RE: BMW 6 Series (E63): PH Buying Guide
Discussion
I had the 650i for a year and done 10k miles before I sold her nearly a year ago now to fund my masters Was a brilliant car and oh how I miss it. I drove it from London to Norway and averaged 34 mpg and that included a few spirited runs on the autobahn travelling over double the English national speed limit. Averaged 22 mpg overall during my ownership which was great as the E46 330ci I've owned since has averaged 26. Not bad I say.
Anyway here she is when I arrived in Norway:
Anyway here she is when I arrived in Norway:
Edited by Shanemrb on Wednesday 5th October 15:07
greghm said:
Speed addicted said:
I have a 2005 645 coupe. I tend to prefer big lazy engines and this is perfect for me.
[...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I am considering this. Does this make a big difference in the ride ? [...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I'd say it was worth it, I'm certainly not going back to run flats.
Speed addicted said:
greghm said:
Speed addicted said:
I have a 2005 645 coupe. I tend to prefer big lazy engines and this is perfect for me.
[...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I am considering this. Does this make a big difference in the ride ? [...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I'd say it was worth it, I'm certainly not going back to run flats.
Shanemrb said:
Speed addicted said:
greghm said:
Speed addicted said:
I have a 2005 645 coupe. I tend to prefer big lazy engines and this is perfect for me.
[...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I am considering this. Does this make a big difference in the ride ? [...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I'd say it was worth it, I'm certainly not going back to run flats.
Shanemrb said:
Speed addicted said:
greghm said:
Speed addicted said:
I have a 2005 645 coupe. I tend to prefer big lazy engines and this is perfect for me.
[...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I am considering this. Does this make a big difference in the ride ? [...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I'd say it was worth it, I'm certainly not going back to run flats.
greghm said:
Speed addicted said:
I have a 2005 645 coupe. I tend to prefer big lazy engines and this is perfect for me.
[...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I am considering this. Does this make a big difference in the ride ? [...]now the horrible run flats have been changed to normal tyres.
[...]
I did it 3 months after the ACS kit was fitted (wanted to see what made the difference). The difference was night and day. Non-RFT make a massive difference. Improved grip, improved traction (wet and dry), reduced noise. The car rides better, but also feels lighter and taughter on the road.
Even the SS were about the same cost for 4 as the RFT would have been for just rears.
Without question, you should do it!
Alex88 said:
Interesting re the RFT. I know it's one that's been done to death but I still have some concerns about switching to conventional tyres..
1.Isn't the car's whole road setup designed with RFT's in mind? I.e the suspension, steering, turn in, etc designed around the heavier tyre?
2.How does it affect the tyre pressure warning thing?
3.Will you now carry a spare wheel kit in case you get a puncture?
I'm very surprised that some people report a dramatic difference. I thought the technology if run flat's had progressed in the 10+ years and difference was now negligible. Obviously not.
I've done it on the 6 series and it does improve the steering/handling/ride by some margin...however I've had two punctures in less than a year on normal yet I've had a car with runflats for the last ten years and only had one puncture in that time. 1.Isn't the car's whole road setup designed with RFT's in mind? I.e the suspension, steering, turn in, etc designed around the heavier tyre?
2.How does it affect the tyre pressure warning thing?
3.Will you now carry a spare wheel kit in case you get a puncture?
I'm very surprised that some people report a dramatic difference. I thought the technology if run flat's had progressed in the 10+ years and difference was now negligible. Obviously not.
I'm going back to runflats because I didn't enjoy being broken down with a puncture and I don't have space for a spare wheel because of the pushchair etc.
There's no space in the 6 series for a spare, that's where the battery lives.
I carry the BMW inflation kit with the compressor and goo, bought off eBay for about £30.
Tyre pressures are the same, tyre monitoring is done by the rolling radius (abs sensors I think) so is unaffected.
Essentially the tyres are better for grip and ride quality while being 2/3rds of the cost.
I carry the BMW inflation kit with the compressor and goo, bought off eBay for about £30.
Tyre pressures are the same, tyre monitoring is done by the rolling radius (abs sensors I think) so is unaffected.
Essentially the tyres are better for grip and ride quality while being 2/3rds of the cost.
Alex88 said:
Interesting re the RFT. I know it's one that's been done to death but I still have some concerns about switching to conventional tyres.. Can someone in the know answer?
1. Isn't the car's whole road setup designed with RFT's in mind? I.e the suspension, steering, turn in, etc designed around the heavier tyre?
2. How does it affect the tyre pressure warning thing?
3. Is the tyre pressure different?
4. Will you now carry a spare wheel kit in case you get a puncture?
I'm very surprised that some people report a dramatic difference. I thought the technology if run flat's had progressed in the 10+ years and difference was now negligible. Obviously not.
1. No. Not accordingly to ACS anyway. 1. Isn't the car's whole road setup designed with RFT's in mind? I.e the suspension, steering, turn in, etc designed around the heavier tyre?
2. How does it affect the tyre pressure warning thing?
3. Is the tyre pressure different?
4. Will you now carry a spare wheel kit in case you get a puncture?
I'm very surprised that some people report a dramatic difference. I thought the technology if run flat's had progressed in the 10+ years and difference was now negligible. Obviously not.
Edited by Alex88 on Wednesday 5th October 20:06
Edited by Alex88 on Wednesday 5th October 20:07
2. Works perfectly
3. I run mine the same, again ACS advised level. Matched what I ran RFT on
4. No. I got the ACS Goo & Compressor kit.....and BMW Emergency Assist
Technology on RFTs has improved. But OEM RFT are still a league behind top flight non-RFT. I was as surprised as you. I spent 10+ yrs using the argument of it 'wasn't worth it for the comfort of knowing I could get home' etc...then I did it.
I think the benefits of RFT's are greatly overstated.
If you are 150 miles from home in the pouring rain and you suffer a puncture your car is coming home on a flatbed whether you've got RFT's or not. They'll only take you 50 miles.
I have never had a puncture on a non RFT where I wasn't able to re-inflate the tyre with a foot pump, drive to the nearest tyre depot and have it repaired for 15 quid. My last puncture in an RFT was dead centre of the tread yet nobody would repair it and I had to buy a new tyre, which wasnt in stock, despite the fact it had 6mm of tread. So, car disabled whilst on RFT's for 48 hours, had it been non RFT's it would have been on its way again in 10 minutes.
That said I am back on RFT's now as the car was supplied on a full set and I'm surprised how not awful the ride is. I swapped to my other set of wheels on non RFT's and the difference was not as pronounced as it was once was. So that just leaves the main downside of non-repairable punctures and inflated tyre costs.
In an ideal world though the manufacturers would just give up with the stupid things.
If you are 150 miles from home in the pouring rain and you suffer a puncture your car is coming home on a flatbed whether you've got RFT's or not. They'll only take you 50 miles.
I have never had a puncture on a non RFT where I wasn't able to re-inflate the tyre with a foot pump, drive to the nearest tyre depot and have it repaired for 15 quid. My last puncture in an RFT was dead centre of the tread yet nobody would repair it and I had to buy a new tyre, which wasnt in stock, despite the fact it had 6mm of tread. So, car disabled whilst on RFT's for 48 hours, had it been non RFT's it would have been on its way again in 10 minutes.
That said I am back on RFT's now as the car was supplied on a full set and I'm surprised how not awful the ride is. I swapped to my other set of wheels on non RFT's and the difference was not as pronounced as it was once was. So that just leaves the main downside of non-repairable punctures and inflated tyre costs.
In an ideal world though the manufacturers would just give up with the stupid things.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
This is where spec comes into it - with the Sport mode switched on along with active steering and dynamic drive, it makes a great B road blaster. Proper sharp turn in and great throttle response.My commute is 16 miles of country B road, and it was the same pace comfortably as the 911/M cars etc. It's never going to be an Elise etc but bearing in mind it is a GT car, it really does offer the best of both worlds hence why it is the longest I've ever owned a car - 3x the others.
Fox- said:
My last puncture in an RFT was dead centre of the tread yet nobody would repair it and I had to buy a new tyre, which wasnt in stock, despite the fact it had 6mm of tread. So, car disabled whilst on RFT's for 48 hours, had it been non RFT's it would have been on its way again in 10 minutes.
It was the other way around for me when I got my second puncture in that nobody had my 20" normal tyre in stock, whereas I broke down only a few miles from my local bmw dealer who had the run flat in stock(although sky high price!). I think from people's experience on here I've just been incredibly unlucky, and that when I finally decided to ditch the run flats I picked up two punctures on normal tyres in quick succession, so I've lost some confidence in normal tyres.
I much prefer the feel and ride on normal tyres though for sure.
PrancingHorses said:
I owned a 645ci Convertible (54 reg) and then replaced that with a 650i Coupe (2007 LCI) - fantastic cars for the money and neither went wrong at all.
You're a lucky man. I would only buy another if it was an LCI 650i but unfortunately they are hard to come across.cerb4.5lee said:
Speed addicted said:
I carry the BMW inflation kit with the compressor and goo, bought off eBay for about £30.
I carry a compressor but I was struggling to find goo that suited 20" rims, I will have a look into getting the bmw kit then because I much prefer the ride on normal tyres. Ares said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Speed addicted said:
I carry the BMW inflation kit with the compressor and goo, bought off eBay for about £30.
I carry a compressor but I was struggling to find goo that suited 20" rims, I will have a look into getting the bmw kit then because I much prefer the ride on normal tyres. One issue has to be mentionned again: the cracked wheels. I discovered that these combination of RFT and driving in England has unearthed a massive problem of cracked wheels as the RFT are so strong. I bought mine this year and when I changed the rear tires, there were 5 instance of welding of the wheels du to cracks and in fact the guy said that I was better off buying a new wheel now.
It seems to be the case also for the same generation of 5 series (As it is the same backbone).
It seems to be the case also for the same generation of 5 series (As it is the same backbone).
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