Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[CombatNinja]

The 328 Touring needed new rubber as the progressively louder "wunga-wunga" sound it made going down the road reminded me every day. It has been wearing Bridgestone RE050s since new and the second set, the "3rd gen" RE050 II was on it's way out since about 30K. The tires had been getting progressively louder lately and the rears were down to about 3/32" of tread. The fronts looked like they could go another 5,000 or so but I was unsure where this horrible noise emanated from and wasn't taking any chances. The miles piled up as I debated the pros and cons of making the switch to non RFTs and finally, with a Memorial Day road trip planned, a decision had to be made.
The car is sport pack equipped with the staggered rubber which looks cool but really limits the choices in tires. All of the RFTs in the proper sizes are $1,000+ per set with the exception of the Kumhos but I have had bad experiences with cheap tires in general and Kumhos in particular so I was looking at a $1200-1400 outlay for runflats when all would be said an done. This was none too appealing. The best modern runflat seems to be the Pilot Sport ZSP but it is not available in my 17" fitment. Upgrading to 18s would only make this process go from expensive to inane so that was quickly ruled out. I considered briefly buying just two rear Bridgestones but my hatred for them would not allow me to fall into that trap.
I weighed the possibility of regular tires and decided that for $500-700 in savings, I would take on the risk of being stranded somewhere with a flat. The mobility kit in the trunk would have to suffice. Besides, in all my years of driving, every flat I have ever gotten has been a slow leak that I notice in the driveway or a parking lot rather than a catastrophic failure at speed. I have BMW assist, a mobility kit, a cell phone and the ability to walk for days on end. I'm not scared.
After looking into getting the cheapest "good" tires possible--I was mightily tempted by the Hankook V12 Evo at $300 a set--I went with the Continental DW. Still pretty cheap at under $500 and very highly regarded. With a treadwear rating of 340 and weighing a whopping 30 pounds less than the stock boat anchors, how could I go wrong? Ordered them from the Tire Rack on a Friday and they arrived Tuesday. No muss, no fuss.
With over 30K on the car I figured it was high time for an alignment as well so I dropped the car by my local BMW agent without an appointment and asked them to work it in whenever they could. Waited all day for a phone call from the service writer explaining that there is no way they could possibly fit non-RFTs to the car because it would void the warranty and cause my wife to die in a fiery crash but, thank goodness, no such call came.The painful part was the bill, $237 for mounting, balancing, tire disposal, nitrogen and alignment. Ouch.
Went by to collect the car and right away the car feels different. The ride is dramatically smoother and quieter. The ride on the worn Bridgestones was "grainy" while the Contis felt like there was actual rubber between to road and the alloys. It was raining sideways so I had a golden opportunity to test them in the rain. Nothing to report which is evidence of good behavior. Tramlining is reduced, road noise is muted and impact harshness is cut by at least half. I purposely hit bumps on my route that I usually avoid just to feel the difference and I may stop swerving for most of them. The Contis are that comfortable. I was frankly astonished. Now to the best part. Took my usual route home and reset the MPG calculator just to see what's what. Typically I can coax 29mpg out of her on a good day. Without even really trying I saw 31.5mpg I guess that's what cutting 30 pounds of unsprung weight can do for you.
Nothing really to report yet on acceleration (though I expect that it will feel livelier) or ultimate grip because the roads were wet and it was rush hour. More to follow on that front. I am most curious to see if I have lost a lot of turn-in crispness as others have reported. FWIW, the Contis are currently inflated to stock pressures but may be bumped up a couple of PSI if turn-in has suffered dramatically. From what I have seen so far, even if turn-in is completely wrecked, the trade off will have been worth it overall.
Hope this thread helps anyone on the fence about replacing their runflats. It is not for everyone or every car, my wife's leased 328 is a perfect example, but it can be a positive experience if you know what you're getting into.

[mlifxs]

Originally Posted by CombatNinja

The 328 Touring needed new rubber as the progressively louder "wunga-wunga" sound it made going down the road reminded me every day. It has been wearing Bridgestone RE050s since new and the second set, the "3rd gen" RE050 II was on it's way out since about 30K. The tires had been getting progressively louder lately and the rears were down to about 3/32" of tread. The fronts looked like they could go another 5,000 or so but I was unsure where this horrible noise emanated from and wasn't taking any chances. The miles piled up as I debated the pros and cons of making the switch to non RFTs and finally, with a Memorial Day road trip planned, a decision had to be made.
The car is sport pack equipped with the staggered rubber which looks cool but really limits the choices in tires. All of the RFTs in the proper sizes are $1,000+ per set with the exception of the Kumhos but I have had bad experiences with cheap tires in general and Kumhos in particular so I was looking at a $1200-1400 outlay for runflats when all would be said an done. This was none too appealing. The best modern runflat seems to be the Pilot Sport ZSP but it is not available in my 17" fitment. Upgrading to 18s would only make this process go from expensive to inane so that was quickly ruled out. I considered briefly buying just two rear Bridgestones but my hatred for them would not allow me to fall into that trap.
I weighed the possibility of regular tires and decided that for $500-700 in savings, I would take on the risk of being stranded somewhere with a flat. The mobility kit in the trunk would have to suffice. Besides, in all my years of driving, every flat I have ever gotten has been a slow leak that I notice in the driveway or a parking lot rather than a catastrophic failure at speed. I have BMW assist, a mobility kit, a cell phone and the ability to walk for days on end. I'm not scared.
After looking into getting the cheapest "good" tires possible--I was mightily tempted by the Hankook V12 Evo at $300 a set--I went with the Continental DW. Still pretty cheap at under $500 and very highly regarded. With a treadwear rating of 340 and weighing a whopping 30 pounds less than the stock boat anchors, how could I go wrong? Ordered them from the Tire Rack on a Friday and they arrived Tuesday. No muss, no fuss.
With over 30K on the car I figured it was high time for an alignment as well so I dropped the car by my local BMW agent without an appointment and asked them to work it in whenever they could. Waited all day for a phone call from the service writer explaining that there is no way they could possibly fit non-RFTs to the car because it would void the warranty and cause my wife to die in a fiery crash but, thank goodness, no such call came.The painful part was the bill, $237 for mounting, balancing, tire disposal, nitrogen and alignment. Ouch.
Went by to collect the car and right away the car feels different. The ride is dramatically smoother and quieter. The ride on the worn Bridgestones was "grainy" while the Contis felt like there was actual rubber between to road and the alloys. It was raining sideways so I had a golden opportunity to test them in the rain. Nothing to report which is evidence of good behavior. Tramlining is reduced, road noise is muted and impact harshness is cut by at least half. I purposely hit bumps on my route that I usually avoid just to feel the difference and I may stop swerving for most of them. The Contis are that comfortable. I was frankly astonished. Now to the best part. Took my usual route home and reset the MPG calculator just to see what's what. Typically I can coax 29mpg out of her on a good day. Without even really trying I saw 31.5mpg I guess that's what cutting 30 pounds of unsprung weight can do for you.
Nothing really to report yet on acceleration (though I expect that it will feel livelier) or ultimate grip because the roads were wet and it was rush hour. More to follow on that front. I am most curious to see if I have lost a lot of turn-in crispness as others have reported. FWIW, the Contis are currently inflated to stock pressures but may be bumped up a couple of PSI if turn-in has suffered dramatically. From what I have seen so far, even if turn-in is completely wrecked, the trade off will have been worth it overall.
Hope this thread helps anyone on the fence about replacing their runflats. It is not for everyone or every car, my wife's leased 328 is a perfect example, but it can be a positive experience if you know what you're getting into.

Did the same thing, with Sumitomo HTR Z3 along the way, with same results. Very pleased with the ride, less noise, livelier feel. People say the non-RFTs, including DWs are "less responsive". Perhaps. They are also less responsive on potholes and speed bumps than runflats, which sometimes feel like you have no suspension.
Saving $$$ on two sets of tires pays for other good mods or necessary repairs. Maybe not for everybody (ie "survival kit" country) but works for me.

[CombatNinja]

Update:
Got to try the tires a bit more extensively today with dry roads clear of traffic. I'm finding that the car feels a bit more responsive in acceleration off the line but once up to speed there is no perceptible difference. Economy is still up, showing 24 mpg on my route that would usually return 22.5. Noise is still very much reduced in the dry but now I hear the telltale whiny rear diff much more around town as a result
I have indeed lost some of the direct feel on turn-in. The car doesn't roll and pitch around like an SUV but there is a bit of delay present now. I sawed the wheel back and forth at modest speed and the car felt like it was unable to cope with the requests. The next direction change was coming up before the tires got things sorted from the last. I will try to remedy this by over inflating by 2psi to see if it remedys the problem without ruining the creamy ride.
Dry traction is excellent, just like the Bridgestones. That might be the one area where the stock RFTs were beyond reproach but with a 140 tread wear rating you would expect endless grip, right? Handling near the limit is predictable with no bad behavior. There is a brief sensation of the tires leaning over on their sidewalls before they take a set but once they bite, they bite hard. One area where they surpass the Bridgestones is over mid-corner bumps. There are bumpy corners on my route that the RFTs would sort of "skip" over as though the impact harshness would drive the wheel up harder and faster than the suspension could cope with. I often wondered if it was the blame of the tires or the suspension and now I have my answer. The Contis are able to cope with a series of sharp little bumps without breaking traction or activating the stability control, something I can't say for the Bridgestones. As for how progressively the new rubber breaks away I can't say as I'm not going to push the limits on public roads with no runoff room. I'll find a big empty parking lot and see what's what.
So far, still very pleased with the change. It kind of makes you fall in love with the car again as a major source of irritation is now gone. It rides more like you would expect a luxury car to and even little vibrations or buzzes that were once pervasive over certain surfaces are gone. The car just feels better. Even if I can't get back the crisp turn-in, the bargain is more than worth it