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Star-rated tyres?

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    Posted: 28 Nov 2008 at 2:42pm
Does anyone know if any other tyres apart from Bridgestone are star-rated? Every time I go to my garage they point out that my Bridgestones on the rear are star-rated, but the Pirellis on the front are not. However I find the Pirellis to be better for grip and noise. Does anyone believe that the star-rating makes a significant difference to the setup on their BMW, or is it really just a cosy marketing partnership between BMW and Bridgestone?
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dteagles View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dteagles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2008 at 2:49pm
I was told recently that the whole run-flat tyre market was now a bit of a free for all.

I went for Michelin's without a star, but this was mainly because I was getting a full set fitted for £327

Darren.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabrio Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2008 at 4:41pm

umm looks like we may need a tyre expert....but most high £ tyres are going to be good and makes like Michelin and Bridgestone etc will always offer good performance and quality at a cost....and cover Motorsport marketing costs

Seriously apart from the budget tyres most manufacturers offer good quality etc....guess still a case of fit for purpose

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sharptooth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2008 at 10:24pm
Depending on your desired size, I've come across come several other star-rated tyres; namely the Pirelli P6000, Continental ContiSport Contact 2 and Dunlop SP2000. I ran the former two (Pirelli fronts / Conti rears) for a long time until changing wheels in August, which meant a complete change. The dealership suggested Bridgestones, but being so costly I sourced non-star-rated Continental ContiSportContact 3 all round (the rears are an uncommon 245/40/R17) from a local tyre dealer and have been extremely happy with these. It's possible that the dealerships are obliged to only use star-rated tyres, but this does rather limit one's choice as they may not even stock ALL star-rated tyres!
Continental's website includes a key for its listed products, for which * indicates star-rated (for BMWs) and 'M3' indicates suitability for BMW M3s - not sure about this one as I've not seen it elsewhere.
Protyre's website also uses * to indicate BMW star-rated tyres in its search results.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dannyboye30 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 7:18pm

The star is to show that the tyre has been recommended for use on BMW, tyres are tested before being released, if they have the star marking on them then it means that BMW approved them for use of their cars, if they dont have a star marking on them then bmw has not approved them for use on their cars

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dteagles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 8:12pm
Originally posted by dannyboye30 dannyboye30 wrote:

The star is to show that the tyre has been recommended for use on BMW, tyres are tested before being released, if they have the star marking on them then it means that BMW approved them for use of their cars, if they dont have a star marking on them then bmw has not approved them for use on their cars



But to be clear that does NOT mean that they are not suitable, just that BMW hasn't tested/approved them.

I have a set of Michelin Pilot Primacy tyres on my 120d that are not "star" marked and they are as good if not better than the original Bridgestones.

Cheers,
Darren.



Edited by dteagles - 03 Dec 2008 at 8:13pm

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2008 at 8:37pm
thanks to all for the helpful inputs on this. I actually think my non-star rated Pirellis are better than the Bridgestones - but I guess it's personal taste. A little disconcerting though that my local dealer has been telling me (and other customers) that they should change their tyres simply becuase they're not star-rated. This would seem unnecessary.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dteagles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Dec 2008 at 10:46pm
Originally posted by kaneap kaneap wrote:

thanks to all for the helpful inputs on this. I actually think my non-star rated Pirellis are better than the Bridgestones - but I guess it's personal taste. A little disconcerting though that my local dealer has been telling me (and other customers) that they should change their tyres simply becuase they're not star-rated. This would seem unnecessary.


It may be ignorance but I doubt a main dealer wouldn't know what's legal and what's not, the dealer may be able to claim some kind of warranty infringement but I doubt it as the non star marked tyres meet all of the same regulations as the star rated ones (apart from BMW's own).

It might be worth (and I would like to know) on what basis this dealer is saying this to customers

PS - don't mention any dealer or individuals names!

Darren.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike Fishwick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Feb 2009 at 5:16pm
Perhaps - and it's a pretty big 'perhaps' - some BMW cars are in the situation which existed during the 'seventies, when the six and twelve-cylinder versions of the Jaguar E-Type and XJ6/XJ12  were each originally fitted with different tyres.
 
These (Dunlop) tyres all looked exactly the same, but differed in their internal construction, and could only be purchased via an official Jaguar dealer - at an enormous markup!
 
If you run an ordinary BMW I doubt if the star marks are anything more than a clumsy marketing ploy.  Perhaps BMW should be asked by the CLub, and make a reply via the BMWCC magazine.
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