Ditching the run flats?

[pincher]

I need new tyres all round on my 2011 530d Touring and I’d really like to replace the runflats with regular tyres as I’ve always hated the ride on the car - every pothole feels like it is about three feet deep (in fairness, a few of them probably are where I live ).

Anything stopping me from swapping to normal tyres? Currently have Potenza 245 40 19 on there.

[Mr Tidy]

There's nothing to stop you swapping - plenty of BMW owners have done it!

Most invest in a can of sealant and a small compressor just in case.

But as your car has 19s I'm guessing it may be an M-Sport, which isn't going to help with the ride.

[pincher]

Yes, it’s an M-Sport - I kind of assumed that non run flats would help a little?

[cerb4.5lee]

As Mr Tidy mentions plenty of Bmw owners do. I swapped the run flats on the 640d(on 20's) and it improved the ride massively. Although because the sidewalls on the 20's were very small(19's are far better I believe), I got three punctures over a short space of time...and I then wished I hadn't bothered and I'd just stuck with the run flats.

You will notice a very big improvement regards the ride/steering feel if you do swap for sure. The 640d felt like a totally different car in a positive way.

[pincher]

Did you have TPMS?

[biggles330d]

I went from run flats to non-runflats on my e90 330d, and am currently on non-run flat winters on my f30 330d. Both were/are mSport models and both times the car was/is far far nicer to drive on non-runflats and in the case of the f30, 18 inch rather than 19 inch wheels.

I dare say handling on the limits is slightly compromised, but 99.99% of the time I'd take the more compliant and smoother ride any day of the week. It makes the car so much more enjoyable to drive.
The f30 did look cool on the bigger wheels though, so they're tucked up in the garage under a cover in perfect nick for the day I sell it on.

[cerb4.5lee]

pincher said:

Did you have TPMS?

Yes, but whereas with the run flats you always used to get a bit of leeway with it(from experience with other Bmw's with run flats)...with the normal tyres though the warning would come up and the tyre was always flat/punctured for some reason.

It left me stranded twice but luckily the third time I noticed that the tyre was flat on the drive. I had a tyre compressor/gunk but it never helped, if I'd kept the car I would have invested in a spacesaver spare wheel and just kept it in the boot(they do them on eBay for the 5/6 series).

[Kev_Mk3]

Best thing I ever did removing them the ride was so much better without them

[stevesingo]

I swapped the run flats on our F11 535s M Sport with 19" wheels to Goodyear Aysm 3s. Marked improvement in ride quality and no issues with TPMS.