Back to Runflats hope im doing the right thing.

[smashy]

After 2 years of NON runflats michelin PS3s on my F30 30d. As this may be my last set of tyres before PX or handback on my PCP im going back to Runflats.

After a couple of hours of googling and listening to comments on here my choice was Pirelli P Zeros or Goodyear F1 assymetric 3 ,the comments from BMW Bods on here seals it and im going for Goodyear ,the runflats it came on were pig awful cant remember now if they were contis or bridgestone ,really hope these will be better.Putting the Michelins on felt like I actually had rubber not steel/concrete meeting the road.

Getting them tomorrow ill give an honest appraisal

Edited by smashy on Wednesday 20th September 18:03

[Roma101]

Please do. I am thinking of going the other way (factory fit RFs to Michelin PS4s).

[smashy]

Im concerned also about the howling noise runflats make on motorways I do a lot of miles ,saturday dong a big run ,,we shall see

[kingofdbrits]

Roma101 said:

Please do. I am thinking of going the other way (factory fit RFs to Michelin PS4s).

I've just gone onto PS4's from factory RFTs, I did have some 19's with non-RFTs for a while but have put 18's back on, I know it's nice when you first put new tyres on but they're massively better. Much quieter on the motorway, much more comfortable and the feel is improved. 18's are also significantly more comfortable than 19's.

No chance would I put run flats back on!

[Roma101]

kingofdbrits said:

I've just gone onto PS4's from factory RFTs, I did have some 19's with non-RFTs for a while but have put 18's back on, I know it's nice when you first put new tyres on but they're massively better. Much quieter on the motorway, much more comfortable and the feel is improved. 18's are also significantly more comfortable than 19's.

No chance would I put run flats back on!

Thanks for your feeedback. I assume you have an F30/F31?

I'm on 18s with adaptive suspension so other than the RFs, as comfortable a ride as you can get on an F30/F31 M Sport.

[smashy]

op here.Well done about 5 miles through west london...thoughts.....perceptively more crashy ,no doubt to me its become a slieghtly more uncomfortable car again , with my AC Scnitzer springs and shocks dont think its a good fit. Maybe modern cars just arent that comfortable full stop I dont know as its many years since ive been out of the BMW bubble. Motorway on saturday lets see how intrusive the howling of the tyres are. .........................stick with non runflats

Edited by smashy on Thursday 21st September 17:06

[sjj84]

I've got the goodyears on my 5 series, replaced the rear two last week. I find them to be very quiet, before buying the car I was expecting to put non runflats on it, however I can't see it being much of an improvement. My z4 coupe on the other hand was terrible on runflats.

[smashy]

Well that's good to here sj these goodyears are certainly not as crashy as the originals

[smashy]

Just been on the M25 and M40 yes they are noisier and crashier than my non run flat Michelins but as far as runflats go these Goodyears are probably as good as it gets. Its not night and day as my previous were

[PDP76]

17" wheels run flats on non sport suspension on an E91. No problem at all, not crashing, not wandering. Currently have hankook r/f on the front lasting well. The hankook on the rear didn't last long to be fair. Evo Ventus something or other.
Rear has Bridgestone driveguard on now, see how long they last.

I tried non runflats on my car (17") and the ride was compromised. Maybe if I got xl tyres it may have been better, I wasn't willing to experiment so went back on runflats. Immediately the car felt better and I was more confident in its handling.
I do think 17" non sports suspension is the sweet spot.

[rayyan171]

smashy said:

Im concerned also about the howling noise runflats make on motorways I do a lot of miles ,saturday dong a big run ,,we shall see

Honestly, I like the howl that 20" wheels give on RFT's, when you drive past someone the howl is very prevalent. On the X5 it's quite amusing actually

RFT's are best especially when they're star marked. Many people complaining of weird noises/vibrations and it's all down to them not having RFT's - they're designed for your car specifically.

[Stick Legs]

Interseting to read as I'm just coming off 50000 miles and 4 years of an F10 on 18" runflats.
Bridgestone Potenza RE50A and was very happy with them. No issues at all and felt fine.

I am anxious about the M-Sport 530d I am collecting on Thursday and may, depending on how awful it is, go to normal tyres and keep the run-flats in the barn for to put on when I had it back...

The M-Sport is on Dunlop Sport Maxx 19" staggered.

Quick Qu.

When not running run flats what do you use as a emergency kit? Can you get a gas canister and sealant easily enough?

[anonymous-user]

Stick Legs said:

Interseting to read as I'm just coming off 50000 miles and 4 years of an F10 on 18" runflats.
Bridgestone Potenza RE50A and was very happy with them. No issues at all and felt fine.

I am anxious about the M-Sport 530d I am collecting on Thursday and may, depending on how awful it is, go to normal tyres and keep the run-flats in the barn for to put on when I had it back...

The M-Sport is on Dunlop Sport Maxx 19" staggered.

Quick Qu.

When not running run flats what do you use as a emergency kit? Can you get a gas canister and sealant easily enough?

If you have an issue it'll be more than likely the 19" rims not the RFTs.

You can get sealants etc easily enough. Getting them to work may not be so easy.

I carry plug repair kits, small compressor and a few tools in all my cars RFT or not.

[Mr Tidy]

REALIST123 said:

You can get sealants etc easily enough. Getting them to work may not be so easy.

I carry plug repair kits, small compressor and a few tools in all my cars RFT or not.

I bought 2 cans of Holts sealant a couple of weeks ago (they were half price in Tesco)! But I got 2 because they said they were for medium sized wheels - up to 16 inch.

My E46 runs 17 inchers in the summer, and my Z4 has 18s so 2 cans seemed like the way to go!

But then my E46 was pre-RFT era anyway so has a space-saver as Plan B.

I'm planning to try my Z4 on non-RFTs as I've seen so much positive feedback from owners who have swapped to them, so I recently bought a 17 inch space-saver, jack and wheel-brace for it as Plan B!

RAC card is Plan C.

I'm looking forward to see how my Z4 feels on non-RFTs.

Then just in case I have a set of winter tyres on wheels for my E46, so I suppose I have a Plan D as well.

[Slippydiff]

kingofdbrits said:

Roma101 said:

Please do. I am thinking of going the other way (factory fit RFs to Michelin PS4s).

I've just gone onto PS4's from RFTs, I did have some 19's with non-RFTs for a while but have put 18's back on, I know it's nice when you first put new tyres on but they're massively better. Much quieter on the motorway, much more comfortable and the feel is improved. 18's are also significantly more comfortable than 19's.

No chance would I put run flats back on!

Been on PS4s non-RFT's for about a month now (F30 330D M Sport Auto 18" wheels. Non-adaptive suspension)
The car wore the usual 18"Bridgestone RFT's prior to swapping to the PS4's (I removed the 19" wheels on the first day I had the car) My initial views on the PS4's weren't particularly positive, as it became clear that compared with the E9X series cars, BMW and their tyre manufacturers had clearly taken massive steps in developing tyres (and chassis dynamics) that worked in tandem with each other, and that fitting non-RFT's had impacted the balance they'd sought and found.

In a nutshell the front end of the car felt overly soft and lacking roll resistance (I refused to run the tyres at the recommended RFT pressures 'cause they appeared way too high)

So whilst the car felt way more compliant and was nicer to drive as a result, it wasn't easier to drive quickly around the twisties, primarily due to the rather imprecise turn in (The car had a KDS within a week of the new tyres being fitted)
It was however way quicker around bumpy bends once turned in, and its ability along bumpy straights was far superior the Bridgestone RFT's.

The Michelins are much, much quieter and smoother, though I think they're so quiet, they've highlighted a wheel bearing or transmission whine that I'd not noticed over the roar of the runflats.

I've done 2k miles on the Michelins and now wouldn't want the car equipped with runflats ever again. Put bluntly the car now feels like a proper old school (E46/E34/E36/E30) BMW, with a ride that cossets its occupants rather than shakes them whilst traversing every imperfection in the road surface. Small wonder the M Division and Alpina eschew runflat technology...

If the front tyres show signs of premature wear due to under inflation, I'll up the pressures the bare minimum to avoid a costly bill, otherwise I'll run them at the lower (and thus more comfortable) pressures.

[anonymous-user]

Mr Tidy said:

REALIST123 said:

You can get sealants etc easily enough. Getting them to work may not be so easy.

I carry plug repair kits, small compressor and a few tools in all my cars RFT or not.

I bought 2 cans of Holts sealant a couple of weeks ago (they were half price in Tesco)! But I got 2 because they said they were for medium sized wheels - up to 16 inch.

My E46 runs 17 inchers in the summer, and my Z4 has 18s so 2 cans seemed like the way to go!

But then my E46 was pre-RFT era anyway so has a space-saver as Plan B.

I'm planning to try my Z4 on non-RFTs as I've seen so much positive feedback from owners who have swapped to them, so I recently bought a 17 inch space-saver, jack and wheel-brace for it as Plan B!

RAC card is Plan C.

I'm looking forward to see how my Z4 feels on non-RFTs.

Then just in case I have a set of winter tyres on wheels for my E46, so I suppose I have a Plan D as well.

The only puncture I've had in years was on our SLK last year. Non RFT of course. Reinflated the tyre using the MB sealant. Got about 30 miles before it deflated again and we had to be recovered home.

I was already carrying a plug kit etc in my 7, no spare, no RFT, and figured that any injury that sealant might handle would be easily accessible and better repaired temporarily with a plug.

So I got more kits for the other cars. Of course, no punctures since!!

One thing with RFTs. Although they are certainly safer in the event of a significant puncture, they have a very limited range once deflated and wouldn't always be much use to me in that respect, so I would much rather be able to plug an injury and carry on.

[Stick Legs]

Thanks for the replies.

Sorry for the thread hi-jack!

[Monty Python]

I'd have gone with either Pirelli P Zero or Bridgestone S001 - had 18" P Zeros on both my 335ds and they were miles better than the RE050 that they came with. Had 18" S001 on one 335d and 19" on my current 340i and they're a bit firmer that the P Zero but still much better than the RE050.

[slicknic]

Stick Legs said:

Interseting to read as I'm just coming off 50000 miles and 4 years of an F10 on 18" runflats.
Bridgestone Potenza RE50A and was very happy with them. No issues at all and felt fine.

I am anxious about the M-Sport 530d I am collecting on Thursday and may, depending on how awful it is, go to normal tyres and keep the run-flats in the barn for to put on when I had it back...

The M-Sport is on Dunlop Sport Maxx 19" staggered.

Quick Qu.

When not running run flats what do you use as a emergency kit? Can you get a gas canister and sealant easily enough?

Just comparing notes - i also have a 2014 530d running on Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres. Mine are 19" and staggered too. They seem to be brilliant tyres giving good performance in dry / wet and reasonable longevity. The original tyres on my car were Bridgestones, and they gave terrible issues with tramlining and wandering, especially under braking. No such problems with the Dunlops.

[Stick Legs]

slicknic said:

Stick Legs said:

Interseting to read as I'm just coming off 50000 miles and 4 years of an F10 on 18" runflats.
Bridgestone Potenza RE50A and was very happy with them. No issues at all and felt fine.

I am anxious about the M-Sport 530d I am collecting on Thursday and may, depending on how awful it is, go to normal tyres and keep the run-flats in the barn for to put on when I had it back...

The M-Sport is on Dunlop Sport Maxx 19" staggered.

Quick Qu.

When not running run flats what do you use as a emergency kit? Can you get a gas canister and sealant easily enough?

Just comparing notes - i also have a 2014 530d running on Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres. Mine are 19" and staggered too. They seem to be brilliant tyres giving good performance in dry / wet and reasonable longevity. The original tyres on my car were Bridgestones, and they gave terrible issues with tramlining and wandering, especially under braking. No such problems with the Dunlops.

Thanks for that, after the first 1000 miles they seem pretty good!