Do I need to buy * rated tyres?

[richatnort]

I’m totally lost on whether I should be looking for * rated bmw tyres or the non bmw ones?

I’ve got a x3 m40i with Pirelli’s on at the minute that are near the end of their life. At £360 a corner I wanted to look at other options and found some Michelins at Costco for considerably less but the same size guide, they’re just not * rated so unsure if I should get them or not.

Anyone able to help untangle this tyre mess for me!

[RonnieHotdogs]

Nope - I've never bothered, and had a few BMWs. I'm sure I saw a video on the Tyre Reviews YouTube channel that claimed some brands ask the tyre manufacturer to provide the "approved" tyres with slightly less tread depth to reduce emissions slightly for testing. Compound, tread pattern etc are identical.

I could have imagined it though!

[ian in lancs]

I think the 4WD BMW’s are picky re non star marked tyres and transfer box issues. There’s a caution in the BMW manual that used to be online but BMW had it taken down.

[Mr Tidy]

I've never bothered either, although I did fit the same make as OE when I had newer cars that were still in warranty.

[d_a_n1979]

richatnort said:

I’m totally lost on whether I should be looking for * rated bmw tyres or the non bmw ones?

I’ve got a x3 m40i with Pirelli’s on at the minute that are near the end of their life. At £360 a corner I wanted to look at other options and found some Michelins at Costco for considerably less but the same size guide, they’re just not * rated so unsure if I should get them or not.

Anyone able to help untangle this tyre mess for me!

My Dad doesn't run star rated tyres on his X3M and has zero issues; he's on Michelins all round too albeit via Asda Tyres

[E30M3SE]

Stick to * marked tyres, your drivetrain and wallet will thank you long term.

[RockDriver]

d_a_n1979 said:

richatnort said:

I’m totally lost on whether I should be looking for * rated bmw tyres or the non bmw ones?

I’ve got a x3 m40i with Pirelli’s on at the minute that are near the end of their life. At £360 a corner I wanted to look at other options and found some Michelins at Costco for considerably less but the same size guide, they’re just not * rated so unsure if I should get them or not.

Anyone able to help untangle this tyre mess for me!

My Dad doesn't run star rated tyres on his X3M and has zero issues; he's on Michelins all round too albeit via Asda Tyres

Wait a minute, are you saying Michelins are not star rated? I was about to pull the trigger on a set of Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Zero Pressure and these are the most expensive of all the options right now.

[E30M3SE]

If they're ZP they will be * marked.

[Oilchange]

E30M3SE said:

Stick to * marked tyres, your drivetrain and wallet will thank you long term.

or don't, it's probably being much much cheaper not to

[E30M3SE]

Oilchange said:

or don't, it's probably being much much cheaper not to

Depends what you class as 'much much cheaper'?

[d_a_n1979]

RockDriver said:

d_a_n1979 said:

richatnort said:

I’m totally lost on whether I should be looking for * rated bmw tyres or the non bmw ones?

I’ve got a x3 m40i with Pirelli’s on at the minute that are near the end of their life. At £360 a corner I wanted to look at other options and found some Michelins at Costco for considerably less but the same size guide, they’re just not * rated so unsure if I should get them or not.

Anyone able to help untangle this tyre mess for me!

My Dad doesn't run star rated tyres on his X3M and has zero issues; he's on Michelins all round too albeit via Asda Tyres

Wait a minute, are you saying Michelins are not star rated? I was about to pull the trigger on a set of Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Zero Pressure and these are the most expensive of all the options right now.

He runs the Michelin PS4 SUVs on a set of 764Ms IIRC - he'd gone through 3 sets of wheels in 3 years; all replaced under warranty buy Bowker BMW as they constantly corroded and they wouldn't refurb them; just replace them

So we got an another set via eBay and got them fully refurbed/powdercoated and shod with those Michelins; they've been on nearly 2 years now I think; zero issues

I'm sure they're not start rated; they replaced some OEM spec Bridgetones or Pirelli's which my Dad hated

[RockDriver]

E30M3SE said:

Depends what you class as 'much much cheaper'?

It's interesting how on Black Circles Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Zero Pressure 275/40 R20 is marked as "Designed for BMW", but exactly the same tyre, different size - 315/35 R20 - is not.

[richatnort]

Well I’m just as confused still! I’d ideally want PS4’s on them however Michelin don’t seem to do a 245 40 r21 or if they do no where sells them so I am a bit stuck as to what to get next.

[d_a_n1979]

richatnort said:

Well I’m just as confused still! I’d ideally want PS4’s on them however Michelin don’t seem to do a 245 40 r21 or if they do no where sells them so I am a bit stuck as to what to get next.

Michelins here (albeit non RFTs, if you want RFTs):

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m74b0s5086p0/Car_Tyres_...

Michelin PS4s here on MyTyres:

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Michelin/Pilo...

[RockDriver]

Pulled the trigger on a set of Michelin Latitude Sport 3 Zero Pressure. I sort of made my peace with the fact than when you have those god damn 20 inch staggered wheels - you can forget about variety or newer models.

[Pica-Pica]

This came up some time ago on Jon’s Tyre Reviews. Which may explain the differences with star * BMW tyres.

[SmithCorona]

Yep. Even though the tyre manufacturer, model and size can be the same, the exact compounds used vary between the homologated and the off the shelf.

Case in point for BMW and Michelin:

https://youtu.be/COA630Juf_Usi=A_nv01eUmR1pjvEu

[Somebody]

E30M3SE said:

Oilchange said:

or don't, it's probably being much much cheaper not to

Depends what you class as 'much much cheaper'?

There's also a difference due to RFT on the left?

[Oilchange]

Do you even need run flats ?

[RockDriver]

Oilchange said:

Do you even need run flats ?

Well, you don't. But there are a number of things to consider. I don't know the specifics of other models, so I'm talking about X5 here:

• First, you can have the seven seater version, because those rear seats take up the space of the spare wheel.
• Getting just the right spare wheel sounds like a lot of hassle - I read a discussion about it on another forum. Specifically, it has to do with the right circumference and that damn xDrive sensitivity.
• Without the fastening center bolt, the spare wheel may bop around and cause annoying noise.
• Tyre tends to blow at the most inconvenient time and location. Last time it happened to me was years ago, but it was dark and -15C temperature. Suffice it to say I did not have a good time putting that spare wheel on. Also I did a mistake limping the last 200 meters off a highway to a petrol station so I wouldn't get killed while changing the wheel. Apparently that was enough to destroy the punctured tyre and ultimately I had to pay for a new one.

Obviously run flats have their own set of problems. If you drive on punctured run flat sufficient distance, it will get destroyed and need to be replaced. If your tyres are half worn - that won't be good enough, because of that damn xDrive sensitivity to wheel circumference difference, there's a good chance you will need a new set of tyres, this obviously applies to both run flats and non run flats.