[330Stevie]

Guys, after some help.

Like some from what I’ve seen I have worn out front outer edges. Rest of tyre has 4mm+ left after 26k. Now coming from an Alfa that’s about twice I would have got but I note that some of you are getting best part of 40k out of fronts.

Obviously I need to get alignment checked, however is this wear a common problem with the factory set up? I.e happy to get it on a Hunter machine to get it back to factory set up but little point if this is the standard wear pattern?
Or do you guys have a bespoke set up that you give to the hunter guy to get more even wear.

In Alfa world we had pro drive based data as opposed to standard Alfa set up which improved handling and effectively doubled the life of tyres.

I’ve tried searching but there are billions of threads on tracking but none really covering this.
Thanks in advance

[teaston]

In 80k done in 2 F30’s I’ve never had any excess outer tyre wear!

[j.s.]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Guys, after some help.

Like some from what I’ve seen I have worn out front outer edges. Rest of tyre has 4mm+ left after 26k. Now coming from an Alfa that’s about twice I would have got but I note that some of you are getting best part of 40k out of fronts.

Obviously I need to get alignment checked, however is this wear a common problem with the factory set up? I.e happy to get it on a Hunter machine to get it back to factory set up but little point if this is the standard wear pattern?
Or do you guys have a bespoke set up that you give to the hunter guy to get more even wear.

In Alfa world we had pro drive based data as opposed to standard Alfa set up which improved handling and effectively doubled the life of tyres.

I’ve tried searching but there are billions of threads on tracking but none really covering this.
Thanks in advance

I have the same, outer edge on fronts is worn a lot more than the rest. At 40k km so about the same as your 26k miles. I needed new rears so got 4 new tyres that I'm having fitted on Monday, plan to have alignment checked as soon as I find a place.

[Minty]

I just had a service at 20K miles and the front tyre outer edges were fooked...advised to have alignment check and £199.99 lighter all done :-)...I am sure it was because of the warranty work to replace the front struts.

I had a result though as I found a service inclusive certificate in the car (which I didn’t think i had) which meant I didn’t need to pay for my service (£330)

[330Stevie]

Originally Posted by Minty

I just had a service at 20K miles and the front tyre outer edges were fooked...advised to have alignment check and £199.99 lighter all done :-)...I am sure it was because of the warranty work to replace the front struts.

I had a result though as I found a service inclusive certificate in the car (which I didn’t think i had) which meant I didn’t need to pay for my service (£330)

£199? Assume then stealer price! Happy days with the service tho 👍🏻

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Guys, after some help.

Like some from what I’ve seen I have worn out front outer edges. Rest of tyre has 4mm+ left after 26k. Now coming from an Alfa that’s about twice I would have got but I note that some of you are getting best part of 40k out of fronts.

Obviously I need to get alignment checked, however is this wear a common problem with the factory set up? I.e happy to get it on a Hunter machine to get it back to factory set up but little point if this is the standard wear pattern?
Or do you guys have a bespoke set up that you give to the hunter guy to get more even wear.

In Alfa world we had pro drive based data as opposed to standard Alfa set up which improved handling and effectively doubled the life of tyres.

I’ve tried searching but there are billions of threads on tracking but none really covering this.
Thanks in advance

Tyre wear is not as simple as alignment alone. Take on board that geometry is not just a result of static settings, it is dynamic, and greatly influenced by the degree of compliance of the suspension bushes.

So how hard we drive and in what conditions will change the wear patterns. An example would be if we drive a lot of roundabouts. But it is not as simple as that, it's also how we take a roundabout. When we brake, the speed, the rate of acceleration as we exit. A lot of inner rear wear is due to accelerating hard while still holding some lock. Weight transfer changing the dynamic toe and of course camber. All while the inner tyre is scrabbling for grip, particularly on the inside of the tyre.

Also accept the fact that BMW setups are well known for outer front wear and inner rear wear. In fact BMW techs will see that as a guide to how a car is set up and how a car is used.

Of course we must establish if the alignment is in tolerance, but even a perfect mid tolerance, we can still have the wear patterns if our driving works the suspension hard where the wear gets amplified. We can have the alignment tweaked to slow the wear rates a little. Typically an adjustment of front toe and a slight adjustment of rear camber and toe.

Often the odd wear rate accelerates as the bushes soften over time/mileage. Also make worse on current cars, as the bushes are 'tuned' (read softer) to help the run-flat tyre.

[Minty]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

£199? Assume then stealer price! Happy days with the service tho 👍🏻

Yes, stealer price. I weighed it up and decided it wasn’t worth the hassle shopping around.

I now need to replace my fronts which have 5.5mm of tread apart from the outside edge which has 0mm. Fortunately I still have 2 brand new Goodyear Effeicient Grip tyres removed from my 18” 405’s (which I put winters on).

[Mr Whippy]

Just certain tyres can cause issues too.

E85 Z4 msport susp were notorious for this.

Bridgestone RE050 RFT would wear inner edge at rear and front to bald in no time.

Then even cheapo tyres like Falken FK452 non-RFT did the same.

Then Eagle F1 Asymmetric 1, 2, and 3 have all worn flat as pancakes and paid for themselves easily in improved life over other cheap and expensive tyres.


I'd get tracking checked, but it's probably the naff OEM tyres too, especially RFT I think wear funny due to the very stiff sidewalls and lots of fast motorway work.

[330Stevie]

Originally Posted by Mr Whippy

Just certain tyres can cause issues too.

E85 Z4 msport susp were notorious for this.

Bridgestone RE050 RFT would wear inner edge at rear and front to bald in no time.

Then even cheapo tyres like Falken FK452 non-RFT did the same.

Then Eagle F1 Asymmetric 1, 2, and 3 have all worn flat as pancakes and paid for themselves easily in improved life over other cheap and expensive tyres.


I'd get tracking checked, but it's probably the naff OEM tyres too, especially RFT I think wear funny due to the very stiff sidewalls and lots of fast motorway work.

I’ve just switched to Goodyear on rear and will go to the same on front so let’s see.

[330Stevie]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Tyre wear is not as simple as alignment alone. Take on board that geometry is not just a result of static settings, it is dynamic, and greatly influenced by the degree of compliance of the suspension bushes.

So how hard we drive and in what conditions will change the wear patterns. An example would be if we drive a lot of roundabouts. But it is not as simple as that, it's also how we take a roundabout. When we brake, the speed, the rate of acceleration as we exit. A lot of inner rear wear is due to accelerating hard while still holding some lock. Weight transfer changing the dynamic toe and of course camber. All while the inner tyre is scrabbling for grip, particularly on the inside of the tyre.

Also accept the fact that BMW setups are well known for outer front wear and inner rear wear. In fact BMW techs will see that as a guide to how a car is set up and how a car is used.

Of course we must establish if the alignment is in tolerance, but even a perfect mid tolerance, we can still have the wear patterns if our driving works the suspension hard where the wear gets amplified. We can have the alignment tweaked to slow the wear rates a little. Typically an adjustment of front toe and a slight adjustment of rear camber and toe.

Often the odd wear rate accelerates as the bushes soften over time/mileage. Also make worse on current cars, as the bushes are 'tuned' (read softer) to help the run-flat tyre.

Thanks for reply but yes absolutely aware of this; and spent significant time researching for my Alfa and trying quite a few settings hence me asking if there was a known tweak that had been well established.
It would appear not then, I’ll get the geom checked when I replace the fronts.
To be honest I won’t be too sad to see them go so I can get rid of the Bridgestone and have Goodyear f1 all round. So far the rears are farmers secure out of corners and considerably quieter

[amsbmw]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Thanks for reply but yes absolutely aware of this; and spent significant time researching for my Alfa and trying quite a few settings hence me asking if there was a known tweak that had been well established.
It would appear not then, I’ll get the geom checked when I replace the fronts.
To be honest I won’t be too sad to see them go so I can get rid of the Bridgestone and have Goodyear f1 all round. So far the rears are farmers secure out of corners and considerably quieter

4mm left rear wheel drive 330d and noticed this on both rear tyres , changed to winters early and getting alignment done just to make sure its all ok

[Mr Whippy]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

I’ve just switched to Goodyear on rear and will go to the same on front so let’s see.

Given the 335d on 19s RFT still felt a bit dead in the steering to me, I'll be going F1 asym 3 on it once the tyres are due to see how they go.

If it's anything like Z4 Bridgestone rft > Goodyear non rft, the change will be a revelation on the 335d too!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by 330Stevie

Thanks for reply but yes absolutely aware of this; and spent significant time researching for my Alfa and trying quite a few settings hence me asking if there was a known tweak that had been well established.
It would appear not then, I’ll get the geom checked when I replace the fronts.
To be honest I won’t be too sad to see them go so I can get rid of the Bridgestone and have Goodyear f1 all round. So far the rears are farmers secure out of corners and considerably quieter

Add in some tyres will wear evenly on a particular BMW geometry calibration, other tyres will have odd wear. Often the stiffer side walled tyres have more odd wear, including non run-flats.

Tyre pressures also are critical. You have to fine tune between ride, handling/feel and how the tyres wear, (middle vs. shoulders). Many users run BMW pressures too low for the way they drive, (often trying to get a more compliant ride) and that compromises the shoulders of the tyres.

Guys like Tony Bones at Wheel-InMotion, will calibrate the geo' to eliminate some of the extreme wear. It is a compromise, as BMW set up their geo' quite aggressively, to get the edge on handling.