BMW owners - have you ditched Run Flats?

mishima · 21 Aug 2012 at 19:34

Hi there,

I'm just throwing out the question since I'm getting rid of my Run Flats very soon in favour of standard tires.

What I'm interested to know is: what method of puncture repair do you have? AFAIK most BMWs now have RFTs instead of the space saver. My E90 certainly doesn't have one!

I'm in two minds whether to grab the E90 space saver that BMW sell (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2657/4174235503_e8230691a9.jpg) but at over £200 this is quite an expensive route. Other options are the compressor + slime kits.

CRoWE · 21 Aug 2012 at 19:43

I ditched the run flats on my Z4, they were absolutely shocking.

I bought a genuine BMW compressor mobility kit in case of emergency...

mishima · 21 Aug 2012 at 19:43

I've seen that kit -- what do you make of it mate? Ever had to use it etc?

Zero Pope · 21 Aug 2012 at 19:44

I don't own a BMW, but on my Impreza I kept two cans (you never know) of Tyreweld and a compressor as I didn't carry a spare wheel.

imb4tman · 21 Aug 2012 at 19:47

I wanted to but my insurance company wanted 10% which is a bit ridiculous. Before renewing (with someone else) I will have to check what their policy is on tyres.

CRoWE · 21 Aug 2012 at 19:48

mishima said:
I've seen that kit -- what do you make of it mate? Ever had to use it etc?

I haven't had to use it so I can't really comment on the kit.

However for me the benefit on running normal tyres over run flats is worth the risk of having to call the RAC. The difference between the two tyres is huge on the Z4, I couldn't go back!

mejinks · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:00

Yes. I have a can of Greenflag recovery instead of a spare tyre

mishima · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:01

Price and comfort were the decider for me. Didn't previously have any recovery but have arranged some in anticipation for when I get rid

Actually that brings up another question, didn't see it in the policy but do the recovery companies require a spare wheel on non-RFT vehicles?

CRoWE · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:13

mishima said:
Actually that brings up another question, didn't see it in the policy but do the recovery companies require a spare wheel on non-RFT vehicles?

Again I couldn't say for sure, but I haven't seen anything in the documentation to suggest this. Z4M's came out of the factory with standard tyres and they don't have a spare (they were supplied with a BMW compressor kit).

I don't imagine a recovery firm will turn you away, especially if you have made an effort to get yourself going with a compressor kit...

Again I am still happy to take my chances there, the benefits far outweigh the cons

Mackass · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:18

I bought the Continental Mobility Kit, not used it yet though.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Continent...rs_Tyres_RL&hash=item337b34319c#ht_500wt_1156

Skeeter · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:30

If you should have a spare tyre and don't, recovery companies are well within their rights to just tow you to the nearest garage, rather than all the way home.

I had a mate who had a massive argument with the RAC who refused to tow his 182 home as the guy insisted he should have a spare. He made him empty the boot to prove there was no wheel well. The 182 didn't come with runflats.

As for having them or not, my GF's Mini has them. I hate them, and they are stupidly expensive, but she loves them as they have got her home late one night when otherwise she would have been stuck on the side of the road on her own in the dark.

So basically women = runflats
Men, or people who want a much better handling/riding car = no runflats

Dandle · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:31

I took the runflats off my E61 and bought the BMW spare wheel kit for it with the new boot trim (£245). The ride was a bit better but if I'm honest I wouldn't do it again. The saving on tyres isn't that great when I have to recover £245 to break even and the ride wasn't night and day like some people seem to report. That said I think depending on what runflats you have massively depends on how the car feels, I had NCT5s on it from new and then used two sets of Sport Contact 3 SSRs and they were no where near as bad as the Dunlop and Bridgestone offerings. The SC3s were replaced by Assymetric 2 non runflats to give you an idea of the tyres I used.

Solaris · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:36

I've had my E90 for over 2 years now on runflats and they're fine in the dry... But in the wet they are completely useless (yes, the tread is fine)... But I've had one blow and managed to get home on it... And they last for ages... The compound is so hard they wear out a heck of a lot slower...

Brookert · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:37

Skeeter said:
So basically women = runflats
Men, or people who want a much better handling/riding car = no runflats

Women do make me laugh at times

Ran over a scaffold clamp the other day, popped my front tyre and buckled the rim. 2 other cars in front of me hit the same clamp with similar results. Both female drivers.

I crack out the jack and spare and swap the wheel over in 10 mins. The other two were flapping around. I offered to swap their wheels (they had spares), but alas they didn't trust me to do it. They would have rather handed over money freely to the AA.

Women

mejinks · 21 Aug 2012 at 20:44

Solaris said:
I've had my E90 for over 2 years now on runflats and they're fine in the dry... But in the wet they are completely useless (yes, the tread is fine)... But I've had one blow and managed to get home on it... And they last for ages... The compound is so hard they wear out a heck of a lot slower...

My Dunlops lasted 6500 miles. At £300 a tyre there is no way I would ever switch back. They were also dire in the snow or the wet.

markyb · 21 Aug 2012 at 21:17

My rear two on my E90 (255, 40, R17) are on the way out. I currently have a set of Conti SSRs on at the moment.

The front two have very decent tread. I'm thinking of switching to non run flats. Can I mix them for a while?
Also, did changing from run flats eliminate the tramlining you get?

Skully · 21 Aug 2012 at 21:18

Got rid of the run flats on the Mini.

mishima · 21 Aug 2012 at 21:24

markyb said:
My rear two on my E90 (255, 40, R17) are on the way out. I currently have a set of Conti SSRs on at the moment.

The front two have very decent tread. I'm thinking of switching to non run flats. Can I mix them for a while?
Also, did changing from run flats eliminate the tramlining you get?

I think I know what you mean by the tramlining. I've felt this since day 1 and thought the steering had something up with it.

Not sure about mixing -- I don't suppose it would be a bad thing, just so long as the tread on either side is the same ie: both fronts are same, both rears are same!

Good to see that others have also removed the RFTs

Draeger · 21 Aug 2012 at 21:31

Ok - daft question. Is there any way to tell if you have run flats fitted, are there any markings on the sidewalls?. I'm not sure if my tyres are RFT's or not, my Googlefu doesn't seem to be great finding a definitive answer.

mishima · 21 Aug 2012 at 21:40

Draeger said:
Ok - daft question. Is there any way to tell if you have run flats fitted, are there any markings on the sidewalls?. I'm not sure if my tyres are RFT's or not, my Googlefu doesn't seem to be great finding a definitive answer.

Try this buddy: http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/bens-blog/how-to-tell-if-you-have-run-flat-tires look for the logo on that page