Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[jacobbmw]

I have a 2011.5 E90 with the 19 inch wheels. The car currently has 8300 miles, all are street miles, no track use. The tires are making a tremendous amount of noise, like a helicopter sound. The tires have plenty of tread but the outer edges have a "scalloped" feel. I have the OEM Pirelli PZero tire.
I plan to take the car to the dealer and see if there is an alignment issue or something else going on. I would replace the fronts to see if this stops the noise, but I am concerned that it would happen again if the suspension is not up to spec.
Does anyone else have this problem? If so, how can it be corrected?

Thanks for your help and Happy New Year!

[Mr C]

I have the same Pirelli PZero tires on my sedan, with no noise like you describe, but then I don’t have anywhere near the mileage on them that you have.

I suggest that you crawl under the car with a flashlight and check the inside part of the tire. Nobody ever checks the tread on the inside part.

[smmmurf]

If the edge wear is severe due to improper toe, you could possibly have the car aligned and replace the irregularly worn tires to cure the problem.

If there is no weird wear or if the irregular wear is not severe, the only cure is switching to a more comfortable tire like the Continental DW or even an A/S tire. Beware that many good riding, lower performance tires will sacrifice response and grip to PS2's/PZero's.

[jacobbmw]

the inner part of the tire is wearing normally. When I run my hand over the outer part of the tire tread, I can feel a "scalloped" sensation on the outer part. I used to have 2005 545i with run flats that developed exactly the same noise and tire pattern. I would replace the tires and within 6 or 7000 miles the noise would return.