[Closed] Boring car tyre questions.. Load ratings and manufacturer stamps (*/MO/AO/etc)

However the Goodyears are not designed specifically for BMW's (* designation on the tyre) - does anyone know if this really matters??

No.
The tyres will be completely unaware of the vehicle make they're fitted to.

Also - the factory fits are 92Y on the front and 88Y on the back. My local tyre place said the Goodyears they can get in are 92Y front AND rear. Does this matter?

No.
It's the load rating. 630kg and 560kg respectively.

Does this matter?

Yes it will effect the handling of the car slightly ie more the feel than actual grip etc. Why not just google and see where else you can get the correct ones?

I'm getting some Eagles fitted to my 3 series this weekend.

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately the Eagle F1 Assymetric 3's aren't available in an non run flat for BMW's anywhere (as far as I can fathom)

Funky Dunc - Is it the assymetric 2 RFT's you're getting?

BMW dealer said they could fit the 3's but I'd need to sign a disclaimer.. Tyre place said it didn't matter a hoot!

Is it the asymmetric 2 RFT's you're getting?

I wish I knew. Last Saturday they turned up with 4 tyres that were the wrong size, Monday they fitted some Goodyear Efficient grips.

This weekend they are taking off the almost brand new Efficient Grips and putting on Eagles! (no I am not paying) but hopefully they will be 3's but who the heck knows!

Mine are 255/40/18 95Y rears and 225/45/18 91Y Fronts run flats

Bloody hell what a nightmare. Mine are a slightly different size to that but non-RFT's (despite not having a spare wheel...). I'd be interested to know exactly what they fit this weekend.

I'd be cautious if your BMW has xdrive. I have read several reports of the transfer box failing if the correct (approved *) tyres aren't used.

It sounds like utter cobblers to me as a tyre is a tyre but apparently running different makes on each axle or cheaper non approved tyres does cause issues according to the BMW forums.

I researched this a fair bit before paying 800 odd for 4 new bloody tyres.

That story appeared when Audi developed the haldex 4wheels drive and has been proven to be nonsense ..

Great tyre ( F1's) ..I have had 3 sets on various cars and wouldn't have anything else ..

I had a Skoda Superb 4x4. It had Conti sport contact 2 fitted from new. When I had sport contact 5 fitted on the front as the 2's were unavailable it upset the Haldex system when changing gear at low speeds-a hesitation like a brief missfire ( the Superb always starts off from stationary in 4wd, it disengages at about 20kph if traction ok)
When I got a second pair of Sport contact 5's fitted to the rear, the hesitation disappeared. Everyone who drove the car could feel it.
When I changed each winter to Blizzak winter tyres, the hesitation went and came back when I put the missmatched conti's on.
A long winded way of saying different tyres [b]can[/b]upset 4wd systems.
I was told by Skoda it wouldn't damage the Haldex

Joolsburger is correct about xdrive, It has not been proven to be nonsense. if you are running staggered wheels (i.e front and rear are different sizes). It's not a problem if they are the same size wheels.

Thanks for the info re X/4WD all. Very interesting and not something I'd come across before, however, mine's a good old-fashioned rear driver.

Good feedback on the F1's, cheers hodgynd. The ratings suggest better wet weather performance and noise reduction (my main gripe) compared to the dual compound Michelin's at the expense of some dry performance.

I assume you're going from Rft's to non-rft?
I've read of people buying tyres with the XL load rating for the stiffer sidewalls. The ones that came on my 1 series were XL rated. The thinking is it mimics the stiffness you get from the OEM run flats to some degree, stopping the ride from being too wallowy in conjunction with the suspension that's set up with run flat tyres in mind.
Might be worth considering.

Demelita - thanks for the comments. It's an M135 so comes with non-RFT's as standard so no change there. Interesting point on the "XL" rating - I'll check on black circles now to see if there's any difference between the Michelin Pilot Super Sports and the Goodyear Eagle F1's. Cheers

My wife had a 1series which had run flats. I swapped them out for the same tyre but the non run flat version. Same tyre all round with the lower load rating (not xl as they were not xl before).

Not sure why you’d want the stiffer sidewalls. The non run flat tyres with the more supple sidewalls are more comfortable, quieter, more fuel efficient, grippier and handle much much nicer.

OP - Fitter just turned up and they are asymmetric 3’s !

As for above I can see that using a lower load rating would make the ride more comfortable but I really can’t see how grip and feedback would improve, yes it might do initially but on the limit of grip it will be worse.

Run flat v normal, my last 3 series was non run flat with big profile. New 3 series are run flat and much lower profile and can honestly say there is no difference in comfort

Not sure why you’d want the stiffer sidewalls. The non run flat tyres with the more supple sidewalls are more comfortable, quieter, more fuel efficient, grippier and handle much much nicer.

As far as I can tell, the thinking is that BMW set the suspension up to account for the stiffness of the rft's; people were concerned that putting more supple tyres on top of suspension that may already have more give in it than usual would cause the ride and handling to go to pot.
I've a 130i le which the previous owner has followed this line of thought on. Not having anything to compare it to I can't say if their conclusions were right. The tyres aren't exactly top of the range so it's hard to say if it's the XL sidewall causing some of jiggling about I get when I'm pressing on. The standard 130i le setup has been noted for being a bit harsh for British roads anyway.

Just thought I'd mention it so OP could take it in to account.

Thanks for the info guys. I had read similar about the XL loading but don't have any real world experience (last 3 series was designed for and on RFT's and my 1 series is designed for and on non-RFT's)

FunkyDunc - do the asymmetric 3’s have the (*) BMW specific mark on them? Also what load rating are they front to rear?

Cheers
Nick

Not sure about ‘*’

Load ratings as above ie correct for the car

It drives better than on the old tyres but the ride could be slightly more crashy but you can’t have supple ride and better handling

That's interesting - thanks for the info FD. I think I'll go with the asymmetric 3’s but tell the tyre place I want the correct staggered load ratings front to rear (88/92Y) - quite why they said they'll just put 92's on both ends I'm not sure!

Head well and truly pickled now.. Goodyear don't do the correct load rating in the size I want for the fronts in the asymmetric 3’s. I ended up calling Goodyear technical support and spoke to a chap (who was really good) about whether going to a 92Y (instead of 88Y) was acceptable. He said generally fine but he wouldn't go with a non */BMW marked tyre at all on my particular car and urged me to buy another set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Which I thought was good impartial advice given he works for Goodyear.

Thing is I want to move away from the Michelins as they are a noisy track focussed tyre.. So, on to Michelin tech support.. You can get a Michelin Pilot Sport 4 [b]S[/b] with a */BMW mark but only in 19" and above (this is kind of a replacement for the PSS but more like a big brother before you get to the "Cup" tyres) which is no good for my rims (18") or they do a Pilot Sport 4 but that doesn't have the */BMW mark.. They said this tyre is more road focussed and would be fine without the marking as long as I did all 4.. however I should ring BMW tech support before buying any tyres. FFS.

There is literally 1 tyre for my car and I don't like it.. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and pay £650 for some tyres I don't like. Bollocks