Do I need new tires???

[thez4]

Hi all,

I got a 2006 Z4 and it pulls the steering wheel in all directions. When at 60 - 80mph, it feels as if the car is moving completely away from the driving direction. At low speeds, and when brakes are applied to get to a stop the steering wheel pulls strongly in one direction.

I took the car to the dealer to see if it is an alignment issue but the guy told me that the tires, though they look very good respective to tread, the inside edge is worn out unevenly. I am not an expert at tires but the dealer says that there are cups formed on the inside and the those pull the car in whichever direction they get the road.

Do the tires wear out like this? Will alignment fix these kind of issues? The dealer quoted me about $1600 for all the tires + alignment. What would be a reasonable amount to get this done?

Thanks!!

[pescadero]

wow, that's a lot of money. i'd shop elsewhere for a couple of reasons: one being the money you'll save and two being the ability to get a "better" alignment.


yes, rapid inner tire wear can be caused by a bad alignment. it can also be caused by the standard BMW alignment, or from having excessive negative camber or excessive toe-in.

negative camber and toe-in is exactly what you're going to get if you go to the BMW dealer for an alignment. they'll put new tires on and align the car so that it has a little negative camber and a fair amount of toe-in. that's going to give you steering that feels "stable" and "non-wandering." its also going to eat your tires.

for a street driver many people will opt for about 2 degrees of negative camber and zero toe. the negative camber will help your tires to maintain a good contact patch while cornering, and the zero toe will make the car feel quicker in initiating the turns. quick to turn in also means less straight line stability. this kind of setup will give you a pretty good balance between performance and tire life.

if you have your alignment done at the dealer they're going to give you toe-in to make the car feel more "stable" and less quick to turn in. it will feel more stable in a straight line but shorter tire life will result.

[thez4]

Thanks pescadero, that explains the inner tread wear! I did some reading about the tires and now got stuck between the decision to go for RFTs vs non RFTs. Could anyone give me a suggestion on which tires to go for and a good estimate on the cost?

Apart from not being able to drive with a flat tire on a non RFT, Is there any other issue that would affect the driving experience?

[Update]:

I just went to an American tire company store after deciding to change all 4 tires to non RFTs and guess what... The guy told me that all my tires are pretty good and the inner wear is not much to change them. He advised me to change just one tire as it was a different one from the rest. Now I am stuck with the problem again!!!! Experts, any suggestions on how to narrow the problem???

[BayRain]

MIght be alignment, but the tires might be pulling simply from being directional. If they hit a groove in the road they might just want to pull that way, hard.

[riffman12]

lol jesus, $1600 for tires and an alignment?! :confused

what tires?

[thez4]

The tires that the dealer offered were bridgestone RFTs. He mentioned that they are specially made for BMW and I cannot get them anywhere outside.

I changed one of my tires as suggested by the American tire company guy and got them balanced. The problem seemed to have subsided a little bit. I gave them for a four wheel alignment today. I have to wait and see if that fixes the problem! Thank you all for your kind replies!!

[mryakan]

The tires that the dealer offered were bridgestone RFTs. He mentioned that they are specially made for BMW and I cannot get them anywhere outside.

:bs
My advice: avoid that dealer at all costs. Head over to tirerack.com or any other tire supplier instead. Mind you a set of 4 RFT high performance tires will cost north of 1000.

[Kevlar]

The tires that the dealer offered were bridgestone RFTs. He mentioned that they are specially made for BMW and I cannot get them anywhere outside.

I changed one of my tires as suggested by the American tire company guy and got them balanced. The problem seemed to have subsided a little bit. I gave them for a four wheel alignment today. I have to wait and see if that fixes the problem! Thank you all for your kind replies!!
Dude...

http://images.bimmerforums.com/banners/ttrug_120x60.jpg (http://www.tirerack.com/affiliates/live/index.jsp?AFFCODE=EN3) http://images.bimmerforums.com/banners/ttrug_234x60.jpg (http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N3227.bimmerforums/B1034481.4;sz=234x60;a=EN1;ord=[timestamp]?)

[riffman12]

Dude...

http://images.bimmerforums.com/banners/ttrug_120x60.jpg (http://www.tirerack.com/affiliates/live/index.jsp?AFFCODE=EN3) http://images.bimmerforums.com/banners/ttrug_234x60.jpg (http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N3227.bimmerforums/B1034481.4;sz=234x60;a=EN1;ord=%5Btimestamp%5D?)

I don't get it :dunno

[thez4]

Thanks guys for all the replies! I got all the 4 wheels aligned and that got rid of the problem almost completely. I had asked for the bushings to be checked and they are fine. I still have a little bit of pull but I guess that is due to the tires hitting a groove in the road as bayrain said. They don't pull on all the roads but just a few and I guess its just the road!!!

[M397]

if there was any sort of cupping on your tires, it is caused by worn out suspension parts. "cupping" would cause you to get a bumpy ride. bridgestone RFT CAN be boought elsewhere for your bmw. You dont have to go to the dealership for tires. they will rape you on tire prices.