[dipaladle]

Hi everybody,

About 3 months/4,000 miles ago I installed "new" wheels and tires on my 2015 M235i. The wheels are BMW Style 71 from an E46 w/ new ContiSport tires. Specs are:

18x8, ET 47 (235/40/18)
18x8.5 ET 50 (255/35/18)

Yesterday I got an oil change and the mechanic noticed that the front passenger side tire had worn down so much that the threads are starting to show, but only on the inside. Outside looked fine, driver's side looked OK too.

I know that I need an alignment (although the car drives beautifully), but is there anything else I can do to prevent this in the future? I have read about installing M4 lower control arms. Would this help? Is it possible that the higher offset on the "new" wheels is responsible for the uneven extreme wear after only 4,000 miles? I have read about camber and toe adjustments, but I don't really understand the concepts.

Any help MUCH appreciated.

[freakystyly]

Inspect for damage or worn parts if one side is mismatched that drastically. Then alignment should fix the issue. If parts are damaged, they may not be able to complete the alignment. These cars don't have front camber adjustment from factory. If the inside is worn that likely means too much toe or a bent component causing increased camber.

I'm going through that right now. Apparently one corner took a good knock and they weren't able to complete the alignment at one shop I went to. Troubleshooting time.

[dipaladle]

Thanks for the info. I put the stock wheels and tires back on it today and got an alignment. Haven't picked up the car yet but the guy just called and said it needed an alignment badly and that was definitely the cause of the uneven wear. I find it strange because the car handled great before and kept a straight line...

[Opie55]

A car that is badly out of alignment can still drive straight if it is out of spec fairly equally on both sides. Sort of like a person who is pigeon-toed can still walk in a straight line.

[XutvJet]

Is the car lowered?

[dipaladle]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Is the car lowered?

Nope. I have the stock wheels/tires back on it now, and am not sure which direction I should go. Replace with new sport tires and hope that the alignment fixed the issue? Add LCA's from an M4? Something else?

I really don't want to get rid of the Style 71 wheels if they are the problem because they look so nice on the car...

[XutvJet]

I highly doubt it's the wheels. My guess is one of the lower control arm bushings has failed and/or something is bent that caused excessive toe. My M235 is lowered in the front and I've been running 18x8 et43 wheels and 245/35R18 MP4S tires all around. I've run this setup for 5 years now and I don't have any wear issues.

[dipaladle]

Thanks for the responses. Your posts on this board have been very helpful to me, btw.

Would you recommend just replacing the bushings, or swapping in the M4 LCA's that I keep reading about?

Also, with the offset on my fronts being so high, my tire guy told me 245 would not fit up front for me unfortunately. Do you think the extra 4 ET would prevent this as compared to your own? I haven't noticed any scrubbing with my 235's, but it they do sit very close to the struts. Don't really want to fool with spacers.

Thanks again.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by dipaladle

Thanks for the responses. Your posts on this board have been very helpful to me, btw.

Would you recommend just replacing the bushings, or swapping in the M4 LCA's that I keep reading about?

Also, with the offset on my fronts being so high, my tire guy told me 245 would not fit up front for me unfortunately. Do you think the extra 4 ET would prevent this as compared to your own? I haven't noticed any scrubbing with my 235's, but it they do sit very close to the struts. Don't really want to fool with spacers.

Thanks again.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

I wouldn't do the M4 LCA's unless you're lowered.

I would imagine that a 47 et offset with the 235/40/18 tires could pose a strut housing to tire clearance issue. Although they have the same overall width in inches, your 235/40/18s are about 0.5" taller than the OEM spec tires which means the top of the tire could be above the dimple in the strut housing intended to provide additional clearance.

With the 245/35R18s on my 18X8 ET43 wheels, I have about 3/16" between the sidewall and strut housing.

Running spacers isn't a big deal assuming you use quality. hub centric ones. I run them in the winter with my OEM wheels (7 years now, ECS tuning brand), I run them on my 2011 Cayman (ECS brand), and even Porsche puts them on the Cayman Rs as factory equipment.

Has the car been aligned now? Did you get a print to show you what the before and after numbers are? Did the tech inspect the control arms, ball joints, etc. for cracks, tears, etc.? Failure of the lower control bushing is pretty common in these cars. Luckily it's pretty easy to fix.

Not the same car, but the video shows lower control bushing wear and inner tire wear.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I wouldn't do the M4 LCA's unless you're lowered.

Could you expand on this, please? I did this swap a few years ago on my otherwise stock MAdaptive suspension and have been enjoying it greatly. Why do you feel lowering is a pre-requisite? Thanks.