealant stuff is pretty good.
I just came back from Disney World, must have put a good 3500+ miles on it and it was smooth and quiet. Probably the most quiet tires I ever had...

Anyways, I will be changing them over next week to 20" 214 Y-spoke w/ Vredestein Sessanta. Everything I heard was great things about these tires in all conditions, dry, wet and even in the snow. Yep, someone took them out during the first snow fall and they said it still gripped well.
Most likely due to the soft compound of the tires but I also heard that it wears pretty good too.

I have 1700 miles and still like it. I've been driving my Lexus more now that the weather has warmed up. I wish I had my Michelin tires back. The dealer swapped my wheels and tires. 3 of my wheels were damaged at delivery and now I have those crappy Bridgestone tires. I will swap them for Michelin's once I wear out the Bridgestone tires. The diesel got smoother and more power around 1500 miles. My mileage isn't great in the cold weather. 17 city and 24 highway @ 80 MPH. When it warms up, my mileage improves. They switched to summer blended diesel the first of April, but I haven't filled up with any yet. The distributor also told me, they don't mix number 1 with number 2 diesel in the winter anymore. It costs too much is what they told me.

Talk to you later,

Craig

Craig, when you say they don't blend 1 and 2 for winter?? I take it they just make winter fuel by using additives?? I think most distributors in Kansas mix 1 and 2 as the additives really don't work well when it gets really cold. I know some stores don't and when it gets really cold customers rush to the distributors that mix to keep from gelling. We have a store on I70 and have one tank which is all 1 so the customer can blend his fuel any percent he wants. Our other stores just blend.
Glad you are enjoying your D. I have had great luck with my 4.8.
Gene

Gene, you're right, they told me, they do it with an additive package. They also have a summer additive package. I go to a group of stations that sell premium diesel fuel. Cetane rating 49-51. BMW won't allow customers to put their own additives in. It says on the gas cap, no additives. I had no troubles with cold weather this winter. My car does stay in the garage at night. No problems to report so far with my diesel. It runs great and gets decent mileage...

Craig

The diesel X5 gets good fuel consumtion.
I actually get about 30 miles per gallon on the freeway...
Lots of low end torque.... Its a turbo inline six, but it pulls like like a V8.....

However, if you are look for a comfortable ride this may not the one... the ride is stiff... yet with excellent control...

Just replaced my 20" Dunlop Runflats @ 27K - which I was very happy they lasted that long - with Michelin Latitude Tour HP's.

By the way they are whisper quiet. I love them.

Big thanks to Gary @ Tire Rack.

I am the one who started the thread. I replaced my 18" Bridgestone Runflats with General Grabber HTS regular tires. Those tires were highly rated on Tire Rack and Consumer Reports. The best part is the tires were $139 each and have a $50 rebate on the set of four.

I need to break them in and test handling. Initially they are very quiet and also much smoother. Bumps have a softer rubber like feel instead of the firm bumps from the Bridgestones. I can hear the noise of the engine again while driving.

I'll post again after I put some miles on them.

What's the speed rating of your new tires?

Just curious,

Craig

H

Thanks,

Craig

Some 3 series with Bridgestone Turanza EL42 RFT Run Flat Tires had an issue and were replaced under warranty by BMW. There was even an SIB on it.

So far the General tires have been great. Very quiet and handling is very good.

Still have not driven then in the rain, that will be the next test.

How were you able to get such great mileage? Any tips would be appreciated.

Just about Tyres: X5 2007, 19" wheels , I scrapped the Run Flat's and installed Pirelli 255/50R19 Scorpion zero, load index 107 , $560.- each. It's fantastic very very smooth no more bumping all the time and very little noise. Now it is the 125k vehicle.Thanks to Conquest Tyrepower Adelaide, Australia. The owner puts a lot of time in searching for the best tyre. phone 8340 1404

Can we get an update of this Tire, Vredestein, I'm looking at them but would like to hear your input on how they are holding up to expectations.

Denny

That's interesting... pepople have been claiming that 20" Dunlop runs less than 20k miles. At 27k miles, was the Dunlop sport maxx comletely worn out or still has more to go? BTW, How about ride comfort between Dunlop and Michelin since Michelin is Non Run Flat...

My neighbors were worn out at 15,000 miles.

Craig

At 11,600 the inner band of my rears is down below tread depth (inner band is gone...like having slicks) and fronts are getting close (they are both at or just below tread depth indicators evenly across the tires). I think our roads here (high coral content and heat factors) combined with my "spirited" driving have made them go this fast, but none-the-less they are very noisy and I'm playing with replacements. 3rd row seating so no spare for me and barely storage enough room below for a can of goo, air pump and plugs!

My 20 in Dunlop Sportmaxx tires are close to done at less than 14000 miles (fronts more so than rears). I am looking at Continental Extreme Contact DWS. Anyone with any experience with this tire. Gets good write up and reviews. I will have to get mobility kit as have third row.

Any thoughts?

I don't understand the correlation of the mobility kit and the 3rd row? Which mobility kit are you talking about?

Well since I have the third row, I don't have a spare. So if I get non RFTs I will buy one of those tire repair kits (compressor, tire slime, etc). It won't fix a blow out, but would give some piece of mind.

I see, that's actually what I thought. BMW's mobility kit doesn't list any specific limitations unfortunately (though I'm sure they exist), but you should be aware that a similar kit made by Continental Tire (ContiComfortKit) does so and the 20" tires on the E70 fall out of their recommended range. See link. Maybe it has to do with the quantity of goo, or maybe they just think above a certain size is unsafe to patch with such a kit. I dunno. So just be careful, I'd hate for you to get stuck and find out the hard way. Also keep in mind that the goo can't be great for the tire pressure module mounted on the inside of the rim.

Accessories - Continental Tire ContiComfortKit Fitments for 20" Sizes

Thanks. I haven't looked into any brand of kit yet. I will look at the BMW one.

The OE Michelin Latitude HP Tour 255/55/R18 RFT tires in my 07 X5 3.0 were almost done (@ 41,500 miles). The michelins, as well as Bridgestone Duelers HL 400 RFTs are in back order (nationally, as they've said) right now. The tire shop is offering me a Continental Cross Contact UHP SSR instead. There's only one feedback (review) from Tire Rack and sad to see that the person is not happy with the tires (he's in Europe i think). So anyone can advised whether these tires are okay?

Wait for the Michelins or find some in stock elswhere.

Chuck

@ Chuck - so, is that means Conti is not good? I am really looking forward to have the same Michelins as replacement but was told by Costco, the manufacturer told them, it'll take approx. 5 weeks, Tire Rack had it available on 03/10/2010, same thing with America's Tire. My existing tires (rear) had below the marker tread already.

The last Continentals I had on a BMW (they came on the car new) were lousy and I put up with them until they wore out and switched to Michelins which were great. It was a long time ago but I would never take a chance on them again.

At Discount Tire (America's Tire in LA) once they were out of the Michelins I wanted and they searched and found some in Florida and had them shipped to California for me. They did not charge me anything for the shipping either. You might ask them to check their other stores to find some in stock. They might have just not gone the extra mile when you checked with them.

Chuck

Conti Extreme Contact DWS gets good write up at Tire rack (owner reviews). I am leaning toward trying them.

I replaced my Bridgestone Duller Sport RFT (20") with exactly the same tyre but none runflat and it has transformed the car, i already had a space saver spare.

We put these on our Mazda 3 in December and they are fantastic. Excellent tire in the snow/wet. Very good dry performance.

Of course the Mazda 3 is nothing like an X5, but we have found the tires to live up to their reviews.

many threads about "fill" kits and some mis-info out there
 

Might want to re-consider or look into this further. While waiting for my X5 production (took delivery 2 weeks ago) I did a lot of research about this. made the stupid mistake of not getting the space saver spare and I live quite rural. Ultimately, I bought the space saver spare from the dealer (got them to do it with mount and bal for $179). It fits in the storage compartment perfectly with no real need for the bolt-down bracket. of course it doesn't come with the BMW jack (with its proprietary rectangular jack point pad fitting) but an ACDelco 4 ton bottle jack works just fine (~$20 and MUCH easier to use). I just keep the bottle jack in the box it came in and it neatly drops into the smaller rectangular storage compartment next to battery (with room for tow cable, jump cables, gloves and still not full). I really didn't need the big storage compartment anyway.

But, back to the BMW mobility kit: it uses latex filler which has been reported to damage the TPMS. Slime makes a water soluble product that they swear washes out with no reported TPMS damage. The "safety" kit uses a one-step system in which you connect the slime to the compressor and it just pumps the slime into the tire with the air. The other slime kits (other than the "safety") use a two-step process in which you remove the valve core, put in the slime, replace the valve core and then connect the compressor and air fill.

Had I not chosen to get the space saver spare, I would have done one of these:
Amazon.com: Slime 70005 Safety Spair Flat Tire Repair System: Automotive

Amazon.com: Slime 50051 Safety Spair Roadside Emergency Essential Kit: Automotive

With free shipping and no tax - kinda hard to beat the prices. While I still wish I had just ordered with the spare, I can't complain because with the spare, bottle jack and a new lug wrench, it only cost me about $60 more than it would have if ordered (and I think the bottle jack is a huge improvement). I'd say, if you don't really need the storage compartment, go put some pressure on your dealer to cut you a price on the spare. If you want to go with a mobility kit, or have a 3rd row, consider the above.

From Slime.com FAQ's:
From the Conticomfortkit site:
From minimania here: Classic Mini Cooper - CONTICOMFORT KIT FLAT REPAIR MOBILITY KIT - MINI C - www.MiniMania.com

FWIW, my X5 is on a 3 yr lease. I will pull my RFs and store then for lease end return. As long as I will have to replace tires anyway, I'd rather buy good non-RFs which ride much better and cost way less. Then again, I don't have a family to consider nor a wife driving alone either - perhaps someday if ever lucky enough to meet the RIGHT one!:bustingup Meanwhile, I considered Ultra High Performance All Season and comcluded the Continental Extreme Contact DWS would be the shiznet: Consumer Survey Results By Category

But, after bad experiences with High Performance tires soft compound on our cheaply paved and chipping/flaking highways (which EAT soft tires for breakfast - had to replace the high performance tires on my G35s for lease return with only 14k miles @ 2 yrs!), and not really caring for the low-profile look, I decided to order the General Grabber HTS: Consumer Survey Results By Category

Go ahead - blast me for having too much time on my hands but what else was I going to do to relieve tension (remember - no wifey :rofl: ) while waiting a month for my X5???

Great info, thanks for posting. One thing I don't understand is how one goo screws the sensors and another goo doesn't? The sensors are very well sealed units if you've ever held one and resistant to moisture and even some abuse. No question that the metal valve stem is going to get coated with the goo and will need to be changed during a new tire installation, but that's basically to be expected. Your choice of having an actual spare is what I'd personally do as well.

Don't know the answer to the "goo" difference relative to TPMS; I am fairly mechanignorant. However, the manufacturer's claims clearly speak for themselves. I suspect it is as simple as the difference between a water soluble substance (Slime) that can be cleaned of compared to a latex material which will not clean off. When I considered the cost of a TPMS replacement and one of these kits, the spare just looked more and more attractive. The rural factor also contributed. BTW, I think the BMW Mobility Kit is in the $185 range, Conti Comfort Kit in the $75 range and the prices for the Slime are posted above. Also, BMW seems to make a couple of car model specific mobility kits and a general kit (non-model specific - X5). While I do not know the difference, I suspect it has to do with the larger tire sizes. I could find absolutely no indications the BMW kit had anything to justify the dramatic price difference.

Thanks for the responses. As I noted, I have the third row, so a spare is not an option for me. I am going to try the Conti's. THey have good reviews and I can't justify $2000 every 10 months for tires. I'll end up getting one to the kits.

In what way? I am thinking of doing this as well..

It made the ride far more complient and with the state of the roads here in Cumbria, that is important. Because the sidewalls are more flexable it is like having a higher aspect ratio tyre on. The ride is improve greatly, with this you are not being shaken about as much so making the driving more pleasurable. The handling is just the same, i have not noticed any difference and nothing much passes me, i would notice if it had turned into a 70's Allegro!!!!
Why cannot BMW put on the options list "Deleat RFT" the extra cost of the RFT would pay for the space saver???????

That is what I thought. Hitting a pothole on RFT is a PITA.
Thanks for your input.

I was laughing at your comment. I hit a nasty pothole in the dark last Friday night head-on. I thought my teeth were going to pop out. It was almost like the runflats tried to kick the pothole.

I just changed my yoko advans to the continental DWS and am impressed. Immediately I notice the ride is more comfortable. Handling and traction I am also finding is better despite the yoko being supposedly more sport orientated. Yet to try wet traction but from tread pattern should be ok. Wet traction in the yoko advans were a bit scary. After 15k km I found the tread was significantly wearing down and on many occasions experienced aqua planing. Sizes were the 20" staggered.

Great! Plan to order this week.:thumbup:

The BMW Mobility kit is a pretty nice unit. Fortunately I've never had to use the filler yet. When I have time I'll post the scanned manual. The compressor (which can handle big SUV / SAV tires unlike other cheaper portable compressors) is made in Germany and the goo (a 750 mL bottle of Automotive Tire Puncture Sealant that can seal punctures up to 4mm in size) is also made in Germany but for some strange reason "distributed by BMW Group Australia" (maybe X Foomph knows why?!). Apparently it should be changed every 4 years. Keep in mind the fact that BMW states it is NOT to be used with run-flat tires. According to the company it is fully compatible with TPMS systems. I personally think this is an ideal kit to have for the E53 X5 since strictly speaking the E53 X5's come with non run-flat tires and a FTM system (an indirect TPMS) which does not utilize individual wheel mounted sensors. It also comes in a nice pouch with adapters to inflate other items (sports balls, etc), a valve core remover tool, an extra valve core, a speed sticker and a pair of gloves.

BMW Accessories - 2006 X5 4.4i SAV

Some interesting facts: The mobility kit on the BMW USA website (linked above) looks on initial glance to be the same one as on the BMW.COM website (linked here: BMW AG: Accessories) but actually it's not. Here is the USA mobility kit on the left (with the black compressor) and the EURO mobility kit in the middle (with the blue compressor). On the right is a better shot of the complete USA kit.

In case anyone was wondering, the kits are both made by the company TERRA-S Automotive Systems GmbH & Co. KG of Owingen, Germany. (TERRA-S Page)

The Euro mobility kit has their "Air Control" compressor while the USA mobility kit has their "Aero King" compressor. (BTW, the yellow button is the pressure release button, to allow the adjustment of pressure) They both share the same specs (below), the only difference being that the "Aero King" model can accommodate a puncture sealant bottle when needed (according to their website). (Doesn't make much sense to include a compressor in a mobility kit that can't accommodate tire sealant, but what do I know)

Specs:
- Can achieve a tire pressure of up to ca. 5.5 bar (79.8 psi)
- Can inflate tires of up to 22 inches
- Has a cable length for power supply: 3.5 m. - Performance is:
V = 35 litres to 2.5 bar (36.3 psi) pressure in less than 5 minutes
V = 45 litres to 3.0 bar (43.5 psi) pressure in less than 8 minutes
Max. run-time: 20 minutes at 2 bar (29 psi)
Usable at temperatures from: - 30° C to + 70° C

TERRA-S Page

TERRA-S Page

The company website in fact, shows what is virtually the same kit as the BMW USA mobility kit (see the two links below), though of the two kits I'm not sure which is the exact one.

TERRA-S Page
TERRA-S Page

In any case it is also interesting to note that they made the BMW M Mobility kit that was standard equipment on the M Roadster as it was one of the earliest BMW's without an on board spare tire.

TERRA-S Page

Was going to start another thread but figured makes sense to just add to this one. I just got a set of continental DWS on 20". Have to say initially I didn't like them. Although they were definitely quieter than the run flats, and overall more comfortable on poor pavement, I found the handling and steering somewhat lacking. Not "crisp", like with the run flats.

I experimented with tire pressure a little. Its odd, because I have a 2009, and i went through the 2009, 2010 and 2011 owners guides for tire pressure recommendations. They are all different, even though the overall weight of the X5 (in my case 35d), hasn't changed radically.

In any case, I settled for a slightly higher tire pressure, 35psi (f), 38psi (r). It may sacrifice overall longevity of the tread, but am happy with the handling and steering now. A good trade off.

Also retrofitted the spare wheel under the rear trunk area, in case of a puncture !

X5 Meister---you left your Isotoners next to the Mobility Kit.

Where did you get your spare and how was the pricing? Like many, I wish I'd ordered it at the outset.

I think OJ Simpson left those, apparently it didn't fit.

I'd like to get my hands on that compressor, minus the other stuff.
I run non-RFTs on the Vette these days, and I'm always wondering...
I do have a cheapazz compressor, some plugs and tools in the trunk,
for trips. If that compressor can pump an X tire, it is better than
the one I have. I would not use goo/slime unless all else failed,
with the direct TPSMs in the Vette's wheels.
Thanks for the links, Meister.
GL, mD

Yea. It's was around 375. Wish I ordered it too from outset.

Any chance in H*LL to negotiate with a dealer to swap NRFT for 'regular' tires? I HATE the idea of nrft.....give us normal tires and the space saver spare and everyone is happy (except for people with 3rd row seat).