[ACM]

1) I feel that given the care taken by you the defects are related to incorrect tyres (for Indian conditions) being placed on this model BMW. It may require you to drive on absolutely carpeted roads.

2) Stick to Runflats.

3) I feel Pirelli P0, P7 are better.

4) You may have to down grade to 17in later when changing all 4 tyres together.

5) What may have also gone unnoticed is damage to Rims. In case of BMWs hidden damage to Rims is very likely even if tyres are not damaged, so in your case it is very likely. See if the rims are still well balanced after fitting new tyres. If not possible to balance well even with weights it indicates damage due to your driving - however cautious - not suiting the car with 18in tyres.

[anantc93]

So after a lot of to and fro between BMW India's representative and taking advice from folks here, we came down to three options -
1. Replace the rims and tyres to 17inch - cost to be borne by BMW India
2. Change the tyres to a different brand and wider profile - 2 tyres cost to be borne by BMW India and 2 to be replaced under Secure Advance.
3. Change to tubeless 18 inch - cost wasn't discussed and this was discarded by him straight away as not advised

Next day he came back saying a wider profile is not possible because of advice of technical team so option 2 is now just changing brand of profiles. In addition, we had discussed how 18 inch runflats on the 330i M Sport doesn't have such problems. I searched later and found out that the profile on the tyres is the same as mine. He told me the same later while rejecting option 2.

So now I have 2 options -
1. Ask them to change the rim size and the tyres on all 5 wheels (donut included) - pros are complete peace of mind along with taking care of concerns mentioned by ACM.

Originally Posted by ACM

5) What may have also gone unnoticed is damage to Rims. In case of BMWs hidden damage to Rims is very likely even if tyres are not damaged, so in your case it is very likely.

Would lose on some looks, but probably the ride comfort would be better? How much do you think it would matter? Anything else to consider?

2. Change to Pirelli or Bridgestone or Continental with the same profile. I will try to force them to do it at their own cost suggesting that this won't give me complete peace of mind and I might need Secure Advance later if something goes wrong again.

In addition, there's a third different route. I got a call yesterday from someone who saw my complaint on facebook. He's a retired colonel and has an X1 which has gone through 4 tyre bursts in 2.5 months. He wants to file a court case together. I am not sure if the scenarios are related but he was adamant in believing that BMW is putting old, defected tyres from outside in Indian vehicles.

What do you guys think?

[androdev]

Originally Posted by anantc93

1. Replace the rims and tyres to 17inch - cost to be borne by BMW India

What do you guys think?

Go for this options but ask BMW to let you keep the current set of 18" wheels if you have storage space. At some point in future you can go back to 18" with tubeless tires. I feel 18" with tubeless tires will do just fine in India. I strongly suspect BMW is using some weird RFTs in India but it is very difficult to prove unless they share their internal data related to tire damages.

[ACM]

Yep try to go for 17" rims. Yes you loose a bit in looks and dynamic ride but will surely gain in comfort and peace of mind.

Changing to another brand in 18" may work but no guarantees and you won't be able to ask them to change to 17" at their cost later.

[anantc93]

Hey also, if I go for 17" rims then what should be the profile? The default one in luxury line (only current 320d variant with 17" rims) is 225/50.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by anantc93

Hey also, if I go for 17" rims then what should be the profile? The default one in luxury line (only current 320d variant with 17" rims) is 225/50.

Given the choice, I would prefer 245/45.

But I doubt if they let you choose. If Luxury line currently comes with a particular 17 inch wheel combination, they may offer you only that, as it is easy for them to source.

I have driven on Pirelli RFT with 225/50 for about 10k kms. No quality issues. Anything above 110mm sidewall thickness should be good to go. If you prefer comfort, opt for sidewall thickness of 120mm..

All the best! Please update! 😊

[Santoshbhat]

Run flats and Indian roads are not made for each other. People are are unhappy with the way run flats behave in Europe and USA! On our roads they should not even be offered. Run flats ruin the luxury car experience in my view. I changed to tubeless 18 inchers on my X3 from 18" RFTs and have been very happy ever since. With the hard tyres gone, my X3 now feels properly premium.

Problem with some of these BMWs is that they come equipped with these non standard sizes. You don't get equivalent tubeless tyres in the market and you are stuck with what BMW offers at their showrooms. 18" staggered setup looks really hot on the car. I would hate to downsize and compromise on the looks. 225 section 17's after having the 18" staggered set up would just make me sad .

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by anantc93

So now I have 2 options -
1. Ask them to change the rim size and the tyres on all 5 wheels (donut included) - pros are complete peace of mind along with taking care of concerns mentioned by ACM.

Would lose on some looks, but probably the ride comfort would be better? How much do you think it would matter? Anything else to consider?

Should go for this, try if they agree to let you retain the 18-inch rims as well Maybe at some charges or just as a goodwill gesture given all the troubles? These will be waste for the BMW in any case. You can then try using aftermarket tyres after your RFT's fail.

Ride comfort will be better for sure, recently, I downsized on my X5 from 19 inches to 18 inches and the difference was immediately felt, it's a different matter that due to a chassis error, I had to shift back to 18inches. I hope there are no such ride height sensors on 3 series (X5 has rear air suspension) but it will be a good idea to check with BMW.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4499717 (Third generation BMW X5 launched in India at Rs. 70.9 lakh)

In addition, there's a third different route. I got a call yesterday from someone who saw my complaint on facebook. He's a retired colonel and has an X1 which has gone through 4 tyre bursts in 2.5 months. He wants to file a court case together.

I will not consider this especially when they are trying to help you.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by anantc93

1. Replace the rims and tyres to 17inch - cost to be borne by BMW India

Wow! That's so nice! I think you should accept this. Brand new rims and tyres - free of cost!

[dark.knight]

BMW's obsession with run-flats, higher alloy sizes, lower tyre profiles will be the end of them.. and I mean it.

Earlier versions of the 3 Series (E90) were't this bad even with run-flats thanks to higher profile tyres but over the past few years it has become apparent that BMW never thinks of India when selling their cars here. Run-flats are useful in European highways where a tyre repair shop is never nearby and where distances are much greater.

Its about time BMW finally stops this nonsense and offers complete customization to the customer before purchase.. the size of the wheels, the brand of tyres, run-flat or tubeless all should be options and the final price should be charged accordingly.

India is not Europe, not in any way comparable. 5 run-flats bulging within 4 months is a joke. Give in already, BMW.. offer tubeless across the range as an option and stop using the run-flats as your proprietary technology, it isn't and the minuses of that are way greater than the occasional puncture which may or may not happen.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by anantc93

Hey also, if I go for 17" rims then what should be the profile? The default one in luxury line (only current 320d variant with 17" rims) is 225/50.

Your current setup

225 45 R18 sidewall translates to 225*45% = 101.25 mm
255 40 R18 sidewall translates to 255*40% = 102.00 mm

Ideally I think you should try 16 and not 17 as 17 won't make a lot of difference, I don't know what tyres you get in the market but with 16 inch setup the tyre sizes should go like

225 - 55 - R16 - Front
245 - 55 - R16 - Rear

55 Profile should give you ample headroom to go over bad roads.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by humyum

Ideally I think you should try 16 and not 17 as 17 won't make a lot of difference, I don't know what tyres you get in the market but with 16 inch setup the tyre sizes should go like

225 - 55 - R16 - Front
245 - 55 - R16 - Rear

55 Profile should give you ample headroom to go over bad roads.

16" is too much sidewall to enjoy a BMW. Also staggered in 16 won't be possible with those sizes.

17" is the ideal downgrade (if one can say so), since it will increase comfort level and still keep the handling intact.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by anantc93

So after a lot of to and fro between BMW India's representative and taking advice from folks here, we came down to three options -
1. Replace the rims and tyres to 17inch - cost to be borne by BMW India

Option 1 is good if you plan on extending your warranty and keeping the car around for a long time. But honestly normal tubeless on 18s won't have these issues, but they will whine about warranty etc. If they allow you to keep your older set nothing like it, but I doubt they will do that since they can easily sell used rims and tire set for F30.

My advise is to go for tubeless and you should alleviate 90% of your problems and will see a huge improvement in ride quality, grip and dynamics of the car. Alternatively the option they have given is fair and you can take that up and maybe change to tubeless in the future.

[Turbanator]

This happened today morning at 1 Am somewhere near Beawar. Thankfully, I was carrying a full sized spare and there was a shop just next to where this happened. I was returning from Kandla and the X5 went over a lump of cement.

Some Important takeaways-

Always keep a Full-size Spare while going on Long Trips.
Must carry the wheel spanner and a proper Jack, apparently, there is a small jack & spanner in the Donut wheel they give with the car these days though I doubt it can work in roadside conditions. Normally we get large ones suitable for Trucks on highways & this can be an issue like what happened this morning, we have to put the front wheel on a small stone as the truck Jack will not go under the chassis. Thankfully, I was carrying the socket to open the nuts.

BMW India must address this issue and offer full-size spares, Run Flats simply don't work here, this tyre will not go for few metres against publicised 50-80 Km on run-flats. If I was not having the extra tyre, there is no way I could have completed my journey.

[Chethan B G]

Are BMW Alloys generally on the softer side?

What am I missing here? 🤔