Run flat tires

Took test drive. Ride seems a little rough and noisy. Sales guy said tires had a flat spot. If I bought I would want to put reg tires on. Can a spare fit in the well in back I have 2010 rx so I am use to different ride. Are there rf.'s that give smoother ride than STD BMW rf.'s. Thanks

If you want a spare, buy it with Space Saver Spare - much cheaper than getting the kit after and figuring out where to fit it.

i do not like my run flats

Originally Posted by ex-lex

Can a spare fit in the well in back

A smaller "spare tire only" can, but not a full-sized replacement. And BMW recommends driving a max of 50 MPH on the compact spare.

This brings-up the issue that if you are on a trip and have the back fully-loaded, after changing to the compact spare you have no place to carry the tire you just took off...

First off Lexus is a completely different experience than a BMW. You are moving from a luxury company where removing the driving experience and replacing it with a luxury interior, to a performance company where luxury takes a backseat to the actual driving which means you will receive more road feedback. Every BMW will ride rougher than a Lexus. Yes the runflats will add to the rougher ride but personally I don't feel it is as bad as others say it is. I do not have runflats on my farming I have a spare and I will change my tire if I had a flat. My wife has runflats and I would not change that because she has no spare and will not change a tire

I've owned several SUV's in my life. And, I've always purchased top-rated all-weather tires. From my recollection, the X5 RFT's aren't any louder than any of my other SUV tires.

So, I'm a bit confused why some ppl say the X5 stock RFT's are so noisy. Perhaps they are used to street tires and not all-weather tires?

By the way, some ppl have said that the ride on our X5's are a bit rough too. I find this odd too because, again, the X5's ride is no harsher than any other SUV I've owned. Better yet, the X5's handling is so much better than my other SUV's.

I think these ppl are used to the cushy Lexus SUV's, maybe?

Originally Posted by z2g

I've owned several SUV's in my life. And, I've always purchased top-rated all-weather tires. From my recollection, the X5 RFT's aren't any louder than any of my other SUV tires.

So, I'm a bit confused why some ppl say the X5 stock RFT's are so noisy. Perhaps they are used to street tires and not all-weather tires?

By the way, some ppl have said that the ride on our X5's are a bit rough too. I find this odd too because, again, the X5's ride is no harsher than any other SUV I've owned. Better yet, the X5's handling is so much better than my other SUV's.

I think these ppl are used to the cushy Lexus SUV's, maybe?

i agree. this is my first SUV and I absolutely love the ride quality and handling.

Originally Posted by ex-lex

Took test drive. Ride seems a little rough and noisy. Sales guy said tires had a flat spot. If I bought I would want to put reg tires on. Can a spare fit in the well in back I have 2010 rx so I am use to different ride. Are there rf.'s that give smoother ride than STD BMW rf.'s. Thanks

My 2009 X5 35d has Bridgestones 2nd RFT generation tires. I do hear some tire noise at highway speeds. Bridgestone has now introduced their 3rd generation RFT . I am not sure if the 3rd gen RFT has yet made it to BMW production line.

Bridgestone states their 3rd gen RFT ride is very close to a non-RFT. Go to link for more info:
http://www.bridgestone.com/corporate...009030301.html

I plan to try them when I replace the current tires. I travel highways and camp a lot. The storage room gained by not having a spare tire is a plus for RFT. Also, being able to get off the highway on a flat tire is another plus for RFT. FWIW - If I only do local driving I would change to non-RFT.

This is my 1st SUV as well. Not a huge fan of the run flats, but overall, ride and handling are awesome for a full size SUV. When it's time to replace, I will not replace with run flats (hence the spare tire option on mine).

I have had my 2012 xdrive50i with 20 inch wheels for about a month now (my 3rd X5...I had an '05 and '08).

I have HATED the choppy and punishing ride. The car felt jittery on LA's rough roads and the whole chassis shook when hitting small potholes. I drove out to Palm Springs for a weekend and started to truly regret my new lease. I was wondering why my X5 was so uncomfortable and why it was so harsh in comparison to my previous vehicles. I even cancelled a planned driving trip to SF because the freeway driving experience was so unpleasant.

After doing LOTS of research here and other sites I decided to buy a new set of NON RUN FLAT tires from Davis Brothers Tires. I cannot come close to describing how much BETTER the car feels and handles. There is a restored confidence in the vehicle. It pleasingly handles the less than smooth roadway without jarring the passengers. It has a more substantial and smooth ride on all types of pavement. It's quiet so that I can have a conversation with my passengers without being interrupted. THIS is how the car should feel.

I have learned that since the 20 inch rims/tires are now an OPTION (they used to be standard on this trim) they use an inferior quality runflat tire made by Bridgestone (the Dueller). Shame on you BMW for not disclosing this and making your customers figure it out on their own or just put up with the horrible ride. I can only guess that BMW assumes people who order the OPTIONAL 20 inch tires are more interested in the looks than the ride?

The tires I bought are Continental Extreme DWS 275/40R20 (rear) and 315/35R20 (front) and they came from Davis Brothers Tires which may be the best tire shop in LA...they have hundreds of 5-star Yelp reviews and Ryan is awesome to work with. I consider this a NECESSARY post-production OPTION for the car and have stored my crappy Bridgestone runflat tires in my garage. They will be remounted the day before I return the car at the end of the lease....not a day sooner!

Oh, and I now need to buy a compact spare (thanks BMW for not including one on the car or warning my that you were putting TERRIBLE tires on that needed to be immediately replaced)....another $3-400 but well worth restoring my confidence in BMW as a brand and in my brand new X5 I will be driving for the next three years. Next time I will, of course, order the car WITH the spare and I will take the car from the dealership to Davis Bros before driving it home.

Like others have said, make sure you get the spare option. I learned the hard way. Next time I may even take the RFTs off the very day after getting the car. There is that much of a difference to me.

I'm not a big fan of the run-flats. I have the Michelin RFT and they are not noisy but do ride rough. Like others said, make sure to order the space saver spare so that you have the option of replacing with non-run-flats if you like.

Have a 2012 X5 iDrive 5.0 withe the RFT's and do not see much of a difference in the ride, but I do have a question on rotation. I've heard that like wheel alignments, BMW does not recommend rotating RFT's. Thoughts????

My other concern is that they only recommend driving on a "flat" RFT for 75 miles or so. how does this work if you are driving across the country and have an issue? One would think you would be hard pressed to find a BMW dealer within 75 miles if you are not in a metropolitan area. So, the real question is how long can you run on a flat RFT?

Also, my TPM has gone off at least 5 times this past week. Pressure is good all the way around so I just reset and go on. Could be a bad sensor.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Glboater

Have a 2012 X5 iDrive 5.0 withe the RFT's and do not see much of a difference in the ride, but I do have a question on rotation. I've heard that like wheel alignments, BMW does not recommend rotating RFT's. Thoughts????

My other concern is that they only recommend driving on a "flat" RFT for 75 miles or so. how does this work if you are driving across the country and have an issue? One would think you would be hard pressed to find a BMW dealer within 75 miles if you are not in a metropolitan area. So, the real question is how long can you run on a flat RFT?

Also, my TPM has gone off at least 5 times this past week. Pressure is good all the way around so I just reset and go on. Could be a bad sensor.

Thanks

BMW had to figure out how to 'manage' tires when they want to the insane "15,000 mile service intervals"...at those intervals, tire wear is extreme. You'd want to rotate at 5k or 7500...but BMW didn't want to see cars outside of the 2-3 times they will do maintenance between 0 and 50k...so they just said "don't rotate"...Since their service intervals are so big, and since you'd get wear patterns, they correctly state it should not be done.. HOWEVER, their assertions are based on their long pre-defined service interval.

If they were servicing at 5k intervals, they'd likely still recommend rotation provided you are running the same size front and rear.

The tire manufacturer says rotate.

Finally, the whole 'run flat' concept is a uniquely American concept driven by helplessness and stupidity. You will ruin the tire by driving on it, NECESSITATING a replacement. 75 miles, 25 miles, 10 miles.... You get a flat, stop, change the tire, get on with your day.

Only Americans seem to think that is too much work and it is more important to not spend 30 minutes now, and have to spend $600 for that privilege.

Better yet, you are in the middle of nowhere, 300 miles from a dealer, family in the car on vacation, it is Saturday night, hit something on the road and blow out the tiret. Call BMW, free tow, hotel, then wait until Monday, dealer doesn't have that tire, wait 2 more days. Excellent plan.

Thanks for the excellent reply. I had already thought about getting a donut spare bu then again with the RFT's I don't have a jack anyway. I did take the wheel/tire policy they offer but that still makes me go to a dealer to get the replacement. Ok, so, with RFT'S do you rotatebthevsame as with conventional tires, i.e., back to front?? I usually rotate at 6K miles.

Originally Posted by ard

BMW had to figure out how to 'manage' tires when they want to the insane "15,000 mile service intervals"...at those intervals, tire wear is extreme. You'd want to rotate at 5k or 7500...but BMW didn't want to see cars outside of the 2-3 times they will do maintenance between 0 and 50k...so they just said "don't rotate"...Since their service intervals are so big, and since you'd get wear patterns, they correctly state it should not be done.. HOWEVER, their assertions are based on their long pre-defined service interval.

If they were servicing at 5k intervals, they'd likely still recommend rotation provided you are running the same size front and rear.

The tire manufacturer says rotate.

Finally, the whole 'run flat' concept is a uniquely American concept driven by helplessness and stupidity. You will ruin the tire by driving on it, NECESSITATING a replacement. 75 miles, 25 miles, 10 miles.... You get a flat, stop, change the tire, get on with your day.

Only Americans seem to think that is too much work and it is more important to not spend 30 minutes now, and have to spend $600 for that privilege.

Better yet, you are in the middle of nowhere, 300 miles from a dealer, family in the car on vacation, it is Saturday night, hit something on the road and blow out the tiret. Call BMW, free tow, hotel, then wait until Monday, dealer doesn't have that tire, wait 2 more days. Excellent plan.

ARD speaks the truth. I did not have a good experience with RFTs on my previously owned 5 Series. So, the first 20 miles on my newly acquired X5 were to the closest tire store carrying Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires. I guess I'm old fashioned.

Originally Posted by Glboater

I don't have a jack anyway. .

$25 on ebay, $10 lig wrench, good to go.

Actually I am ashamed to admit that I once had a flat in the M5 and had a full size front tire in the trunk..>EXCEPT, I'd cleaned the trunk and forgot to put the lug wrench back.

So I waited for AAA, 40 minutes. Had the car up in the air and told the guy 'just need a lug wrench'...he found it funny.

A

LAX remember if you lease BMW wants those runflats back on when you turn in the car.

The even bigger scam is the scissors jack you get with the optional spare. Because the X5 has so much ground clearance, you have to raise it A LOT to change a wheel. And the skinny azz handle for the scissors jack is NOT up to the task - I have had linguine that is sturdier. Before you even consider changing a flat by yourself on a dark rainy night, do yourself a favor and do a test run with the scissors jack inthe comfort of your own garage. I think you will agree that it is hopeless, and the only possible course of action when you have a flat is to call AAA or BMW Assist and have them change the flat for you.

Originally Posted by Glboater

Have a 2012 X5 iDrive 5.0 withe the RFT's and do not see much of a difference in the ride, but I do have a question on rotation. I've heard that like wheel alignments, BMW does not recommend rotating RFT's. Thoughts????

My other concern is that they only recommend driving on a "flat" RFT for 75 miles or so. how does this work if you are driving across the country and have an issue? One would think you would be hard pressed to find a BMW dealer within 75 miles if you are not in a metropolitan area. So, the real question is how long can you run on a flat RFT?

Also, my TPM has gone off at least 5 times this past week. Pressure is good all the way around so I just reset and go on. Could be a bad sensor.

Thanks

There plenty of post with stories of the OP sitting in some small town waiting two days for a new RFT to arrive.
Or needing to buy two temporary non-RFT replacement because no properly sized RFTs where available locally.

...and on a week end or holiday when nothing is open. RFT's are a bummer IMHO.

Originally Posted by UncleJ

LAX remember if you lease BMW wants those runflats back on when you turn in the car.

If I recall BMW charges $250/tire for all RFT's that would need to be replaced at the end of the lease. If you've put on non-RFT's it seems the cheapest option is to just pay BMW to replace the tires. Especially the 20's.