Discussion
I will be changing my daily driver later this year and I'm thinking of going back to BMW, my last Beemer was a 535d, an 06 model and while I loved the car I did not love the RFT's.
I'm just wondering if the game has moved on and wondered if I could garner the impartial(?) opinions of owners on here. So a few questions if I may:
1. Can you still not officially repair an RFT?
2. Are the side walls still hard as nails?
3. Is it still not possible to fit normal tyres to BMW rims?
4. Do they still cost the earth?
I'm just wondering if the game has moved on and wondered if I could garner the impartial(?) opinions of owners on here. So a few questions if I may:
1. Can you still not officially repair an RFT?
2. Are the side walls still hard as nails?
3. Is it still not possible to fit normal tyres to BMW rims?
4. Do they still cost the earth?
Blue62 said:
I will be changing my daily driver later this year and I'm thinking of going back to BMW, my last Beemer was a 535d, an 06 model and while I loved the car I did not love the RFT's.
I'm just wondering if the game has moved on and wondered if I could garner the impartial(?) opinions of owners on here. So a few questions if I may:
1. Can you still not officially repair an RFT?
2. Are the side walls still hard as nails?
3. Is it still not possible to fit normal tyres to BMW rims?
4. Do they still cost the earth?
You can repair a runflat according to the same guidance as repairing a normal tyre, i.e. main part of the tread. Obviously, if you've trashed a RFT by kerbing, you wouldn't want it anyway, as you've ruined its raison d'etre.I'm just wondering if the game has moved on and wondered if I could garner the impartial(?) opinions of owners on here. So a few questions if I may:
1. Can you still not officially repair an RFT?
2. Are the side walls still hard as nails?
3. Is it still not possible to fit normal tyres to BMW rims?
4. Do they still cost the earth?
BMW rims will happily take both types of tyre.
They cost about 30% more.
I took RFTs off my 1er last year; put two new rears on today and went back to RFT tyres. Will do the fronts in the spring. Main reason was my wife drives it to work every day and I didn't want her to have the hassle of trying to repair a puncture or waiting for recovery.
smashy said:
I hated run flat tyres,then 2 instances of getting me out of trouble hours from home, I will allways have run flats from now on.3rd generation are now going on new BMWS not sure if they are available for sale on oldcars though.They are supposed to be far better.
Yep - I fitted the new Sport Contact 5 RFTs today. They must be getting better?!
1. Can you still not officially repair an RFT?
You can repair an RFT and always have been able to. However if you have driven for any length of time on a flat RFT there is a chance that the sidewall construction is weakened and the potential for a blowout or failure is increased. Since such damage is not typically visible many places refuse to repair them.
2. Are the side walls still hard as nails?
Yes, although newer RFTs appear to be improved.
3. Is it still not possible to fit normal tyres to BMW rims?
You have always been able to fit normal tyres to RFT rims. You can't fit RFTs to standard rims and expect them to work as RFTs. This is because RFT rims have a ridge to keep the bead in place should they need to be driven when punctured.
4. Do they still cost the earth?
Yes.
You can repair an RFT and always have been able to. However if you have driven for any length of time on a flat RFT there is a chance that the sidewall construction is weakened and the potential for a blowout or failure is increased. Since such damage is not typically visible many places refuse to repair them.
2. Are the side walls still hard as nails?
Yes, although newer RFTs appear to be improved.
3. Is it still not possible to fit normal tyres to BMW rims?
You have always been able to fit normal tyres to RFT rims. You can't fit RFTs to standard rims and expect them to work as RFTs. This is because RFT rims have a ridge to keep the bead in place should they need to be driven when punctured.
4. Do they still cost the earth?
Yes.
smashy said:
I hated run flat tyres,then 2 instances of getting me out of trouble hours from home, I will allways have run flats from now on.3rd generation are now going on new BMWS not sure if they are available for sale on oldcars though.They are supposed to be far better.
That is what I'm hearing, not been for a test drive yet but I'd hope they've come on since my last experience. I'm sure someone told me you couldn't run them on original rims, or maybe it was an insurance/warranty issue?V8mate said:
You can repair a runflat according to the same guidance as repairing a normal tyre, i.e. main part of the tread. Obviously, if you've trashed a RFT by kerbing, you wouldn't want it anyway, as you've ruined its raison d'etre.
BMW rims will happily take both types of tyre.
They cost about 30% more.
I took RFTs off my 1er last year; put two new rears on today and went back to RFT tyres. Will do the fronts in the spring. Main reason was my wife drives it to work every day and I didn't want her to have the hassle of trying to repair a puncture or waiting for recovery.
V8mate. When you changed in the first place, did you really notice any change in the ride? I ask because I'm not convinced that my wife - the main user - will, so it may make sense to just replace the current RFTs with new RFTs when they need doing. BMW rims will happily take both types of tyre.
They cost about 30% more.
I took RFTs off my 1er last year; put two new rears on today and went back to RFT tyres. Will do the fronts in the spring. Main reason was my wife drives it to work every day and I didn't want her to have the hassle of trying to repair a puncture or waiting for recovery.
I've currently got winters and steelies on and, to be frank, haven't noticed much of a difference from RFTs myself.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
V8mate. When you changed in the first place, did you really notice any change in the ride? I ask because I'm not convinced that my wife - the main user - will, so it may make sense to just replace the current RFTs with new RFTs when they need doing.
I've currently got winters and steelies on and, to be frank, haven't noticed much of a difference from RFTs myself.
My 1er is an M-Sport; the ride is firm anyway. I have asked if she finds the ride 'crashy' but she says that she does her best to avoid potholes etc and that the ride otherwise is fine. On that basis, I don't think RFTs are going to make things any worse.I've currently got winters and steelies on and, to be frank, haven't noticed much of a difference from RFTs myself.
I've just gone from an E60 5 M Sport on 18" wheels to an F10 M Sport on 19" wheels and he ride is way way better and a lot less crashy so pretty sure they have improved how they run on run flats by a huge margin, in my experience. Even when I had the E60 which I did 130k miles in would say the tyres improved - I found Dunlop the best.
Drek said:
V8mate said:
Not really.
My 225/45 17 Sport Contact 5s are £105 regular and £140 RFT.
Where?!! I paid out just over £900 last year for all four RFTs, best price I could get and I did look!My 225/45 17 Sport Contact 5s are £105 regular and £140 RFT.
chrisx666 said:
Drek said:
V8mate said:
Not really.
My 225/45 17 Sport Contact 5s are £105 regular and £140 RFT.
Where?!! I paid out just over £900 last year for all four RFTs, best price I could get and I did look!My 225/45 17 Sport Contact 5s are £105 regular and £140 RFT.
Local, bricks and mortar tyre dealers are too often over-looked; I've been using mine for 3 years now, am greeted by name, asked how my track car's running etc. And he's never more expensive than the internetz. Win.
V8mate said:
My local tyre dealer always quotes me without knowing my researched prices first. If he's cheaper than Blackcircles, I get that price; if BC are cheaper, he matches them. He wins/loses about 50:50. But it's rarely more than a fiver's difference.
Local, bricks and mortar tyre dealers are too often over-looked; I've been using mine for 3 years now, am greeted by name, asked how my track car's running etc. And he's never more expensive than the internetz. Win.
I would go along with that, been using the same 'back street' tyre place for years, they've never damaged an alloy and always come up with a decent price, 4 new Toyo's on my Disco 4 for under £700 before xmas, Land Rover would've relieved me of over a grand!Local, bricks and mortar tyre dealers are too often over-looked; I've been using mine for 3 years now, am greeted by name, asked how my track car's running etc. And he's never more expensive than the internetz. Win.
I've just got rid of the Continental Runflats on my 3 series. They had plenty of tread left, but dangerously low grip in cold, damp conditions.
I have 16 inch wheels and fat tyres so the hard sidewalls weren't too much of a problem, though if you hit a manhole while cornering the car did skip sideways quite noticeably.
Another issue I have with them is that the tyre pressure monitor doesn't warn you about slow punctures, or gradual loss of pressure. So you can't tell if the previous owner has been running round for miles with no pressure in them. That would probably explain why one of mine was warped - ie spin the wheel and the tread pattern wobbled from left to right.
I swapped for Michelin Primacy 3s. Noticably softer and much grippier in the wet. Main problem is that even a spacesaver takes up a large chunk of boot space. From past experience, tyre foam isn't going help you if you have a blowout on the motorway!
I have 16 inch wheels and fat tyres so the hard sidewalls weren't too much of a problem, though if you hit a manhole while cornering the car did skip sideways quite noticeably.
Another issue I have with them is that the tyre pressure monitor doesn't warn you about slow punctures, or gradual loss of pressure. So you can't tell if the previous owner has been running round for miles with no pressure in them. That would probably explain why one of mine was warped - ie spin the wheel and the tread pattern wobbled from left to right.
I swapped for Michelin Primacy 3s. Noticably softer and much grippier in the wet. Main problem is that even a spacesaver takes up a large chunk of boot space. From past experience, tyre foam isn't going help you if you have a blowout on the motorway!
Q2: The hard side walls are still there. Dig your thumb in and there was no give at all on my 2010 X5 with run-flats. This is on Conti UHPs manufactured in 2010.
However, I’m not sure that the hard side walls are such a problem compared to the actual weight of the run-flats. Apparently the non-run flat tyres fitted to my X5 are 6kg lighter per tyre (19.5kg down to 13.6kg).
That is a massive reduction in unsprung weight and explains why the primary ride is so much better now.
Q3. No problem for my tyre fitter fitting normal tyres onto the rims that had the run flats before.
However, I’m not sure that the hard side walls are such a problem compared to the actual weight of the run-flats. Apparently the non-run flat tyres fitted to my X5 are 6kg lighter per tyre (19.5kg down to 13.6kg).
That is a massive reduction in unsprung weight and explains why the primary ride is so much better now.
Q3. No problem for my tyre fitter fitting normal tyres onto the rims that had the run flats before.
Edited by LeoSayer on Friday 4th January 12:30
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