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[norsairius]

One of my car's OE Continental runflats had a slow leak and it turns out it was a small puncture. Since those tires weren't repairable, I decided to just replace the whole lot with Bridgestone Driveguards. I figured I'd post a review for others should they find themselves considering the same at some point.

I don't care about driving my car at the limits all the time and with a newborn riding in my car these days, I just wanted a quality tire at a good cost to keep me going. Prices were pretty good on these compared to other RFTs as I found them online at various sites for around $150-$160 per tire.

I've had these now for ~1.5k miles or so. Here's my impressions:
Comfort
These tires are the most comfortable RFTs I've ever driven on. That may not be saying much though since the only other RFTs I've had aside from these and the OE Contis were the AWFUL Bridgestone Turanzas (had them on an E92 328). They really take the edge out of bumps on the road and I'd even compare them favorably to some non-RFTs I've had before. They ride smoothly and absorb expansion joints and even potholes pretty well and are WAY better than the OE Contis were.

As a bonus, these tires are fairly quiet too. Compared to the OE Conti RFTs though, they are actually a bit louder, but barely. Noise is also kind of hard to judge when so many of the roads are in poor shape around here in the upper midwest and they can get kinda loud no matter what tire you have.

Performance/Handling
These tires are grand touring all seasons, so my expectations for performance/spirited driving were moderate. They are a bit softer than the OE Contis and being brand new with full tread, they have more flex too.

That said, they are still pretty good for the occasional spirited drive and fine for pushing the car to 7ish out of 10. You'll quickly find their limits if you find yourself speeding through a cloverleaf highway on/offramp though.

Inclement Weather
In the rain, I actually found these tires to be pretty good. They handle just fine and I even found myself having more confidence in them than I did with the OE Contis. Hydroplaning was never a concern and they cornered well when I decided to test them by taking a couple turns a bit faster than usual on wet roads.

I haven't had a chance to test these in the snow and it's very unlikely that I will now until later this year, but if they perform at least as well in the snow as the Bridgestone Turanzas I had on my E92 328 in the past (which sets the bar REALLY low), then I don't foresee myself having any issues with these.

Edit 2017-06-02: I had a chance to drive these on a day where we had constant downpour for at least a day and a half. My car was on the road for at least a couple hours that day on highways and local roads and the tires did very well in the constant heavy rain.

Additional Notes

• Treadlife warranty is good at 50k miles
• These can be repaired, if needed. I was told that the OE Contis couldn't be or that it's at least recommended not to attempt to repair them.
• I've not put any real effort in to comparing the gas mileage I've been getting with these vs. the OE Contis, but I've not noticed any significant change.
• I noticed a rumbling that's felt through the chassis with these tires, and the previous ones, at around 60 MPH so I took them to get re-balanced and I had an alignment done not long after I got them as well. The issue persists now, but only in the mornings. They're totally smooth when I drive home from work. A theory: Flat spots overnight? either way, a general non-issue. Roads up here are generally not in the best shape either.
• I'm curious to see how road noise and treadwear changes as these age. My plan is to keep them rotated and checked on an ongoing basis, so they should hold up nicely. The OE Contis actually held up very well, so it will be interesting to compare them.

Overall
These tires are good all-seasons that will work well under most conditions. They're okay for the occasional spirited drive, but are definitely more for everyday driving.

Inclement weather handling is good so far and I don't expect to have any major issues once winter rolls around.

Overall comfort is really good for an RFT and I'm very happy with how much better my car is to drive on less than perfect roads, especially since construction season has started up here.

I'd recommend these for anyone who doesn't need to drive their car at 10/10 all the time (and certainly not at the track) and just wants something that is more comfortable than your typical RFT but doesn't want to go with a non-RFT.

[majinfajita]

I agree, they're good for a Grand Touring run flat. Dry traction good enough for 6/10ths driving but not much beyond that, decent wet traction in normal driving conditions and better ride than other runflats but still crash-y compared to non-RFTs.

For cars that will never see a track day, I think they'd be a perfectly well-suited for a daily driver if someone wanted to keep using runflats as long as they have winter tires. I found they did not handle a few centimeters of fallen snow (no ice underneath) very well, with poor stopping distances and very poor grip when gently navigating corners on packed snow. Fun if you want to hang the tail out around every corner (in an xDrive) but not particularly safe or confidence inspiring.

[tomgwuyn]

Nice review. I am in the market for a All season RFT and considering Driveguard or the Bridgeston Potenza 960AS Pole Position.

What do you think about the Bridgestone Potenza 960AS?

[SHIV_P]

E90 2009 replaced continental Bridgestone. First sidewalk split within 1k miles next 2 sidewalk splits in the next 9k miles not willing to risk people's lives. Replaced all 4 tires with oem continental rft. First one was replaced under warranty, second two not! Mavis in Madison NJ buyer beware!

[maddmatth]

Good lord are your roads full of craters or something? Or do you not have roads there?

[shadowx360]

Just an FYI for anyone considering these, I put these on my F30 and the grip is terrible if you do spirited driving. If you're the type to take exit ramps at 20 over, do not swap to DriveGuards. The tread block is ridiculously thick though so I can see how they get amazing treadwear ratings but you will very quickly see the different the first time you take a corner hard.