Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[coupegt]

So my e90 had the factory Bridgestone RFT's on 16" alloy.... I have been debating all winter to switch to non RFT's for a better ride( Conti's DWs ) the major drawback was to carry a spare in the small trunk or have a Slime flat fixer. The e90 being my daughter's 1st vehicle game me lots to think about, but the original Bridgestone RFT's was horrible on the road with all the winter potholes ...

I spoke with Tirerack and they told me about the new Bridgestone Driveguard RFT's with better ride qualities. So I took a gamble on these new tires, and I can honestly say these are far better ride, it soaks up the bumps and potholes like a normal tire should. I highly recommend these tires for those who have similar issues.....

BTW I went from 205/55-16 to 225/45-17

[Gary@TireRack]

Originally Posted by coupegt

So my e90 had the factory Bridgestone RFT's on 16" alloy.... I have been debating all winter to switch to non RFT's for a better ride( Conti's DWs ) the major drawback was to carry a spare in the small trunk or have a Slime flat fixer. The e90 being my daughter's 1st vehicle game me lots to think about, but the original Bridgestone RFT's was horrible on the road with all the winter potholes ...

I spoke with Tirerack and they told me about the new Bridgestone Driveguard RFT's with better ride qualities. So I took a gamble on these new tires, and I can honestly say these are far better ride, it soaks up the bumps and potholes like a normal tire should. I highly recommend these tires for those who have similar issues.....

BTW I went from 205/55-16 to 225/45-17

Thanks for the feedback! Your experience seems to mirror most others who have tried the Bridgestone Driveguard as well. For those who want to stick with run flat tires but want a softer ride, it is an ideal choice.

Tires http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AH8&...ires/index.jsp

[E93Manny335]

Indeed good tires... For my daily driven 335 they are not bad. Price isn't hurting the bank niether. I got the 225/40/18 in front and the 255/35/18 on the rears. I'm pleased overall with these Drivegaurds.

[Fundguy1]

Not a fan of run flats. Lower mpg. Higher weight. Lower acceleration. Harsher ride. Noisier. Higher price. I've driven 210,000 miles, had 9 sets of tires, and had 3 flats. Two were with regular tires that I had worn down to the cords. One was with the oem run flats. It lasted 10 miles before disintegration at 35 mph. I calculated the tow cost vs the added price of the run flats I'm saving hundreds even if i do get a flat. For all the other reasons I'm not even considering them until they greatly improve the technology.

[Tom K.]

Another vote for the Drive Guards.

I have 3,000 miles on them and the ride is significantly improved, they are quiet, the handling is perfectly acceptable for an A/S tire, they were fine in light snow last winter, and they cost less than 2/3 the price of the OEM RFTs.

Tom

[e9x008]

Originally Posted by E93Manny335

Indeed good tires... For my daily driven 335 they are not bad. Price isn't hurting the bank niether. I got the 225/40/18 in front and the 255/35/18 on the rears. I'm pleased overall with these Drivegaurds.

Are you running spacers? Your e93 looks great

[E93Manny335]

Originally Posted by e9x008

Are you running spacers? Your e93 looks great

Thanks I'm only running 15mm spacers up front. The rear is a 15ET offset, no spacer needed there.

[90c4]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

Not a fan of run flats. Lower mpg. Higher weight. Lower acceleration. Harsher ride. Noisier. Higher price. I've driven 210,000 miles, had 9 sets of tires, and had 3 flats. Two were with regular tires that I had worn down to the cords. One was with the oem run flats. It lasted 10 miles before disintegration at 35 mph. I calculated the tow cost vs the added price of the run flats I'm saving hundreds even if i do get a flat. For all the other reasons I'm not even considering them until they greatly improve the technology.

From what people are saying though, the Driveguards are a great improvement in runflat technology. Just ordered a set today on the advice of several friends, looking forward to seeing how they do.

[I'mnotarobot]

How do the Driveguard's perform from a performance perspective? They are rated very highly on Tire Rack for dry traction, wet traction, cornering stability, steering response, as well as tire wear, but are grand touring all season tires. Do they compare to Michelin Pilot Super Sport's in these catagories? Or is it relative to other grand touring all season tires?

[Gary@TireRack]

Originally Posted by I'mnotarobot

How do the Driveguard's perform from a performance perspective? They are rated very highly on Tire Rack for dry traction, wet traction, cornering stability, steering response, as well as tire wear, but are grand touring all season tires. Do they compare to Michelin Pilot Super Sport's in these catagories? Or is it relative to other grand touring all season tires?

The Driveguard is nowhere near a summer performance tire in handling and grip, but is very comparable to top grand touring all season tires.

[Antetokounmpo]

Originally Posted by Gary@TireRack

The Driveguard is nowhere near a summer performance tire in handling and grip, but is very comparable to top grand touring all season tires.

Correct me if I'm wrong Gary, but the performance ratings (1-10) are respective for each tire class. I'm assuming this because a PSS is like 9.5 or something in dry traction Max Summer perf but none of the Extreme summer perf tires are as high as the PSS for dry traction, when they definitely are capable of more grip.

[Gary@TireRack]

Originally Posted by Heel Toe

Correct me if I'm wrong Gary, but the performance ratings (1-10) are respective for each tire class. I'm assuming this because a PSS is like 9.5 or something in dry traction Max Summer perf but none of the Extreme summer perf tires are as high as the PSS for dry traction, when they definitely are capable of more grip.

You are indeed correct.

[90c4]

Had the Driveguards installed on Monday to replace my Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP runflats and although I've only put on a few hundred miles, I'm extremely pleased with the decision. They're much more comfortable when hitting potholes and bumps in the road and I find them to be plenty responsive. I pushed them hard on highway ramps in dry and wet and had no issues at all.

[alexwhittemore]

I came here planning to start a new thread if I couldn't find someone else's. I totally love my new driveguards as well. 1000% better than my previous ContiProContact SSR stock tires. As everyone says, they absorb road unevenness much better, small bumps are wildly less cringe-inducing, and both wet and dry traction are WAY improved. Although, my Conti's were dead-and-a-half, so they have an unfair advantage on my wet impression . Road noise seems pretty well reduced too.

I got them as a snow-capable replacement for my current all-seasons, but if bridgestone gets this RFT tech into a max performance summer tire, I'd buy those in a heartbeat for when the winter's over. And a great tread warranty too!

If you're on the fence about ride harshness but don't want to deal with a spare in the trunk, definitely give these a try. They're worlds better.

[Needbmwpartzz]

How much did these cost?

[Fundguy1]

Still has as much grip as a newborn compared to extreme performance summer. I guess if you just putter about in a 328 maybe they aren't that bad. I'll look at them possibly for the focus 4 door I bought my mother in law.

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

How much did these cost?

I paid something like 950 out the door at a local tire shop, after a $100 alignment I happened to need and CA tax. I think I paid something like 160 a tire before taxes and labor, so you can likely do even better.

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

Still has as much grip as a newborn compared to extreme performance summer. I guess if you just putter about in a 328 maybe they aren't that bad. I'll look at them possibly for the focus 4 door I bought my mother in law.

That's probably true - I've never tried max performance summers on this car. But they beat the pants off my previous Conti's, even when those still had good tread. And even then, the 328 didn't have enough power on the track for the definitely-worse Conti's to be a hugely limiting factor, so unless you're used to MP summers and push them hard regularly, I don't suspect you'd be disappointed with the DriveGuards.

But if you do, yeah, don't get a grand touring all-season.

[Fundguy1]

Actually I use extreme performance summers. Lol.

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

Actually I use extreme performance summers. Lol.

Max, extreme, either way. Unless that's specifically what you're after, the DriveGuards kick ass.

[Cory S]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

I calculated the tow cost vs the added price of the run flats

WHAT?

You lost me there bud....

With your mileage/year.....You don't have AAA Plus?

[Fundguy1]

A tow costs the same or less than the extra cost of run flats, at least on my tires. Since I have had 1 tow per every 3 sets of tires for tire failure, I'm saving vs having the run flats.

[Cory S]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

A tow costs the same or less than the extra cost of run flats, at least on my tires. Since I have had 1 tow per every 3 sets of tires for tire failure, I'm saving vs having the run flats.

You are aware that AAA covers more than just a flat tire tow correct? For $78.00 a year, the benefits are pretty damn good. Covers you as a passenger in someone else's vehicle also.