20" RFT poor ride quality

[bubbabear]

I purchased an AUC 2012 x5m sport with 20" 333M alloys. The rear tyres are brand new dueler HP and the front are half worn. Today i drove 160 miles on motorways and A roads at various speeds and found the car to be jittery and uncomfortable feeling too many vibrations from the road surface that was uneven.

So my options are to replace the RFTs to non RFT tyres on the 20"alloys or buy a new set of smaller wheels and tyres?

Please can someone advise on the best course of action. Having driven an E39 sport touring for almost a decade i am used to a ride quality that is compliant as well as being sporty however these 20" RFTs IMHO are  unacceptable.

[Riggie]

Standard rubber will help a bit, wont be so jiggly.

[Tommy]

Just put Pirellis on mine, transformed, and cleared a gearbox whine as well.

[X5Sport]

Were your original tyres OEM, or something else?

Pirellis are a factory option so just wondering if the set you replaced were non standard.  There have been reports of non '*' marked tyres damaging the transmission.

[Tommy]

Originals were Bridgestone OEM. I was on the verge of pulling the trans to investigate noise was that bad. Tread depth on Bridgestones was equal too.

[X5Sport]

Interesting.  Just gone from Dunlop to Bridgestone on mine.  No transmission whine however the noise level is down - less tyre roar.

[bubbabear]

[quote="Tommy"]
Just put Pirellis on mine, transformed, and cleared a gearbox whine as well.


[/quote]

Hi Tommy can you tell us the exact tyre model you bought. Are they RFs and (*) approved?

Thanks

[X5Sport]

P Zero by the looks of it.

[Dr C]

I changed to Pirelli PZero last November, huge improvement over the Dunlop SportMAXX GT that were factory fitted (both "*" runflats).

[bubbabear]

The premium RFTs that are (*) approved for the rear (315/35/r20) range from £235 to £300+ per corner. Dueler H/P sport are at the lower end and pzero are at the upper end of the price range

[Tommy]

P Zero is correct, non runflat.

[bubbabear]

Do you now have an emergency spare wheel or slime with compressor + jack + wrench to change a flat tyre?

[Tommy]

BMW mobility kit,and an AA card 

[BigGX5]

Just changed my rear 315/35/20's from Bridgestone Dueller Rf to Dunlop RF's. Very happy with change. Feels like the sidewalls are so much softer, much less jarring IMO. Paid £560 fitted for the pair. Will change to Dunlops on front when those Bridgestone wear out.

[X5Sport]

I went the other way as the 'life' of the Dunlops was a mere 14k miles!!  £880 for a full set, Dunlop option was £55 more.  The ride does feel firmer on the Bridgestones but we'll see what they are like over time on my X as it has a different set up to the E70 (sport susp, no air, active rear diff).

I wanted to try the Conti Sport5 but no one could get the RFT version.  They would have been the most expensive option though.