Ditching the run-flats ???

[JPD56]

my son bought a mini one 1.6 in 2007 low mileage, lovely motor, but when he went 2 blow them up,he mistook 2.1 bar, for 21psi. Anyway he drove round 4 ages with no problem, but the right pressure is 28psi. Just had a quote for 1 RFT £217....

[MX-5 Lazza]

2.1 BAR is 30psi

[andrew]

hancook evos finally fitted at just the front for now

tramlining is history
ride is smoother
swmbo says the tyre noise is "different"
steering is less hyperactive and immediate
confidence to plant the throttle is infinitely increased
comically, the front of the car now hits speed ramps just fine, but the back still rattles anything loose in the car !

all the above on cold, wet roads so far..

cheers all

[MX-5 Lazza]

Is that Evos on the front and old RFs on the rear?
If so then place that fitted them should be named & shamed as not only should the new tyres be fitted on the rear but RFs and non-RFs should not be mixed.

[andrew]

MX-5 Lazza said:

Is that Evos on the front and old RFs on the rear?
If so then place that fitted them should be named & shamed as not only should the new tyres be fitted on the rear but RFs and non-RFs should not be mixed.

correct

age of tyres is irrelevant

if rears have markedly more wear/less grip than fronts, then oversteer is a possibility. but no more so than in my rwd car

mixing tyres ? should be ok front to rear

[MX-5 Lazza]

andrew said:

correct

age of tyres is irrelevant

if rears have markedly more wear/less grip than fronts, then oversteer is a possibility. but no more so than in my rwd car

mixing tyres ? should be ok front to rear

It's not about what you want as a driver, it's about what they are allowed to do as tyre fitters. Their regulations should say they have to fit the newer tyres on the rear. The regulations should also say that they can't mix RF & non-RF.

I'm not saying it won't work as it is, it might even work well. I'm just saying that no tyre fitter with any sense would have fitted them like that.

http://www.ctyres.co.uk/tyre_info/tyre_rotation.ht...
http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-g...
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/car-ty...
http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/articles/Type/RunFla...

[Gusdaq]

My Cooper S is fitted with run flats and a couple of cold miserable wet Friday nights ago, coming down a country lane in the wilds of Radlett, Herfordshire, the car lurched into an pothole in the road, with a bang so hard it frit the life out of me, going up the AI still pissing down, wearing a suit and tie, and without a coat, the tyre pressure light came on.....I can tell you, I was sure glad I had the run flats that night!

As a PS, the tyre was completely flat when I got home, next morning, expecting a new tyre cost, I went to the tyre place to be told the rim was damaged as well (how much...???!!!) a good whack with the mallet on the inside of the rim, the tyre put back on and found to be undamaged, total bill £8 for wheel balance.......

Gotta love them run flats!!!

[andrew]

Gusdaq said:

My Cooper S is fitted with run flats and a couple of cold miserable wet Friday nights ago, coming down a country lane in the wilds of Radlett, Herfordshire, the car lurched into an pothole in the road, with a bang so hard it frit the life out of me, going up the AI still pissing down, wearing a suit and tie, and without a coat, the tyre pressure light came on.....I can tell you, I was sure glad I had the run flats that night!

As a PS, the tyre was completely flat when I got home, next morning, expecting a new tyre cost, I went to the tyre place to be told the rim was damaged as well (how much...???!!!) a good whack with the mallet on the inside of the rim, the tyre put back on and found to be undamaged, total bill £8 for wheel balance.......

Gotta love them run flats!!!

that's two of us very happy then

[MX-5 Lazza]

On the other hand, if you had non-RF tyres, the rim probably wouldn't have been damaged as there is much more tyre give. RF tyres have very stiff side-walls and impacts from pot-holes are transferred directly to the rims. That's one of the reasons RF tyres shouldn't be fitted to wheels that aren't designed for them

[shipley]

Today we had the fronts replaced on our newly acquired Cooper S from run-flats to traditional tyres, more as a test than anything else.

Took the car for a 20 minute blast and it was so much improved I immediately called the tyre place and the rears will be done tomorrow.

I now have a compressor and 2 cans of Tyreweld in the car.

Whatever the positive arguments for runflats, our car feels completely transformed, is more 'planted' and far less skittish than it was.

[andrew]

shipley said:

Today we had the fronts replaced on our newly acquired Cooper S from run-flats to traditional tyres, more as a test than anything else.

Took the car for a 20 minute blast and it was so much improved I immediately called the tyre place and the rears will be done tomorrow.

I now have a compressor and 2 cans of Tyreweld in the car.

Whatever the positive arguments for runflats, our car feels completely transformed, is more 'planted' and far less skittish than it was.

try going slowly over a ramp and feel how the back end crashes relative to the front

[SnipsSt]

I was driving along the A14 in the morning rush hour. It was raining, heavy traffic, lorries in close proximity, and I was in outside lane at about 70 mph.

The tyre pressure warning came on, but, due to run flats, that's all there was to indicate I'd just picked up a puncture.

I'm glad I didn't have to deal with the same situation, but with a rapidly deflating tyre.

I've been an advocate of run flats ever since.

[MX-5 Lazza]

I had to emergency brake mid-corner on the way home from work today. I pretty sure that if I still had the RF NCT5 tyres on the car I'd have an Audi A5 or tree shaped front bumper now.