Replacing tyres by age

[StuBeeDoo]

I have a slightly different tyre question. Any opinions here on tyre age? Scouring the 'net there is a lot of conflicting advice (isn't there always...?). I'm reading suggested tyre life of anything from "5 years" through "7 to 10 years" to "10 years is OK".

All 4 Pirelli P7s on my F25 are DOT coded 4014, so they are 7 weeks short of 5 years old. I don't have an invoice for them, but they have likely done at least 35000 miles. I don't recall ever having a car with tyres this old, or that have done so many miles, on. On my previous BMWs I've usually reckoned on 25000 mile tyre life, which has equated to two to two-and-a-half years, so ageing has never been an issue.

There is no evidence of cracks in any of the sidewalls yet, but at this rate I'm looking at at least another year, possibly eighteen months, before I should need to start thinking about replacing them due to wear. I suppose I shouldn't complain when they are likely to cost me the thick-end of £500 to replace, but I don't particularly like them. They're OK in the dry, but the wet grip isn't much better than "average". I don't suppose it helps that I was used to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics on my E46 and IMHO those were excellent in the wet.

I have narrowed my choice of replacement tyres down to 2 - if Goodyear did F1s in my size there wouldn't be a choice to be made - but the question is how much longer do I hold-off before doing it? It will have to be before our European road trip in July. The winter set will be on the car from November until early March, but there's likely to be plenty of wet weather between now and November, and also next Spring. I have the funds waiting, but I'm usually the sort of person that only replaces things when they're worn-out or broken. At the end of the day I just don't trust these bloody Pirellis in the wet and I'm wondering if it's because they're starting to harden due to age.

What say you, xDrivers?

TIA
Stuart.

[X5Sport]

I have never had a tyre fail in age grounds, but.....

I replaced the spare in our E46 earlier this year as it was 14 years old! It looked OK but there were a few little marks on parts of the sidewall.

I don’t think that I would keep them on a car more than 8 years - hence I’m trying to replace the winter set on age grounds only but have now found that size is no longer made for BMW! I can only get them for Audi or Merc specifics. As I still have a BMW warranty that’s an issue! The set currently fitted are Pirelli and look fine - or did when I last saw them because BMW store them for me.

Trailers and Caravans have a ‘recommendation’ of five years if my memory is correct. I also replaced those on my old trailer when they got that old.

A lot depends upon how the car is stored. I am told that if garaged there is less deterioration as sunlight doesn’t get to the tyres. What difference this makes in reality I cannot say.

[StuBeeDoo]

Thanks for your reply.

..........that size is no longer made for BMW!

Yes, this is becoming a problem, isn't it? I don't know if there have ever been any other *-marked tyres in 225/60x17 than the one Pirelli, one Dunlop, and one Michelin (which is Y speed-rated and isn't SUV-specific - I think it's made for 7 Series) that are currently available. But it's only going to get worse. TBH, as the 3rd owner of an 85k mile non-warrantied car I'm prepared to take a chance on non-BMW tyres, particularly as I have already had all the transmission fluids replaced by an authorised ZF specialist and will continue to do so at ZF's specified intervals. Just for the record, my preferred tyre options are the *-marked Dunlop, or Avon's ZX7.

A lot depends upon how the car is stored. I am told that if garaged there is less deterioration as sunlight doesn’t get to the tyres. What difference this makes in reality I cannot say.

My car lives outside, unfortunately. At least where I store my winters they don't get direct sunlight........

[Leslie]

They are not old and unlikely be have been on your car until well into 2015 , they have aged due the the massive mileage covered and the heat cycles they have went though plus tread must be low now so not much use in the wet anymore. Did you check the inside edges as that's where most wear occurs ?
YOU have certainly got your monies worth I wouldn't have expected more than half the mileage a set !

[StuBeeDoo]

They are not old and unlikely be have been on your car until well into 2015 , they have aged due the the massive mileage covered and the heat cycles they have went though plus tread must be low now so not much use in the wet anymore.

Very true.

Did you check the inside edges as that's where most wear occurs ?

Yes. The rears aren't too bad - slightly more worn on the inside, but not as bad as many BMWs. The fronts have scrubbed-off on the outer edges, but one of the first things I had done after I bought the car was a 4-wheel alignment, and that scrubbing doesn't appear to have got any worse since.

YOU have certainly got your monies worth

Again, very true.

[sleepyfolk]

I tow as well - not with the X, but for the caravan world we always say around 5 years - some go to 7. Problem with caravans and trailers is that they are rarely used generally so the tyre sits in the same position for long periods which adds to the ageing process. On our van we rotate the tyres every 4 weeks if it’s not going anywhere.

With cars I’d tend to go with 5 years or keep a close on the sidewalls if you don’t drive like a nutter and want to squeeze a bit more out of them.

Mine had Michelin Diamaris on when I bought it, they been on since 2008 and down nearly 40k miles but weren’t out of tread, the sidewalls however were cracked and crazed to hell, based on that I put the same back on. It’s on a square set-up so doesn’t scrub the rears.

[StuBeeDoo]

I bit the bullet! 4x Avon ZX7 being fitted on Monday morning.

I know these tyres aren't *-marked, but as I posted above, and particularly as it's a "square set-up", I'll take that chance. My second choice was the *-marked Dunlops, but on paper, the Avons have (noticeably) better fuel efficiency and wet grip. We'll see about that. I'll post my thoughts about the tyres, in comparison to my experience with the BMW-spec. Pirellis, on the forum once I've put a few miles on them.

[bobgolden]

There seem to be various ages put out there by fast tyre fitters and manufacturers but, as already said, it’s UV that does the real damage to the tyre compounds.

If you’re lucky enough to have a garage to park in, then the exposure to UV is significantly reduced. I also used a BMW dealer to store my winter/summer tyres when not in use so never had problems with cracking etc.

[Greydog]

With my daughter driving tyres go bald with worry not age!!

[StuBeeDoo]

........... being fitted on Monday morning.............

Minor change of plan. Just had a call from National, they wanted to do it this afternoon! I'm busy this afternoon and most of tomorrow, so it's getting done Friday afternoon.

[X5Sport]

I was asking my Dealer about what winter rubber to use now that the 285/45R19 size is no longer made with a BMW Homologated ‘*’ option. The fronts 255/50R19 are available as BMW prefer a square setup on winter rubber. When I bought the X6 nine years ago staggered options were available.

According to the Service Team, BMW are now moving towards ‘joint approved’ or Mercedes/Audi specific - so MO, MOE or AO - homologated tyres on several X models. I assume (probably wrongly!) that it’s getting too expensive to homologate tyres across so many models as well as being somewhat nonsensical to have to do so on a conventional production car, as well as the bad publicity caused by what is fundamentally a poor design choice by the manufacturers of affected cars.

So I’ll probably use one or the other - as a new set - later this year to replace my nearly 9 year old and IMHO potentially doubtful Pirelli winter set. I haven’t checked whether AO/MO tyres are cheaper than ‘*’ but I can always hope.....

[StuBeeDoo]

BMW are now moving towards ‘joint approved’ or Mercedes/Audi specific - so MO, MOE or AO - homologated tyres

Interesting. When I bought my E46 6 years ago It needed a pair of rear tyres. I 'phoned my (at that time.....) preferred tyre place and they told me that they didn't keep Continental *-marked tyres in 225/45x17 but just supplied the MO equivalent. I didn't think too hard about it at the time because the car was already 10 years old...........

[sapphireblack]

I was asking my Dealer about what winter rubber to use now that the 285/45R19 size is no longer made with a BMW Homologated ‘*’ option. The fronts 255/50R19 are available as BMW prefer a square setup on winter rubber. When I bought the X6 nine years ago staggered options were available.

According to the Service Team, BMW are now moving towards ‘joint approved’ or Mercedes/Audi specific - so MO, MOE or AO - homologated tyres on several X models. I assume (probably wrongly!) that it’s getting too expensive to homologate tyres across so many models as well as being somewhat nonsensical to have to do so on a conventional production car, as well as the bad publicity caused by what is fundamentally a poor design choice by the manufacturers of affected cars.

So I’ll probably use one or the other - as a new set - later this year to replace my nearly 9 year old and IMHO potentially doubtful Pirelli winter set. I haven’t checked whether AO/MO tyres are cheaper than ‘*’ but I can always hope.....

Re-reading a few posts, wouldn't your best option now be 255 50 19 on all four wheels? The front size tyre is permissible on the wider 10" rear wheel and creates the square set up favoured by BMW. Accepting you still have warranty in place thats surely no more of a 'compromise' than switching to an Audi or MB approved tyre.

I grow ever more cynical about this entire subject tbh. I just have the feeling we're all being had! So many German sellers offer all manor of pre-owned winter tyres on BMW rims. Having now discovered Pirellis * marked 285 40 20 'Winter' spec isn't runflat either, I'm getting ever more cynical about the line that suspensions are set up only for RoF tyres. They cant be if the F16/86 has summer RoF and regular winter tyres supplied by the factory/dealership.

[StuBeeDoo]

I grow ever more cynical about this entire subject tbh. I just have the feeling we're all being had!

You and me both.