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[Stav]

I got new tires early December after about 16k miles - the exact same ones the car had from the factory - Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 (245/35ZR19 front and 265/35ZR19 rear. I bought them from the local BMW dealer together with balancing and alignment.

Since then my steering wheel is vibrating/shaking. I thought balancing was off so I took it back to the dealership in February to check it out. They said balancing was off exactly 5 pounds on each tire and they blamed their wheel balancer. I believe it is a Hunter GSP9700 and they said maybe it was not calibrated right when i got them.

I took the car back but the vibration was actually a bit worse and especially when accelerating at higher speeds you can really feel the front and steering wheel vibrating.

So I was cleaning the car and I noticed that one of the front tires is not a BMW OEM like all the others - it doesn't have the star. It is still a Michelin PS2 with the exact same specs and (93Y) but there is not the OEM. I called them and told them about it and that it could be the issue. I have another appointment scheduled now for them to test the tires again but I am pretty sure they will argue it is the same tire even though it is not OEM and they won't replace it.

Has anybody had issues like this especially with a non-OEM tire on the same axle? I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that BMW developed those tires together with Michelin specifically for the M3 but can't remember where. Let me know if anybody has a link! Wanted to get some opinions but most likely only Michelin knows the truth.

[Rshane]

Two different tires on the same axle can definitely cause the vibrations you described...especially if the tread patterns are different.

EDIT: Just realized you said it was the same type of tire....hmmm, that is a bit strange. Maybe it wasn't balanced right, or the weights came off. Can you see if the sticky weights are still attached to both wheels?

[Stav]

Yes they are attached to both. Just not sure if one being OEM and the other non-OEM could cause this issue. The OEM tires have a big star on the to signify this.

[DBH]

BMW's are VERY sensitive to balance/alignment. Five "pounds" off on a balance is WAY off. Maybe they mean ounces.

Tires with the star on the sidewall are BMW approved. The dealer should have put these tires on your car. Otherwise you could have saved yourself a lot of $$$ by going to the Michlein store and gotten the generic tire. BTW, the Michlein dealer can also get the "star" tire. Also, tire stores are generally better at balance/alignment because that's their business.

I would keep at the BMW dealer 'till they get it perfect - period.

[slicer]

I'm sure the dealer charged you a significant premium to buy the tires from them (go to tirerack.com to see how much they juiced the pricing). I would expect to receive the BMW spec tires if I paid a premium from the dealer. I think you should demand that they replace the non-matching tire even if it isn't the problem. This type of thing angers me considering dealers try to justify charging a premium price because they only use "BMW approved" products. Then they turn around and fail to install a matching set on your car. That's annoying. You will also see that you can purchase BMW spec tires from Tire Rack.