While unloading groceries this morning, I noticed a suspicious bulge in the sidewall of our 2006 BMW 330i's right front tire. Not a big bulge, mind you, just large enough to give me pause since the car is setting out for a 1,300-mile journey to Vancouver tomorrow. Our 330i has run-flats so there's no full-size spare to put on.
So I took the car to Stokes Tire Pros (a performance-minded wheel, tire and alignment shop that basically handles all our business in this area), and sure enough, there was a big gash on the inside, which, as the technician explained, was pushing air into the tire, creating the bulge. This likely occurred when someone hit a pothole, though fortunately, the wheel was not bent.
3 Series cars are wildly popular on LA's Westside, so we weren't too surprised when Stokes had our 330i's 225/40R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rubber in stock, and we were up and running again in only 30 minutes. Replacing a high-performance run-flat tire isn't cheap, of course. Our total bill with tax was $334.19, even with the nice little discount Stokes throws in for our repeat business.
Erin Riches, Sr Content Editor
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