[Xperts]

Hi, I have just had a flat rear tire on my F10-535i with Dunlop RFT 275/30-20 (Factory fitted for the UAE). The car has 17,000 miles, is about 18 months old and the BMW dealer tells me that i need to replace the two rear tires as they recommend that tires be changed every 18,000 miles. There is still lots of thread left except that I have noticed excessive wear on the inner edges of both the rear tires and the dealer says it normal due to rear wheel steer my car is fitted with. Is this normal??.

The car service indicator still says i got another 2000miles to the first service, the reason i mention this is that car has been used with care, no drifts and never been on a track. Each tire is costing me $750.

About a year back, when the car had 5000 miles, i hit a pothole and one front tire had to be changed due to a bubble that appeared on the inner edge of the tire, otherwise these Dunlop tires are free from any bubbles like i have seen a lot of people complaining about Goodyear tires fitted in North America.

Is there a better brand i should fit instead of these Dunlop like Pirelli, Continental or Michelin?

[rhinosaur]

A few years ago I had an awesome experience with Continental SportContact2 tires in a car I used to have in Portugal. They had great grip and were really long lasting. The tire size was not the same but I would guess that their newer design and compound—the SportContact5, I think—must be great.
In fact, once I have the F11 and I have to change tires, I think I will try the SportContact5. I cannot vouch for the SportContact5 but if I was in your shoes I would definitely give them a shot!
I would also take the car to an independent tire specialist in order to check the rear wheels alignment and camber. You never know if there is something worth investigating…

[Chili Palmer]

Seems like an alignment issue to me. If the alignment is in spec it might just be an quirk with your car with the rear-wheel steer.

I had a Z06 Vette that would wear the rear tires from the center of the tread toward the outside edge, the inside would have lots of tread left. I had the car realigned so the tires would wear evenly, but in doing so it would slide taking easy turns, so I had the alignment changed back to the factory settings and had to put up with the rear tires wearing that way.

What I'm getting at is if you have the alignment changed from the factory specs so the tires wear evenly you might change the way the car handles.

[Xperts]

I visited an independent tire shop today looking for prices and availability of the two rear tires. Their technician informed me that this type of wear on the inside edge of the tire is quite normal in the current X5/X6, the 7 series and even the Porsche Cayenne but was not very familiar with the F10 5 series being relatively new to him.

I checked a parked F10 5 series in my neighborhood and sneaked to check its tires but could not feel a wear similar to my cars rear tires, so is my situation the norm and his the exception or vice versa?