Is this for real?

[farbmw]

I found this article today.

Now ever since I been driving BMW's I have never been to a tire shop that would give me a set of tires that is solely made for just BMW's, I mean they ask what I drive and everything, but I don't think that they would give me the specially marked tire and install it, they just give me what is at the warehouse at that time.

Read article below:


Sidewall secrets

Do you know the secret information written on your tire’s sidewall?
To most consumers, the information written on the tire sidewall might as well be written in a foreign language. Besides the brand of tire, the name (or model) of the tire, and the size of the tire, everything else looks like a bunch of gibberish.
But to tire industry insiders, there’s a wealth of information on that sidewall. The tire insider knows what all that gibberish means, and unless the tire shop you’re getting your tires from can decipher all that “gibberish,” they might be selling you the wrong tires for you vehicle.

For instance, let’s say two consumers walk into a tire shop and they both ask for Pirelli P7 tires. One owns a BMW and the other owns a Mercedes-Benz. Although both will get tires that looks exactly the same, with the same tread pattern and the same name on the sidewall, in actual fact, the tires will be different.
They’re made with different compounds, because they’re tailored to the needs of each automotive manufacturer – in this case BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
How can anyone tell them apart? The tires have logos, or a specific series of letters, on the sidewall that only a good tire retailer will notice and will understand.
The tire designed for BMW, for example, has a star on the sidewall. A simple logo that most of us never pay attention to, but something that sets that tire apart form the pack as having been designed specifically for BMW.
So what’s the big deal if your vehicle is riding on tires it wasn’t designed to ride on? For starters, you won’t benefit 100% from the handling and performance the manufacturer engineered into your vehicle.
More: Truck tire testing
If you’re driving a high-end sports sedan, for example, you paid a premium for it and you probably want that vehicle to live up to performance expectations. But if it’s riding on the wrong tires, you won’t get all the performance you paid for.
The second issue is one of safety. Tires made with different compounds expand and contract at different rates. So you may be on a road trip with your family, and after a few kilometres you may notice the car pulling slightly to one side. Why? The tires are heating up and expanding, but one of the tires is different. It’s got the same name on the sidewall, but the logo tells you it’s the odd man out, made with different compounds or materials.
Not only will you have to keep pulling the vehicle back into the lane, but if you’re faced with the need for an emergency evasive manoeuvre, your vehicle will not respond as well as it could, were all the tires the same.

[Torgus]

Sounds like an excuse to overcharge for a tire.

[TRES]

lol thats funny i thought the only car needed special tires was the veyron

[benzy89]

Not buying it --- Def don't see Michelin, Pirelli, Continental making the same sized tires for each individual car manufacturer. I'm sure there are specific tires that are designed for specific vehicles, but outside of that you should be buying the appropriate "performance" tires for your wheel size & vehicle's performance.

Short Version: Buy the appropriate tire respective to your vehicle's performance.

[Sticky]

Um why would a BMW need a special tire just for being a BMW?

Veyron needs special tires to hit its top speed due to its weight. The CSL has R-compounds so essentially a software compound. Your tire doesn't know anything other than physics. The badge doesn't matter.

[DavidV]

Tires in certain sizes and brands where BMW, but also MB, Porsche, has a contract with and are used on standard showroom cars, get the star (in BMW's case) as an original OEM tire.
I originally had the Bridgestone RE050A's on my 135i as an OEM tire.
I before made the mistake of putting these under my E36 where they were horrible, but frankly they weren't all that bad under my E82.
They just fell apart during AutoX.

I'm not at all convinced that one size wider for the same tire, where there is no OEM mark on them, would result in a different drive cerracteristic of the tire.
But I never tested that theory.
I never ever went back for a second set of tires to the OEM choice...

[xbox_fan]

If the tyre type/name/model is the same and the size and load class as well as speed rating I think thats it, no difference worth worrying over then...

The 911 has Porsche "N" certified tyres, I still need them since I am under warranty and without the correct certified tyres I wont get coverage...

[Antres]

That's true! For example for audi the logo is AU for mercendes MO for bentley B and so on, each different car brand has different weight-suspension-is more or less luxury or sport so it need it's tire, you will not have any problems with MO installed on a bmw for example but avoid it if you can. Also Yokohama are more wider than other brands, for example i have 285/25/20 Yokohama and now i will buy pirelli, to be the same width i have to installed 305/25/20 because pirelli 285/25/20 are 2cm thinner than Yokohama, i accidentally learn that.