Run flats noise

[avus323i]

I recently took my moms 07 328i coupe in for service and got a feel for it for the first time. Right when i hit 30+ mph the tires make a horrible howling noise. Are run flat tires suppose to be that loud?She has the 225 R 17's bridgestone turazas ( i think thats how u spell it).The tire pressure is correct and there is no uneven wear. just wanted to know in general if all run flats were that loud. i heard that the sport package with the potenzas are a lot better, is that true?

[mryakan]

No they are not, but the Turanzas are notorious for becoming noisy after collecting miles, not sure if in your case you're still eligible for a free/prorated replacement by BMW.

[UFOGUY]

they totally suck in general. see if you can arrange a switch with your dealer. i replaced my bridgestones with conventional UHPs and now enjoy a very smooth and quiet ride.

[samger2]

There is a BMW bulletin that is in reference to the Bridgestone Turanza EL42 runflats in both 205/55R16 and 225/45R17

If you have 1-10k on the car they should replace the tires in full including labor.

If you have 10001k - 20k they buy two you buy two and the labor is covered 100%.

[UFOGUY]

is there a bulletin for the bridgestone potenzas as well? that is what i replaced.

thanks.

[sbw]

My Potenzas are quiet. No complaints.

[samger2]

I think it has to do with a mixture of about 4 things.

1) BMW recommends not rotating tires...not sure why this is, but they recommend against it. It's common that if you don't rotate your tires they'll wear unevenly, and if they wear unevenly they'll become noisey.

2) BMW's alignment specs from the factory will wear tires unevenly. So unless you pull that camber in your tires will probably wear unevenly.

3) Air pressure is a key factor here...the bulletin blatantly states that if the tires are not up to proper air pressure this voids the warranty on the tires. 99% of the warranties we do the tires aren't up to spec with tire pressure but our service department turns a blind eye to that. If the air pressure isn't correct and checked regularly tires WILL wear unevenly and cause road noise.

4) The gap in the tread blocks. The larger the gap, the more prone to noise and cupping. The Turanzas have a larger gap between tread blocks on the shoulder than the Potenzas or the Continentals...this is why mud tires on trucks are noisy...similar scenario with the Turanzas.

I guess taking all these things into consideration, there's no reason these tires SHOULDN'T cup on the BMWs.

[ibiete]

Where is this Bulletin? Mine barley passed inspection with only 16000 miles.

[samger2]

It's something that's available only on BMW's corporate intranet...but all dealers SHOULD have knowledge of this bulletin...due to the fact that it's a technical service bulletin. If a BMW dealer says they don't know anything about it then they're either lying to you or they simply don't keep up with new bulletins.

This is no exaggeration...we replaced 361 Brigestones with continentals in 2007...I would venture to say that 80% of that 361 was bulletin related.

Heck we replaced 64 in just November alone.

So given those kind of numbers there's no way a BMW dealer couldn't be aware of this bulletin.

[gobble]

I just purchased a 2006 325i with 10,506 miles on the odometer and noticed the bad road noise on the way home. A quick search led me to this thread and the service bulletin.

How good do you think BMW would be about doing the 100% parts and labor replacement when I'm only over the 10,000 miles by 500 miles? The trouble with the 50% offer is that even at 50% it would still cost me more than calling Tire Rack and ordering non-run flats.