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[eleven]

Hi ppl,

I just took delivery of my 2008 328xi Coupe with Sports Package (17" Style 185) and have about 300 miles on my Bridgestone Turanza tires. I've been reading about how the RFT's suck big time and harsher/noisier than non-RFT's.

Personally I haven't driven it that much yet but so far the ride has been good, but this is my first BMW and I have nothing else to compare it to, especially how a BMW 'should' feel like. I've read that if we feel the Bridgestone's are too harsh/noisy we can bring it back to the dealer to have it replaced by the Continental RFT's.

Can somebody that has experiences with both Bridgestone RFT's and Continental RFT's on a 2008 E92 with Sports Package and 17" Style 185 share some thoughts on how different they feel? (please don't tell me to get non-rft's because i don't want my girlfriend to be stuck somewhere without a spare )

Thanks in advance.

[Heat00]

I have yet to find continental run flats... tire rack doesn't have em anyhow..

I can't answer you because although I have owned a zillion cars... I personally don't see any difference, but then again this is my first BMW too, so nothing to compare it to.
I do know that they are way more expensive than non runflats and kind of pointless because if you drive on it with no air you can not repair them and you're out another $400 or so...
I'm going to non runflats next for sure.

[eleven]

there are Continental Run-Flats for my 17" on tirerack...also, there's a BMW bulletin to replace our Bridgestone Turanza's if they're too noisy/harsh, but I don't know if the bulletin consists of 2008 models...

[Heat00]

ah..my bad... I thought we were looking at 18's...

[UncleWede]

You have to complain about the noise and have evidence of "cupping" on the front and/or rear tires to get the swap. You don't necessarily get Contis on the swap, just new tires. Depends on the mileage as well.

[eleven]

oh...can you demand for the Contis? hehe

[UncleWede]

I bought mine on my own, after repeated claims to my SA were documented. Then I submitted my expenses with a copy of the TSB to the dealership and about 6-7 weeks later I got a check from BMWNA. This was just as teh TSB was coming out, so YMMV

[eleven]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

I bought mine on my own, after repeated claims to my SA were documented. Then I submitted my expenses with a copy of the TSB to the dealership and about 6-7 weeks later I got a check from BMWNA. This was just as teh TSB was coming out, so YMMV

did you go from the 17" Turanzas to the 17" Contis? is it less harsh and less noisier?

[gthal]

I have the Contis on my car and they are WAY quieter than my colleague's Turanzas. He hated his BMW until the tires were replaced. Having said that, it was a 2007 and they were cupped and really noisy. Don't know if the 2008 versions do this though.

I have non runflat winters and I don't notice much (although some) difference in ride quality relative to the Contis. Maybe its a Bridgestone issue but I wouldn't swap out my Contis at this point as they are, IMO, great.

[Firefly6]

I have the Turanzas on my '08, and they are WAY different than the exact same Turanzas I had on my '06. There was definitely something wrong with the earlier Turanza's and those were the ones the complaints are about.

I drove a loaner 328 with 16" Conti's which seemed a slight bit softer, but that may have been because I have been driving on 17s.

[eleven]

Originally Posted by Firefly6

I have the Turanzas on my '08, and they are WAY different than the exact same Turanzas I had on my '06. There was definitely something wrong with the earlier Turanza's and those were the ones the complaints are about.

I drove a loaner 328 with 16" Conti's which seemed a slight bit softer, but that may have been because I have been driving on 17s.

thanks for the feedback guys!

so i guess BMW finally did something with the 2008 17" Turanzas, cuz to me it is a little noisy but still bearable..

[capi]

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my 2008 335xi and am now trying to negotiate with dealer to makes sure i have contis when i pick it up. I'm waiting to hear back from them, but everything I'm hearing about these rft bridgestones is making me nervous... never had a bimmer before so is there really that much of a difference in the tires? i've basically told them i'm not picking it up without contis but hoping it comes shipped with them already and then no issue...any thoughts out there? thx

[Chuck_IV]

I've heard the newer Turanzas are better than the old ones, but I still have my reservations. They had better be better, cause we had the old Turanzas on our 06 325xi(16in tires) and they were aweful. We put Conti snow tires on and it was as complete night and day, as it could get. Granted snows are softer by design, but the Contis drove EXTREMELY quiet and smooth, compared to 9K mile Turanzas. The Turanzas left such a bad taste in our mouths, that I won't even think of putting any Bridgestone tires on our car, at this point. At least not for a while, anyway.

I'm moving up to a 17" staggered setup for summer tire this year and REALLY wanted the Conti summer tires, but Tirerack doesn't have the rears in stock and won't have them for 3 months. I couldn't wait that long, so I went with a new RFT from Pirelli, the Pzero RFT's. I really hope they are somewhat as smooth and quite as the contis are.

[capi]

Thanks for the feedback... about the same I've been hearing. The car should be arriving in about a week or two so hopefully it came with the contis, but either way i'm not driving that car off the lot with bridgestones... it absolutely amazes me that we're supposedly buying the best of the best and you can't even be assured of getting quality tires???

[douger]

I have driven on both -- I prefer the contis

[eleven]

Originally Posted by douger

I have driven on both -- I prefer the contis

Are yours 17"? and what year?

Thanks.

[GreenThree]

Mine came with the Contis too. Cant compare to Bridgestones, but I think the contis are great. Looked up the price on Tirerack.com yesterday, and they are only $145 per tire to replace these Conti RFT's.