A Couple of Questions Regarding Tires

[E92Monstah]

Hello Everyone. I have a 2008 328i Coupe with Continental run-flats. While I was at the dealer his weekend buying my wife a 128i, I mentioned that I was planning on replacing my RFTs with a set of Continental DWS non- RFTs. The dealer cautioned me that doing so coulee cause damage to the suspension because the suspension is "tuned for RFTs". Really? What type of damage could possibly be done? How? Also, I am curious why BMW does not recommend rotating tires. Obviously, if you have staggered wheels, you wouldn't rotate them, but if the standard in the automotive business is front to rear/rear to front, why wouldn't you do that on a BMW as well? This supposedly also may cause "damage".

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

OK, the answer is that your dealer is full of crap. It will not in any way damage the suspension.

You should be aware that the DWS is, well, lacking in sidewall stiffness though. I have a set for intermediate driving/trips on the M3 (because 285 square Yokohama AD08s are not highway or cold friendly), and while they are great tires in many ways, they are very soft. Just an FYI as some people have a hugely negative reaction to that.

[E92Monstah]

Thanks Nick.

[mcoupemindy]

You can rotate tires on a BMW without any problems. Because tires wear differently at different corners of the car, and because BMW allows road feel, your car may "feel" different after rotation. Rather than address complaints from dimwitted owners, BMW simply says not to rotate. The best answer is to rotate your tires frequently (at least every 5,000) miles, so that the corner specific wear doesn't become an issue. If you have a full-size spare (obviously not on recent bimmers), you can include that one in the rotation as well.

YMMV. OAC.

Vic

Considering that many tires are side/rotation specific now and many have a factory stagger, this isn't 100% applicable to all BMW's. Good advice however if this isn't the case on your specific vehicle.