Continental tire failure

Hi Bimmerfest

This may be an isolated incident but I thought it best to mention it anyway. Yesterday I replaced two rear tires on my 530i, these would be the Continental 16 inch tires that I believe are usually standard on BMW's. I have 80K on the clock, 2nd vehicle owner and am guessing these are second sets of tires.

I was experiencing what felt like imbalance at slow speed but more side to side instead of traditional thump from common balance problems. Upon inspecting the tire after removing it from the left rear I found the outer thread edge to be higher than the remaining tread which shows that the belts under the thread were separating. I took the vehicle in and had the two rear tires replaced, front ones are fine with thread.

The right rear tire was also in need of replacement because it was an old spare from a year ago. When I had replaced that tire I found two 3/4" thread cuts in two locations, not vandalism but simply tire damage but in the same area of the tire with the separated thread. I have never used continentals before, I do not know their reputation and it is for this reason that I thought I would post this note.

Roy C

Weird...they sell bagillions of em and I never saw this before.

I had an issue with my 16 inch style 33 wheels with Conti-Touring Contacts where only one section of the tire wore out but the rest was fine. This happened to the right rear tire. Not sure if it was the car or the wheel since there was a slight bend in the wheel (never felt in the car) from hitting a chunk of concrete in the middle of the highway. Put the spare tire on it and has been wearing fine since.

I would never buy a Conti tire. They have a cheap reputation in this house.

Originally Posted by franka

I would never buy a Conti tire. They have a cheap reputation in this house.

this comes from someone who worships Falkens... that's rich.....

Originally Posted by chivas

this comes from someone who worships Falkens... that's rich.....

No exactly, I worship Z1 Stars

The 97 528 I sold my friend had them on it. The car had been sitting for a long time but he decided to run them anyway. Two of them have had the sidewalls blow out on him when he was checking the air pressure.

If you store a car in a garage if something is wrong with the tires it is for a reason. Be it flat spot or ozone rot or dry rot they are messed up. In a garage with a freezer this can happen in a year....

My other vehicle stored in the garage has never had an issue with tires, the problem with my BMW seems to be road related or perhaps a tire construction problem. I have gone to a different tire and it will be interesting to see if these are any better. Thanks to everyone for their inputs.

do you have pictures ?

i had a similar problem to this however im not sure which tires were unevenly worn the guy just threw them in the back seat when i got my snows put on

but i believe it was the outside was much more worn then the inside but the other two tires were worn perfect ... not sure if its due to the front tires turning or camber

Originally Posted by abanjableu

If you store a car in a garage if something is wrong with the tires it is for a reason. Be it flat spot or ozone rot or dry rot they are messed up. In a garage with a freezer this can happen in a year....

whuh?