runflats - useless?
Discussion
My 535d came on runflats. The ride isn't great - but I could live with it, I guess.
A month after I got the car one of the tyres picked up a nail. Kwikfit said as it was a runflat they were not allowed to repair it - so I had to buy a new one - £250!
Now I've got two other tyres with problems, another nail in one and pressure loss in another!
Is it really the case that runflats can't (or shouldn't) be repaired (where non-runflats could be) - surely that's just nonsense?
Are runflats prone to more problems?
I'm considering replacing them all with non-runflats - but it's quite expensive. Of course I'll get the ride quality advantage. Though to run with a spare I'll need to buy a wheel as well as 5 tyres!
Any thoughts/experience?
A month after I got the car one of the tyres picked up a nail. Kwikfit said as it was a runflat they were not allowed to repair it - so I had to buy a new one - £250!
Now I've got two other tyres with problems, another nail in one and pressure loss in another!
Is it really the case that runflats can't (or shouldn't) be repaired (where non-runflats could be) - surely that's just nonsense?
Are runflats prone to more problems?
I'm considering replacing them all with non-runflats - but it's quite expensive. Of course I'll get the ride quality advantage. Though to run with a spare I'll need to buy a wheel as well as 5 tyres!
Any thoughts/experience?
Im just getting use to driving with Run-flats and feel they are very rigid and give a bit of a harsh ride. Checking my tyres i shall be in need of changing the rear ones in a few months and ive been looking into the pricing at around £190 each for 255/35/18's, from the internet based sellers.
Had the same problem with a slow puncture on a runflat that no-one apart from Michel Devers would repair. When there, 2 others had bulges so changed the lot for normals and its so much better. Because no give in runflat the alloys are prone to cracking too.
Spent £450 on Khumos (not sure if spelt correctly)
Spent £450 on Khumos (not sure if spelt correctly)
iev never heard of a tyre fitter unable to repair runflats it just depends on where the hole is, if its near the wall then its a no no but right in the middle easy repair.
just remember if you change to non run flats you then need to buy for your car
a spare wheel / tyre
a jack
a wheel brace
i would say if your old a woman or do a lot of miles its not worth the hastle id rather just drive home on your flat runflats and worry about it there than at the side of a road with 40ton lorries shooting past and peeing down with rain
J
just remember if you change to non run flats you then need to buy for your car
a spare wheel / tyre
a jack
a wheel brace
i would say if your old a woman or do a lot of miles its not worth the hastle id rather just drive home on your flat runflats and worry about it there than at the side of a road with 40ton lorries shooting past and peeing down with rain
J
Edited by B16JUS on Friday 1st May 06:50
Never had a puncture on my BM's but the boss has, twice, and both times he has been flatly refused a repair.
Once he had to drive 100 miles on a punctured runflat because nobody would repair it, and no local tyre shops sold the tyres. Pain in the arse.
I'm tempted to switch to non-RFT's but at £200 a corner I'm not rich enough to replace non-worn tyres, and my fronts/rears always wear at different rates.
Once he had to drive 100 miles on a punctured runflat because nobody would repair it, and no local tyre shops sold the tyres. Pain in the arse.
I'm tempted to switch to non-RFT's but at £200 a corner I'm not rich enough to replace non-worn tyres, and my fronts/rears always wear at different rates.
TheCaseAce said:
Never had a puncture on my BM's but the boss has, twice, and both times he has been flatly refused a repair.
Once he had to drive 100 miles on a punctured runflat because nobody would repair it, and no local tyre shops sold the tyres. Pain in the arse.
I'm tempted to switch to non-RFT's but at £200 a corner I'm not rich enough to replace non-worn tyres, and my fronts/rears always wear at different rates.
for £200 a corner you can keep the runflats if you know where to buy them from...Once he had to drive 100 miles on a punctured runflat because nobody would repair it, and no local tyre shops sold the tyres. Pain in the arse.
I'm tempted to switch to non-RFT's but at £200 a corner I'm not rich enough to replace non-worn tyres, and my fronts/rears always wear at different rates.
diddles said:
Could you not replace with cheaper standard rubber and buy some of this?
Slightly off topic but does this stuff actually work? My M3 doesn't come with a spare/space saver, instead it comes with a glorified version of this tyre slime called "M Mobility Kit" or something similar. I can envisage a total nightmare getting a puncture at 1AM in the rain and trying to squirt slime and re-inflate, it sounds a bit hit and miss. Anyone actually used this? Did it work? I ended up buying a space saver from a 330 so I dont have to worry anymore, but still curious. Cheers.Edited by Toilet Duck on Friday 1st May 10:47
My X6 has been laid up all week because I discovered an irrepairable puncture at 4pm last Saturday. I needed to do about 300 miles this week and the run flats are only good for 50 miles. New tyres not in stock and ordered for today (Friday) so will be fitted tomorrow (Saturday). £340 each (I ordered two to keep the tread depths the same on the rear axle).
Not impressed.
Not impressed.
Just bought my OH a 330i e90..lovely engine but what an awful ride with lots of weird tramlining and noisy tyres (30% worn fronts/75% worn rears- Pirellis) and the frustrating thing is you can feel an absolutely brilliant chassis under all the 'noise' and harshness of the tyres. The other awful thing is the steering at low speed- why BMW insist on heavy low speed steering is beyond me.
rossfitz said:
Had the same problem with a slow puncture on a runflat that no-one apart from Michel Devers would repair. When there, 2 others had bulges so changed the lot for normals and its so much better. Because no give in runflat the alloys are prone to cracking too.
Spent £450 on Khumos (not sure if spelt correctly)
Snap - exactly the same story and yesterday I bought 4 Khumos from Macheldevers for 470 - including the tyre weld. Am well rid of the runflats, thank gawd.Spent £450 on Khumos (not sure if spelt correctly)
I have non rft's and I bought a comressor and these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MOTRAX-CARGOL-TURN-GO-TYRE-P...
I have a 118d M-Sport on the 18" runflats which will need replacing anytime soon. They have done 14,000 miles and the rears are low and the fronts have gone on the edges.
I'll check with my insurer but assuming they are okay I will opt for some non-runflats. I was looking at the Falken FK452s as they seem to be the cheapest for my sizes (215/40 and 245/35) and the 118d and the kind of driving I do isn't high performance!
On another note - I successfully repaired a screw puncture in one of the current Bridgestone runflats using 'Slime' and leaving the screw in place. I have since covered 11,000 miles with no adverse effects.
I'll check with my insurer but assuming they are okay I will opt for some non-runflats. I was looking at the Falken FK452s as they seem to be the cheapest for my sizes (215/40 and 245/35) and the 118d and the kind of driving I do isn't high performance!
On another note - I successfully repaired a screw puncture in one of the current Bridgestone runflats using 'Slime' and leaving the screw in place. I have since covered 11,000 miles with no adverse effects.
Ive been running 452s on my 123d with M208 18" wheels for about 4k miles now having ditched the RE050 runflats, and IMHO they're a cracking tyre especially given the price, so would certainly recommend them regardles of your driving style.
You don't need to go exactly the same size as those coming off though, Ive gone 225/40 on the front (rather than 215/40), and 235/40 (rather than 245/35) on the rears as they worked out about £70 cheaper for the set. This wider front, narrower rear setup helps get rid of the slight understeer bias of the standard setup and gives a rolling radius increase of about 2% so it actually makes the speedometer more accurate. It doesn't otherwise affect the car other than a couple of mm of additional ride height which you wouldnt notice.
You don't need to go exactly the same size as those coming off though, Ive gone 225/40 on the front (rather than 215/40), and 235/40 (rather than 245/35) on the rears as they worked out about £70 cheaper for the set. This wider front, narrower rear setup helps get rid of the slight understeer bias of the standard setup and gives a rolling radius increase of about 2% so it actually makes the speedometer more accurate. It doesn't otherwise affect the car other than a couple of mm of additional ride height which you wouldnt notice.
B16JUS said:
iev never heard of a tyre fitter unable to repair runflats it just depends on where the hole is, if its near the wall then its a no no but right in the middle easy repair.
just remember if you change to non run flats you then need to buy for your car
a spare wheel / tyre
a jack
a wheel brace
i would say if your old a woman or do a lot of miles its not worth the hastle id rather just drive home on your flat runflats and worry about it there than at the side of a road with 40ton lorries shooting past and peeing down with rain
J
I think that it's not so much that they can't repair, more that it is either illegal to or recommended by manufacturer not to repair. The only way Micheldever would consider a repair is because I had a slow puncture that had never fallen below half the recommended psi. They said they'd investigate to see if the tyre wall was damaged and if not, then repair.just remember if you change to non run flats you then need to buy for your car
a spare wheel / tyre
a jack
a wheel brace
i would say if your old a woman or do a lot of miles its not worth the hastle id rather just drive home on your flat runflats and worry about it there than at the side of a road with 40ton lorries shooting past and peeing down with rain
J
Edited by B16JUS on Friday 1st May 06:50
2 months in on non runflats and car feels lighter, more responsive and smoother. No brainer!!
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