[jeffrey846]

Hi Guys,

i have an e92 and live just outside London, in Surrey. i am running the standard Bridgestone Run flats. Back 2 tyres are down to 3mm and one of fronts has a small bulge, so will need to replace them v soon.
With the roads here in the UK the ay they are, soo many people have told me to go non runflats as its a better ride, cheaper tyres, better grip etc.
Only concern is that i do a lot of M25 travelling and i hear that Runflats are better in the case of a blowout on the motorway (easier to stay in control of the car) hence why i have never thought about swapping to non run-flats.

Anyone got any advice on what i should do ? would i be compromising safety etc by replacing all 4 with non runflats ?

Thank you

[justa]

do a search there is lots of threads about runflats on here and also on bmwland.

I will try and be unbiased

Yes they are a great safety idea - I hate to say when did you last have a blow out on the motorway (in case of tempting fate) and what speeds do you do on the M25 anyway ?! But yes they are a safety feature - however, is it the reason you bought the car ? Do you drive another car that doesn't have runflats ?

From every other point of view I loathe them - I hated my 320d M Sport when I first got it - all most all of why (apart from the dodgy stereo) is down to the run flats..

The awful tramlining, the changes of direction, the lack of grip (especially in the wet) the noise and the terrible unforgiving and stupidly firm ride are all down to run flats - factor in the cost of them and it is the best decision I ever made to ditch them for 4 Falken FK452's at the princely sum of £430....

You might have a few people stick up for them but i think the general concensus is that they are a steaming pile of ****

HTH

Justin

[jeffrey846]

Thanks a lot for the reply Justin.
I didn't buy the car for the fact it has runflats and so far i have never had a blowout on the motorway (touch wood this continues). As i travel on it at pretty much peak times i cant say i ever go over 80mph. i totally agree with you in regards to the lack of grip and firm ride. Got a quote from BMW for 4 Bridgestone RF (225/40 Front and 255/35 rear) at £1000. i think i may well look into the Falken FK452's, they seem good value

Jeff

[justa]

The Falkens are excellent tyres - I know they are pretty much viewed as budget tyres but they don't perform like budget tyres - apparently they last pretty well too..

Mine has 18" wheels so £430 is pretty good for 4 tyres - oh also factor in a can or two of tyre weld and a compressor just to be on the safe side....

[magic77]

give event tyres a look online, they cover our area, then go for either contis or falkens non RFT

you dont want bridgestones thats for sure. ALso have a think of this if you have a blowout an RFT or non RFT your tyre will still fall apart. Just get a jack and can of gue

Falkens are very good but conties are better. Give event tyres a look best otpion they come to your place and also are very good on looking after wheels

[jeffrey846]

Thanks, will check event tyres out now. the potholes in surrey (as im sure you know) are terrible, and im feeling everyone of them with my RF's

[magic77]

good luck

It seems they get worse and worse on A331 there is one size of a small swiming pool in the fast lane, scary

[Jeff123]

Very few punctures are "blowouts" that result in the car becoming out of control - or so my previous tyre fitter at Event Tyres told me, having been fitting tyres for c20 years.

90%+ of cars on the roads run normal tyres - if it was such a major safety feature, surely they would all be specifying runlats?

There is a much greater chance of driving around on runflats containing zero tyre pressure - because you can't see that the tyre is under-inflated.

[magic77]

+1 on that, fact is RFT are there to allow you to get back to a tyre place to replace them. As it seems there is a general block and people want repair them (weird as mate who runs tyre show has now repaired two RFTs on his BMW and done around 4k since on repairs)

Due to that I find get a can off gue and since they want repair that either when you make it back to the tyre shop at least you saved a bit on the cost of RFTs,

Not to mention a non RFT e90 feels like a totally different car, actually about as much as a E90 rft in germany since their roads are much smoother.

[chris_s1]

+1 for Falkens

I got 18k out of the original RFTs and the rears were down to the canvas on the inner edges.
Switched to Falkens and got 21k out of the rears and there was still a little bit left, and that included about 10 laps of the 'ring which I didn't do on the RFTs.

Now switched to Conti SC3 which are slightly better in terms of grip, but I wouldn't pay much more for them than the Falkens.
Unless I get an unbelievable price on them again (£155 each for 255/30/19s) I will go with Falken again next time.

[Tippo]

They don't bother me that much probably because my last few cars had lowered sports suspension which mean't I had harsh rides then also due to our crappy road surfaces.

Also cause I am a lazy g!t I like the idea of not having to get out on the side of the road and messing about with spares or cans of glue and that.

Most tyre places these days never seem to have the tyre you want in stock so you have to wait a day at least, that is no longer a problem really cause in the meanitme your spare could belly up or you could run out of can glue if another tyre went.

Btw with the Continentals I have on now I don't notice any tramlining at all, maybe that is Bridgestone thing cause my old A3 had them on and that tramlined badly.

[ALF_E90]

I suspect most "blowouts" are the result of someone not checking their tyre pressures or not noticing a flat and driving until the sidewall disintegrates. At least with BMW you have the pressure warning indicator which should still work on non-RFT.

Personally I've been driving 20 years, about 20k miles average p.a., I have had four punctures. One was half flat when I went out to the car in the morning (I always look). One was so obvious while driving I stopped before it had lost half it's pressure. One was a total blowout when I hit a big stone at low speed and I expect a runflat would also have imploded. The other was again noticed when I went back to the car. I just can't see blowouts on a motorway being that common on a well-maintained car.

And of course superior grip/handling are themselves safety features that you benefit from with non-RFT.

[chris_s1]

Originally Posted by ALF_E90

I just can't see blowouts on a motorway being that common on a well-maintained car.

I agree. I think that modern tyres (ie not RFTs) are designed to resist complete blow outs in most cases.
I've driven the thick end of half a million miles in the last ten years and I've never had one. In fact I don't even ever recall seeing someone on the side of the road with a completely blown out tyre.

Yet my Dad tells me, "back in the day" it was a fairly regular occurence.

In lorries it happens all the time, must be because they use remoulds I guess.

[ALF_E90]

Crossply tyres do it, and they are common on lorries as they bear weight better. The crossplies on the trailer I used to tow a Caterham about with were always blowing out on the motorway. Luckily it was a twin axle...

[hmi1750]

I had a blow out o the M4 with non-RFT and had no problem coasting the car over to the hard shoulder! The tyre had complete loss of pressure but the car came to a stop safely and minimal fuss.

The inside of the tyre was warn, but it was on the rim and the traction control etc had kept the car very stable.

[doughboy]

For me the pros/cons of RFTs do not justify their use.

price
availability
range / choice
poor ride / handling
poorer grip/predictability/feel
officially must be replaced after a puncture

can be driven with a puncture at 50mph for a short distance

Reverse those and non RFTs are a winner all round IMO.


Any tire can rip to shreds if it bursts at speed, runflat or not, its the centrifugal forces at play that will tear shreds off it in some cases. Your RFT stiff side walls are no use if the tread, or chunks of it, are half a mile back down the road!!! Modern radials are pretty good in this respect, but it can still happen.

Even with a catastrophic failure, modern ESP will do a much better job than we could of keeping the car on the straight and narrow with or without RFTs.

Thats' what ESP is for - not to aid handling or cornering, but to keep the car going forwards at all times where it has best impact protection.

[JaySTee]

I have just changed from 16" RFT to 17" Non RFT and have noticed as slight improvement in ride even with the loss of 1" on the side wall.

I have a question regarding tyreweld and similar stuff - If you use it when you have a puncture can they still repair the tyre or does it write it off?

[Falmouthboy]

As well a cross ply tyres 'blowing out' so did radials in the pre 'tubeless' era. As others have said - now a rare occurance. I'm sure if it were a safety issue we would not be seeing non-RFT as the norm on M Cars and Alpinas.

[Jeff123]

When I had a flat recently, the guy said that he could repair a tyre with tyreweld in it - but it was a "messy job." Maybe that's the issue. They only charge £10 (ish) for a repair and it probably takes a lot longer with tyreweld.

I have Ultraseal (Puncturesafe) in mine. I still got a puncture, but it was repaired.

This stuff is supposedly OK to repair:

http://www.sospuncturerepair.co.uk/i...?info_id=68042

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by ALF_E90

I suspect most "blowouts" are the result of someone not checking their tyre pressures or not noticing a flat and driving until the sidewall disintegrates. At least with BMW you have the pressure warning indicator which should still work on non-RFT.

There is no doubt that poor tyre maintenance can be a cause of many blow outs. Some sources suggest that even up to 99% of blowouts are preventable by a bit of user care. Checking pressures and tyre condition.

Quote from Ride Drive: Advanced Motoring Consultants

There is a tremendous amount of rubbish talked about blow outs and something that is severely misunderstood among the motoring population. Blowouts do not just happen, they are caused, and that cause, 99.9% of the time, is through neglect. That means not completing simple maintenance and regular visual checks, coupled with a lack of awareness, allows for a tyre blow out situation to occur.

HighlandPete

[jeffrey846]

I will definitely be getting non RFT's now