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[LambOfGod]

Hey guys. I want your opinion.

I've noticed that my tires are sort of crumbling and falling apart. I have 8,900 miles on the car and it has never been AutoX, Tracked, or driven hard (too hard anyway). The tires are Bridgestone RE050. The face of the tire is cracked, crumbling, and there is a lot of vibration when cold. I took the tires to Discount Tire Company and the guy acused me of driving the car hard and that was why the tires were falling apart. I could admit to this if it were true but I haven't had a chance to drive the stupid thing hard. I'm planning a trip to the Dragon this summer but it looks like I'll need a new set of tires before I go. I have a duplicate set on another car they don't look anything like these tires.

What are your thoughts? Are these things defective? Should I replace them or call Bridgestone?

[T i h o r]

Dude, it looks like they got some kind of a disease! lol

[LambOfGod]

I know...maybe some of the experts will tell me what is going on with these.

[Couch]

You should be able to get free replacements for those. I would bitch to BMW and Bridgestone. Those tires look horrible, and unsafe. Even if you auto-X'd, they still shouldn't look like that.

[6MTFTMFW]

I would call BMW and tell them you have a Tire Syphillis

[Revlis]

Umm, Yeah looks like someone is maybe running the wrong tire pressure?


OH and BEATING THE FUCK outta your tires... That looks like Very hard track day use plain and simple. It's just like the feathered edges on a track compound slick from a cart of bike. So yeah, looks like a LOT of SERIOUSLY HARD ABUSE, or Too many miles on a tire with no air... Either way, I'd say you might be SOL. Even if you haven't been abusing the hell out of them that is what it looks like.

If there have been others with similar wear Bridgestone might have something going on though. Otherwise, don't try and snow the tire guys and god help you don't try and snow a Rep... They fart around with tires for a living and have seen it all.

[LambOfGod]

Originally Posted by Revlis

Umm, Yeah looks like someone is maybe running the wrong tire pressure?


OH and BEATING THE FUCK outta your tires... That looks like Very hard track day use plain and simple. It's just like the feathered edges on a track compound slick from a cart of bike. So yeah, looks like a LOT of SERIOUSLY HARD ABUSE, or Too many miles on a tire with no air... Either way, I'd say you might be SOL. Even if you haven't been abusing the hell out of them that is what it looks like.

If there have been others with similar wear Bridgestone might have something going on though. Otherwise, don't try and snow the tire guys and god help you don't try and snow a Rep... They fart around with tires for a living and have seen it all.

Sorry dude...you're wrong. No abuse. The tires are shit and Bridgestone is prorating me a new pair of boots. 60% so I guess that is better than nothing. I actually had a puncture in in the front driver side tire and had to replace it shortly after the car was new. This tire is perfect and the other three are all shitted up. The Bridgestone guy told me that there are OE RE050 and Factory RE050 tires. Apparently the OE tire are not as good as the factory tires. Are you kidd'n me!

[fast_lap28]

that's what all my 4's looked like after a day at the track. not saying that OP is not telling the truth, I'm just saying that mine looked EXACTLY the same.

[Sparky66]

I wonder how many people realise that all tires "worldwide" have a 4-year validity period from their Date of Manufacture.(DOM)
New Tires fitted to your car should fall early on in the DOM period. If they don't and your tires are more than 4 years old they are likely to burst (especially when running in hot weather) because the rubber component may have hardened and cracked - very dangerous and life threatening.

THERE IS LEGISLATIVE LAW THAT TIRE MANUFACTURERS HAVE TO ABIDE BY WHEN MANUFACTURING TIRES AND THEY HAVE TO DISPLAY THE "DOM" ON THE TIRES SIDEWALL. All tire manufacturers are well aware of this standard but it seems tire retailers are reluctant to pass on this information to potential buying customers. This is negligence on behalf of the retailers who are trying to push out old stock out the door. Selling expired tires is illegal and enforceable by law in the event of catastrophic failure of the tire which can injure and even kill people.

To check and see how old your tires are, look for markings on the tire like this : *DJH2607*. Ignore the first three letters.You are only interested in the last 4 digits. In the example above the tire was manufactured in Week 26 in 2007.

Always check any tires you are thinking of buying and the closer the "DOM" is to the current date - the better it is !! Let tire retailers know that you are aware of this so they don't try pulling a swifty on you. Education goes a long way-on both sides



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[LOLrance]

+1000 to above. Those tires look like they have been beaten on very very hard. i did one track day on my OEM bridgestones and they looked like the photos you just posted but probably a bit worse. I've drove through my local canyons plenty of times and i drive pretty hard and never have i gotten the tires to look like that so i doubt its because you drive too hard on the road. Only time i've seen tires beaten up like that is after a track day.

A lot of tires will chunk and "crumble" different depending on the composition of the tire. But if you said you have never track'd or autocrossed with them and they look like that, something is seriously wrong and you should go have the stealership look at it.

[toughluck]

Curious - what size Bridgestone tires do you have?