Tire Wear and Alignment

[Dave-T]

I have a 2001 325i sedan with 40,000 miles. The car is a premium package car with the 16 inch wheels and conti tires. The tires were replaced at about 30,000 miles. Recently I began to notice a noise which seemed to come from the rear of the car. It kinda of sounded like a wheel bearing noise. Anyways the dealer said the noise is from the tires. He said the tires are wearing in a cup pattern. He also said that I have two bent rims and that this is probably the reason why. The rims however do balance. He said I need to replace all four tires and rims to fix the problem. I kinda of think it is probably a wheel alignment issue. What should I do?? Has anyone else had this type of problem.

[peterkulesza]

probable causes of cupping wear:

loose wheel bearings
mismounted tire/ wheel assembly
out of balance wheel assembly
worn bearings, shocks, springs or other suspension components
inconsistent inflation (10 PSI or greater)

out of all of these, BALANCE!. bent rims can be fixed, but if they wobble sideways you can have cupping. alignment check will not hurt, but you would have to have insane toe, and weak shocks.