A Different thread about Runflats.
Discussion
There have been several threads on here about runflat tyres. I have contributed to some of them and have been negative about them, and that's putting it mildly. I think some brands are horrible to the point of being dangerous on choppy roads.
My son in law is also driving on runflats. For the past few months he has been very busy with his business and the arrival of a new baby. A few nights back he told me he had got a puncture about thirty five miles from home but had made it home safely. Because he is so busy and I'm retired I offered to swap cars with him and I would take his car to the tyre depot.
The following morning I drove his car to the tyre depot. There was a slight "pull" in the steering but otherwise it was not too bad to drive. At the depot there was a big shock. When they took off the wheel they found he had not got a puncture, he had worn the tyre completely through the casing, see photo below:
I am not condoning his lack of care for the tyres. The purpose of this post is to highlight what a remarkable piece of engineering runflats are. It's incredible that the car could be driven for a long distance with the tyre in this state.
BTW: I still hate runflats!
My son in law is also driving on runflats. For the past few months he has been very busy with his business and the arrival of a new baby. A few nights back he told me he had got a puncture about thirty five miles from home but had made it home safely. Because he is so busy and I'm retired I offered to swap cars with him and I would take his car to the tyre depot.
The following morning I drove his car to the tyre depot. There was a slight "pull" in the steering but otherwise it was not too bad to drive. At the depot there was a big shock. When they took off the wheel they found he had not got a puncture, he had worn the tyre completely through the casing, see photo below:
I am not condoning his lack of care for the tyres. The purpose of this post is to highlight what a remarkable piece of engineering runflats are. It's incredible that the car could be driven for a long distance with the tyre in this state.
BTW: I still hate runflats!
Your son-in-law has been saved by the stiff side walls. Lucky for him and your family.
Inflammatory it may be but he has let those tyres get to dangerously low levels of tread and if he had changed them when they had been required I doubt he would have had the 'puncture' in the first place.
Inflammatory it may be but he has let those tyres get to dangerously low levels of tread and if he had changed them when they had been required I doubt he would have had the 'puncture' in the first place.
wax lyrical said:
Your Son-in-law is an IDIOT. He could killed himself / his baby / someone else driving a car that unsafe!
Seriously - what a complete tw@t. I hope all four tyres are now changed and he gets his head out of his @rse. There are absolutely NO excuses for things like that.
He's not alone though. Go to any tyre depot and look at the tyres that have been replaced, you'll find a significant proportion are way under the legal limit. Seriously - what a complete tw@t. I hope all four tyres are now changed and he gets his head out of his @rse. There are absolutely NO excuses for things like that.
Not condoning this, but sadly it's not at all uncommon.
don'tbesilly said:
Your son-in-law needs to get the tracking sorted out.
No he doesn't, all run flats do this. Get the car on proper tyres and they wear evenly again.
I have seen this with over 4mm still on the tread 1" from the inside edge and 6mm on the outside edge.
It convinced him to sell is X5, where in reality new proper tyres all round would have been far easier and cheaper.
gizlaroc said:
don'tbesilly said:
Your son-in-law needs to get the tracking sorted out.
No he doesn't, all run flats do this. Get the car on proper tyres and they wear evenly again.
I have seen this with over 4mm still on the tread 1" from the inside edge and 6mm on the outside edge.
It convinced him to sell is X5, where in reality new proper tyres all round would have been far easier and cheaper.
Uneven wear seems to be a particular issue with recent Golfs/Leons. Both my wife GTI and my work Leon suffered from it, apparently it's very common.
As for the OP's sons tyres, i'm shocked, but sadly not surprised that somebody could let their tyres get to that state. Being busy is not an excuse, takes all of 30 seconds to have a quick check of all 4 tyres using a Mark 1 eyeball.
As for the OP's sons tyres, i'm shocked, but sadly not surprised that somebody could let their tyres get to that state. Being busy is not an excuse, takes all of 30 seconds to have a quick check of all 4 tyres using a Mark 1 eyeball.
While I can't disagree with some of the opinions expressed about my s-i-l, I want to highlight that the purpose of the thread is to show what runflats can do when they have to.
To answer two points that arose in the thread:
This was a rear tyre on a 320d and the rear pair were changed. (runflats again) The front pair have about 4mm so they are still on the car.
The female members of the family gave him a good tongue-lashing about driving his new baby with tyres like that. By the time they were finished I think he might have preferred to face the police!
To answer two points that arose in the thread:
This was a rear tyre on a 320d and the rear pair were changed. (runflats again) The front pair have about 4mm so they are still on the car.
The female members of the family gave him a good tongue-lashing about driving his new baby with tyres like that. By the time they were finished I think he might have preferred to face the police!
REALIST123 said:
Nothing to do with runflats or tracking. I've seen that on all sorts of tyres and cars. Just changed a pair on son's Leon runabout. 1mm on each rear inside shoulder, 2/3mm on inner 50mm or so, 5mm on outer edge. Geometry, use and inflation, nothing more.
Sorry. Totally disagree, well not totally, of course geometry will cause this too, but every single car with runflats from the EXX era wear the inside edge far quicker than anywhere else, and once you swap to proper tyres they wear evenly. Locknut,
I understand your original intent to share the practical benefits of run-flat tyres. I'm glad that all your relatives and others around came out without damage and hopefully SIL has learned something about maintenance on his cars too...
I have to admit so far I'm in the supporters club because I've not noticed poor ride on my 3-Series which has run-flats too but may that's just coming from an S-Line Audi!
I understand your original intent to share the practical benefits of run-flat tyres. I'm glad that all your relatives and others around came out without damage and hopefully SIL has learned something about maintenance on his cars too...
I have to admit so far I'm in the supporters club because I've not noticed poor ride on my 3-Series which has run-flats too but may that's just coming from an S-Line Audi!
gizlaroc said:
Sorry. Totally disagree, well not totally, of course geometry will cause this too, but every single car with runflats from the EXX era wear the inside edge far quicker than anywhere else, and once you swap to proper tyres they wear evenly.
Sorry. Totally disagree. Just changed my rear RFTs on my E91 and the wear was absolutely even across the tyre. Stop talking cobblers.gizlaroc said:
Sorry. Totally disagree, well not totally, of course geometry will cause this too, but every single car with runflats from the EXX era wear the inside edge far quicker than anywhere else, and once you swap to proper tyres they wear evenly.
My findings too, due to the tyres lack of ability to 'deform' and focusing the load on the inner edge in combination with BMW's penchant for negative camber.F
Osinjak said:
Sorry. Totally disagree. Just changed my rear RFTs on my E91 and the wear was absolutely even across the tyre. Stop talking cobblers.
Touring ? You will find the camber a lot less aggressive than saloon or coupe, SE with higher profile rubber doesn't seem to suffer as bad either.roofer said:
Touring ? You will find the camber a lot less aggressive than saloon or coupe, SE with higher profile rubber doesn't seem to suffer as bad either.
Aye, Touring. I agree that by and large, the majority of E9x owners seem to have issues with excessive wear on the inside but to suggest that all have the same problem is simply not true. Then again I'm Anal McLooney when it comes to my tyre pressures and check them religiously and run them slightly higher than recommended. Seems to work ok.Osinjak said:
Sorry. Totally disagree. Just changed my rear RFTs on my E91 and the wear was absolutely even across the tyre. Stop talking cobblers.
This has been discussed ad infinitum on BMW forums for over 10 years since run flats first came out, so many people get excessive wear on the inside edge, and the moment they swap to regular tyres it stops. I have also had 7 BMWs on runflats and only the E91 335i on Michelin Zero Pressures have worn evenly.
The 5GT was horrific for it, really, really bad. Swap of tyres for proper ones and perfect wear.
So as far as I am concerned it is you talking cobblers. Your experience of one car doesn't really give a very balanced view and even the tyres makers and BMW have said it has been an issue, it is getting better with later generations of both tyre and car, but has been a serious issue on some cars and put many off BMWs as the wear rate on some of the bigger cars has been ridiculously quick.
Locknut said:
While I can't disagree with some of the opinions expressed about my s-i-l, I want to highlight that the purpose of the thread is to show what runflats can do when they have to.
To answer two points that arose in the thread:
This was a rear tyre on a 320d and the rear pair were changed. (runflats again) The front pair have about 4mm so they are still on the car.
The female members of the family gave him a good tongue-lashing about driving his new baby with tyres like that. By the time they were finished I think he might have preferred to face the police!
I presume this is the guy who is supposed to be looking after your precious daughter? If I was you I'd be having very stern words about car maintenance, and also going over any other vehicles under his remit with a fine tooth comb. To answer two points that arose in the thread:
This was a rear tyre on a 320d and the rear pair were changed. (runflats again) The front pair have about 4mm so they are still on the car.
The female members of the family gave him a good tongue-lashing about driving his new baby with tyres like that. By the time they were finished I think he might have preferred to face the police!
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