296 Cracked wheels and Bridgestone Potenza tyres

M

MikeS

Member
 Rottingdean nr Brighton
Left my car with the dealer this morning for its first MOT. Had a call an hour ago to say that it needed 2 new rear tyres as they are ‘both worn to the cord’ and that is after only 18000 miles most of which is local pedestrian journeys! Must say I was surprised, both by the quick and apparent uneven wear as well as the fact that I had not noticed it! Worse still they said one of the rear wheels was cracked :headbang: Again, owing to the known issues about this I have often checked the wheels and to be frank would have expected the fronts to be at more risk…………… However, the dealer said they would contact BMW about a warrant claim for the wheel and surprise surprise they called 10 mins ago to say it has been approved :o So now I am :D (wheel) and :cry: (tyres).
 
bad news on the tyres good news on the wheel,,,,, although this should be subject to a recall what happens if one fails... and especially in the states
 
Is the tyre wear on the inside of the tyres? The E89 has quite an aggressive negative camber by default from the factory 2.5 degrees. I had this reduced when we had our Eibachs fitted.

This thread is an interesting read and shows why the combination of an aggressive negative camber and the RFTs can lead to the cracking on the 296 wheels

http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7920143

Glad to hear that you at least got the wheel covered under warranty though.
 
Not sure if the tyre wear is on the inside - but I assume so at the moment as i did not see it! Will know more later when I pick the car up as I have asked to see the tyres and wheel.
 
Both tyres were badly worn on the first ½ inch on the inside for the majority of the circumference.

See https://picasaweb.google.com/103003301116145034549/Z4Wheels#5780581521659370578 and https://picasaweb.google.com/103003301116145034549/Z4Wheels#5780581592359607186
The rest of the tyre was almost as new. Talked to the try man at the dealers and his personal opinion was that this is ‘normal’ on these cars and other high performance cars owing to the aggressive camber. The set up being done to favour handling and not tyre wear. Still seems strange to me that the car would be set up in such a way as to get such extremely uneven tyre wear.

The wheel was cracked on the inside rim. Good to find out that BMW authorised a warrant replacement immediately when contacted by the dealer. It was recorded a dangerous on the first MOT test certificate so at least they acknowledge that there is a significant risk. See https://picasaweb.google.com/103003301116145034549/Z4Wheels#5780581582406117106 and https://picasaweb.google.com/103003301116145034549/Z4Wheels#5780583004988002482
 
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