[VIPER_SRT]

@raksrules
As aah78 said, the fronts worn out faster than rears. One more reason to add is the weight of the car (engine) is more in the front.

Check out Sams club and Costco as well, they have pretty good deals. Tire Hazard warranty and lifetime tire rotations are free with them.

Ebay is a good option. I had been lucky once with Ebay. Bought a 6/32 for my GL, when I had a nail on the sidewall and it wasn't repairable. It was 2 more months to winter and I was planning to buy winter tires anyways.

Since you are in Ohio, You know winter will come and what comes with it (Game of Thrones ) So for sake of you and your family's safety always have the tires in condition before the start of winter.

Always have the tire rotation done every 6000 miles.

[vineethvazhayil]

IIHS has published results of new crash tests for mid size SUVs - hugely popular segment of cars. Poor scores for Hyundai and Dodge.

I was under the impression that Hyundai reworked on their cars to improve crash scores - nothing seems to have happened though. Kind of makes me feel good that I picked the Highlander above the Santa Fe last year. Even more surprising considering the Sorento scored well in 2016.

[Technocrat]

Interesting, the report says that CX-9 was the worst while the heading does not have any mention of Mazda

IIHS spokesman Russ Rader says that while the Journey rated poorly, it was not the worst crossover or SUV that the agency has given this test. The worst so far has been the Mazda CX-9.

[VIPER_SRT]

It has been an exciting month for me; Convinced my cousin to buy a Tesla. By the time we were done configuring, it was almost fully loaded except the High fidelity sound system and those gorgeous 21" turbine wheels; We had a week's time to make changes to the configuration before it goes to production in California. We added the sound system later and didn't touch the wheels; Its at $106,700 including destination charges before rebates and stuff. Since this is being bought in NJ, there will be no state sales taxes (7%) for electric cars. There's no other additional incentive/rebates from NJ state except some discount on tolls (EZpass). Of-course, there's $7500 Fed rebate at end of the year.

Test Drive: We did a test drive last month at Garden State Plaza mall and was pretty impressed with the 85 model. I read thousands of stories including fellow Bhphian's thread about the ride and all are true. A super gadget with 4 wheels is what I call it! I noticed that window switches and drive/park (transmission gear lever, not sure if thats the right term to use) are borrowed straight from Mercedes.

Ordering: Log in to Tesla website, create a profile and order the car you want. The sales will call you back to confirm. In my case the sales rep wanted to know if I would prefer the older dark blue color thats not available on the website anymore. I opted for the old dark blue.

Other Costs: Tesla service rep walked me through all the charging options that are possible.
--Ordered a 220V Wall connector for $750 from Tesla site to be delivered at home.
--Taking quotes from Electricians to have a 100 Amp/220V wiring done in the garage. Tesla certified electricians will charge you close to $2000 but we are shopping around for local electricians and the cheapest we got is for $750 + $150 for city permit. This setup will give 29 Miles per hour of charge.
--Ordered Dual Charger for $2000 on the website to be delivered to Tesla delivery center in Paramus, NJ; installation is included in that cost. Will take an hour or two to install before taking the delivery. This option will give 58 miles per hour of charge.

The delivery is in first week on June, I'll be flying down to NJ. I'm pumped up as if I'm buying it for myself

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by VIPER_SRT

@raksrules
As aah78 said, the fronts worn out faster than rears. One more reason to add is the weight of the car (engine) is more in the front.

Check out Sams club and Costco as well, they have pretty good deals. Tire Hazard warranty and lifetime tire rotations are free with them.

Ebay is a good option. I had been lucky once with Ebay. Bought a 6/32 for my GL, when I had a nail on the sidewall and it wasn't repairable. It was 2 more months to winter and I was planning to buy winter tires anyways.

Since you are in Ohio, You know winter will come and what comes with it (Game of Thrones ) So for sake of you and your family's safety always have the tires in condition before the start of winter.

Always have the tire rotation done every 6000 miles.

I don't have membership of either (nor any friends) and also both are pretty far for me. I am trying to get something done in same city (Sidney, OH) but since this is a small place, options are limited.
I have few tire shops here and walmart tire and lube express.
I know used tires is enticing but then I don't know what I am getting into and ebay / amazon listing never give full details and in fine print they usually write "Tires may be professionally repaired in thread area, no sidewall damage guarantee and blah blah".
They expect us to call them and verify whether a tire was repaired or not and I did call once and asked for a tire and they said it was "probably" not repaired. Too many variables.
I will rather buy 2 new tires. I am constantly checking online as well. Don't want to spend a lot.
I am in zip 45365 if that helps you to find something for me.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by dr.abhijeet

@Gatham.psb Thanks, You have a Silver as well, right?
.

Congrats on the STi, great looking car. That makes it the second STi in the US group.
He has a blue STi.

Originally Posted by raksrules

I don't have membership of either (nor any friends) and also both are pretty far for me. I am trying to get something done in same city (Sidney, OH) but since this is a small place, options are limited.
I have few tire shops here and walmart tire and lube express.
I know used tires is enticing but then I don't know what I am getting into and ebay / amazon listing never give full details and in fine print they usually write "Tires may be professionally repaired in thread area, no sidewall damage guarantee and blah blah".
They expect us to call them and verify whether a tire was repaired or not and I did call once and asked for a tire and they said it was "probably" not repaired. Too many variables.
I will rather buy 2 new tires. I am constantly checking online as well. Don't want to spend a lot.
I am in zip 45365 if that helps you to find something for me.

I would stay away from used tires. check http://www.discounttire.com/ you can buy online and have it installed thru the list of shops they have in your vicinity.

[raksrules]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

I would stay away from used tires. check http://www.discounttire.com/ you can buy online and have it installed thru the list of shops they have in your vicinity.

Yes checking discounttire, tirerack, walmart, amazon everywhere. I am currently thinking to go with Hankook Optimo H727 All-Season Tire - 205/65R16 94T.
Probably will buy from walmart as I can then get the installation and all done at their store itself (after getting ship to store done).


Here is a link for reference: http://www.amazon.com/Hankook-Optimo...h727+205+65r16

[Fraz33r]

My F30 now has broken the 25K mark and we did fair amount of roads trips with no issues. (PA has the worst roads with crater like Pot-holes and I may have hit a couple of them at minimum). Recently noticed that my wheel "shimmers" like side-by-side vibration and I am not sure what is causing this issue. This issue is evident only at the 40-50 mark and when it is in cold start. Sometimes pronounced and other times not. Hopefully, it happens when he takes it for a test drive.

I booked an appointment at the nearest Service center and was looking for suggestions, do my homework and gather some information before I take my car at the dealership. Does changing tires during winters cause any worn out alignment/problems?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

I booked an appointment at the nearest Service center and was looking for suggestions, do my homework and gather some information before I take my car at the dealership. Does changing tires during winters cause any worn out alignment/problems?

No it doesn't. But hitting potholes and or prolonged driving on bad roads does.
I'm not sure what you mean by "shimmers" but if you feel vibration on the steering wheel and or through your butt in the seat its time to get things checked out.

Could be tires, rims, or the suspension, or a combination of all three. Any proper tire shop should be able to help out and diagnose quickly. They will usually start by doing a thorough inspection of the tires and rims, check the balancing and if that doesn't show anything hone in on your suspension.

Good luck, let us know what happens.

Jeroen

[Fraz33r]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I'm not sure what you mean by "shimmers" but if you feel vibration on the steering wheel and or through your butt in the seat its time to get things checked out. ..

Shimmering meaning, it sways side to side. Imagine a circle(steering) in 2-D moving back an forth in some degree of variation. The vibration is not that pronounced in the seats but yea it can be noticed.

The only problem I have is, its inconsistent. Hopefully it will show up during the TD with the mechanic. No matter what, I feel an alignment at 25K is due, based on my driving history of road trips.

Also, I have Run Flat tires. Not sure what the impact of those are during its run.

[aah78]

Do you have bubbles on your run-flats?
They get those if you keep bumping into pot-holes.
Check inside tread wear on the tires, BMWs have an aggressive camber for better handling, especially the rear.

Shimmy at highway speed might mean something to do with Control Arms - mainly the bushings might be worn, though I would think it's too early at 25k miles.

Or your wheels might be out-of-round, but then you will probably have noticed the shaking at slower speeds.
Maybe a Road Force balance will help.

Have you had a wheel alignment done on the car before or will this be the first time?

[VIPER_SRT]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

My F30 now has broken the 25K mark and we did fair amount of roads trips with no issues. (PA has the worst roads with crater like Pot-holes and I may have hit a couple of them at minimum)

Wheel bends are common in North East for BMW's, esp Run Flats. Thanks to Pot Holes everywhere and Run flats! Second guess would be balancing! 25K miles is too soon for other problems.

Btw, like the black grill on your F30. Looks neat!

[Fraz33r]

Originally Posted by aah78

Do you have bubbles on your run-flats?
They get those if you keep bumping into pot-holes.

Have you had a wheel alignment done on the car before or will this be the first time?

No bubbles so far on visual inspection. Have to check the tread. This would be the first time i would be going for alignment after my car has come out of factory settings.Will see how it goes on Monday.

Originally Posted by VIPER_SRT

..25K miles is too soon for other problems.

Everyone said so! I found few others on Bimmer forums with similar issue and seems that the dealership just gave up once they could not find it.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

Everyone said so! I found few others on Bimmer forums with similar issue and seems that the dealership just gave up once they could not find it.

Well, depends on how often & how hard you bumped into those potholes .

I'd recommend using the dealership for a wheel alignment rather than a local tire shop. The local shops can never get the alignment right on European cars, from my experience.

For any other work I'd look for a specialized BMW / Euro shop around your area.
The dealerships usually just swap parts out and charge you for them, they don't bother too much with diagnosing faults.

For wheel-balancing, tire-work, etc. definitely go to a local tire shop - no issues.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by aah78

I'd recommend using the dealership for a wheel alignment rather than a local tire shop. The local shops can never get the alignment right on European cars, from my experience.

For any other work I'd look for a specialized BMW / Euro shop around your area.
The dealerships usually just swap parts out and charge you for them, they don't bother too much with diagnosing faults.

For wheel-balancing, tire-work, etc. definitely go to a local tire shop - no issues.

My experience with European cars in Europe and the USA is somewhat different.

As longs as they are standard jobs, it probably doesnt matter where you go.

But especially with allignement it is were things can get a bit tricky. This is aggrevated by the fact that most dealers and most tire fitters work with fixed prices. So they just dont have the time to really investigate. It needs to be done in the time allocated, or they are not bothered.

I have had problems with my Jaguar in the USA. Kept pulling ever so slightly to the right. Jaguar tried twice and could not fix it, The second time they told me the chassis must have been bent and the various suspension components had run out of adjustment. Could not be done. So I asked them to put it back on the lift and show me. So they did, I had a look and I told them what needed doing. Which was essentially, loosening up all bits and pieces, put it more or less in the middle of each respective adjustment range and then start re-alligning. They said it could not be done.

Found a specialised suspension shop, described my problem over the phone to the guy, who immediately said that it would require the steps I had explained to Jaguar. So took the Jag over and within an hour and a half everything was perfect. Took the print out report from their machine back to Jaguar and asked for my money back on the two botch job they had done. They read the report and refunded me without further question.

Over the years I have had re-allignements done on a variety of cars. You would think with these ultra modern re-allignement-computer-lased based jigs it would be pretty standardised. I have come to the conclussion, even when using very modern workshop equipment, it still requires specific skills, experience and knowledge. Both my Alfa Romeo Spider and Mercedes W123 are notoriously difficult to sort properly.

Even with tires shops I always check how much balancing weight they put on. I just dont like it when they stick these huge plates on. When they do I'll tell to redo it, take the tire of again, rotate it a bit, stick it back on and balance it again. 9 out of 10 times it will require a lot less balancing weight.

In the USA I used Sears for all my tires and balancing work. I found them pretty good, accomodating (I want to see what they are doing and not many USA workshop allow that), and reasonably priced.


Jeroen