F10 530D tyre choice AND run flats?
Discussion
Just bought one and used to always use Eagle F1s on my previous 330 Coupe.
New to run flat tyres too - what do people recommend for tyres?
AND
Is there a noticeable ride and handling benefit to ditching the run flats and risking being caught out with a can of "temporary" tyre fix in case of punctures?
After 3 years of having changed my awful runflats to Michelin PS3s that come with the car Bridestones or Contis (cant remember) I have gone back to Run Flats on my 330d did a lot of forum type research and went for Goodyear F1 assymetrics 3 and they are ok id buy them again if i had to,certainly noiser but in a quirky way I quite like the hardness. Not that bad re crashiness
CIS121 said:
Is there a noticeable ride and handling benefit to ditching the run flats and risking being caught out with a can of "temporary" tyre fix in case of punctures?
Yes. As I said on another thread today, runflats are of the devil. Get rid. I bought a 130i on runflats in the summer. Soon as it rained I couldn't even look at a bend without the car getting sideways, even driving gently, even with traction control on. Now I'm on Continental non-runflats, I can actually use the acceleration without the traction control light coming on all the time. Depends on you, really. If you only use the car for the school run, then it doesn't matter. But if you're at all an enthusiastic driver, get em off. Less tramlining (none on my SE 17" wheels), more grip, especially in wet, more feel, feedback and communication. I bought a space saver wheel and tyre which lives in the boot. Don't be tempted to buy a second hand space saver tyre, as it will probably be 15 years or so old 
Johnny5hoods said:
Yes. As I said on another thread today, runflats are of the devil. Get rid. I bought a 130i on runflats in the summer. Soon as it rained I couldn't even look at a bend without the car getting sideways, even driving gently, even with traction control on. Now I'm on Continental non-runflats, I can actually use the acceleration without the traction control light coming on all the time. Depends on you, really. If you only use the car for the school run, then it doesn't matter. But if you're at all an enthusiastic driver, get em off. Less tramlining (none on my SE 17" wheels), more grip, especially in wet, more feel, feedback and communication. I bought a space saver wheel and tyre which lives in the boot. Don't be tempted to buy a second hand space saver tyre, as it will probably be 15 years or so old
Thanks Johnny, I find the 530D loses grip so easily especially in wet and under acceleration - but then it's got more torque than the old 330i so I wasn't sure if it was due to this.Getting a space saver and jack/bar sounds very sensible and probably better for keeping going long distances than a run flat. Do you know what other BMW space savers will fit onto the F10 wheels? Like an E46 one or older 5 series?
CIS121 said:
Thanks Johnny, I find the 530D loses grip so easily especially in wet and under acceleration - but then it's got more torque than the old 330i so I wasn't sure if it was due to this.
Getting a space saver and jack/bar sounds very sensible and probably better for keeping going long distances than a run flat. Do you know what other BMW space savers will fit onto the F10 wheels? Like an E46 one or older 5 series?
Given my F10 535d has only once had the TRaction control light flashing (icy/snow condition) in over 3 years which has a chunk more low end torque than a 530d I’m confused at how that can happen. Getting a space saver and jack/bar sounds very sensible and probably better for keeping going long distances than a run flat. Do you know what other BMW space savers will fit onto the F10 wheels? Like an E46 one or older 5 series?
Do you not change tyres when they approach 3mm instead running them to the legal limit? Or maybe it’s the tyre itself - I have Michelin RFT which are now 40,000 miles to the set with 3-4mm left all round.
CIS121 said:
Thanks Johnny, I find the 530D loses grip so easily especially in wet and under acceleration - but then it's got more torque than the old 330i so I wasn't sure if it was due to this.
Getting a space saver and jack/bar sounds very sensible and probably better for keeping going long distances than a run flat. Do you know what other BMW space savers will fit onto the F10 wheels? Like an E46 one or older 5 series?
Direct from BMW, for a few hundred quid(!), you can buy a light alloy space saver wheel and tyre that will defintely fit your F10. I could've done that for my E87 but I discovered, by trawling through endless threads on PH, babybmw.net and other BMW forums, that a 17" E46 330i/330d steel space saver fits over my 130i front brakes, despite having a very different offset to BMW's own E87 17" space saver. I was going to buy a used E46 17" space saver steelie on ebay and ditch the old tyre and buy a new one, until I discovered that a brand new aftermarket E46 17" space saver steelie is actually cheaper than a used oem one on ebay! Turns out the E46 17" SS is in hot demand, as it fits over 123d/130i front brakes, and most people haven't bothered to check new. So I bought a new aftermarket one instead. Brand new SS tyre was very expensive, though. No way around that I'm afraid. BTW, the merchant selling me the E46 SS tried very hard not to let me have it, when they learned I had a 130i, claiming it wouldn't fit. They were trying to sell me a much more expensive BMW oem alloy SS instead. But I'd done my research and knew it fitted, despite the offset. I've since trial fitted it to the front, and it fits fine.Getting a space saver and jack/bar sounds very sensible and probably better for keeping going long distances than a run flat. Do you know what other BMW space savers will fit onto the F10 wheels? Like an E46 one or older 5 series?
Will an E46 17" SS steelie fit your F10? Don't know. Depends on your offset and the size of your brakes. In extreme cases of offset difference, there's also wheelarch scrub to consider. Worth doing a thorough search on some BMW 5 series forums.
Welshbeef said:
Given my F10 535d has only once had the TRaction control light flashing (icy/snow condition) in over 3 years which has a chunk more low end torque than a 530d I’m confused at how that can happen.
Do you not change tyres when they approach 3mm instead running them to the legal limit? Or maybe it’s the tyre itself - I have Michelin RFT which are now 40,000 miles to the set with 3-4mm left all round.
Michelin Excellence which came with the car - they are rubbish and looking at reviews online they do pretty badly!Do you not change tyres when they approach 3mm instead running them to the legal limit? Or maybe it’s the tyre itself - I have Michelin RFT which are now 40,000 miles to the set with 3-4mm left all round.
Welshbeef said:
... - I have Michelin RFT which are now 40,000 miles to the set with 3-4mm left all round.
I am getting similar service from a set of Michelin Energy Savers that came new on my F30 320d. I have 40,000 miles on mine now and the front tyres have 4mm of thread. The rears have 2.5mm. I think that is remarkable service.CIS121 said:
Welshbeef said:
Given my F10 535d has only once had the TRaction control light flashing (icy/snow condition) in over 3 years which has a chunk more low end torque than a 530d I’m confused at how that can happen.
Do you not change tyres when they approach 3mm instead running them to the legal limit? Or maybe it’s the tyre itself - I have Michelin RFT which are now 40,000 miles to the set with 3-4mm left all round.
Michelin Excellence which came with the car - they are rubbish and looking at reviews online they do pretty badly!Do you not change tyres when they approach 3mm instead running them to the legal limit? Or maybe it’s the tyre itself - I have Michelin RFT which are now 40,000 miles to the set with 3-4mm left all round.
Apparently the replacement HP2’s offer improved grip but at the cost of less durability - as such I’ll be sourcing the exact same as I currently have as I find the grip excellent.
Welshbeef said:
Mine are Michelin Primacy HP 1’s rear are reducilous 295 35 19’s. (I think that’s what they are called).
Apparently the replacement HP2’s offer improved grip but at the cost of less durability - as such I’ll be sourcing the exact same as I currently have as I find the grip excellent.
Not sure you mean 295, more likely 275? I do not know of any F10/F11 model (and their cousins F01/F06/F12/F13) running a 295 unless it is an M which in my mind do run 295's.Apparently the replacement HP2’s offer improved grip but at the cost of less durability - as such I’ll be sourcing the exact same as I currently have as I find the grip excellent.
CIS121 said:
Johnny5hoods said:
Yes. As I said on another thread today, runflats are of the devil. Get rid. I bought a 130i on runflats in the summer. Soon as it rained I couldn't even look at a bend without the car getting sideways, even driving gently, even with traction control on. Now I'm on Continental non-runflats, I can actually use the acceleration without the traction control light coming on all the time. Depends on you, really. If you only use the car for the school run, then it doesn't matter. But if you're at all an enthusiastic driver, get em off. Less tramlining (none on my SE 17" wheels), more grip, especially in wet, more feel, feedback and communication. I bought a space saver wheel and tyre which lives in the boot. Don't be tempted to buy a second hand space saver tyre, as it will probably be 15 years or so old
Thanks Johnny, I find the 530D loses grip so easily especially in wet and under acceleration - but then it's got more torque than the old 330i so I wasn't sure if it was due to this.Getting a space saver and jack/bar sounds very sensible and probably better for keeping going long distances than a run flat. Do you know what other BMW space savers will fit onto the F10 wheels? Like an E46 one or older 5 series?
As for the issues you're suffering from, if that's true I'd be looking elsewhere, unless as 'Beef says your tyres are absolutely shot.
I've never had that sort of issue with my 530 and always found the ride fine. I'm sure the ride could be softer with non RFTs, would wouldn't risk the possibility of upsetting the handling as some have found.
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