ZSP or No ZSP?

I've read a lot about the tire bubbles...Am close to ordering a 535 Xi GT. Wondering what the verdict is on the Sport package with the 19 RFT's. Rather than get the 19's and be forced to buy the tire & wheel insurance, I'd prefer to drop ZSP and just get the comfort seats..Appreciate your feedback.

Go with the ZMP for a more agressive look...

Originally Posted by iwantone

I've read a lot about the tire bubbles...Am close to ordering a 535 Xi GT. Wondering what the verdict is on the Sport package with the 19 RFT's. Rather than get the 19's and be forced to buy the tire & wheel insurance, I'd prefer to drop ZSP and just get the comfort seats..Appreciate your feedback.

Aesthetically and dynamically, the sports package turns up the heat. The GT can be equipped to appeal to many needs and desires - I consider the sports package to be a mandatory option.

Originally Posted by Capobranco

Aesthetically and dynamically, the sports package turns up the heat. The GT can be equipped to appeal to many needs and desires - I consider the sports package to be a mandatory option.

I agree... but as a cost conscious buyer, I am not willing to pay the tire and wheel insurance which comes to about $2k..

Originally Posted by iwantone

I agree... but as a cost conscious buyer, I am not willing to pay the tire and wheel insurance which comes to about $2k..

No snark intended, but if $2K is a deal breaker - I would seriously consider a less expensive car - why stress yourself?

BTW I have a 550i with 20 inch wheels and performance tires - I do not have tire and wheel insurance and I live in an area with less than perfect roads. I anticipate I might bubble a tire this winter, as I did last winter - I don't like it - but it's just part of the game. Anything beyond one tire is an insurance claim.

Originally Posted by iwantone

I agree... but as a cost conscious buyer, I am not willing to pay the tire and wheel insurance which comes to about $2k..

Tire & Wheel insurance is optional, if you're refering to the package that you're offered when signing the paperwork. 4 bimmers w/sport package (3 x5's and 1 Z4) never found use for it. Tires always worn out, if they puctured I got them patched (Yeah, call me crazy, patching run-flats...).

Yet the package itself is an extra $2k for what amounts to a nicer steering wheel and rims, shadowline trim (black trim around windows) and the Comfort seats. (I.E., if you don't know your GT's you can't really tell if it is ZSP or not)

The M-Package, Includes the rims/steering wheel upgrades as well as front and rear bumpers, door sills and a 'sport exhaust'. In euro specs, it includes the M-suspension that lowers the car by roughly 0.4 inch (1cm) but IDK if that will be brought over. My car has AD so the no m-suspension for me even if it was a US option....

Now, thinking about it more, it should be called the 'sporty' package. Makes the car look sportier but doesn't change almost anything, dynamically. Still...it looks damn good!


Either way, you can't go wrong.

You know my vote

Originally Posted by Capobranco

No snark intended, but if $2K is a deal breaker - I would seriously consider a less expensive car - why stress yourself?

BTW I have a 550i with 20 inch wheels and performance tires - I do not have tire and wheel insurance and I live in an area with less than perfect roads. I anticipate I might bubble a tire this winter, as I did last winter - I don't like it - but it's just part of the game. Anything beyond one tire is an insurance claim.

Just because the $2K on the wheel and tire insurance doesn't seem worth it to me, doesnt mean i cannot afford the car. I am happy to spend the money on an option rather than on insuring a sub-par product. I read a few places that GY has rectified the issue in the 2012's and thats why I asked.

Originally Posted by 1STBimmer

Tire & Wheel insurance is optional, if you're refering to the package that you're offered when signing the paperwork. 4 bimmers w/sport package (3 x5's and 1 Z4) never found use for it. Tires always worn out, if they puctured I got them patched (Yeah, call me crazy, patching run-flats...).

Yet the package itself is an extra $2k for what amounts to a nicer steering wheel and rims, shadowline trim (black trim around windows) and the Comfort seats. (I.E., if you don't know your GT's you can't really tell if it is ZSP or not)

The M-Package, Includes the rims/steering wheel upgrades as well as front and rear bumpers, door sills and a 'sport exhaust'. In euro specs, it includes the M-suspension that lowers the car by roughly 0.4 inch (1cm) but IDK if that will be brought over. My car has AD so the no m-suspension for me even if it was a US option....

Now, thinking about it more, it should be called the 'sporty' package. Makes the car look sportier but doesn't change almost anything, dynamically. Still...it looks damn good!


Either way, you can't go wrong.

I am aware of the packages. I was asking about the $2K insurance coverage offered on the wheels and tires. The part of the sport package I really like is the comfort seats. Comparing $2200 for the ZSP vs. $1300, the additional $900 seems a decent price for the 19's. I am only concerned that the 19's have issues with bubbles.

Originally Posted by iwantone

Just because the $2K on the wheel and tire insurance doesn't seem worth it to me.

Ok, you have me confused about what you mean by "wheel and tire insurance".

The only wheel and tire insurance that I know of (offered by BMW or otherwise) is a service contract that you buy and pay for in ADDITION to your car's price (car price is irrelevant at this point). Said insurance protects you tires in case of a blowout, or if you bend a rim and such kind of events, like insurance, only for tires. It does not cover normal wear an tear and/or punctures - AFAIK- ).

The sports package includes larger rims and sport tires, but the cost does not include insurance, nor the choice of the ZSP requires you to purchase the wheel and tire insurance package.

ZSP is what options come with the car.

WHEEL and tire insurance is how you choose to limit your personal liability.

This is why I don't understand how you associate one with the other.

At any rate, all you want is the comfort seats, order the seats as standalone, they are definitely worth it!

Asthetically they do look good, but so did the 18's IMO. I REALLY wanted the steering wheel, but not with 19's. Having had LP and the 18's (17's on a bunch of my BMW's) I can say that I could not tell the performance difference. Nowhere was I taking corners at 100mph, and straight line was impressive. I did notice the wear and tear difference in my wallet having had to replace 2 sets after 12,000 miles (it was a MB E430 with Eagle GT's on it), 2 tires on the MB for a pothole hit in NJ due to bubbles the size of a softball and baseball, and a whole set on a 95 535i due to being out of round from potholes (used car that looked great, but the thump-thump that echoed in the cabin became unbearable, my fault for buying, but i'm just saying).

I thought about pushing for a swap to the different spoke rim 18's that I think you get standard on the 550 or in Europe, but I did not (tire 271).

Lastly, I did not want to even think about having to buy snow tires...

PS : I hope you are correct about GY fixing the problem!

It becomes a rhetorical question. Either you believe your tires and wheels will not fail aand cost you a bunch, or you believe BMW will replace more than two tires and rims over the term of the insurance due to tire failure. It's a slippery slope. You can purchase a tire protection policy from Discount Tire Co on new tires without buying the tires there. That covers road hazards and I believe will also cover the bubbling issue from manufacturers defects. It's about 50 bucks a tire or a bit more and only lasts as long as the tire. (They say three years but I found they will honor it longer as long as there is respectable tread on the tire.) It also includes balancing and rotation for the life of the tire as well.

If you rub the curb with your wheel, BMW will not polish it out. If you gouge it pretty badly, they will not replace i! All failures and damage MUST be a result of a road hazard and not a result of your actions in scraping a curb, etc. It does not cover any cosmetic damage so if you scrape up your great looking wheels, you have to go somewhere else to have them polished out or find a new wheel.

I have 19" whels and all weather tires on my xDrive GT with the Sport Package and love them. Great all around package for wet, dry and handling.