New Tyres for the X5

[EdwardGreen]

Hi All,

I have a 2010 X5 - XDRIVE 30D SE 5S A. The tyres are at the end of their lives and need replacement

Currently I have Bridgestone run flat tyres on
Front 275/40R20 106Y
Rear  315/35R20 110W

I live in Kent, UK and will be driving mostly on motorway, around town, occasionally wet weather, and very rarely (almost none) under snowy condition.

I have done a bit of research and particularly interest in the Michellin Latitude Sport 3 (normal one, not the run flat version). I hope to get your opinions on these tyres and any others that you would recommend.

More importantly I have a few queries that I hope to clarify with you.

1. When I called BMW today, they mentioned that Michellin is not recommended for bmw in general (And x5 in particular), no clear reason given - is it true or is it just because they don't have a good commercial relationship?
2. They mentioned that since the car is designed to run with the run flat tyres, it is better to stay that way, rather than putting a normal ones in. This seems contradict to what I have read throughout the last few days when researching on this topic - People seem to have much more positive experience when replacing the run-flat for the normal (apart from the fact that they are also cheaper)

So any opinions, recommendation is greatly appreciated.

(Disclaimer: I did come across similar threads before in various forums, but they all seem fairly outdated, so an updated experience with new tyres will be fantastic)

Thank you

[marsie]

My wheels are currently in for refurb but i have the same size as you. My car currently has a pair of pirelli scorpion zeros on the front and a pair of michelin diamaris on the rear. The guy who runs the tyre shop has a X6 and his has Hankook Ventus evo 2s all round (275s/315s) and he rates them very highly. They are under £600 for a set of 4 which seems like very good value

Paul

[X5Sport]

You are strongly advised to stay with ‘*’ marked tyres as you have the staggered set up.  BMW AWD systems are very intolerant of the wrong tyres (those without a ‘*’ mark) and you run a real risk of breaking the diffs or transfer box.

‘*’ marking means that the rolling radii are matched between the axles and specifically for BMWs (Audi & Merc have their own too for the same reasons).  One member on here bought non ‘*’ tyres and found a circumference difference of 32mm even though the sizes were nominally correct.  That kind of difference will shatter a diff.

You don’t have to stay with RFT though.

If you still have a BMW Warranty then they will walk away if you fit non approved tyres.

[EdwardGreen]

Thanks - you really make me think hard on this.

It seems too much risk to deviate from the "*" then

[X5Sport]

It doesn’t happen to everyone and exactly which tyres will result in damage isn’t clear (too many variables), however a number of folks in here have reported grumbling transmissions which have cleared up when the ‘right’ tyres were fitted.

Lurching at very low speed on full lock is a regularly reported warning sign that all is not well.

[EdwardGreen]

Thanks, I have done a bit more research and got super confused

1. When searching in this website - Mytyres
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop ... preis_down

It shows that the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 has a "*" - i.e. BMW OE for my front 275/40/20, whereas the one for the rears 315/35/20 is not, eventhough it matches the exact measurement. Could this be the case?

2. When searching on Kwik-fit- the latitude sport 3 is nowhere to be seen. 

Do they just have inconsistent marking? or is it just that this particular retailer does not stock these tyres?

[Barroni]

I have a 2011 40D with a staggered setup.  When i brought the car it was fitted with budget non * rated non runflats.  Though the tyres were brand new I was concerned they were not BMW Approved and as other have said its more important with a staggered setup.

Trouble is you always get conflicting advice, one local tyre center to me said not to worry abut it at all.  This made me very dubious of them given all the advice in here.  Anyway - long story short I went back to 4 * Runflats Bridgestone Duellers on 19's. £808 for the 4 which was best priced bad news I could find.
The trade off for me was the extra boot space as no spare wheel is needed. 

I have not really noticed any harder ride with them fitted and I am happy in the knowledge that its back o the factory fitting.  Dont want to give any insurance company any way out in case of accident claim. 

[EdwardGreen]

Thanks Barroni for sharing your experience.

I guess at the end of the day, a peace of mind is probably most important when riding this beast

[X5Sport]

The 275/40/20 may be used on a non-staggered set up and have a ‘*’ rating or the supplier may not stock the 315 width tyre with a ‘*’ rating.  There a only a few options with the 20” wheels as you are now finding!

I think Dunlop, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Continental and Goodyear give options - all are listed on the BMW OEM Parts database, as is a Micheling Tour HP variant (at 19” so may also have a 20” versions?).

[EdwardGreen]

Thanks, for everyone benefit - I called up Michelin today to ask about that- they do not have latitude sport 3 315/35/20 as BMW OE. no version of Tour 20" either

On a more positive note, found that Pirelli seems to just released a new P Zero (called PZ4?) seem compatible with the X5 with very positive feedback as well - now I just have to find a way to source them, as none seem to be selling these PZ4 at the moment

[X5Sport]

Have a look at Tyreleader to see what they offer.  If memory serves they are based in Germany, competitive prices and low delivery cost to UK 

[john_o]

Recently fitted continental sport contact 5 suv staggered to the x5
Star rated and really seem to wear well (after alignment)
Not cheap but id recommend them if you are staying rft and star rated.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[EdwardGreen]

Thanks, FWIW, I talked to Tyreleader re PZ4. At the time discussion the Pirelli P zero they are selling are still old stock, i.e.not the PZ4

Managed to track down the part numbers and orders the PZ4 from mytyres.co.uk

Great learnings experience. Let's hope that it turns out great.

For any future references for newbies like me researching this topic, below are numbers for front and rear
2645200 (rear)
2618000 (front)

(front also has another PZ4 version with slightly higher rating)

Thanks all again, will report back how it turns out

Look like my tyre just got a nail (perfect timing) - system does not show any issue yet, will leave it there and hope that the tyres come up before I need to take actions