PH sanity check before I bin run flats

[stewies_minion]

Just wanting to get a sanity check on my plan to ditch run flats on my 2006 E91 330i. The rears are down to 2mm and are badly worn on the inside edges so it's time to put this plan into action:

Check with insurance company it doesn't matter to them.

Buy 2 cans of tyre mousse & a 12v fag lighter pump. Secrete these in the hole under the boot floor.

Buy Falken 452s for the rear leaving the front run flats as they have 4mm left. Have it tracked and aligned to prevent poor wear again.

I've assumed that the tyre pressure sensors will still work & that I'll be on a winner in every other respect..?

Is there something glaring I'm missing or is it time to get buying..?

Cheers

[stewies_minion]

Cheers for that.

It's reassuring to hear an account of someone who has done the same.

I'm in two minds now on whether I swap all four then. I'm normally very much in the "all four must be the same" club so I'm buying into that concept again.

Ending up in a ball of twisted, burning metal isn't on my list of things to do.

I'm assuming the ball of twisted, burning metal scenario is arrived at by having different tyres as opposed to normals and run flats?

[The Stiglet]

stewies_minion said:

I'm assuming the ball of twisted, burning metal scenario is arrived at by having different tyres as opposed to normals and run flats?

Or made even worse because you have run flats and normals on at the same time.

Personally, I wouldn't think about driving anywhere with that set-up. Call me paranoid, but each to their own.

[kiethton]

i recently put 2 452's on the front and left the 5mm run flats on the back....the car now grips at the front which it didn't seem to before, it can actually go over bumps/minor potholes without issue now which is a result......I don't drive at anywhere near 100% on the road so its no major issue to me having different handling characteristics, gives a good excuse to be a little heavier on the right foot to wear them out a little quicker though!

[Romanymagic]

I had run flats on my Z4 and switched to Goodyear Eagle F1's, the handling changed beyond all recognition, suddenly the car stopped understeering and actually held the road - I cannot recommend the change enough. As for different tyres front to rear, my 330ci is currenty running Hankook up front and Dunlop Sports on the rear - on purpose, my car now has better turn in and prescence at speed, I feel more confident pushing it, the Hankook's will wear faster but grip better, whereas (being a rear wheel drive car), The Dunlop's are doing great stuff at the rear.

[stewies_minion]

Thanks for replies so far.

I do like PH. Contradicting opinions a plenty.

I'm in the risk averse camp so am planning to get the four done I think. I'll Fleabay the part worn fronts.

Not a sausage on how to post them though. Maybe I'll order the 452s from Camskill and use whatever packaging they used.

[kiethton]

stewies_minion said:

Thanks for replies so far.

I do like PH. Contradicting opinions a plenty.

I'm in the risk averse camp so am planning to get the four done I think. I'll Fleabay the part worn fronts.

Not a sausage on how to post them though. Maybe I'll order the 452s from Camskill and use whatever packaging they used.

when mine arrived there was no packaging....at all

[stewies_minion]

Sucks to be the poor buyer of my part worns then..!

On a separate note, buying part worn tyres on Fleabay would be about the last thing I'd ever do.

[kiethton]

sorry, i meant from camskill. Like most people I wouldn't buy part worns from ebay

[Blues]

I swapped run flats for regular tyres on my 535d. Sadly I haven't noticed too much difference.

[roofer]

Did the same, had a mixed setup for a while, no issues re handling at all. However, the Falkens went 'off' very quickly and are noisy. I wouldn't buy a second set. Had to mess about before i got the pressures right too.

[stewies_minion]

Surprised to hear someone not noticing a difference. Maybe the heavier 535d has something to do with it.

Kind of a moot point as one of the real motivators is not spending the best part of £1000 on Tyres that I loathe.

[GR4]

The 'not noticing' often seems to apply to later cars. With the E60 5 series BMW did a much better job of tuning the suspension to ride well with runflats from the 2007 facelift onwards. When I swapped on my 2005 E61 the difference was night and day. My current 2007 car does seem quieter on runflats than the old car, but I am still planning to swap when they wear down.

[Vroomer]

stewies_minion said:

Thanks for replies so far.

I do like PH. Contradicting opinions a plenty.

I'm in the risk averse camp so am planning to get the four done I think. I'll Fleabay the part worn fronts.

Not a sausage on how to post them though. Maybe I'll order the 452s from Camskill and use whatever packaging they used.

Do a 'buyer collect'. Postage costs will be disproportionately high.

[cjj799]

I have Runflats on the rear (Goodyear) and Pirelli P Zero Rosso non runflats on the front of my E6 530d. I dont have any problems, granted the front grips better in the wet but the DTC sorts that out.

[V8mate]

OP, I'm half way through the 'change plan' and have Falkens on the back of my E87 and runflats on the front whilst I wait for them to wear.

No deaths in balls of flames to report.

[stewies_minion]

It is quite warming to hearif people not becoming engulfed in flames during this process.

Mate sent me this today http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-BMW-E90-E91-3-Se...

Not a bad solution, had it not been £300

[Sticks.]

Romanymagic said:

I had run flats on my Z4 and switched to Goodyear Eagle F1's, the handling changed beyond all recognition, suddenly the car stopped understeering and actually held the road - I cannot recommend the change enough.

Same here. No tramlining either. The difference on my 120d was more marked thoug.

I've read similar comments about the Falkens, and that they have no rim protection, but represent a good value budget tyre. I'd have the F1s again though.

FWIW my TT and a friend's A4 both came with no spare or rfts as standard.

[MattOz]

Blues said:

I swapped run flats for regular tyres on my 535d. Sadly I haven't noticed too much difference.

I swapped the 18's with RFT for the 19's on normal Contis when I had my 535d. Significant difference in ride comfort and handling. If you enjoy driving, the best thing you can do with RFT's is to ditch them for normal quality brand tyres.

[Blues]

MattOz said:

Blues said:

I swapped run flats for regular tyres on my 535d. Sadly I haven't noticed too much difference.

I swapped the 18's with RFT for the 19's on normal Contis when I had my 535d. Significant difference in ride comfort and handling. If you enjoy driving, the best thing you can do with RFT's is to ditch them for normal quality brand tyres.

Oh, I enjoy driving and I press on in the 5 as much as I do in my "toys", but after changing from the run flats, I just didn't notice any difference. It's a July 2009 car, and I changed them as much for the stupid price difference as for the ride. Still delighted with the car.