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**Consolidated RFT Failures/Issues Thread**

447K views 2K replies 370 participants last post by  kburn711 
#1 ·
Guys I was dismayed to find a bubble or protrusion in the sidewall of my RFT this morning. The sensor is not on in the vehicle and I cannot notice any performance degradation, but it is certainly visible. I don't have my digital camera otherwise I would include a photo. Recommendations welcome, do I keep driving it or take it in, from what i have read there is no repairing them, just replacing. Bummer...I felt a pothole last week but didn't think it was that bad?
 
#1,828 ·
Yes. 245 40 R19. Oh, how I loathed those LS2's. I can understand how they'd be fine in a place like the South or Southwest, where potholes aren't as big an issue. But for someone in the NY area, they were hard to live with. I've only changed the oil in my car - I haven't had to do a thing to it otherwise. Just tires and more tires....
 
#1,829 ·
I just found two bubbles on my Perelli P Zero 245/40/R/19 RFT's. I was hoping to get through summer and into the fall on these and then get some tires for winter. [emoji53]
It looks like I'll need some tires immediately, so after looking through this thread, a good 19 inch all season tire would be:
Continental extreme contact DWS or Bridgestone Driveguard.

Guess I'm shopping for tires now. Any tips, links, or suggestions are appreciated.

Tire Vehicle door Automotive tire Automotive exterior Wheel
 
#1,830 ·
I have 18 inch wheels on my 2013 BMW 528 xi, and Goodyear LS-2 runlets. The tires survived a Washington DC winter and are now in Southern California and are doing just fine. I presume the problem lies with those who have 19 inch wheels. If you are buying a BMW with 19 inch wheels, the BMW tire and wheel protection package is definitely the way to go.
 
#1,832 · (Edited)
Just wondering

Good god, I did not realize there have been this many issues of this tire.

I noticed that many of these "bubbles" issues on the Eagle LS2 245/40/19 are mostly in the NorthEast US.

I live in Toronto (Canada) had a 535i for 3 years(leased car) with the Eagle 245/40/19 LS2's a and luckily did not have an issue, I have winter tires/rims so the Eagles are only on from May to November.

I now have the 2015 535d with the GY Eagle LS2 again.

I have noticed reading through this thread that the complaints seem to have become less and less and have not been really reported on the 2015 cars.

Perhaps GY has "fixed" the problems?

A couple of questions for those with issues,

1.Do you check your tire pressures regularly?

2.Was anyone lucky like me and have no issues for 3 years? Perhaps having winter tires helps mitigate this issue?

3.What is the optimal tire pressure to prevent these "bubbles" I had mine at 33/35 so the ride was not as harsh. maybe this helped?

I'm kinda scared now and am thinking of getting the Bridgestone Driveguard after reading this thread.
 
#1,833 ·
As you note the problems are with the 19" LS2s. If you have 18" there is no problem.

Perhaps GY has "fixed" the problems? According to Tire Rack there is a new LS2. The specs are no different than the old ones and there is no indication of changes.

A couple of questions for those with issues,

1.Do you check your tire pressures regularly? Yes.

2.Was anyone lucky like me and have no issues for 3 years? Perhaps having winter tires helps mitigate this issue? Among other things it depends on road conditions. Since the road surface irregularities are usually fixed by fall and since they don't reappear until the spring freeze/thaw cycle, I doubt if winter tires helped that much. I am not talking about axle breaking potholes here. Just 1-2" breaks in the road surface generally hit at less than 40 MPH.

3.What is the optimal tire pressure to prevent these "bubbles" I had mine at 33/35 so the ride was not as harsh. maybe this helped? I have tried 33/35 and it made no difference. I replaced 8 19" LS2s in 6 months before I switched to 18". No problems in four years with the 18".
 
#1,837 ·
I've had the same issues with each of my f10 and f11 beemers running runflats,
the dreaded bulge,
my recent bmw which just covered 24k miles I swapped the front tyres to rear as they had plenty of tread left on them, within a month a bulge appeared :mad:

taken to the garage where the tyre was removed and inspected, there was a cut on the inside that was a wavy shape, the technician said it was a fault in the tyre, if it was a straight cut he said it would show it had a pinch or kerb slap,

so ive sent the tyre to goodyear fro inspection but im not hopeful for anything to be honest just I find these runflats very distressing with the bulge issue being my 4th tyre now in 5 years.
 
#1,844 ·
Does Michelin make run flats for 245/35/20 or 275/30/20?
 
#1,842 ·
Got my first bubble on bridgestone driveguards. Got them installed last May. Lasted thru NY winter which was mild. Replaced original LS2s with these bridgestones when 2 of the LS2s got bubbles. One of them the mesh inside started showing. Sticking with bridgestones for now as these ride much better than GY.
 
#1,843 ·
Replacing my M-Sport Goodyear LS2's with Bridgestone Driveguards next week. My BMW dealer confirmed that these are approved replacement tires. I had asked him to check, since I didn't want to have a problem with BMWF when I turned back the leased unit next year. I was surprised that my dealer actually gave me a better price for the tires with mounting/balancing than if I had ordered them direct through Tire Rack and gone with one of their local installers.
 
#1,846 · (Edited)
About to lose tire and wheel insurance

Hello Guys
I have a 2012 535Xi ,19" rims and live in Massachusetts; My tire and wheel Insurance will be expiring in few months and I am really worried about bubbles on the tires. All the tires have been replaced 3 times; one of them 4 times and the rims were changed too twice.
What are my options now?
The options I have seen in the previous threads were
1. Safeguard Insurance-How good is that?
2. Change to 18" wheels- will the tire and wheel Insurance do that?
3. Change the brand of tires and pray? If so,can you suggest the brand.
Thanks for all your replies.
Mike
 
#1,847 ·
FWIW I have 18" rims and am running Bridgestone run flats. I've had a few flats from nails and screws but no bubbles or broken rims. Pot holes in the northeast are wheel and tire destroyers for the 19's
 
#1,851 ·
Had my first "blowout" a few weekends ago. Of course had to be on the NJ turnpike at night with the family in the car. Was rough driving 26 miles on the damaged tire but made it home. Wasn't sure I would judging from the shaking and noise. Now I have no confidence in the tires and the car for that matter. Thinking of switching to a SUV with 50 or higher sidewall. What a shame...
 
#1,852 ·
You made it home. That is the important factor and the tire did its job. How fast were you driving on the tire after the blow out? Was the rim ok? Was there piece of the tire missing since it was a blow out?

I drove about 5 miles on a complete flat tire as the BOLT (on a Sunday!) suck itself in my tire decided to fall out the next day as I was trying to drive to the gas station for air before heading to the dealer as I have the t&w insurance. After pumping lots of air in the tire and realizing the air was flowing right out I just headed to the dealer and it drove perfectly fine, couldn't even tell I had a flat. Drove 45mph on the highway and I have 45profile tire. It did its job.

Of course in a perfect world BMW would give us the option of runflat tire and a spare!
 
#1,855 ·
I am new to my 2012 F10 and mine has nearly new GY LS runflats on them.

Maybe my previous car's experience (e46 stick with Conti DWS) makes me think that these run-flats are not as horrible as I expected them to be.

The car absorbs all minor bumps superbly and makes me quite relieved when traveling the lousy Jersey City and NYC roads. :)

But I feel like i am floating a lot and don't feel what the tires are doing, especially when cornering.

Would changing the tires help reduce the above? Or, is above an aspect of the car itself (which has DHP)?

Would welcome any thoughts.

Thanks!
 
#1,856 ·
Would welcome any thoughts.
My car was a 2011 535Xi with DHP. With the 19" LS2s, I had the same observations that you do, except for the floating feeling. I'd call it numb, detached steering with little or no feedback or road feel. The 2013s (or maybe 2014s) improved on it, but still not up to previous BMW 5-series standards. I switched to 18" wheels and Continental DWS RFT tires with no improvement in steering characteristics.

There are many on this forum that claim it was like night and day when they switched to non-RFTs. I was never willing to drive on conventional tires without a spare or give up the trunk to a spare so I don't personally have any experience.

It could be the tires or it could be all the other stuff such such as suspension, steering geometry and weight distribution that make it the way it is. The 640Xi, which is basically a 535 chassis, has an entirely different feel and has the same RFT tires. So, it can't be just the tires.

In case anyone tells you the steering feel is due to the Electric Power Steering (EPS), it's not true. Your car and all F10 X-drives (including 2016) have hydraulic power steering. The RWD vehicles have EPS.
 
#1,858 ·
@Bimmer Rules - I'm not sure if you're describing "turn-in" (the transition between forward motion and the vehicle turning as you turn the wheel). I found the turn-in slow on my 535, but thought it was the penalty for the weight and long wheelbase.

It seems that some tire companies offer a 30 day guarantee that you will like their tire or they will take them back and refund the cost. I'm not sure what the catch is, but it might be of interest to you. The only way to prove it's the tires is to try different ones on your vehicle with your driving style. My gut feel is that it's more than tires, but I simply don't know. Let us know if you conduct any experiments to that end.
 
#1,859 ·
@Bimmer Rules - I'm not sure if you're describing "turn-in" (the transition between forward motion and the vehicle turning as you turn the wheel). I found the turn-in slow on my 535, but thought it was the penalty for the weight and long wheelbase.

It seems that some tire companies offer a 30 day guarantee that you will like their tire or they will take them back and refund the cost. I'm not sure what the catch is, but it might be of interest to you. The only way to prove it's the tires is to try different ones on your vehicle with your driving style. My gut feel is that it's more than tires, but I simply don't know. Let us know if you conduct any experiments to that end.
Yup! I am addressing the turn-in.

Though I know that the F10 has more weight and longer wheelbase, I guess I was/am unprepared for the not-that-rapid turn-in. And, I remember my reactions when I changed the Conti's in my previous E60 to Michelin's: i was taken aback on the improved response to every single turn and wondered why the heck I didn't do it far earlier. Hence my inquiry into the tires.

Glad that you mentioned about the 30 day guarantee. Will research into it and keep you posted.

Thanks a lot for the feedback! Much appreciated.
 
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