New Wheels And Tyres; Retreaded Tyres - BMW 318i Owner's Handbook Manual

on your car. This may have been caused e.g. by
driving over a kerb or similar. The same applies
to any other abnormal road behaviour, such as
pulling severely to the right or left.
In such cases, reduce speed immediately
and have the wheels and tyres checked
without delay. Proceed with caution to the near-
est BMW Service or specialist tyre dealer that
operates to BMW specifications and has suita-
bly trained personnel. Have the car towed there
if necessary.
Tyre damage represents a risk of serious injury
to the car's occupants and to all other road
users.<
Age of tyres
For various reasons, such as the development
of brittleness, BMW recommends tyre replace-
ment after no more than 6 years, regardless of
the actual wear of the tyres.
A tyre's date of manufacture is included in the
inscription on the tyre:
DOT ... 0705 means that the tyre was manufac-
tured in week 07 of 2005.
Run-flat tyres
The symbol identifying run-flat tyres is the cir-
cle with the letters RSC on the sidewall.
Run-flat tyres comprise a conditionally self-
supporting tyre and a special rim. The rein-
forcement in the sidewalls ensures that the tyre
can continue to be used subject to certain
restrictions, even if depressurised.
For information on continuing to drive with a flat
tyre, see Indication of a flat tyre, page 74.
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New wheels and tyres

Have new wheels and tyres fitted only by
BMW Service or by a specialist tyre dealer
that operates to BMW specifications and has
suitably trained personnel. If such work is per-
formed inexpertly, it could result in consequen-
tial damage and thus constitute a safety risk.
Make sure that the new wheels are

Retreaded tyres

BMW advises against the use of
retreaded tyres, as these could adversely
affect the car's safety. Their carcasses may dif-
fer in internal construction or have aged suffi-
ciently to limit their durability.<
Correct wheels and tyres
When fitting new tyres or changing over from
summer to winter tyres and vice versa, fit run-
flat tyres for your own safety. In the event of a
flat, no spare wheel is available. BMW Service
will be glad to advise you on this.
For safety reasons, BMW recommends
that damaged run-flat tyres be replaced
rather than repaired.<
BMW recommends fitting only wheels
and tyres that it has approved for your
type of vehicle, otherwise the tyres may e.g.
make contact with the vehicle body due to
impermissible tolerances, even though they are
of an approved size; this could result in a serious
accident. BMW is unable to assess the suitabil-
ity of wheels and tyres it has not approved and
cannot therefore guarantee their
Details of the correct wheel/tyre combinations
can be obtained from BMW Service.
The correct wheel and tyre combination also
has an influence on various systems, the func-
tion of which could otherwise be adversely
affected, for instance ABS, DSC or RPA.
To maintain the car's good road behaviour,
always fit tyres of the same make and tread pat-
tern to all wheels. After a tyre has been dam-
aged, fit the original wheel and tyre combination
again as soon as possible.
balanced.<
safety.<