Printable Version | Subscribe | Add to Favourites
<<  1    2  >>
New Topic New Poll New Reply
Author: Subject: Run Flats
paulmw

posted on 12/11/08 at 11:55 AM Reply With Quote
Run Flats

I have a 5 series with run flats. I replaced the rears with normal tyres and have had no problems (and a can of foam)

This morning I got a puncture in the front (which are run flats). Option 1 was to get one new run flat (£250) or replace both fronts with good normal ones for £180. Guess whats being fitted tomorrow.

The point is I hate run flats. Whats peoples opinion on safety, costs etc on both options

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Humbug

posted on 12/11/08 at 11:58 AM Reply With Quote
I can only talk for BMW runflats - SWMBO used to work as a service receptionist for a BMW dealer and people were always complaining about runflats - noisy, harsh ride and expensive. Most people replaced them with "normals" as soon as they could.

Also, the woman who lives across the road has had a couple of BMWs. When she bought the last one she got them to change the tyres before she would buy it!

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Mr Whippy

posted on 12/11/08 at 12:01 PM Reply With Quote
Don’t they keep spare wheels in cars these days?!

If I had to drive on a long journey in bad weather I know what I'd rather have. Space savers too, what a waste of time they are, can't believe they are still legal

Then again going by the standard we’ve seen recently of modern car jacks you might stand more chance of staying alive with a weird flat tyre

last time I had a puncture it was off a cracked curb and there was a 2 inch chunk taken out the sidewall. Would runflat tyres still let me keep going?

[Edited on 12/11/08 by Mr Whippy]





Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet

View User's Profile E-Mail User Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
adithorp

posted on 12/11/08 at 12:05 PM Reply With Quote
Haven't met anybody who liked them. Did have customer who wouldn't do anything about a puncture because "Its got run flats"!!!

adrian





"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire

http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
trogdor

posted on 12/11/08 at 12:18 PM Reply With Quote
I must admit If my wife was driving on her own and she had a puncture i deffo wouldn't let her change the tyre. Those jacks are dangerous!

Was once changing a tyre on the M6 Toll on my parents 405 and the jack collasped. Luckily i was holding a wheel over the brake drum at the time so the drum hit the wheel and i quickly jacked it back up again. Would never trust one






View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
andyharding

posted on 12/11/08 at 12:22 PM Reply With Quote
I have run flats on my Z4. Contrary to what BMW will tell you it is possible to repair a puncture so long as the tyre hasn't been driven flat which damages the side walls. I had a slow puncture and kept pumping it up until I could get to a garage and have a repair done. 1000s miles later and no problems and it's been up to 155Mph (off road of course) since the puncture was done.





Are you a Mac user or a retard?

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
flak monkey

posted on 12/11/08 at 12:33 PM Reply With Quote
My Cooper S has run flats, they arent too bad, but they do cause tramlining and they dont grip quite as well because they dont have any sidewall flex.

Certainly wouldnt fit them by choice, but the minis got 4 nearly new ones on...





Sera

http://www.motosera.com

View User's Profile Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
Jubal

posted on 12/11/08 at 12:38 PM Reply With Quote
I had run flats on my 5 series and ditched them for standard tyres. I did notice more sidewall flex when pressing on but the 5 is hardly a sports car anyway. I have a spare so it was a no brainer for me.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
oldtimer

posted on 12/11/08 at 03:17 PM Reply With Quote
I thought most tyre puncture repairs were considered a weakness? 155 mph?... I could be wrong.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
andyharding

posted on 12/11/08 at 05:05 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by oldtimer
I thought most tyre puncture repairs were considered a weakness? 155 mph?... I could be wrong.


The repair is vulcanised so the tyre loses no strength as long as none of the internal webbing is damaged. In my case it was a small screw mid-tread.

When the limiter cuts in...





Are you a Mac user or a retard?

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
johnston

posted on 12/11/08 at 05:47 PM Reply With Quote
I always thought it strange one of the biggest most hard pushed bits advice from ANY book or course dealing with working on cars is always to use an axle stand and thats even when using a proper jack..

BUT the dealers get away with giving you a pishy wee thing that looks like an over grown tin opener, how do they get away with it.

View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
Richard Quinn

posted on 12/11/08 at 07:11 PM Reply With Quote
I find my run-flats to be ok. Must just be me?!?
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
JUD

posted on 12/11/08 at 09:26 PM Reply With Quote
Auto Express car mag did a test on a 3 series and found changing to normal tyres from run flats increased the breaking distance. Something to do with side wall flex confusing the ABS or something.





---------------------
MK Indy Blade

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
bigbaz

posted on 28/3/09 at 02:58 PM Reply With Quote
run flat

hi mate i work for a tyer company and yes run flats are expensive but if you put gunge or that tyer fome in the tyers not meny pepole will fix a puncher in them i no my place wont
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
jlparsons

posted on 30/3/09 at 04:06 PM Reply With Quote
Nobody's mentioned the safety issue... i've heard they're safer as far as blow-outs are concerned as you're less likely to suddenly have no tyre at all at 80mph. I have no proof of this but it sounds sensible...?

For this reason I've not changed them on my 320d, plus I'm happy with the ride and noise levels. I have noticed a bit of tramlining though, particularly when the tyres are getting a bit old.

View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
hughpinder

posted on 12/5/09 at 04:46 PM Reply With Quote
Just been speaking to someone at work who has a 320 with run flats, which his wife usually drives. He used it to come in today, got 50 yards from the house and thought the car was pulling to one side- got out and found one front tyre completely flat. When he asked his missus how long the cars been pulling to one side she said a couple of weeks!! About 6 weeks ago, one of my wife friends came to visit us in her mini with runflats and said the car had been making a thumping noise for a couple of days, so I was tasked to look at it. Again a front tyre completely shreaded - flaps of rubber striking the body was the noise! She'd driven from lincoln to Coventry the day before with the noise and was 'meaning to get it looked at'. Needless to say the tyre and wheel were both knackered and she was shocked that I wouldn't let her drive off get it fixed!
I wonder how it affects average safety with people driving around like this?
Hugh

[Edited on 12/5/09 by hughpinder]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
JUD

posted on 12/5/09 at 05:41 PM Reply With Quote
Sounds like Darwin potential to me...





---------------------
MK Indy Blade

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
MikeRJ

posted on 8/6/09 at 01:05 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by johnston
BUT the dealers get away with giving you a pishy wee thing that looks like an over grown tin opener, how do they get away with it.


Hehe, that's a great description

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
iank

posted on 8/6/09 at 02:43 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
If I had to drive on a long journey in bad weather I know what I'd rather have. Space savers too, what a waste of time they are, can't believe they are still legal



I was overtaken a few months back by a punto (I think) with a space-saver on the front doing well over 90mph.
Utter madness, they're only supposed to do 50mph tops IIRC and then only to the nearest tyre dealer.

Don't get me started on the jacks made from coathangers and plastic nuts. Death traps for anyone stupid enough to get under a car supported by one.

[Edited on 8/6/09 by iank]





--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
jossey

posted on 24/6/10 at 03:33 PM Reply With Quote
i have a 525d without run flats.

i had runflats for alot of years and thought they was the best thing ever. then i got a few punctures and at the time they would not repair them due to euro laws.

anyway so i moved away from them.

i use my car for 1000 miles a week so its important to keep costs down.

i moved away from runflats and i havent looked back.

i have tried tons of tires to find good ones and then to get cheap ones.

i currently have the sunnew cheap tires.

£45 per tire. which are really good. not the best in the wet but i have took them on the track at cadwell and they handle well.

dont get me wrong they aint as good as the old goodyear sp1 non run flats i had but not a million miles off.

i would get them again cos they have lasted 27k miles and still have 4mm at front and 3 at back.

and i drive well lets say sensible but not slow.

my bmw is chipped too so blasts out over 200bhp and apart from hitting some ice they aint let me down.


i also went and bought a cheap spacer for the boot for £ 30.

david j

View User's Profile E-Mail User Visit User's Homepage View All Posts By User U2U Member
Ninehigh

posted on 24/6/10 at 08:37 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by iank
quote:
Originally posted by Mr Whippy
If I had to drive on a long journey in bad weather I know what I'd rather have. Space savers too, what a waste of time they are, can't believe they are still legal



I was overtaken a few months back by a punto (I think) with a space-saver on the front doing well over 90mph.
Utter madness, they're only supposed to do 50mph tops IIRC and then only to the nearest tyre dealer.

Don't get me started on the jacks made from coathangers and plastic nuts. Death traps for anyone stupid enough to get under a car supported by one.

[Edited on 8/6/09 by iank]


They're usually 30 or 50mph for a maximum of 50 miles. Oh and if you exceed this and have an accident you're gonna get bent over.. I'm sure there's a speed and distance limit to using those runflats while punctured






View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
tombstone

posted on 19/9/10 at 01:33 PM Reply With Quote
Pirelli and Bridgestone both say you shold NOT repair a run flat, but most sensible tyre place will do a plug'n'patch type repair, but you should never repair a W,Y or Z rated tyre, as it will never be a speed rated repair! I have repaired many tyres over the years, and as long as it's done correctly, would never usually be a problem, I wouldn't drive over 130mph for sustained periods for long with a repaired tyre though...never know how the tyre was affected when it was damaged!
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
MikeR
Contributor






Posts 8599
Registered 25/5/02
Location Hinckley
Member Is Offline

Photo Archive Go!
Building: Slowcost since 2000, speeduino since 2020, Caterha

posted on 19/9/10 at 02:18 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by iank
[
Don't get me started on the jacks made from coathangers and plastic nuts. Death traps for anyone stupid enough to get under a car supported by one.

[Edited on 8/6/09 by iank]


My dad taught me something when i first started to help him on our mini a good few years ago. Always put the tyre under the car. Means you've got something for the car to fall upon instead of you. We'd even leave it in with the axle stands in place if we could.

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
steven

posted on 3/5/11 at 07:08 PM Reply With Quote
I have run flats on my 1 series and think they're ok. I wouldn't fit them by choice but I value what limited boot space the 1 series has and wouldn't want a spare wheel or gup/compressor taking up more space.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
SeanStone

posted on 19/7/11 at 06:10 PM Reply With Quote
My friend has a mini on run flats and pays £5 or £10 tyre insurance per month. If there is a blowout, the excess is £10 and if they're getting a little too close to the legal limit then a well placed nail will get you a new tyre for the cost of £10 excess
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
<<  1    2  >>
New Topic New Poll New Reply


go to top






Website design and SEO by Studio Montage

All content © 2001-16 LocostBuilders. Reproduction prohibited
Opinions expressed in public posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of other users or any member of the LocostBuilders team.
Running XMB 1.8 Partagium [© 2002 XMB Group] on Apache under CentOS Linux
Founded, built and operated by ChrisW.