Run flat opinion

[greenarrow]

The Bridgestone S001 is OEM on bmw I believe but I'm not impressed. The front pair on my car have only done about 8000 miles but seem to wearing on the outer edge already.the 3 year old Goodyear NCTs on the back by comparison look barely worn. The S001s also slip easily when it's cold or damp. Anyway I wondered what other BMW owners think of them. I'm wondering about a change. In my size the alternatives are conti sport 5, Goodyear eagle NCTa or Eagle F1 Assy 3, Pirelli P7 and no michelin ps option. Goodyear eagle nct is a really old tyre but I've had no issues this winter with them on the back - wondered about getting a pair for the front. Thoughts?

Ps I do high motorway miles so not ditching run flats for non RF.

Edited by greenarrow on Sunday 20th March 20:56

Edited by greenarrow on Sunday 20th March 20:56

[Pica-Pica]

My F30 came with 19” Pirelli run flats. 35 profile rears and 40 fronts. I swapped wheels and tyres for 18” Goodyear EfficientGrips (40 rears; 45 fronts) run flats. Much better ride and comfort.

[RDMcG]

I do not rate runflats. On the BMWs that had them I found an immediate and notable improvement with proper tires once I changed.

[naturalaspiration]

What car, what front/rear tyre sizes and pressures?

Edited by naturalaspiration on Sunday 20th March 22:44

[Funk]

I'm gonna go against the grain here, I like the Pirelli P-Zero run-flats on mine. Three times in the last 18 months they've let me continue on home when a puncture would have seen me stranded (1x pothole, 2x screws embedded pointy end inward) and awaiting recovery. On top of that I remained mobile whilst waiting for the replacement tyre to arrive too. Well worth it.

The tech has come a long way and I've never known goop and a tyre inflation kit to work very well.

[bad company]

RDMcG said:

I do not rate runflats. On the BMWs that had them I found an immediate and notable improvement with proper tires once I changed.

Until you get a puncture.

Watching this thread with interest as I’ll need to be changing my Bridgestones soon:-

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Edited by bad company on Monday 21st March 09:10

[mekondelta]

Funk said:

I'm gonna go against the grain here, I like the Pirelli P-Zero run-flats on mine. Three times in the last 18 months they've let me continue on home when a puncture would have seen me stranded (1x pothole, 2x screws embedded pointy end inward) and awaiting recovery. On top of that I remained mobile whilst waiting for the replacement tyre to arrive too. Well worth it.

The tech has come a long way and I've never known goop and a tyre inflation kit to work very well.

Good to know! I've used PZero's for the last 4 years and I find them very comfortable fitted to 18's on an F25 X3.

I think once runflats get fitted to less than 45/50 in profile they start getting pretty uncomfortable and more so than non-runflat but the 245/50/18 on mine I have no complaints with.

[Court_S]

RDMcG said:

I do not rate runflats. On the BMWs that had them I found an immediate and notable improvement with proper tires once I changed.

Same here, awful bloody things.

The Bridgestones that BMW often fit are particularly hateful in my experiences with them.

[Funk]

mekondelta said:

Funk said:

I'm gonna go against the grain here, I like the Pirelli P-Zero run-flats on mine. Three times in the last 18 months they've let me continue on home when a puncture would have seen me stranded (1x pothole, 2x screws embedded pointy end inward) and awaiting recovery. On top of that I remained mobile whilst waiting for the replacement tyre to arrive too. Well worth it.

The tech has come a long way and I've never known goop and a tyre inflation kit to work very well.

Good to know! I've used PZero's for the last 4 years and I find them very comfortable fitted to 18's on an F25 X3.

I think once runflats get fitted to less than 45/50 in profile they start getting pretty uncomfortable and more so than non-runflat but the 245/50/18 on mine I have no complaints with.

Mine are 245/35/20 front and 275/30/20 rear. The car has adaptive suspension and it's certainly on the more 'sporting' side but I've never thought it was too harsh. Mine are also wearing well (and evenly).


FWIW, I have also had experience with the Bridgestone RE050A long time ago (2009) and didn't really rate them at the time. I think those who 'hate runflats' today probably haven't tried the newest ones and base their opinions on very outdated information.

Edited by Funk on Wednesday 23 March 11:25

[JackReacher]

The Eagle F1 runflats on mine are much better than I had feared based on a lot of negative runflat tyre comments you see on forums. I have no doubt that some good Michelin non-runflats would offer a little more grip and a slightly better ride so have ordered some to try. Hopefully I won't get left at the roadside with a puncture!

[smashy]

JackReacher said:

The Eagle F1 runflats on mine are much better than I had feared based on a lot of negative runflat tyre comments you see on forums. I have no doubt that some good Michelin non-runflats would offer a little more grip and a slightly better ride so have ordered some to try. Hopefully I won't get left at the roadside with a puncture!

I ditched my Bridgestone run flats for Normal Michelin PS3 had them for 3 years went back to runflats researched my head off went for Goodyear F1 asymetric 3 and was amazed I prefer the ride to the Michelins would never go back

[Fazmo]

I always go for F1 Eagles on mine. Previously a high mileage driver and these have always suited me the best. No problems with run-flat either

[Pica-Pica]

mekondelta said:

Funk said:

I'm gonna go against the grain here, I like the Pirelli P-Zero run-flats on mine. Three times in the last 18 months they've let me continue on home when a puncture would have seen me stranded (1x pothole, 2x screws embedded pointy end inward) and awaiting recovery. On top of that I remained mobile whilst waiting for the replacement tyre to arrive too. Well worth it.

The tech has come a long way and I've never known goop and a tyre inflation kit to work very well.

Good to know! I've used PZero's for the last 4 years and I find them very comfortable fitted to 18's on an F25 X3.

I think once runflats get fitted to less than 45/50 in profile they start getting pretty uncomfortable and more so than non-runflat but the 245/50/18 on mine I have no complaints with.

I agree. It all depends on the roads you drive. Here in N.Wales, the roads are good; South East England and Scotland - not so good at all.

[helix402]

I have an E91. I have Conti Sport Contact 6 and Goodyear Eagle F1 run flats. I like them. I had Bridgestone run flats and found traction in the wet poor.

[Mr Tidy]

My first two Z4s had M-Sport suspension and 18" Bridgestone Potenza RFs and they were terrible, especially from a ride point of view.

But then I had some 17" Potenzas on my E90 SE and they weren't much better!

I've also run 17" RF Contis and Hankook winters on my E90 that were both an improvement, but the 17" Pirelli P Zero RFs I had on my E91 SE and my 123d (4 sets) were the best RFs I've had so far.

[Chebble]

Mine came with Continental Sport Contacts, and when it came to replace the rears I opted for a full set of Eagle F1 RFs. As others have said, they’re great tyres - better than the Contis. Excellent grip in the cold and wet, and easy to control if you break traction.

[g3org3y]

I had Bridgestone RE050A on my E91 (OE fit iirc). They were rubbish. The Goodyear Eagle F1 RFTs I replaced them with were much better (ride + grip). A number of months back I went to replace the rears and couldn't find them in that size so went for Michelin PS3 RFTs. They are fine, though I think the Goodyears were better.

As an aside, I replaced the Dunlop RFTs on my 630i with non-RFT Michelin PS4 and it made the car a lot nicer to drive. I have one of those BMW 'mobility kits' (gunk + compressor) in the boot. Debating whether to do the same on the X5 and make the switch to Michelin Crossclimate SUV non RFT.

[sortedcossie]

This is a really divided topic.

Like above I run Bridgestone RE050A on my E91 330d (as mentioned the OE tyre) but I don't mind them, they wear well and aren't too badly priced. They are hugely sensitive to pressure though, if they are slightly low they seem noisier so I keep them on the pressure for fully loaded.

Again, I have the Bridgestone OE tyres on our F31 335d, I find them ok - not too noisy or anything and it's sure footed in all the conditions that i've driven it in.

Totally personal preference, and I have been in BMWs with run flats that do seem much louder and crashier.

[sam greenock]

In 2012 I had a Z4 - was 2500cc run-out model - it came with 19" wheels plus run flats, I wasn't too bothered as previous BMWs and Minis had run flats and as a previous poster said it stopped us having flats in the middle of nowhere at times

Anyways I credit them with saving my life, going along M8 between Glasgow & Edinburgh I had a rear tyre blow out at 70mph ( well it may have been a tad higher than that), I only felt a slight wobble in steering wheel for a couple of seconds and proceeded on. Decided to pullout motorway at next junction as there was a Tesco there with a petrol station and air pump. The tyre wouldn't inflate so called BMW assistance and they sent out a recovery guy.
When he put the car up on the truck we looked at wheel/tyre, whilst it appeared ok from front, at the back it was completely split all the way around the sidewall.
So off we went to nearest BMW dealer, which was only 15mins away - they spent an hour trying to get wheel off as apparently the big metal band thing inside tyre had warped a wee bit.

anyways for me I've been an even bigger fan of run-flats since then and have always specified them if available

To be fair though, the Z4 ride was a tad firm at times

[Wills2]

Get the Pirelli P zero PZ4 RFT much better than the Bridgestones much.