Standard sized tires...

[panamamike]

Pick a standard tire size for the i3 so we aren't stuck with one manufacturer. Would be nice if they were just a bit wider, more durable. Maybe go down to a 17 inch.

 

[eNate]

What are you talking about?!?

There are plenty of tires this size from Schwinn, Specialized, Bontrager, Maxxis, Schwalbe, Kenda, and WTB!

 

[panamamike]

What are you talking about?!?

There are plenty of tires this size from Schwinn, Specialized, Bontrager, Maxxis, Schwalbe, Kenda, and WTB!

Interestingly, while looking over tire sizes to recommend, I saw there are a number of other tires produced with the same width as the BMW i3 tires, with a different height. Turns out, these tires are compact spares... Would be nice to see some of those tire makes make an I3 tire.

CONTINENTAL CST 17

 

[jadnashuanh]

While maybe not ideal for the end user (choice is good), BMW usually works with the tire manufacturers to customize the tires for their vehicles. This is true for mainstream, 'common' brand names and models. To tell if one of those is designed for BMW (special tweaks), they mold a 5-pointed star on the sidewall. Often, you can buy the same tire with and without that. It's recommended to buy it with that star. The differences may be subtle.

FWIW, it's not uncommon for tire manufacturers to make special tires for a specific model. There needs to be some minimum volume to make it economical for a tire manufacturer. My guess is that the i3's volume just didn't support some other one taking up the challenge.

Now, why the tires available for the i3 are the way they are: maximizing range. This was more important on the original model, since battery capacity was relatively low.

Nokian does make a winter tire designed for the i3. I have them on another vehicle, and have found them to be excellent. I think, better than the Bridgestone version, although they are quite popular for their winter tire series.

While you may be able to substitute another tire on the i3 with spacers and tweaking, you will change the characteristics. That may be good or bad, depending on your needs and desires.

 

[eNate]

My guess is that the i3's volume just didn't support some other one taking up the challenge.

I can't believe that a second tier OEM brand such as Hankook couldn't profitably bring an alternate to market. Three are certainly enough i3's in existence worldwide, and they run through tires quickly enough, that there has to be a healthy profit margin, given the exorbitant asking price of the competition.

 

[panamamike]

While maybe not ideal for the end user (choice is good), BMW usually works with the tire manufacturers to customize the tires for their vehicles. This is true for mainstream, 'common' brand names and models. To tell if one of those is designed for BMW (special tweaks), they mold a 5-pointed star on the sidewall. Often, you can buy the same tire with and without that. It's recommended to buy it with that star. The differences may be subtle.

FWIW, it's not uncommon for tire manufacturers to make special tires for a specific model. There needs to be some minimum volume to make it economical for a tire manufacturer. My guess is that the i3's volume just didn't support some other one taking up the challenge.

Now, why the tires available for the i3 are the way they are: maximizing range. This was more important on the original model, since battery capacity was relatively low.

Nokian does make a winter tire designed for the i3. I have them on another vehicle, and have found them to be excellent. I think, better than the Bridgestone version, although they are quite popular for their winter tire series.

While you may be able to substitute another tire on the i3 with spacers and tweaking, you will change the characteristics. That may be good or bad, depending on your needs and desires.

I understand why the did it, the i3 was a design exercise, and they were using it as an opportunity to experiment. I appreciate it for what it is, but from a practical stand point, this will end up putting owners in a lurch. What will happen when the i3 is no longer produced? With a finite set of cars that don't exactly have a high number in existence, what's to keep Bridgestone incentivized to continue making the i3 only tires? I point out the spares tires manufacturers are currently making because they look to be very similar in spec to the I3 tires. If they were of a size that could be produced by more than on tire maker it would be a good thing for the i3's long term viability.

 

[eNate]

Creating the tire molds is the expensive part, so as long as they exist Bridgestone can pump out a batch of tires every now and then to keep inventory up, at not-too-high a cost (and profit from an inflated price!)

The good news is there are enough i3s in existence that demand should be sufficient for a good long while. And at the rate the i3 chews through tire tread, that acts as a demand multiplier vs. a car that manages to get 50k miles out of a set.

I don't know your situation, but would predict most of us will have moved on from the i3 before lack of tire supply becomes a problem. I'd bet it will be the i3S owners who run into problems first.

 

[shahidak]

Just wanted to chime in and mention that going down to a 17 inch tire size might give you more options as well, since it's a more common size that many manufacturers offer.

 

[alohart]

Just wanted to chime in and mention that going down to a 17 inch tire size might give you more options as well, since it's a more common size that many manufacturers offer.

Do you know of a 17" wheel that would fit on an i3 and that wouldn't rub on the suspension or brakes?

 

[agzand]

Continental and Michelin make tires for i3, they sell them in Europe. For some reason they don't sell them in US.

There is also a Chinese brand that sells i3 tires.