Q: I'm a 70-year-old woman with a 2016 BMW 228i xDrive coupe, base model. The current tires are the Continental run-flats that came with the car. I need to replace the tires and have a few questions:
Although the front tires are worn out, the back ones have some tread left. Must I replace those, too?
Someone mentioned that I might have "staggered" tires. I don't know what that means or how to determine if I do.
I've always liked Michelins, and they have both Y-rated tires and V-rated tires. What does that mean, and which ones do I need?
Do you still recommend rotating the tires? Some places will do it for free if I go back there regularly. And should I rotate them just front-to-back or also in an X?
Sorry for so many questions.
A: I'm tempted to do what my kids do to me. When I text them a series of questions, they just answer the last one and pretend they never saw the others.
First of all, you do need four new tires. You have an all-wheel drive car, and in order to avoid doing harm to your center differential, you need four tires that are all the same diameter. Worn-out tires will have a smaller diameter. So replace all of them.