Star (★) for BMW and MINI
The tyre was developed for, and approved by, BMW. All three tyre makers list the star as BMW’s mark; Michelin’s table gives MINI the same set of marks. Michelin describes marked tyres as “the result of a specific demand expressed by individual car manufacturers”.
What to do with it
Read the rest of the marking with it: the letters next to the star change what it says (see below). Whether your BMW or MINI has to keep star-marked tyres is something none of these three pages says, so this page cannot tell you either. When replacing marked tyres Michelin writes that “it is therefore important to specify the same tyre as that approved by the car manufacturer”.
- What it looks like
- A five-pointed star moulded on the sidewall. Michelin’s table prints it ★, Pirelli’s and Continental’s lists *. It can stand alone or join letters: ★MO, ★MOE, ★S1 and I★ on Michelin’s table; *, I*, II* and *1 on Pirelli’s; *, *MO and *MOE on Continental’s. None of the three says where on the sidewall it sits: our drawing puts it beside a size only to show it.
- Set by
- No regulation we read defines it: it is the tyre makers’ own marking, so the makers are the sources.
In detail
- All three lists, read on 2026-10-16: Michelin’s OE marking table, row BMW: “★ - ★MO - ★MOE - ★S1 - I★”; Pirelli’s Original Equipment marking list, under BMW: “*”, “I*”, “II*”, “*1”; Continental’s OE key: “* — BMW”.
- MINI: Michelin’s table lists MINI with exactly the same marks as BMW (★, ★MO, ★MOE, ★S1, I★). Pirelli’s and Continental’s lists have no MINI row, so only one tyre maker says this.
- ★MO: Continental’s key reads “*MO — BMW & MERCEDES-BENZ”, a tyre approved by both; Michelin lists ★MO under BMW, MINI and Mercedes-Benz alike. Pirelli’s list has no ★MO.
- ★MOE: Continental’s key reads “*MOE — BMW & MERCEDES-BENZ RUNFLAT”. Michelin lists ★MOE under BMW and MINI without saying what the E stands for. For how a run-flat is otherwise marked, see the run-flat page.
- I★ (Michelin) and I* (Pirelli) appear on both lists, and Pirelli also has II* and *1; neither page says how they differ from the plain star, so this page does not either.
- Pirelli writes that “Control systems, like ABS, EPC and TPMS, are based on original equipment tyre characteristics”, which is its reason for marking tyres per car maker.
What it does not mean
It is not a quality grade or a star rating, although many people search for “star rated tyres”: each list gives the star as BMW’s marking, not a score. A plain star does not mean run-flat. It is not a regulatory mark: Michelin notes that approval by a car maker “is not a mandatory process”, unlike the type approval every tyre needs.
Markings that go with it
Sources
Each document was fetched and read on the date shown; the clause is the one that sets this marking.
- Michelin (UK): All you need to know about MICHELIN-developed marked tyres — OE marking table, rows BMW, BMW M and MINI: BMW: “★ - ★MO - ★MOE - ★S1 - I★”; BMW M: “★ - I★”; MINI: “★ - ★MO - ★MOE - ★S1 - I★”. “Marked tyres are a sign that they comply with all of the car manufacturer’s requirements.” Checked 2026-10-16.
- Pirelli (UK): Custom-made tyre marking — Original Equipment marking, letter B: Under “BMW”: “*”, “I*”, “II*”, “*1”. “Original Equipment marked tyres, initially developed in synergy with Porsche in the 1980s, are now requested by all top car manufacturers”. Checked 2026-10-16.
- Continental (Singapore): Original Equipment — Manufacturer Tyre Markings — Manufacturer Tyre Markings, OE key: “* — BMW”; “*MO — BMW & MERCEDES-BENZ”; “*MOE — BMW & MERCEDES-BENZ RUNFLAT”. Checked 2026-10-16.