had new tyres fitted (first in ages), is this normal??

[lumus]

For the first time in a looong time (due to usually buying second hand wheels with already worn-in tyres) I had some new goodyear eagle F1's fitted to the rear of my 330.

Driving out of town upto 40mph and all was good. Once I got on the motorway upto the usual speed (give or take) the car felt very squirmy and seemed to snake about a bit. When Changing lanes gently it almost felt like it was drifting and the traction control light was going ape.

I know new tyres can be slippy but that was just plain scary! I cant remember if this is at all normal for new brand new rubber? Or if the tyre place have cocked something up...

I would normally just see if it settles down without asking but I've got a 200 mile motorway trek early tomorrow which I'm not really relishing.

[Raj_325]

New rubber is always slippy mate, and takes about 100 or so miles to wear in iirc.
I always take it easy with new rubber but I wouldn't expect it too feel as if I was drifting!!!

Did you get a 4WA done too?

[lumus]

Well I'm sure I exaggerated the drifting sensation lol but contact with the road surface felt overly loose and the traction control light wasnt just in my head. I'm probably over reacting but thought it worth grabbing a couple of opinions as I'm not one to risk it before a long journey.

No 4WA done nope.

[BigFas]

check the tyre pressures. Sounds like over-inflation

[mystic sport]

Wasn't there some dodgy F1s a while back. There was a thread on it. You had to look for a particular mark that showed the country of origin. Sorry it is a bit vague but a bit of searching should give the answer. I have never had a new set of tyres give that feedback.

[Raj]

New tyres and probably too much air...

[Imola]

just a thought, have they put them on in the correct rotational direction :eek: :)

[lumus]

The first thing I checked was the country of manufacture and it is Germany, so that's fine.
The pressure is probably a little lower than it should at 40psi.

The tyres have the correct side facing outward. I've attatched a pic below. The grooves are different on each side. The outer grooves sweep up to the inside on the left Vs down on the right for example. I guess thats normal though.

http://img378.imageshack.us/img378/4968/330tyresan9.jpg

[330vert]

Just a thought M8 are you running different tyres on the front iirc this can mess up the handling on RWD cars. Also I run mine at 33Psi ( after much playing about) feels too skitish with anymore than that. Im on 235 35 19 if thats any help.

[Kin Mak]

40PSI is to high...

[Sandman]

40PSI is to high...

Second that... I use 2.6 BAR on my 235/35 R19

[BigFas]

40PSI is to high...

Agreed. Drop to 38 rear / 36 fronts

[Vic's 318ci]

should be 32 psi........... 40 is way over for our roads here.

[mikem]

Isn`t it customary to leave two huge Black lines at the tire shop to "scrub them in" or is that just me ? :D

[lumus]

Just a thought M8 are you running different tyres on the front iirc this can mess up the handling on RWD cars. Also I run mine at 33Psi ( after much playing about) feels too skitish with anymore than that. Im on 235 35 19 if thats any help.

The new ones are eagle F1's and the fronts are michelin PS2's. I arent aware of this screwing up handling and it would be a pity as the fronts have loads of tread, so I'd prefer to get my moneys worth! Could change them though.

I've gone with 38-40psi for ages with different tyres as I do so many motorway miles and I read that you should go for a higher psi with that in mind. I'll deffo lower to the 32-34 mark and see how she goes.

The PS2's I had on the rear before felt very planted, despite the fact they were worn through to the canvas :o

[J13JUT]

Isn`t it customary to leave two huge Black lines at the tire shop to "scrub them in" or is that just me ? :D


OH NO MIKE TRUST ME ITS JUST YOU :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

im sure i could find the proof if i took a look at my workshop floor :rolleyes:

[mikem]

OH NO MIKE TRUST ME ITS JUST YOU :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

im sure i could find the proof if i took a look at my workshop floor :rolleyes:


You need some better "industrial" paint bud. The stuff that could kill Rab if he put it on without a mask :D .........saying that `tho, he`d prob. end up drinking it. :D :D

Lumus, there`s loads of threads on BMWLand about handling probs with mixed tyres on E46`s have you checked the RTAB`s ? Failing ones seem to become more obvious when the rear wheels have been "hammered" off at a tyre garage.

[lumus]

Isn`t it customary to leave two huge Black lines at the tire shop to "scrub them in" or is that just me ? :D

I dont know why I didnt think of that. There was a nice quiet cark just round the corner from it too, ripe for some essential bedding in...

[lumus]

have you checked the RTAB`s ? Failing ones seem to become more obvious when the rear wheels have been "hammered" off at a tyre garage.

RTAB's could be a good call. I have been experiencing odd 'clicking/knocking' noises speradically coming from the rear on occasion. They arent consistent with acceleration, deceleration, gear changes etc at all. It coudl be linked.

I could do hand it over to a specialist guy to check through really. the car is coming up to 100k miles, and in the 40 ive put on has barely needed a penny spending on it remarkably. It is due some car hospitalisation.

[mystic sport]

E46s as said above are really sensative to mixing tyre brands between front and rear. Loads of complaints on BMWland detailing these issues and the fix is to match up the fronts. The pressures are also much higher. I used to run around 32-33psi on the rears of my 330i.

[gIzzE]

The new ones are eagle F1's and the fronts are michelin PS2's.


I can guarantee you 100% that your problem!!

I had the same combo on my CSL for a few days and nearly crashed the thing just overtaking someone on the dual carrigeway, in the dry. The back end came out completely.

I needed near rears and the fronts only had about 4mm left, I had been using the Eagles and thought I would put them on again, but the shop ordered the 225 width instead of 235 and they didn't notice till the rears had already been done. No problem, order the right ones and I will pop in sometime in the next few days and I will get them swapped.
I didn't really drive it for a couple of days and then when I did take it out I thought something was seriously wrong, I had it in having the RTAB replaced and then thought a spring was snapped and had it in at BMW.

Then when I clicked it must be the tyres, went in and get Eagles all round and it was fine.
Well I say fine, no where near as good as the PS2's but the weird/dangerous handling was gone.

I was amazed at just how much it affected it.


Even the other day I had 3 days with PS2 fronts on it and FK452's on the rear, and you could tell even with that engine it was not happy. The DSC light was coming on at under 20mph!


Get the tyres to all match before doing anything else.

[lumus]

Thanks for the info gIzzE.

I am also quite sure it is the tires. My wallet refused to entertain the idea of more tyres for at least a few weeks as I've spent on lots of stuff recently. However I'm just going to have to get them, the car is still volatile at high speeds. I drove from Leeds to Birmingham at about 10pm last night and had 2 heart in mouth moments as the car seemed to just disconnect from the road and the rear wanted to come out. Good job DSC knows what it is doing... My heart was seriously jumping!

Definitely not worth such a risk. I expect the effect was even worse with CSL power :eek:

[lumus]

By the way, you're right about the F1's being no match for the PS2's. Even with mismatched rubber I can tell they don't have near the same level of grip, or so it seems.

[gIzzE]

Also they are not progressive in the way they let go. They suddenly just go which can be really scary, the PS2's on the other hand really let you know what is going on underneath, the perfect tyre for learning how to get the back out and keep it in control.

I just bought some FK452's for the family wagon, they were £340 fitted, however I am thinking about swapping them, the comfort and lack of noise on the PS2's is worth 3x the price I reckon.

[mchauhan]

mate - two new tyres for the sake saving your life - no brainer
Strange i've got f1's the old style on the rear and pzero's on the front - not experienced the type of driving - although i drive like a nutter anyway so wouldn't notice
Does get a bit wobbley now and again but nothing like what you’re describing

[JazzMan]

I had similar issues with mine, new rubber on the back old on the front. Steering was all over the place didn't feel good to drive at all any more. Just swapped front to back and it was fine again (if you don't have a staggered setup)