Bmw star marked xdrive tyres

[gareth-jz8kq]

Hey guys

I'm looking for some advice on some new tyres for my x3 f25. I purchased the car just over a year ago with the wrong size front tyres fitted. It only came to light about month ago when a churning noise started coming from the diff. Cut a long story short it needed a new diff, sump, trans box luckily enough it was covered under warranty. I've just got the car back and wanted to get all 4 tyres changed ASAP but struggling to find a list of star marked tyres for xdrive. I've been looking at the hankook ventus s1 evo 2. They seem a reasonable price and decent reviews.

I don't want to rush into anything and get the wrong tyres fitted and be in the same problem again. On black circles they've got the bmw marker but want to be 100% sure.

Does any one have any more information on what tyres are compatible for xdrive.

Thanks in advance

[Wills2]

Just ask your local BMW dealer or put the reg plate or wheel size/model etc.. into the search function the likes of mytyres have.

What is the exact model of X3 and year and wheel size?

Edited by Wills2 on Wednesday 1st December 20:49

[gareth-jz8kq]

It's an x3 2016 30d m sport. It's got 245/40/19 fitted to the front but should be 245/45/19 and rears are 275/40/19.

I've emailed my local bmw dealer for a list of tyres and prices but unsure if they'll get back to me. I did ring them up earlier to get a price for the hankooks and to check if they was star rated and xdrive compatible. She managed to find the rears and get a price but for some reason the fronts wasn't on the system

Edited by gareth-jz8kq on Wednesday 1st December 20:57

[Wills2]

Fronts * rated

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Pirelli/P-Zer...

Rears * rated

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Pirelli/P-Zer...

Edited by Wills2 on Wednesday 1st December 21:08

[gareth-jz8kq]

Thanks for that mate. Do they need to be xl? I've currently got p zeros on but if I'm honest I don't really rate them. When booting traction control kicks in alot of the time and seems ro struggling getting power down but I'm unsure whether the wrong front tyres has anything to do with this

[Pica-Pica]

Wills2 said:

Just ask your local BMW dealer or put the reg plate or wheel size/model etc.. into the search function the likes of mytyres have.

What is the exact model of X3 and year and wheel size?

Edited by Wills2 on Wednesday 1st December 20:49

Ask a BMW for a price for tyres. You may be surprised. I went down from 19” to 18”, via a BMW main dealer, the price was competitive for the wheels and * marked tyres

[mekondelta]

gareth-jz8kq said:

Thanks for that mate. Do they need to be xl? I've currently got p zeros on but if I'm honest I don't really rate them. When booting traction control kicks in alot of the time and seems ro struggling getting power down but I'm unsure whether the wrong front tyres has anything to do with this

Odd I have the '14 model and regularly give it some welly and don't see the traction control come on, I have PZeros. They're 245/50/18's all round. Even turning on an incline the wheels soon a little bit I don't see the tectonic control light so I assume there's some give before TC kicks in. PZeros best RFT I've found so far but considering cross climates for next time, but still looking for * RFT all weather tyres...

[Pica-Pica]

mekondelta said:

gareth-jz8kq said:

Thanks for that mate. Do they need to be xl? I've currently got p zeros on but if I'm honest I don't really rate them. When booting traction control kicks in alot of the time and seems ro struggling getting power down but I'm unsure whether the wrong front tyres has anything to do with this

Odd I have the '14 model and regularly give it some welly and don't see the traction control come on, I have PZeros. They're 245/50/18's all round. Even turning on an incline the wheels soon a little bit I don't see the tectonic control light so I assume there's some give before TC kicks in. PZeros best RFT I've found so far but considering cross climates for next time, but still looking for * RFT all weather tyres...

I am still searching for *RFT all seasons as well, so far none found !
I had Pirelli P zeros on 19” and changed to Goodyear Efficient grip on 18”, much quieter and more comfortable (which is mostly due to the drop in diameter, of course).

[Martyn76]

Is there not a sticker on the driver side door B pillar with tyre sizes and recommended pressures?

[Pica-Pica]

Martyn76 said:

Is there not a sticker on the driver side door B pillar with tyre sizes and recommended pressures?

I think the issue is about looking for star-marked tyres, whose rolling circumference are (supposedly) more accurately selected to avoid diff and transfer box issues on x-drive. (There are also construction and compound differences too, these was screenshot of Jon- (tyre reviews) analysis of the compound differences.

[Ranger 6]

gareth-jz8kq said:

Thanks for that mate. Do they need to be xl? I've currently got p zeros on but if I'm honest I don't really rate them. When booting traction control kicks in alot of the time and seems ro struggling getting power down but I'm unsure whether the wrong front tyres has anything to do with this

I had a 35d and only ever had TC on loose surfaces or ice.

As far as the * marked tyres go, it was easy on the sites as most have an OEM list these days, even Camskill.

The only time I haven't used OEM tyres is for a set of all-square ATs.

[gareth-jz8kq]

There is a sticker with the correct sizes but I want to make sure they are the right tyres for xdrive. I need to get them changed ASAP but don't want to get the wrong ones.

I emailed some one in the service department and rang the service manager today asking for tyres and prices to be emailed over to me but no luck with getting a response.

The traction control may well be due to the wrong tyres fitted but until I get them changed I won't know

[naturalaspiration]

I would not worry much about the star marking. As long as the tyre is of the correct size and load rating it is correct. There is no such thing as an "incorrect" tyre for xDrive. To retain similar driving character on both axles, just take the same make/model as you have on the other axle and you're good to go.

Once the other axle tyre pair wears off, repeat. You will then free yourself from the star fetish, handsomely surcharged by BMW.

BMW is the ultimate money making.machine. Tyre developers spend time and money developimg and testing tyres. Then comes a big car maker and says "If you want to be my supplier, you are going to change them ever so slightly just so as that I can claim they are special and people will be buying them through my retail network, at BMW price". Nice one.

Edited by naturalaspiration on Thursday 2nd December 19:56

Edited by naturalaspiration on Thursday 2nd December 20:03

[gareth-jz8kq]

I'm not to concerned about the star marking but want to get the right tyres fitted. Had a look on kwik fit and they've got 15% off perilli p zero or 10% off Goodyear excellence and efficient grip or bridgestone potenza. They've got 2-3 different types all same price and say p zero but different fuel and wet ratings.

Regarding the sticker on the door. You've got top and bottom left and right. Do you have to say top and bottom from the same side or can you mix?

Edited by gareth-jz8kq on Thursday 2nd December 21:47

[JNW1]

naturalaspiration said:

I would not worry much about the star marking. As long as the tyre is of the correct size and load rating it is correct.

I agree; the important thing is to have the correct size and load rating, whether they're star marked is secondary bordering irrelevant IMO. I know the internet's awash with people claiming non-star marked tyres invalidate your warranty but to me it's about as credible as all those claiming they know someone who was prosecuted for doing 1mph over the speed limit....

Historically I think the rolling circumference of X-drive tyres needed to be within 1% of each other front to rear to avoid problems with the transfer box but on some current models BMW themselves have started to depart from that which suggests a redesign of the system has perhaps made it slightly less sensitive to tyre size. Regardless, stick to the recommended sizes and load ratings for your car and you'll be ok; similarly, if you move away from a staggered set-up - and fit the same sizes front and rear - that will also be fine in my view. But whether or not they're star marked isn't something to be worried about IMO...

[Easternlight]

This is of no help to the OP but I really don't get all the fuss about the tyre diameters on 4x4's
OK you don't want the wheels to be a inch different outside diameter but in the real world no four wheels are going to be the same and you will nearly always not be going in a dead straight line, so they will be spinning at different speeds.
That's the whole point of diffs and the transfer box!

[naturalaspiration]

gareth-jz8kq said:

I'm not to concerned about the star marking but want to get the right tyres fitted. Had a look on kwik fit and they've got 15% off perilli p zero or 10% off Goodyear excellence and efficient grip or bridgestone potenza. They've got 2-3 different types all same price and say p zero but different fuel and wet ratings.

Regarding the sticker on the door. You've got top and bottom left and right. Do you have to say top and bottom from the same side or can you mix?

Edited by gareth-jz8kq on Thursday 2nd December 21:47

Not sure I understand: "You've got top and bottom left and right. Do you have to say top and bottom from the same side or can you mix?"

What it tells you is what pressure to use with regards to:
a) tyre size
b) tyre type (summer or winter)
c) axle it is mounted and
d) car load

Let's take your example: you need to get the correct set of tyres for the front axle: 245/45/19. If you are buying summer tyres look top right for correct pressures (car empty vs full). If you opt for winter (M+S stands for mud and snow) look bottom right for correct pressures.

You will note that winter tyres are generally inflated to higher pressures than summer tyres to compensate for higher variance in pressures between cold and warm tyre - more applicable to the Continent where many cars are kept in (warm-ish) garages. You check your tyre pressure before the trip and all is good; then, fully loaded (family, roof box full of skis, ski boots etc), drive off to your favourite ski resort in the Alps, and once there you leave your car parked outside. At my "lockdown" skiing in Italy this January we had -19C in the morning for the good part of the week. My home garage temperature was +16C.

[Ranger 6]

naturalaspiration said:

I would not worry much about the star marking. As long as the tyre is of the correct size and load rating it is correct.

This only works for an all-square set up - they tyres will still need to be roughly the same wear on all.

Staggered set-ups where the front to back sizes are different very much do need star marked tyres.

I bought a 30d X3 with non-star marked tyres, yes, they were the right sizes, but not 'approved' tyres, the transfer box was juddering and on investigation the dealer swapped all the tyres to star marked and the problem went away.

If the car is under warranty I have heard that dealers will not fix transfer boxes under that warranty if the tyres aren't approved. The story further up suggests that isn't entirely correct.

naturalaspiration said:

To retain similar driving character on both axles, just take the same make/model as you have on the other axle and you're good to go.

This problem is not about driving characteristics, it's the sensitivity of the transfer box to variations in tyre sizes. It does affect all the other xDrive models as well.

[gareth-jz8kq]

Ranger 6 said:

naturalaspiration said:

I would not worry much about the star marking. As long as the tyre is of the correct size and load rating it is correct.

This only works for an all-square set up - they tyres will still need to be roughly the same wear on all.

Staggered set-ups where the front to back sizes are different very much do need star marked tyres.

I bought a 30d X3 with non-star marked tyres, yes, they were the right sizes, but not 'approved' tyres, the transfer box was juddering and on investigation the dealer swapped all the tyres to star marked and the problem went away.

If the car is under warranty I have heard that dealers will not fix transfer boxes under that warranty if the tyres aren't approved. The story further up suggests that isn't entirely correct.

naturalaspiration said:

To retain similar driving character on both axles, just take the same make/model as you have on the other axle and you're good to go.

This problem is not about driving characteristics, it's the sensitivity of the transfer box to variations in tyre sizes. It does affect all the other xDrive models as well.

Thanks for that info. Do you get star marked from bmw or will the bmw marked ones on say black circles be OK?

[Ranger 6]

Black Circles, tyres-online, Camskill etc etc will all supply star marked tyres, there is no need to buy from a BMW dealer. I have heard that they're getting quite competitive though so it's worth checking.