BMW and M Power Owners

gEd said:
So what do folks who switch from RFT to non-RTF do in the event of a flat?
Carry a pump + goop and hope for the best or just call the AA//RAC?
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Just call the breakdown peeps. And have a spare tyre at home.

Last time it happened, I told them I have the correct tyre, can they collect it and bring to fit.
They sent someone to my home, wife gave them the tyre and a tyre van came and fitted it on the road side.

ofc... I was only 8Miles from home. If I was 30 miles or something away, i expect the answer would have been no. lol
 
After my last breakdown experience was "We can get someone there in 3 to 4 hours", i'm not brave enough to rely on breakdown for a flat tyre when i'm potentially 2 hours away from home already, so i'm sticking with runflats :p
 
gEd said:
So what do folks who switch from RFT to non-RTF do in the event of a flat?
Carry a pump + goop and hope for the best or just call the AA//RAC?
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Repair kit

I've recently went to view a few cars e.g. Arteon R and it had dedicated compartment for a full sized spare wheel, I was impressed!
 
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Diagro said:
Just call the breakdown peeps. And have a spare tyre at home.
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wasn't he/ged suggesting that the AA might reject the call out(or charge £££) if you have non standard tyres fitted when they attended.

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MHEV : mild hybrid thought this was interesting different architecture for 4's & 6's
 
MrRockliffe said:
Costco put Asymmetric 6s on my G20 without issue :)

I just said upfront that I don’t want run flats on the car.
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I had issues with Costco (Farnborough), I had ordered and paid for PS4S online for the M340i I had at the time, when I went in they refused to fit them as they weren't BMW star rated (not because they weren't runflats though). I think the issue was it had the larger wheels (from new/dealer) and in the standard size the PS4S were ok.

Ended up with a refund and having to go elsewhere, always used to carry a larger can of tyre weld just in case, not sure keeping spare tyres is much of an option when front and back are different widths, M3 appears to come with non runflats anyway which is nice, but I wasn't lucky enough on the tyre lottery to get the PS4S from new.
 
MrMagoo said:
I had issues with Costco (Farnborough), I had ordered and paid for PS4S online for the M340i I had at the time, when I went in they refused to fit them as they weren't BMW star rated (not because they weren't runflats though). I think the issue was it had the larger wheels (from new/dealer) and in the standard size the PS4S were ok.

Ended up with a refund and having to go elsewhere, always used to carry a larger can of tyre weld just in case, not sure keeping spare tyres is much of an option when front and back are different widths, M3 appears to come with non runflats anyway which is nice, but I wasn't lucky enough on the tyre lottery to get the PS4S from new.
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It was Costco Farnborough who fitted mine


But I can see why they might have an issue fitting tyres which don’t match the factory size for the car.
 
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jpaul said:
wasn't he/ged suggesting that the AA might reject the call out(or charge £££) if you have non standard tyres fitted when they attended.

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MHEV : mild hybrid thought this was interesting different architecture for 4's & 6's
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I wasn't suggesting anything. I'm genuinely keen to understand what folks who have ditched RTF do if they have a flat and don't have a spare.

I've never been convinced or had much experience of using gloop other than using it to drive my wifes ford 0.5 mile to kwik fit where upon it ended up all over the floor of their garage.

Current options appear to be:-
don't drive more than 8 miles from home and had 2 spares there (front and rear)
sit on the side of the road and repair your own tire and hope it holds and keeps everyone safe.
pay recovery lots of money (potentially?) to tow you to a tire shop?

"I thought you said this car had run flat tires so why are we sat on the side on the motorway in the rain with a puncture waiting 3 hours for the AA?"
"I got rid of them as I wanted better ride and handling....."

I know RTF aren't great (heck I've got 20" rims so I should know) but that feels like a conversation I don't really want to have.
 
gEd said:
I wasn't suggesting anything. I'm genuinely keen to understand what folks who have ditched RTF do if they have a flat and don't have a spare.
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Punctures are getting rarer, I haven't had one in about 8-10 years luckily, but I ditched my runflats for Michelin PS5's in February 2023 and while I had a slow puncture in one tyre that was fixed it's been absolutely fine. If I were to have a puncture, well that's why I have AA cover. A full size spare is a rarity in cars these days. Some cars don't have a spare at all, just a can of tyre goo. I don't even have that!
 
gEd said:
I know RTF aren't great (heck I've got 20" rims so I should know) but that feels like a conversation I don't really want to have.
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Normal tyres have better noise/grip/handling/comfort which is why i've ditched the runflats
They're also usually cheaper than the equivalent runflats

FWIW I've only had 1 slow puncture (nail) in the last 9 years that cost me a tenner to fix down the back alley with a tyre patch and the tyre was fine for the rest of its service life
(not that past performance predicts the future lol)
 
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gEd said:
I wasn't suggesting anything. I'm genuinely keen to understand what folks who have ditched RTF do if they have a flat and don't have a spare.
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I don't have runflats on either of my cars (R56 cooper with wheels too small for runflats, and no room for a spare, and F60 countryman that came without runflats)

In both cars I have an inflation kit with gloop, however this is very much a only if I must option.
I have breakdown cover on both cars.
For the R56, I have a 5th matching alloy with good tyre in my shed, and have the jack kit in the car, so just a case of my wife bringing me the spare wheel assuming I'm reasonably local to home.

However in the last 10 years or so of driving, I've only had 2 flats, 1 was noticed at home and the other in the car park at work, so had other options available if needed.
 
My family have experienced more punctures with runflats than without.


They’ve typically been complete blowouts too, rather than slow punctures.



Don’t really know of a plus side to runflats as you still need to replace the tyre.
 
shiver said:
Not sure what was up but they were able to process it over the phone just now.

For anyone wondering, it was £440 for a year of Comprehensive Warranty for my X3 M40i with £100 excess
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We recently had good use of this, a line of dead pixels on the main infotainment screen that would've been a very pricey replacement but all done for £100 excess
 
Is there a reason, why BMW's have additional storage compartments that you can't fit a wheel in? Wouldn't it be better to give people the option, if you don't want a spare wheel use it as additional storage, they could come up with some £500 storage divider with a BMW logo that costs £5 to manufacture.

Or is there an actual reason, like the rear subframe/fuel tank is in the way?
 
MrRockliffe said:
It was Costco Farnborough who fitted mine


But I can see why they might have an issue fitting tyres which don’t match the factory size for the car.
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Well they were official BMW wheels for that model, just the optional ones. They did offer to fit some other BMW star rated ones (the same size as the PS4S) which had terrible reviews so opted to go elsewhere, I'm aware the BMW star rated ones do tend to have different composition than non star rated but I had no issues with the PS4S I did have fitted in the end :)
 
moreover is the boot any bigger as a consequence of removing spare wheel e46 touring 435 f31 500litres - but if the window level , used to calculate volume is just higher, then there maybe no practical increase.
eg: less glass to improve structural/crash strength
 
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Mine is in for the next part of the investigation for the light.


Meanwhile, they’ve given me a very nice courtesy car - a 320i estate.


It was a bit dirty when I picked it up, so I’ve given it a clean and a quick once over with a ceramic sealant, as I’m out in it for the day tomorrow, and I like to drive a clean car :P











Initial impressions:


Rides really well considering it has run flats on 19 inch wheels.


Don’t like the new IDrive. It’s just extra complicated.


Speed limiter is UNBELIEVABLY ANNOYING. I knew that it was bad with road signs but it was bonging away at me all the way home, and I’m the kind of person who uses cruise/limiter anyway. But the auto detection is pants and turning it off while driving is a no go.



20d engine is much nicer than the 2L petrol. Torque really helps the 2L diesel feel much quicker. But the 20i is incredibly quiet.
 
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