Was lucky to get an X5 with M Sport Pack. and massive sport 20" X5 M Rims (Front: 20x10" / Back: 20x11"). As I had my test drive around the dealership I couldn't notice dramatic difference because they don't have access to hwy and at mid. speeds it may be confused with a typical road noise. However as I hit 45-55-65 miles the noise(that looks like come from front tires) becomes extremely loud. My mechanic and I agreed that this could only be bearing or tire related issue. The dealer confirmed that this is more likely "used" run flat tire issue. So, simple solution! Get new tires fix the noise! Done! Got myself brand new OEM: Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport 275/40R20 106Y Tires, however the noise is still there. Not as loud (depending on speed about 70%-90% better than it was) but its still there. I already spoke with a number of people regarding this issue(including BMW service manager) and no one seems to know the solution to this problem. Online forums are full of topics with same noise issue that owners experience with sport 20" X5 M Rims, but still no clear answer. Changing all tires may be an excellent idea but what tires to buy? Tirerack has very poor choice of 315/35/R20 - 275/40R20 tire combos and those few tire sets that they have do not have positive feedback from owners. Even at $450 and over(single tire price) people still complain about same noise issues they experience. After spending few nights online and doing small research I came up with an interesting idea. Could it be a wheel geometry related issue? My front wheels have +40 Offset, Back: +35. If I would get equal offset rims, would it fix the problem? Any opinion on this would be greatly appreciated! P.S. attaching a pic of the wheels that I have.
Are they sure its not a bearing? Without hearing the noise it's hard to say one way or another. To check if its a bearing while driving at highway speed drift the vehicle left and right and see if the noise gets louder and softer. If it does then it is a bearing.
Thanks for advise! I'll look into this and pay more attention if there's gonna be any changes in noise, still by far I did not notice any dramatic changes. As far as I can tell at least 3 different mechanics did a test drive and came with same idea about the tire wear as a probable cause of noise. I'll reply back as soon as get some result from a test drive!
OK, I tried different ways to understand if there's any change in noise but I can't figure it out as there is no dramatic difference. It does change a little but it doesn't go any louder, so I am confused. With brand new tires the noise is almost gone(considering how loud it was before). Now it only goes loud at about 50-55-60 miles other than that it's like 80%-90% better than it was. I can only hear it at slow speeds and know for sure that it's there because I know what kind of a noise I am looking for. In any case does anyone know how expensive the parts are to replace those bearings? Also talking about E70 as Ultimate Driving Machine are they known to have bearing issues?
What's your mileage? I don't know avg. bearing life for E70's, but typically, bearings on street driven cars aren't something you get into until over 100k, 150k, or more, miles. Seems plausible X5's might have bearings come up somewhat sooner, but I wouldn't expect that at until at least over 50k - not familiar with E70 specifics though. A bearing going out is kind of a humming noise - the worse the bearing is, the louder it will be, and will be noticeably louder when changing lanes at highway speeds, or turning (particularly at something more than street speeds, such as highway on/off ramps), due to the worn bearing being loaded. If noise/sound is consistent when turning or changing lanes, sounds like that might more likely be tire noise you're hearing from the new tires. Cruising at a constant speed, and then changing lanes maintaining the same speed, a bearing will be louder when changing lanes. A badly born wearing, the noise will be obvious - if it's just a bit worn, it can be more subtle and harder to hear. The consensus appears to be that runflats tend to be noisy, and more so as they get worn down. There's some logic to that - seems plausible the reinforced sidewalls would less isolate the tread surface of the tire from the wheel, and thus more noise and vibration would transmit through the wheel, giving higher road noise compared to conventional non-runflat tires. Rim offset I doubt has anything to do with your noise - the offset is different front to rear because you have different width wheels front & back, the fronts are narrower, which will change the offset specification. Bad alignment _might_ be a cause for tire noise, but if you haven't gotten any uneven wear patterns on your tires, then your alignment wouldn't be a likely candidate to peg on a road-noise issue.
From what you mentioned above it is most likely tires since the noise got better after the new ones were installed. Those runflats on 20 do make more noise they say the 18 wheels mainly because the sidewalls are even harder. You could look into switching from runflats many people do just remember you do not have a spark in your vehicle.
Over 60k actually! Today I tried some more hwy driving to figure out if noise changes when making fast lane changes, fast/sharp turns, warming up tires before getting on hwy etc.. Nothing! Moving from side to side does not affect the noise. It only goes loud at 50-55-60 miles so I guess everyone must be right. This indeed looks like RunFlat tire issue. Now, the question is what is the alternative here? There are very few SAME SIZE tire sets that I found on tirerack dot com. Here's the link: ( http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?customSizeSearch=true&frontWidth=275/&frontRatio=40&frontDiameter=20&rearWidth=315/&rearRatio=35&rearDiameter=20 ) Continental ExtremeContact DWS Ultra High Performance All-Season looks like a good idea but read this! Happy owner comment: and another one OK! Another example. Dunlop SP Sport Maxx DSST RunOnFlat Max Performance Summer Our fellow X5 colleague and another one! I actually laughed at the second comment! And there are more-and-more-and-more comments like that! If you want to have a good laugh you go ahead and read them! Back to the problem! Let's have an epic thread guys! I think its time we figure out which tires are best for 20"-21" M Rims and save the internet! If anybody already found alternative tires that actually last and provide maximum comfort w/o sacrificing sport driving performance, cornering, etc. Please share what you have! Give your brothers a hand!
I have tire repair kit with me at all times. In case if I get lucky to catch a nail I fix it right away! Not sure if same trick gonna work on RTF tires, because some people told me that due to side wall RTF structure it's not safe to patch them. Others commented that you can patch them as any other non RTF tire. Whom to trust?
Окай. Here is some update on Bridgestone Dueler H/P tires. After 800miles the noise is almost gone. Like 99% gone Which means that bearings are fine(good news). The problem is the tire itself. I guess the side wall structure may indeed cause some pain in the neck. I wonder if any Bridgestone reps. monitor threads like this and make some notes. Because I wouldn't recommend these tires to anyone and would change them to non-RFT as soon as they start making noise again.
I have traditional, non run flat, Michelins on the 20 inch Sport wheels and they are so loud you can't hear the radio
Let's have an epic thread guys! I think its time we figure out which tires are best for 20"-21" M Rims and save the internet! If anybody already found alternative tires that actually last and provide maximum comfort w/o sacrificing sport driving performance, cornering, etc. Please share what you have! Give your brothers a hand! [/quote] The above question from Dragkar is mine as well. What tires have people used on these M wheels and are happy with them?I particularly interested in traditional, not run-flats, but I'd like to hear whatever. Has anyone abandoned the M wheels?
Uh oh The MythBusters are here! The noise has nothing to do with RFT tires? Oh wow! Thanks for letting us know friend! Perhaps my first guess about Offset was right.
I replaced my tires that caused noise with brand new ones(same brand, same everything). Currently I have about 5 thousand miles on them and the noise lvl is still hardly noticeable. Depending on the road surface sometimes I can hear it more clearly but in general the noise issue is not bothering me anymore. I see plenty of X5's with same wheels as mine on the road everyday so.... People use these wheels! Do they have noise issue or it's just us(lucky winners) unknown. My final guess: Could it be defective tire issue? I read some feedback on tirerack and some ppl complained about buying full set of brand new tires and then the car was allover the road, while few hundred other owners are really happy and gave excellent rating for all weather conditions. How is it possible? Let's say if it's not defective tire issue then perhaps improper mounting/rotating/balancing(and as a result improper tire wear that causes noise)?
Wow, over analysis... There is no voodoo going on here. HUGE tires make more noise than less huge tires. Old tires also make more road noise than new ones. I have the 20" rims with the Dueler OE tires and its pretty quiet on smooth roads, a bit more on highway, and lots louder on rough highways.
Run flats are terrible. Too many compromises...noisy, harsh, and performance is diminished. I'm dumping them from my 2013 X5 50i M-sport next week and will replace them with Continental Extreme Contact DWS06 (v.2 released May 2015). I'll let you all know the results!
