New wheels and tires – BMW M5 Sedan 2009 User Manual

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suitable for winter conditions. For the sake of
safety, new tires should be installed.

Wear indicators at the tread-groove base, refer
to arrow, are distributed over the tire's circum-
ference and are marked on the side of the tire
with TWI – Tread Wear Indicator. If the tire tread
has been driven down to the wear indicators, a
tread depth of 0.063 in/1.6 mm has been
reached.

Wheel/tire damage

Please note that low-profile tires cause wheels,
tires and suspension parts to be more suscep-
tible to road hazards and consequential dam-
ages.
Unusual vibrations encountered during normal
vehicle operation can indicate tire failure or
some other vehicle defect. This can, for exam-
ple, be caused by driving over curbs. These
kinds of problems may also be signaled by other
changes in vehicle response, such as a strong
tendency to pull to the left or right.

In these cases, reduce speed immedi-
ately and have wheels and tires thor-

oughly checked. To do so, drive carefully to the
nearest BMW center or tire shop that works
according to BMW repair procedures with cor-
respondingly trained personnel. If necessary,
have the vehicle towed there. Otherwise, tire
damage can be extremely dangerous to vehicle
occupants and other road users.

New wheels and tires

Have new wheels and tires installed only
by your BMW center or tire shop that

works according to BMW repair procedures

with correspondingly trained personnel. If this
work is not carried out properly, there is a dan-
ger of subsequent damage and related safety
hazards. Make sure that the new wheels are bal-
anced.

Retreaded tires

BMW does not recommend that you use
retreaded tires, as driving safety may be

impaired. The causes for this include the possi-
bly different tire casing structures and the often
wide variations in their age, which can result in a
limited service life.

The right wheels and tires

BMW recommends that you use only
wheel and tire combinations that BMW

has tested and approved for your particular
vehicle. Variations in factors such as manufac-
turing tolerances mean that even wheels and
tires with identical official size ratings could
actually have different dimensions than the
approved units – these differences could lead to
body contact, and with it the risk of severe acci-
dents. When selecting the tires, also ensure
that they have a sufficient load-carrying capac-
ity. If non-approved wheels and tires are used,
BMW cannot evaluate their suitability, and
therefore cannot be held liable for driving
safety.

You can inquire about the right wheel/tire com-
bination at your BMW center.
The correct wheel/tire combination also affects
various systems whose function would other-
wise be impaired, e.g. ABS or DSC.
To maintain good handling and vehicle
response, use only tires of a single tread config-
uration from a single manufacturer. Following
tire damage, have the original wheel and tire
combination remounted on the vehicle as soon
as possible.

Wheels with electronics for

TPM Tire Pressure Monitor

When mounting new tires or converting from
summer to winter tires or vice versa, only use
wheels with TPM electronics, otherwise the

This manual is related to the following products:

M5 Sedan 2010