Runflat Survey

Originally Posted by chuck92103

I find run flats to be a bit rough over bumps compared to non run flats. However, with almost 10K miles on the run flats, they are obviously more quiet and they handle cornering much better.

Also, it looks as though I will get close to 30K miles out of a set compared to 15-20K miles on previous non run flat tires. (Both sport tires). This makes run flats for me much cheaper to use in the long run when you look at it from a cost per mile perspective.

Thanks Chuck. What tires do you have? Glad to hear how you like them.

Originally Posted by Jspira

Thanks Chuck. What tires do you have? Glad to hear how you like them.

Bridgestone OEM 19".

Originally Posted by Jspira

Thanks Chuck. What tires do you have? Glad to hear how you like them.

You are welcome jspira. BTW, excellent article in the Roundel on ED. Really enjoyed it.

One more note. I have had over 10 cars in my life, most of which were bimmers. I have had a flat tire maybe three times. Each time the flat ruined the sport tire. Driving on a sport tire with a simple puncture even just a short distance can ruin the sidewall. The cars that I got a flat with did not have run flats or a flat tire monitor.

My point being, all my flats were at the most inconvient time. Never when my car was parked in the garage. The $50 extra paid for each tire is well worth it to me just for the convenience of knowing if I get a flat it is not a quick pull over and fix type of thing. Fixing flats on the side of the road can be quite dangerous and more and more freeways have lost there shoulders to freeway widenings which makes run flats an even more convincing argument.

Do run flats perform better than non run flat overall? I think that is purely subjective. However, do run flats perform better overall from a safety perspective? Without question they do.

If ride comfort was more important to me than performance or safety, I would not have run flats. But then again, I would not have the sport package either.

So the next time your wife or significant other is driving home late in the dark on a stormy day through a bad part of town, take comfort knowing run flats are on the car in the event of a flat tire.

Run flats are all about risk mitigation. When you replace them with non run flats, you are assuming more risk in the event of a flat. I see nothing wrong in doing this as long as you understand the risks, and are willing to accept them.

Thanks again Chuck.

I am learning a lot of by writing this. Just learnt all about the history of the wheel yesterday!

As a followup, I now have over 700 miles on my 325xi(700 miles in 5 days LOL ) and I feel like the runflats are starting to "relax" a bit meaning the road noise I hear seems to be less and they seem to be a bit softer than they initially felt.

Now, this may be just me getting used to the feel of the tires, but I have seen some mention they do relax a bit. I'll see how it goes, as I'm not going to be driving the 325xi all the time(the wife wants her turn here and there :o ) so I should be able to feel the difference better, as my wife puts some miles on it as well.

I still don't really like them tho.

I have the 17" ContiProContact runflats on my 330xi. I like the way they ride and would probably also like the way they handle if I weren't spoiled by Michelin Pilot Sports in original, PS2, and all-season versions. I plan on putting a couple of thousand miles on the Contis and then putting on some 1/2 used PS2s from my Z4. When those are worn I will put Pilot Sport A/S tires on the car.

I hated the 18" runflats on my 3.0 Z4 with sport package. That car had an extremely firm suspension and tramlined worse than any other car I have ever driven. I put 17" non runflats on the car and it significantly reduced the stiffness of the ride and the tramlining. BMW should be ashamed they released such a piece of sh%t with a Roundel on it. The 330xi doesn't suffer from any of the problems of my Z4 and I have renewed faith in BMW. I think the runflats have no major problems and just want a higher performing tire that will also work in the snow. If Michelin made the Pilot Sport A/S in runflat I would buy them. If I get a flat, odds are it will be a slow leak from a nail and I will drive to a station and have it fixed. If I have a catastrophic blow out (only had one in 38 years of driving) I will call BMW Assist and have the car towed.

Good luck with the article.

Alan

Originally Posted by BiggerTwin

I have the 17" ContiProContact runflats on my 330xi. I like the way they ride and would probably also like the way they handle if I weren't spoiled by Michelin Pilot Sports in original, PS2, and all-season versions. I plan on putting a couple of thousand miles on the Contis and then putting on some 1/2 used PS2s from my Z4. When those are worn I will put Pilot Sport A/S tires on the car.

I hated the 18" runflats on my 3.0 Z4 with sport package. That car had an extremely firm suspension and tramlined worse than any other car I have ever driven. I put 17" non runflats on the car and it significantly reduced the stiffness of the ride and the tramlining. BMW should be ashamed they released such a piece of sh%t with a Roundel on it. The 330xi doesn't suffer from any of the problems of my Z4 and I have renewed faith in BMW. I think the runflats have no major problems and just want a higher performing tire that will also work in the snow. If Michelin made the Pilot Sport A/S in runflat I would buy them. If I get a flat, odds are it will be a slow leak from a nail and I will drive to a station and have it fixed. If I have a catastrophic blow out (only had one in 38 years of driving) I will call BMW Assist and have the car towed.

Good luck with the article.

Alan

Thanks Alan. All of these posts have been helpful. I really like the RFTs on my 330xi - I have the 18" summer/high perf. tires and I think this car is the best handling BMW i've had.

Jspira,

I am sure you have seen this and have researched this to death like I have but the nifty link BMW has about the runflats is a good watch none the less. Here is a link to the thread.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...27&postcount=1

I have also found it interesting that on the "RING" they found the 5 series was consistently faster with the RFTs and attributed it to the more precise handling due to less side wall give etc.... I can't recall where that info was. Best of luck on the article; can't wait to read it. Oh and I love my 17" bridgestones my E90 ZSP came with!

Originally Posted by mapezzul

Jspira,

I am sure you have seen this and have researched this to death like I have but the nifty link BMW has about the runflats is a good watch none the less. Here is a link to the thread.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...27&postcount=1

I have also found it interesting that on the "RING" they found the 5 series was consistently faster with the RFTs and attributed it to the more precise handling due to less side wall give etc.... I can't recall where that info was. Best of luck on the article; can't wait to read it. Oh and I love my 17" bridgestones my E90 ZSP came with!

One of the things you get when you step up from an H-rated to tire to a Z or W-rated tire is stiffer sidewalls. If you like a softer ride, then these performance tires will not be to your liking. I'm guessing the RFTs may take it a step further.
Anyhoo, I'm of the opinion that you need to have a good set of cohones to ride around the NYC area in a 330i with SP.

I find it incredibly hard to belive that BMW got the 5 around the ring faster with RFT,

maybe with sport RFT compared to a non sport pack with all seasons

The grip is just not there with these tires (17" sport pack pirelli)
My Z4 has the same bridgestones as a 330 sport pack in the same sizes 18" and the bridgestones are much better than the pirellis

I did autocross once with the bridgestones on the Z4 with 18" they still make a ton of noise and don't have enough grip but the limit is higher by far than the pirellis

Jspira, I'm not voting since I don't have and E90. But I do want to comment about my experience with the run flats on my MY06 E60.

1) I love the performance and handling from these tires. What tremendous grip they have on those windy country roads.

2) I have not experienced a "noise" problem that seemed to be an issue with earlier production models.

3) The ride is firm, but I like the sporty feel.

4) Tire wear was a concern for me when I chose the Sport pkg. w/ run flats. Replacing tires every 12k-15k miles would be a strain on the budget, but I took the chance. Fortunately, with over 12k miles on the tires now, I see that there is plenty of tread left and I don't think 30k will be unreachable. (How is that for a double negative?)

5) We have experienced a puncture with one of the tires. It was nice not having to deal with it immediately. We were able to go about the things we needed to do and then get it patched at our convenience.

For me, so far, it's 5 thumbs up for the run flats.
Best of luck with your poll.

Just wanted to thank everyone for their participation in this study and for your comments, which have been helpful in prep. of the article.

Originally Posted by Jspira

Just wanted to thank everyone for their participation in this study and for your comments, which have been helpful in prep. of the article.

YW. So since the 18's got greater than 50% of the vote there is no need for a run-off?

Originally Posted by gr8sho

YW. So since the 18's got greater than 50% of the vote there is no need for a run-off?

Have to ask election officials in Florida.

80% like ride and handling. No hanging chads here. Looks like for the run flats.

I have the 18in run flat....horrible for nyc, replace 2 tires in less than 3k miles....now have all season non-runflat and the ride is soo much smoother and better....and 125 a tire vs 320

I have the 18in run flat....horrible for nyc, replace 2 tires in less than 3k miles....now have all season non-runflat and the ride is soo much smoother and better....and 125 a tire vs 320

JSpira, I have the sports package 17 in tires (not one of your poll choices) on a 325 (Bridgestones) and so far I am very happy with them.

What is the deal with NYC and pot holes?

Countless threads on NYC pot holes and tire damage.

No wonder they hate RF's. Shoot, I wonder if I would drive anything but a truck there.

Originally Posted by chuck92103

What is the deal with NYC and pot holes?

Old construction, heavy use - then patched and re-patched, and re-patched over the years... fertile ground for pot-holes.

Driving on some of the older highways like Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is like driving in the 3rd world - I've seen huge pot holes in the middle of the highway - imagine hitting one at 60-70MPH... Luckily traffic generally stands still, so the fastest you'll ever hit one is probably like 10-15MPH

Originally Posted by chuck92103

What is the deal with NYC and pot holes?

Countless threads on NYC pot holes and tire damage.

No wonder they hate RF's. Shoot, I wonder if I would drive anything but a truck there.

Back in the early 80's, the Honda motor company modeled a portion of the FDR Drive for its test track in Japan, feeling it was the ultimate surface for testing the mettle of a car's rough road suspension capability.

The west side approach to Manhattan is much better - the West side Highway is actually a pleasant road. As soon as you leave it and drive up the cross streets, the roads present a challenge - autocrossing skills come in handy

Ed

I have an E90 with 16" wheels. I got mine in May 2005 and now have 20000 miles on it and the run flats ride like crap and howl during breaking and at speeds lower than 40 mph. I am replacing them with regular tires soon because it is embarrassing to drive around clients in 2006 BMW that howls as you ride down the road. BMW says this is a normal condition aociated with run flats. SUCKS!!

I have E90 with 17" Turanza. I don't complain about the run flat technology itself, but I hate cheap rubber in Turanza.

Had Bridgestone RFTs 18" on 162 wheels. Replaced two within 5000 miles due to punctures near the sidewall. Had to wait 3+ days to get the tires in, paid high price.

Really wanted lighter 19" wheels, and here was my excuse to do it! Went with 19" both for appearance and because I felt the lower sidewall on the 19" would make up for the extra stiffness on the RFTs. Put on Toyo T1Rs.

The car handles WAY better. It may be because I also went up +2 in width, I don't really know. All I know is I'm taking the same curve (25 mph suggested speed) about 5 mph faster with non-runflats.

This statement already assume that folks like their RFTs

quote:

"How much do you like your runflat tires? Please post details as well - thanks! "

sorry, Im the biggest hater of RFT since even before I bought the car. Proponents suggest its problems are going away. Dont hold your breath guys, simple economics suggest it wont.

but I understand the Roundel article has to suggest all is HonkiDori!

Ive read your Roundel article, seems to me it was very much pro-RFT