beautypg.com

Wh eels and tire s – BMW 550i Sedan 2008 User Manual

Page 230

background image

Wh

eels

and

tire

s

228

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. 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, DSC or xDrive.
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
Tire Pressure Monitor cannot detect a flat tire,
refer to page

97

. Your BMW center will be

happy to advise you on this subject.

Recommended tire brands

Certain tire makes are recommended by BMW
depending on the tire size. You can recognize
these from the clearly visible BMW marking on
the tire sidewall.
When used properly, these tires comply with
the most demanding standards for safety and
vehicle response.

Run-flat tires

When mounting new tires, or changing from
summer to winter tires or vice versa, use run-flat
tires for your own safety. In addition, no spare
tire is available in case of a flat tire. Your BMW
center will be glad to advise you.

For safety reasons, BMW recommends
that you do not have damaged run-flat

tires repaired; they should be replaced. Other-
wise it is not possible to rule out occurrences of
consequential damage.

<

Special characteristics of winter tires

BMW recommends winter tires for use in cold
winter driving conditions. Although all-season
M+S tires provide better winter traction than
summer tires, they generally fail to provide the
same levels of cold-weather performance as
winter tires.

Paying attention to speed

Always observe the maximum permissi-
ble speed for the winter tires, otherwise

tire damage may occur, which can result in acci-
dents.

<

Online Edition for Part no. 01 41 0 014 240 - © 08/07 BMW AG

This manual is related to the following products: