Disaterous inside tire wear

[David F]

I ran my EP500's at 33/41 psi, front/rear, as per my handbook, and got around 25,000 from them over nearly three years, averaging 4.5miles/kwhr. 39/44 seems a bit high for the tyre pressures unless you were fully loaded up all the time. They did wear a bit more on the inside than outside, but not dangerously so. I swapped the tyres because of cracking and perishing not tread wear.

I'm now running a full set of Michelin e-primacy tyres, so will see how they compare over the next couple of years. So far they seem marginally quieter.

Clanduncan - What sizes were your ePrimacies? Did you use the stock i3 rims? If not, what size?

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Has anyone found out why the other 3 companies are not selling their i3 tires in North America, and Bridgestone is the only one sold here? This seems very odd to me.

 

[alohart]

Has anyone found out why the other 3 companies are not selling their i3 tires in North America, and Bridgestone is the only one sold here? This seems very odd to me.

Maybe the U.S.D.O.T. tire certification process is considered too expensive to be justifiable for the i3 which apparently sold less than 50k in the U.S.

 

[Clanduncan]

Clanduncan - What sizes were your ePrimacies? Did you use the stock i3 rims? If not, what size?

DavidF:- I run stock 19" pizza alloy wheels, and the standard sized tyres, i.e. 155x70 fronts and 175x60 rear tyres.

I've also just had the rims refurbished to gloss black and looking to pick the car back up in the next 24hrs. I'll post before and after photos on my own post (my black beauty).

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Maybe the U.S.D.O.T. tire certification process is considered too expensive to be justifiable for the i3 which apparently sold less than 50k in the U.S.

That makes sense Art. I wonder if anyone has looked into privately importing a set of these European only tires. I don’t think I would get pulled over for running non U.S.D.O.T certified rubber. I have never had them even check for out of date tires at my state inspection they only bother to check tread depth if they are badly worn. Might be worth while to see how much it would cost to have a set shipped over. I once new a super car owner that had to have the exotic rubber sent over from Italy. That was back in the 1980s though...

 

[Clanduncan]

In the UK, the full set of Michelin e-primacy tyres cost me approx £670 or @ $840. Dunno if that's a good price over the pond, but about average here. There's not much difference price wise between the EP500's and my Michelin's. Wonder if import/shipping costs might outweigh any advantage you'd gain?

 

[larrykalenda]

The e-primacy tires I have seen on ebay cost 300.00 each delivered from Italy but buyer has to pay import duties taxes importer fee etc.....I did not check how much it would cost but it appears prohibitive

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Thanks, Larry, the import duties right now seem to be a bit of a mess About 8 years ago, I imported a 3D printer from Prusa in Prague, and according to their instructions, there was no duty as long as the single invoice was under $999.99. Last month, I bought a 3D printer from Bambu Labs in China with an invoice just under $1,500, and it also did not incur any import duty or state sales tax.

I'm not sure if the same rules apply for importing tires, or if an import of four tires would attract import duties.

 

[Victoria Ross]

Has anyone found out why the other 3 companies are not selling their i3 tires in North America, and Bridgestone is the only one sold here? This seems very odd to me.

Greed? My replacement tires were $1000. Including installation 3years ago. Now they are $275.00 each from my local affordable tires wholesaler before installation, that’s pure greed

 

[REvans2001]

In the UK, the full set of Michelin e-primacy tyres cost me approx £670 or @ $840. Dunno if that's a good price over the pond, but about average here. There's not much difference price wise between the EP500's and my Michelin's. Wonder if import/shipping costs might outweigh any advantage you'd gain?

I paid US$1143 for Bridgestone EP600 09mar2024. That included install, balance and road hazard warranty (I guess about $27/tire) at Discount Tire.

 

[larrykalenda]

For my EP600 tires I paid $205.00 each plus tax with free shipping. $25. each for mount and balance.

 

[Marty]

It might be worth to switch to 20” tires- they’re less expensive and more sizes available

 

[ksnax]

Greed is very clearly the issue. The Potenza Sport 225/45-R19s on mine still cost less than the EP500, and they have more tread depth, a more rigid casing, far better grip, and will just last longer. The Tire Rack has had the Sports for sale on a deal at $128 for the last two years. Less than half the cost, with multiple other brands in the same size also available at a similar reduced price.

 

[REvans2001]

For my EP600 tires I paid $205.00 each plus tax with free shipping. $25. each for mount and balance.

Where and where?

 

[REvans2001]

Greed is very clearly the issue. The Potenza Sport 225/45-R19s on mine still cost less than the EP500, and they have more tread depth, a more rigid casing, far better grip, and will just last longer. The Tire Rack has had the Sports for sale on a deal at $128 for the last two years. Less than half the cost, with multiple other brands in the same size also available at a similar reduced price.

Thanks for the lead to Tire Rack. Did you need wheel spacers to use this size? What size did you put on the front? Are you in US?

 

[ksnax]

Thanks for the lead to Tire Rack. Did you need wheel spacers to use this size? What size did you put on the front? Are you in US?

+47mm total offset minimum on 8" wide wheels. My DR67 wheels are +32 with 15mm spacers - which is BARELY enough on the front with the H&R springs. The inside shoulder protrudes very slightly between the coils without rub.

 

[Neil]

I recently paid ~$950 total at Costco for my 4 new Ecopia EP600 OEM tires. The prices have certainly gone up since last time I bought these.

 

[REvans2001]

+47mm total offset minimum on 8" wide wheels. My DR67 wheels are +32 with 15mm spacers - which is BARELY enough on the front with the H&R springs. The inside shoulder protrudes very slightly between the coils without rub.

I don't understand any of that, which probably indicates I shouldn't pursue that option lol.

 

[REvans2001]

In March 2024 I bought 4 Bridgestone Ecopia 600's and promptly paid for an alignment. 2500 miles/3months later I'm already down to 3/32nd tread! Inside treads are wearing aggressively front and rear. Consequently, I paid Discount Tires to turn the tires inside out, swap then left to right and rebalance. Going to mechanic on Wednesday to check for suspension issues and re_alignment.

What in the world could be causing such disastrous wear? I'm spending almost 50cents/ mile on tires!

Surprise Surprise! I went to a secondary alignment company (D and E Alignment, Escondido CA) who did an elaborate alignment with weights inside the car to bring springs into spec for the alignment. (I think he said weights are required because the i3 doesn't have a camber adjustment. ) The mechanic reviewed and explained the before and after toe/camber/etc and they were not off by a great deal.

D&E did _manual_ measurements of the tires and showed me that the Discount Tire _digital_ readings were false! Treadwear is actually very good and the tires look almost new with knobs on edges still not worn.

I'm so disappointed with Discount Tire! So grateful to D&E for relief!

 

[Rune Michaelsen]

I expect to change my tires next year. (i3 with 20" wheels). Presumably it will be either Michelin or Continental. Read the post here:
https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyres_For/BMW/i3.htm