Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by nbkkvv5

I've heard other stories about sealant not doing what they claim to do. I'm thinking the best way for me is to buy a regular alloy wheel (on special) from tire rack and be done with it. The loss of trunk space does not bother me (wife has suv) but I think the extra 50+ lbs in the trunk will slow me down a bit.

The sealant did not work for me because I had a large tear in the sidewall. If it had been a puncture I suspect it would have worked fine.

CA

[pruettfan]

About 20,000 miles ago I switched from the factory RFT's to conventional Vredestein tires. I noticed immediate differences in ride quality, noise and believe it or not fuel mileage. I attribute the later to reduced unsprung weight. I have had not issues whatsoever. I feel that all I lost was a slight bit of the quick turn in that the RFT's bring due to the sidewall stiffness. Having said that the overall performance is improved and I have no regrets at all. In fact if I bought a 2011 I would not wait till the RFT's wore out before I would dump them for a good set of conventional tires.

[Coolieman1220]

BMW should install central inflation into our tires! imagine?

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

About 20,000 miles ago I switched from the factory RFT's to conventional Vredestein tires. I noticed immediate differences in ride quality, noise and believe it or not fuel mileage. I attribute the later to reduced unsprung weight. I have had not issues whatsoever. I feel that all I lost was a slight bit of the quick turn in that the RFT's bring due to the sidewall stiffness. Having said that the overall performance is improved and I have no regrets at all. In fact if I bought a 2011 I would not wait till the RFT's wore out before I would dump them for a good set of conventional tires.

Better economy is probably due to decrease rolling resistance, rather than weight.

[chowser51]

went from 16" conti rfts to 18" continental DWS nonrfts. loving the car now. my brother ended up ditching his rfts as well. i think he got pirelli pzeroneros.
thanks tirerack!

i have always kept a compressor and some plugs in my trunk since i was 16. i have only had to plug 1 tire in 20 years of driving and that was when i was 18, so i think i will be ok.

if it's a sidewall problem, then i will be getting it towed anyway.
i didnt get the spare tire cuz i need room in the trunk.

no one run into me or you'll set off the ammo in the back!

[yamagacy]

Another vote for non-RFTs.

[Schm]

While I generally agree with the principle that non-rfts are far superior to the stock runflats, let's just wait a minute being so hasty hating on rfts in general.

Last January, I got a tpms warning light and my car started driving very badly, pulling to one side and so on. Turns out one of my tires had a nice fat puncture and all the tires were on their last leg anyways. The only pair of tires in the entire Tucson area that would fit my staggered 18s was the very pricey Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP, a summer Y rated tire. While they are much heavier (and more $$$) than the non-rfts, they are amazing tires, night-and day better compared to my stock (Potenza I think) rfts were.

[PTinVT]

I replaced my almost brand-new 17" Bridgestone RFTs with Dunlop Winter Sport M3 non-RFT snows on the stock wheels, and then got a set of 18s for summer.

My CD player used to skip going over potholes and rough roads on the RFTs. I don't think it has skipped once with with either of the non-RFT sets.

I bought the Tischer spare tire/jack kit, yeah the tire eats some trunk room but I live with it (and when I need the room I just fold the back seats down and push the spare into the cabin).

I also bought a full-size spare 17" wheel/all-season non-RFT for the hell of it, which I may take for longer trips.

[hookah66]

The trend is to have RFT as part of OEM, this is also an instant remedy for increased CAFE numbers, and the burden of replacement costs after warranty of course is on us. I have read recently about the improvement of on board inflation system for every day usage. I wonder what happen to Citroën? They had air suspension and on board tire inflation in some of their models way back in the 60's.This paranoia about tire pressure came about due to failure of Explorers tires. I recall receiving notices to increase to much higher pressure for our fleet of Explorers. If you read any of tire web sites, more and more car makers will include RFT's as part of OEM.

BTW: Do not inject any chemical substances into your wheel, the magnesium/aluminum alloy and TPM sensors are prone to corrosion, even the moisture of pressurized air from compressors if not effectively purged by desiccant will cause corrosion (I have yet to see one desiccant, if they got one installed, properly maintained at any of the shops, unless it is a new shop).

[hookah66]

Originally Posted by cb1111

A RFT with a slow leak due to a nail in the tread, for example, is a great candidate for repair.

Absolutely true statement. I experienced a FLAT rft on a non-bmw vehicle but the tire shop refused to repair cauz I had driven on it. And true, if I had noticed (I don't know how since the sidewall do not collapse like regular tires) it before driving I could take it off the vehicle and bring to the shop...but again how??? New vehicles equipped with rft's ain't got no jack!!!...The only abnormal sign was the vehicle's TPM which sensed a drop in pressure, otherwise there was no other sensations and you got to bend over and examined every wheel before realizing you got a flat. In my e93 I don't even have trunk space for the smartly packaged accessory kit that bmw sells. I don't want to sound I am hostile but I am utterly frustrated with this ....

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by hookah66

The trend is to have RFT as part of OEM, this is also an instant remedy for increased CAFE numbers, and the burden of replacement costs after warranty of course is on us. I have read recently about the improvement of on board inflation system for every day usage. I wonder what happen to Citroën? They had air suspension and on board tire inflation in some of their models way back in the 60's.This paranoia about tire pressure came about due to failure of Explorers tires. I recall receiving notices to increase to much higher pressure for our fleet of Explorers. If you read any of tire web sites, more and more car makers will include RFT's as part of OEM.

BTW: Do not inject any chemical substances into your wheel, the magnesium/aluminum alloy and TPM sensors are prone to corrosion, even the moisture of pressurized air from compressors if not effectively purged by desiccant will cause corrosion (I have yet to see one desiccant, if they got one installed, properly maintained at any of the shops, unless it is a new shop).

So it sounds like there truly is an advantage to inflating tires with nitrogen.

CA

[chromisdesigns]

The reason many tire shops won't touch runflat tire repairs is THEY don't know how far (if at all) the tire was driven with no or low pressure. They have only your word for it -- and that'll do them a lot of good if the fixed tire fails at the patch and causes an accident. The lawyers will sue everybody who even glanced wrong at the car!

So a smart shop owner will say "no way" when asked to patch a runflat.

[PINeely]

I just recently switched to non-runflats. I'm now on Continental Extreme Contact DWS's and it is so much better than the runflats. At first the car seemed wobbly but after the tires "settled in" it is much better. I have the BMW OEM "Space saver" spare kit and it's anchored down in my trunk with a cargo net.

[Tom K.]

[quote=hookah66;7675464]. I have read recently about the improvement of on board inflation system for every day usage. I wonder what happen to Citroën? They had air suspension and on board tire inflation in some of their models way back in the 60's.
[quote]

While I remember the air suspension in Citroen's DS19 & DS21 models, I don't ever recall on board tire inflation on any of their cars.

I understand that a rather complex system is available for large trucks, but with a compressor & pressurized holding tank, it looks like it takes up more room than the late, lamented spare tire.

Tom

[RoundelM3]

Switched to non-rfts at 13K miles when my OEM tires gave out. Currently at 26K and never looked back. Rfts make sense for some people (women or elderly folks who can't/don't want to stop to change a tire, etc), but I don't like the way they ride, and the UTQG rating of 140 on the OEM tires is nothing short of ridiculous. With that rating, they'll wear out in 10-12K miles. Also, the premium you pay for rfts just is not worth it to me. I'll stick with my Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics.

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by PINeely

I just recently switched to non-runflats. .... I have the BMW OEM "Space saver" spare kit and it's anchored down in my trunk with a cargo net.

Where did you get on OEM donut kit? They don't sell them in the US, and dealers won't order them, as they aren't in the US parts catalog. Did you get it on your own from Europe?

[PINeely]

Originally Posted by chromisdesigns

Where did you get on OEM donut kit? They don't sell them in the US, and dealers won't order them, as they aren't in the US parts catalog. Did you get it on your own from Europe?

I ordered it from Tischer. There's a thread somewhere around here with the part numbers and all of that.

[Kolyan2k]

run flats are shit.....but if your tire ever blows on highway and you lose control, runflat might actually save you....but since this never happened to me, i careless about runflats and care more about my rims and ride quality. and yes its a night and day difference. someone had to be pretty fucking stupid to put them on sport suspension BMWs.

ps. I thing Hummers have self-inflating tire, no ? (the real Hummers)

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by PINeely

I ordered it from Tischer. There's a thread somewhere around here with the part numbers and all of that.

The one from Tischer isn't the OEM kit -- it's from one of the X series, I believe, but it works fine. The "real" oem donut kit for the E9X has an alloy wheel, same tire though.

[Nikolas]

Originally Posted by hookah66

Have you driven a FLAT rft??? I have...and you don't know it is flat..that is why they are called run flat tires....why do you think you got TPS on the wheels??? By the time you realize you got a flat you have already driven god knows how many miles. Unlike regular tire, on RFT's you don't have any feelings...it is the same lousy noise harsh ride whether it is inflated or deflated. Most of the tire shops will not touch a rft right now, much less repair with a plug they are worried about liability..they all hate it.

I don't get this comment. Once the pressure drops a few pounds you get the warning light. You never have to feel it or drive for "god knows how many miles" unless you are blind or never look at the instrument cluster.

[pruettfan]

Originally Posted by chromisdesigns

Better economy is probably due to decrease rolling resistance, rather than weight.

I am not sure you are correct. Removing 4 lbs per wheel has a significant effect on the performance of a car. Car and Driver had an article a while back that addressed unsprung weight's effect on acceleration and braking. I would guess that if reducing unsprung weight improves acceleration and braking that would be more likely to be the reason for improved MPG.

[chromisdesigns]

Originally Posted by pruettfan

I am not sure you are correct. Removing 4 lbs per wheel has a significant effect on the performance of a car. Car and Driver had an article a while back that addressed unsprung weight's effect on acceleration and braking. I would guess that if reducing unsprung weight improves acceleration and braking that would be more likely to be the reason for improved MPG.

MPG is a different animal, entirely. If 16 pounds of weight were significant in terms of mileage, you could see a difference in fuel economy between your gas tank being half-empty vs. a full tank. A fraction of a MPG, perhaps. Several MPG? No way. But rolling resistance has a LARGE effect on fuel economy.