Do you also have Cracked Wheels? Uneven tyre wear?

I

iwatchlive

Member
 doing the E of my BASE
Hi

You are all no doubt aware of the known issues and history with wheel weaknesses on BMW alloys, specifically in this case the 19" with run-flats. I know Rolf has had a few posts on this very subject. My Zed was supplied by BMW UK with four 19" 296 alloys with run flats.

CRACKED WHEELS? I also have had a cracked wheel and am currently awaiting a response from BMW on whether they will refund the cost of this. You may be aware of numerous cases of 19" 296 alloys with run flats having cracks in them; if you have 296 wheels, I recommend you get them tested as soon as.

Now even though in the UK the law is based on the "fit for purpose" principle, the dealer has asked me to pay up front for this wheel to be replaced all the same, which I find a bit strange (however I must add that Coopers of Tunbridge Wells provided excellent service at last minute so well done to them) I did ask them to provide me the actual details of the crack damage (i.e. the figures reported in relation to the cracked wheel and what results they had, yet they have yet to provide this) so I have the wheel itself.

The bottom line here is that I expect a full refund of the cost of this broken wheel (I have done 6K in the car in 6 months ownership) the vehicle has done 16K in total. If I am not refunded by BMW UK, then the wheel and associated flat tyre it caused (which is not being covered under the tyre insurance) will be going to MIRA for investigation; obviously pending the results will decide how we move forward from there.

Uneven tyre wear?
In reference to the durability of the run flats BMW supplied, which has been commented on a lot over the last three years- my Bridgestone tyres (At over £350 a piece) have lasted 16k miles only. I too am pretty shocked by the dramatic uneven wear on these tyres on this vehicle, I accept there is a camber that wears the inside edge quicker than the outside edge, but +4 or +5 mm on the outer edge and -4 or -5mm on the inner edge is too dramatic a difference for me to be happy; so I asked the dealer to run a full KDS geometry on the Zed which they have reported as fine. So check the inside edge of your zed tyres properly as they wear out FAST! Note; I am not a doughnut dooer, I dont drive the car on the edge and have not been on the track or using Sport / Sport + mode to cause this uneven wear, the simple fact is that they wear our very unevenly, more so than I believe they should. So the 19" and the Run flats are going to never never land.

I'll update you on the wheel situation when I have more info. I would like to hear your comments and experience / views on this issue-

Further info here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/10/bmw_alloy_wheels.html#comments
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/10/cracked_bmw_alloy_wheels_alter.html
 
I have roughly 26,000 kms on my OEM Potenza RFT's on 296's. I had the rims checked last week while the car was having the motor rebuilt to fix a valve spring. No issues with the rims ...the wear on the tires is remarkably low for the amount of hard road surface I have covered as some of the highways I drive are quite rough surfaces and tend to chew off rubbber at an alarming rate, the inside wear appears normal for a BMW ( most have inside wear due to camber ).
I drove my car to California, then over to Phoenix, then to Santa Fe then home to Calgary. No issues ...mostly the same roads that Rolf Dieter travelled when he suffered his cracked wheel problems. Over 6000kms in one trip and no issues at an average speed of 75mph.
I purchased tire and rim insurance last year so whatever happens to the wheels, someone in the BMW dealership is paying for the problem, be it the Dealer or the insurance agent via the dealer. I do plan on putting non-rft's on it as soon as the tires wear out and that should make the problem with the rims go away but it won't do anything about the inside wear.
 
To be absolutely fair, I think that while the dealer does their best to help, anyone running 19" rims and ultra-low profile tyres on a fast car in the UK with the roads in the state they are, and doesn't expect damage, is kidding themselves. IF all you do is motorway mileage then its a fair cop, but outside of that its realistic to expect damage on any car, not just a BMW.

Contentious maybe but its my opinion. :)
 
From E89 zpost

Eric from Puerto Rico said:
I own a 6/09 Z4 35i with unfortunately "296" and RFT's

Yes!!! both rear tires cracked several times (about 7 on each rear wheel) and have premature tire wear on the inside... Fortunately I have a great machine shop that does a great job and I also own a second car X6 35i to continue a normal life.

Now I feel like "Driving Miss Daisy"" when I go out on my Z4 due to the frequent cracked rear wheels and this is really "Driving Me Crazy" because I want to drive taking it to the reasonable limits of adhesion on a twisty road. Eventually I am planning to tune the engine with Burger JV3 but I need to deal with the wheel issues first.

I was thinking of the BMW OEM “313” tires 18” from the 1 Series (to get more sidewall) or 19” from the 35is with unfortunately RFT’s because I want to get home after a long night even with a flat tire?

I need all the help I can get from you guys!!

Are “313” wheels forged?

Will the 18” from the 1 series fit or should I go with the 19” ?

I like aftermarket but I will keep it OEM.

Thanks
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Was your crack like this on M6 wheel?
IMG_3280s.jpg

IMG_3281s.jpg
 
I don't think you wll have any joy with this I'm afraid. BMW stopped supplying 19" wheels on 3 series for a while, and I'm sure they wouldn't have started supplying again if they knew they would have to pay out on claims.

19" Alloys, RFT low profile tyres and stiff suspension is going to cause problems.

One of my bosses has a Jaguar XFR and at two months old have to replace all four 20" wheels due to being buckled, Jaguar didn't want to know.

I don't understand why your tyre insurance won't pay out though, what reason have they given?
 
lacroupade, I would have to agree to an extent - 30 profile tyres and 19" wheels are just too much for our roads. Unfortunate, as the 296 wheels look great and are my favs.

iwatchlive, presume the tyre insurance wouldn't pay out as they were worn past the wear indicators? What wheels are you going to get next?
 
iwatchlive , I'm guessing its a rear wheel thats gone?

Was your car in at the dealers and they spotted it, or did you see the crack yourself? My understanding is that the crack tends to appear on the inside of the wheel, and not near the outer face...? :?

Good luck, and keep us updated.
 
Z4 Beemer said:
iwatchlive , I'm guessing its a rear wheel thats gone?

Was your car in at the dealers and they spotted it, or did you see the crack yourself? My understanding is that the crack tends to appear on the inside of the wheel, and not near the outer face...? :?

Good luck, and keep us updated.
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Just curious why you think it would be a rear wheel.....surely the fronts are the ones with all the engine weight on and the first to hit a pothole? Or does the science not work that way? :?
 
The backs are wider so even more of the rim is unsupported on the inside making more susceptible to bending, although and reality I don't think it really makes much difference due to the other factors.
 
Even my dad M5 has two rear cracked rims; with under 8k on the clock.... but the dealer in Watford replaced his for free.

I have aftermarket 19's with 30 profile rears and mine seem mine so far... even after driving fast over some bone shattering surfaces.

How can some of the so called "forged" BMW alloys crack? Are BMW alloys just soft? (would that cause them to bend and not cracked)
 
It's usually the rears as the profile is lower, weight is evenly distributed over the four wheels due to the cars equal balance and I have been told that this phenominum effects different styles of 19" wheels where the profile is low, I would guess it is ultimately a result of excessive stress over a long period and not through shock (as this would cause failures soon after delivery) It does not effect other marques as much because they do not use RFT.

I am surprised that people actually specify a new BMW with low profile 19" wheels given the history and notoriety of the problem, if you could specify 19" wheels with non RFT's maybe yes.

Good luck though, I fear that one day soon someone will be killed as a result of the wheel falling apart.
 
aquazi said:
Even my dad M5 has two rear cracked rims; with under 8k on the clock.... but the dealer in Watford replaced his for free.

I have aftermarket 19's with 30 profile rears and mine seem mine so far... even after driving fast over some bone shattering surfaces.

How can some of the so called "forged" BMW alloys crack? Are BMW alloys just soft? (would that cause them to bend and not cracked)
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Hutch's explanation makes sense - thanks, hadn't taken rim width into account.

As to 'are they soft?' well the simple answer is yes. Its relative but alloys are (i) more elastic than steel,(ii) more brittle, and (iii) more susceptible to cycle stress....i.e. where steel reaches a cut-off point where no further stress damage will occur, alloys typically decline continually with each cycle of stress until they finally give out - so yes they ARE susceptible to shock. All relative as I say, but add them up and its not good news. Its the trade-off between weight and performance unfortunately.....you can't have it all ways.

One of those times when having a four-pot on 16s is a distinct wallet-saver LOL :)
 
lacroupade said:
To be absolutely fair, I think that while the dealer does their best to help, anyone running 19" rims and ultra-low profile tyres on a fast car in the UK with the roads in the state they are, and doesn't expect damage, is kidding themselves. IF all you do is motorway mileage then its a fair cop, but outside of that its realistic to expect damage on any car, not just a BMW.

Contentious maybe but its my opinion. :)
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:thumbsup: +1
Good 19" may look, they make the handling terrible. The rubber you use makes such a difference. A big enough pothole will crack anything.

Was contetious enough? :P
 
aquazi said:
Even my dad M5 has two rear cracked rims; with under 8k on the clock.... but the dealer in Watford replaced his for free.

I have aftermarket 19's with 30 profile rears and mine seem mine so far... even after driving fast over some bone shattering surfaces.

How can some of the so called "forged" BMW alloys crack? Are BMW alloys just soft? (would that cause them to bend and not cracked)
Click to expand...

I believe that only original CSL (not CS) rims are forged. The others are just cast or spun cast.
 
The 296 wheels are low pressure cast, not forged. Even the 313's are low pressure cast with only the outer rim being forged.
 
iwatchlive,

@E89 Zpost, there is a sticky thread about cracked 296 wheel problems. Just a few people who had wheel cracks have written their experiences in this thread. If you search the E89 forum, you will find many more victims.

It would be great if you also add your experiences and/or pictures in this thread. Thanks.

LINK: http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515944
 
I was checking the ACS Type VIII forged 19" wheels yesterday. Each wheel is £1k :-o . It is even ligher and stronger than BMW Performance 313 cast wheel. Wheel and tyre set is £6.5k.

If I decide to upgrade the wheels from 18" to 19", I will go for BMW Performance 313.
 
Never looked at my rears until today... Have a very odd wear pattern. Looks like the prior owner may have under inflated and there's a groove on both rears on the inner edge.

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When I bought the car I never checked the tyres this closely, durr. I've set the pressures to match the sticker on the drivers door and this looks fine now tho the ride is harder. It's going in for brake fluid shortly so will ask the dealer for thoughts on the grooves.
 
My car has opposite wear pattern compared to the others. The tread depth from inside to outside are 5mm, 4mm, 4mm and 3mm. I think I powerslide too much. :driving:
 
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