Alignment, cracked wheels, and worn tires

[Lukeiswho]

Hello all. My tire pressure light came on while I was driving last week. I got the car home, parked it overnight, and went to fill the tires in the morning but it was flat. I picked up a large nail somewhere. So I took the wheel off thinking I could get the hole plugged.

I went to my local shop, and they noticed some uneven wear, and the start of a crack on the inside of my tire. They said "alignment... pretty common with BMW's"... these tires are under 2 years old, less than 15,000 miles, and they are Michelin Pilot Super Sports. In fact, the wear was really ONLY on the inside corner of the tire... there was still quite a lot of tread across the rest of the face. I didn't snap a picture of it, but I took one of my other tire. (Below) It's the rear tire. Both of them are wearing the same way, but the driver's side was basically bald on the inside, and cracked as I said. So I ordered 2 new tires, as the front's looked fine.

Then to add to that... when they came in, the shop said both wheels were cracked and one was warped. So money is just flying out the window now. I DID hit a pretty serious pot hole a few months back, but on the passenger side... which required me to replace a wheel bearing. Which, I know could cause alignment issues...

But I guess my question is... how common of a thing is this? Should I worry greatly about my alignment, or is this just the reality of this car? (Negative camber?) The guy at the shop said I'd have to take it directly to BMW to address the issue properly. I'm not the first owner, so I don't know what has been to the car over the years, but I hadn't noticed anything extreme. I don't have a great photo illustrating the current state... but I've attached the best one I could find.

Let me know what you guys think. Thank you!

 

[kis]

Wheel alignment is a thing, don't worry. Have to get it done quite regularly to ensure that it's running straight, true and doesn't suffer from uneven tyre wear, etc. The Zed as a 'sports car' has an aggressive camber. No getting away from it. The best thing you can do is set it up for alignment under Z4 M settings. The M doesn't have quite so much of an aggressive camber, so that'll reduce that wear you're showing in your picture. Only reduce tho, you'll still get more wear inside which is annoying when you see so much tread from the outside!

Cracked wheels is a issue related to going down the runflat route, so pretty normal too. Best thing you can do (if you haven't already) is change to non-runflats. They will give your back a better ride and save you from cracking any more wheels (again cracks are more common on rears - which are the more expensive ones to replace, naturally).

 

[Lukeiswho]

Thanks Kis,

How many miles should I expect out of good tires, with proper alignment?

In terms of getting the alignment set up to the M specs, is that something a "standard" alignment shop will be able to handle, or is this a dealer job? I have a shop that's been good to me in the past on other cars. (I actually took the Zed in to have it done 2 years ago, and they said it was in good shape, and didn't charge me anything)

I did get out of the runflats already, but that's good info to have.

 

[Crazy Harry]

Hi, those photos could be the rears on my E85 in a month or so - just noticed them starting to wear. It will be worth your while having the suspension bushes checked and changed if you have excessive wear. Wear in the bushes however well the suspension is aligned changes the relative position of the components (hence the alignment) as you drive and the new tyres will wear faster.

I know its more expense but in the end you are only going to have to buy more tyres prematurely if you don't do it. I've decided to sort out the whole 'flaky paint' and light subframe corrosion on mine at the same time by stripping; rebuilding/bushing and swapping in another complete rear subframe assembly as I change the wheels and tyres - but that's just me :lol:

 

[kis]

Thanks Kis,

How many miles should I expect out of good tires, with proper alignment?

In terms of getting the alignment set up to the M specs, is that something a "standard" alignment shop will be able to handle, or is this a dealer job? I have a shop that's been good to me in the past on other cars. (I actually took the Zed in to have it done 2 years ago, and they said it was in good shape, and didn't charge me anything)

I did get out of the runflats already, but that's good info to have.

All subjective mate, depends on how you drive, how much you drive, road types, road conditions, etc, etc. Then it depends on the tyre itself as well, some noticeably wear quicker than others.

I'd much rather have a softer, performance tyre which is super sticky... rather than get a few thousand more miles out of the tyre and sacrifice performance.

Alignment is something any half decent garage with alignment equipment should be able to sort out. A few have been mentioned over here as being particularly good. But obviously a bit far for you!

 

[step_change]

The alignment makes a huge difference to the handling. Mine was like a penguin feet at the rear and the car was as twitchy as hell. It is very much better now, even on run flats, after having the alignment adjusted. Indeed, I personally think - with no evidence to back up what I am saying - that maybe some folk's issues with twitchiness from the car is due to alignment and not necessarily run flats. The difference is now unbelievable not it is running true. Maybe none-run flats improve that even more....

You should be getting 20000 mile out of quality tyres IMO with reasonable, everyday use and a mixture of freeway/town driving. Very subjective answer but that's a good ballpark. Thrashing it around corners and slamming on and screeching off from standstill and you can struggle to get 5000 out of them.

 

[mjennings23]

The alignment makes a huge difference to the handling. Mine was like a penguin feet at the rear and the car was as twitchy as hell. It is very much better now, even on run flats, after having the alignment adjusted. Indeed, I personally think - with no evidence to back up what I am saying - that maybe some folk's issues with twitchiness from the car is due to alignment and not necessarily run flats. The difference is now unbelievable not it is running true. Maybe none-run flats improve that even more....

You should be getting 20000 mile out of quality tyres IMO with reasonable, everyday use and a mixture of freeway/town driving. Very subjective answer but that's a good ballpark. Thrashing it around corners and slamming on and screeching off from standstill and you can struggle to get 5000 out of them.

20k out of fronts may be manageable, especially newer tyres like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 which seems to be a very durable tyre while maintaining UHP tyre grip.

However, I cannot imagine 20k out of a set of rears on a RWD sports car, unless you're talking very hard "eco" tyres and driving like Miss Daisy

 

[-banned-]

Wheel alignment is a thing, don't worry. Have to get it done quite regularly to ensure that it's running straight, true and doesn't suffer from uneven tyre wear, etc. The Zed as a 'sports car' has an aggressive camber. No getting away from it. The best thing you can do is set it up for alignment under Z4 M settings. The M doesn't have quite so much of an aggressive camber, so that'll reduce that wear you're showing in your picture. Only reduce tho, you'll still get more wear inside which is annoying when you see so much tread from the outside!

Cracked wheels is a issue related to going down the runflat route, so pretty normal too. Best thing you can do (if you haven't already) is change to non-runflats. They will give your back a better ride and save you from cracking any more wheels (again cracks are more common on rears - which are the more expensive ones to replace, naturally).

Camber doesn't eat tyres, bad Toe alignment does, also z4 runs -1.50 degree witch is in no way aggressive . z4M runs more camber front and rear btw .

 

[mjennings23]

-1.50 rear is M spec, standard model is -2.50

 

[mmm-five]

20k out of fronts may be manageable, especially newer tyres like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 which seems to be a very durable tyre while maintaining UHP tyre grip.

However, I cannot imagine 20k out of a set of rears on a RWD sports car, unless you're talking very hard "eco" tyres and driving like Miss Daisy

Don't see why you couldn't get 20k out of a set of rears...I do on my Z4MC...and double that out of the fronts - both axles on Pilot Supersports.

It's not about how fast you drive, but how aggressive you drive. You can drive a track to the same lap time in a smooth & controlled manner, or you can grab the car by the scruff of the neck and drive every corner at 11/10ths.

The former will get you better MPG, tyre & brake life, and better major component life, but may not look that quick to a casual observer.

Mine also gets a few thousand miles of motorway running in between track days, hoons and ring trips.

FYI Miss Daisy was the passenger

 

[mjennings23]

20k out of fronts may be manageable, especially newer tyres like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 which seems to be a very durable tyre while maintaining UHP tyre grip.

However, I cannot imagine 20k out of a set of rears on a RWD sports car, unless you're talking very hard "eco" tyres and driving like Miss Daisy

Don't see why you couldn't get 20k out of a set of rears...I do on my Z4MC...and double that out of the fronts - both axles on Pilot Supersports.

It's not about how fast you drive, but how aggressive you drive. You can drive a track to the same lap time in a smooth & controlled manner, or you can grab the car by the scruff of the neck and drive every corner at 11/10ths.

The former will get you better MPG, tyre & brake life, and better major component life, but may not look that quick to a casual observer.

Mine also gets a few thousand miles of motorway running in between track days, hoons and ring trips.

FYI Miss Daisy was the passenger

Well colour me impressed!

I've read that the Pilot Supersports are a very good tyre in terms of lifespan, so you're clearly an excellent example of that. By comparison, I can't imagine it being possible with something such as Continental SportContacts which are known for wearing quite fast.

The next set of boots for me will be Pilot Sports too, so it's good to know they last!

 

[mmm-five]

Well colour me impressed!

I've read that the Pilot Supersports are a very good tyre in terms of lifespan, so you're clearly an excellent example of that. By comparison, I can't imagine it being possible with something such as Continental SportContacts which are known for wearing quite fast.

The next set of boots for me will be Pilot Sports too, so it's good to know they last!

Definitely better than the OE Contis.

The Conti M3s that came on the car lasted les than 1/2 the mileage of the PSS...for the same type of usage.

Was a no brainer to swap when the prices were so similar.

 

[kis]

Camber doesn't eat tyres, bad Toe alignment does, also z4 runs -1.50 degree witch is in no way aggressive . z4M runs more camber front and rear btw .

Not sure I agree with any of that mate! Camber and Toe both cause inner tyre wear? Toe in or out may attribute to inner tyre wear but the camber on the Zed is the main cause. Also not sure where you get 1.5 as mjennings23 has said 1.5 degree camber is M spec. Standard spec is the 2.5 degree which is IMO aggressive (obviously all subjective, you're welcome to disagree!). So completely opposite of what you've said saying the Z4M runs more camber :?

 

[mjennings23]

Camber doesn't eat tyres, bad Toe alignment does, also z4 runs -1.50 degree witch is in no way aggressive . z4M runs more camber front and rear btw .

Not sure I agree with any of that mate! Camber and Toe both cause inner tyre wear? Toe in or out may attribute to inner tyre wear but the camber on the Zed is the main cause. Also not sure where you get 1.5 as mjennings23 has said 1.5 degree camber is M spec. Standard spec is the 2.5 degree which is IMO aggressive (obviously all subjective, you're welcome to disagree!). So completely opposite of what you've said saying the Z4M runs more camber :?

Hence why my 3.0 is now set up to M roadster specs for alignment now, less rear camber and I believe less toe in all round? May be incorrect about that one... :?

 

[Steve84N]

Toe eats edges of tyres more than camber does, so long as we're not talking silly slanted wheels like some of the VW boys run.

The M runs more front and less rear camber than the non-M which is still plenty safe and won't turn the car into an oversteer monster.

 

[mjennings23]

For reference, I'm currently running my 3.0 at 4 minutes toe in front, 20 minutes rear, 1 degree and 10 minutes negative front camber and 1 degree 45 minutes negative rear camber.

All of these bar rear camber are still technically "within spec" for the 3.0 but not what BMW called optimum.

Looking at the book, their "ideal" setup has 14 minutes front toe in, 57 minutes front camber, 22 minutes rear toe and 2 degrees 50 minutes rear camber, ignoring the +- ranges for simplicity

 

[kis]

Toe eats edges of tyres more than camber does, so long as we're not talking silly slanted wheels like some of the VW boys run.

The M runs more front and less rear camber than the non-M which is still plenty safe and won't turn the car into an oversteer monster.

So the reason the insides wear quicker on the Zed is because of its Toe? Even on rears? Well that's interesting! I always thought it was mostly attributed to the camber.

 

[Steve84N]

You will get more edge wear with the BMW 2.5 degrees compared to 1.something.

 

[Lukeiswho]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

I put the tires on and eventually took the car on the freeway, and the back end felt way more unruly than I ever remember it. I never felt like I was going to spin out or anything, but I felt like I was sliding around a bit. Could this be down the alignment being much worse than I think it is? Or just slippery new tires? To be honest, I started to wonder "Is it possible the tire shop could have put the tires on inside out or on the opposite side?" (Full disclosure: I did wash the car and use tire cleaner and tire shine on them... but I've done this before)

It's not alarming, but noticeable. How long (in miles?) should I wait for the tires to break in? I don't remember this happening before.

 

[kis]

Let the tyres bed in for a couple hundred miles. Make sure tyre pressures are correct. Get an alignment...
I don't think any tyre cleaner / shining product would have had that much of a detrimental effect to the feel of the car on the road?