grahamn

That sort of costs puts it firmly in BMW Main Dealer territory, having had mine KDS'd < 12 months ago!

Not that I can see Tony, unless being a HiQ Franchisee counts! "Knights Tyres" T/A Hi-Q Tyre Services.

Yep, complained in person within30 mins of job being done, to no avail. Promised phonecalls never come etc etc. When I call, "the boss" is not in.... Have now put transaction in dispute with credit card co. who have been very helpful...that should focus a few minds...

Also just discovered they set the pressures were set to 2.7 BAR rather than the correct 2.1 BAR....thought the handling was odd.... Total numpties at HiQ Portishead.. DO NOT use them.

Very true Tony, now got to find a good refurbisher I need a WIM / Chris Mullins type outfit near to me! Needless to say the HiQ outfit in BS20 won't be getting any more business from as many people as I can possibly warn. One tyre place in the whole town, and they're cr**. Someone could clean up here by offering a good honest service.

Thanks Tony, I'm sure you are right. Well I took the car down the local tyre fitting place today, and lo and behold they manage to damage both alloys in the process....complete bunch of tw*** ....then the fitter denies all knowledge. No wonder the tyre fitting industry has a wide-boy reputation....for 260 notes we will screw your alloys for you...I must change my career for a profession where quality doesn't count. Congrats to HiQ...stunning work.

Thanks Tony, all noted. Erm not a friend's comment btw - just someone posting on a thread on the www about the topic. Cheers. G.

All good points Tony. Can I change to non-RFT on one axle (front) in this case, or would it be really odd handling....in which case I need to change all four? And from another forum ...... "I know the RFT vs non-RFT debate has been done to death on many threads, but I got an interesting take from a friend the other day who is a chassis electronics engineer for a car company. He said that whilst it's true that mechanical components of the vehicle aren't altered according to what tyre is fitted on the production line, they do programme the ECU's with different configuration files depening on the tyre that's fitted. The config files are programmed after testing the protype vehicles with all the tyre-types that would be offered to the customer, and adjust primarily the characteristics of the various ABS and DSC systems according to tyre behaviour. The correct config programme is uploaded to the vehicle ECU once the vehicle has been specified with a tyre and it's options. " Thoughts?

Thanks Tony. In the piece you linked to that describes the RFT issues and what can done in terms of the toe setting being found (to minimse the tramlining issue), does this mean you guys know what the optimum toe is for any given BMW make/model/wheel etc, or is it a case of finding it each time for each vehicle? If you have found known toe angles that work, I assume this data is made available to the fitting centres around the country, rather than them using generic BMW/Hunter data? If that's the case, I'm very interested, but wonder if any fitting centre is opening nearer to me than at present....i.e nearer to SW Bristol/WSM direction ? I should also add that tramlining was not an issue when I firt had the car (from new) - until I had the steering geo. corrected/adjusted (at Gloucester as it happens) following pot hole and kerb issues last winter! Whilst it tracks true now on a good road surface, the sensitivity to tramlining is now present. Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks guys. Just to clarify a couple of things ... the suspension on my late 2008 is one where BMW have softened the suspension to accommodate the RFT, so going for regular/non RFT tyres may be too soft. As for the cost, I've got quotes from £115-£135 all included, so would struggle to spend £1000. True, there is no spare/space for one to be carried around, but also no need to change the wheel in the pouring rain, on the hard shoulder of a motorway, as I've done twice already in recent years...not pleasant, I assure you.

I suppose if I could get a less firm ride or less tramlining. Those are the key issues. I'm told thePirelli P0 is a later gen rft and better as a result???

Hi, Looking to change the front tyres on my 2008 BMW e92 2.5d coupe as the tread is about 3mm. I'm planning on staying with RFTs, but was wondering what the best replacement tyre would be. The original fit was Continental SSR SC2 and I have these on the rear too. Wheels are original 225/45 17". Grateful for any pointers as to what tyres would be best for this vehicle. The closest centre to me, seems to be Gloucester at the moment (40 ish miles away); any others opening up west/south west of Bristol? Many thanks.

Quick update for Tony - You may want to check the centres on the map, as selecting Gloucester, comes up with "Speedyfit Tyres 31 Lancaster Road Enfield Middx EN2 0BS" !!

Tony / All, Many thanks for the replies, and the link to the earlier thread. Sounds like a lot of good work has been done and looks like it will be worth the 90 mile round trip to Gloucester to get my wheels done! Graham

Hi, Have noted with great interest the new buy your tyres online and choose your fitting centre. Sounds good but was wondering what the criteria is for the centres to join /be associated with WIM i.e. Are there any minimum standards they must adhere to (given all the forum posts about bad fast-fit places etc)....? And do they all know about the markings on new tyres to fit them correctly, or are they just like any other centre in the UK, and it's down to how good the fitter you get is....but now with the added advantage of being linked to via your website? I'm hoping of course there are quality controls in place, so I can visit the one nearest me with total confidence in the quality of the work. Hope someone from WIM can clarify. Thanks.