Run flats on me BMW

obi604

So got a new BMW 320d e90 last week
It's on 17 inch run flats.
Run flats seem very hard.
When I press the side of the tyres with my fingers, it just feels like a bloody rock. No give in it at all.
And the ride in these run flats is a bit harsh and I don't like it.

I'm thinking of replacing the run flats with normal tyres.


- Do people think this is a wise decision ?
- Is this any harm to the car/suspension etc ?
- I have no spare or jack
- what would be the best alternative in this situation ? i.e. if I got a flat on a standard tyre with no spare
- I am a member of the aa, if I did get a flat in the above situation, would they sort me out or tell me to get lost ? ( i.e they will probably say the car should be on run flats and not normal tyres )

Alanstrainor

I would say most people in your position get rid of the runflats. They make the ride way to firm. No problem getting rid at all.

Esel

See my post in this recent thread.

bazz26

RFTs have a reinforced wall so that if the tyre suffers a puncture the wall doesn't deflate straight away, it allows you to drive on for about 50 km until you can have it replaced. The downside is that the reinforced walls make the ride very firm.

The problem with the E90 is that it has no tyre well in the boot even for a space saver so a spare wheel will take up space in the boot if you use it frequently. You can buy a spare wheel kit from BMW but it costs around €300.

So your options are if you want to replace RFTs with normal tyres is to either buy a space saver/jack and through it in the boot loosing space or else buy a small compressor and carry a few cans of tyre weld though that will not be much use if you get a puncture in the wall of a normal tyre as they should not be repaired.

I replaced my RFTs with standard tyres and the difference in the ride and handling is noticably better. I got a space saver in the boot as I don't really use the boot that ofter, I also got a jack and wheel brace from a scrap yard. I would not go back to RFTs.

renofan

My father has an E90 and still had a set of alloys with good tyres from his E46 so tried them on one day and he said it rode so much better with the ordinary tyres he left the E46 alloys on the car.

Blazer

Had runlats on my E60 and went to normal tyres and the difference is amazing...
It's a bloody pain carrying a spare tyre around though
RAther than carrying a spare tyre around a lot of the E90 drivers carry a can of that stuff you get in halfords..

something like this..make sure you get the right one for your tyre size.

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_746955_langId_-1_categoryId_212497

Anan1

obi604 wrote: »

I'm thinking of replacing the run flats with normal tyres.


- Do people think this is a wise decision ?
- Is this any harm to the car/suspension etc ?
- I have no spare or jack
- what would be the best alternative in this situation ? i.e. if I got a flat on a standard tyre with no spare
- I am a member of the aa, if I did get a flat in the above situation, would they sort me out or tell me to get lost ? ( i.e they will probably say the car should be on run flats and not normal tyres )

Many people seem happy with the results, particularly those on bigger wheels. There is the small risk of being stranded without a spare, you'll have to weigh up the risk/consequences for your particular case. You will also have to inform your insurance company, so make sure they're ok with it before actually doing anything.

Yakuza

Anan1 wrote: »

You will also have to inform your insurance company, so make sure they're ok with it before actually doing anything.

Would putting "normal" tyres on a car instead of run flats be deemed a modification in the insurance company's eyes? A bit overzealous, I'd have thought. It's not like you're tweaking the engine or anything. Still - best to tell them and have it on record just in case, I guess.

obi604

thanks for the replies.

Any comments on this situation :

- I am a member of the aa, if I did get a flat in the above situation, would they sort me out or tell me to get lost ? ( i.e they will probably say the car should be on run flats and not normal tyres )

Harcrid

The AA could not care less what tyres you run. You pay them to come help you no matter what you are driving on.

obi604

right, so esentially, as I am a member of the AA, and if I changed to standard tyres and had an issue with a puncture, I could just call them out and they would sort for me

Harcrid

yep.

obi604

The run flats I have on now are relatively new

Suppose there would be no such thing as a tyre place willing to swap the run flats for standard tyres

renofan

obi604 wrote: »

The run flats I have on now are relatively new

Suppose there would be no such thing as a tyre place willing to swap the run flats for standard tyres

I seriously doubt it.

obi604

Would it be ok to have 2 run flats and 2 standard tyres on the car

GavMan

obi604 wrote: »

The run flats I have on now are relatively new

Suppose there would be no such thing as a tyre place willing to swap the run flats for standard tyres

You could stick them on done deal I suppose...

flanzer

obi604 wrote: »

The run flats I have on now are relatively new

Suppose there would be no such thing as a tyre place willing to swap the run flats for standard tyres

Buy your new tyres. I'm sure there'll be a buyer on Adverts for your old tyres

obi604

renofan wrote: »

My father has an E90 and still had a set of alloys with good tyres from his E46 so tried them on one day and he said it rode so much better with the ordinary tyres he left the E46 alloys on the car.

renofan, how does your father manage the whole spare tyre thing / fixing of a puncture now ?

bazz26

obi604 wrote: »

Would it be ok to have 2 run flats and 2 standard tyres on the car

Not recommended. RFTs have different handling characteristics to standard tyres. BMW do not recommend mixing them.

MetzgerMeister

When I bought the 335, part of the deal was for them to replace passenger side tyres front and back. They did but they used normal tyres. Now I have 2 Potenza RFT's on the driver's side and 2 normal (crap quality) tyres on the left.

The outcome of this is the car is very jumpy on bad roads and the steering wheel likes to jump quite a bit. I'm not sure do I get 2 RFT part-worns to match the others or replace the tyres all round for normal ones.

bazz26

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

When I bought the 335, part of the deal was for them to replace passenger side tyres front and back. They did but they used normal tyres. Now I have 2 Potenza RFT's on the driver's side and 2 normal (crap quality) tyres on the left.

The outcome of this is the car is very jumpy on bad roads and the steering wheel likes to jump quite a bit. I'm not sure do I get 2 RFT part-worns to match the others or replace the tyres all round for normal ones.

I would have insisted that they replaced like for like, it the tyres coming off were RFTs then they should have been replaced with RFTs. Garages will just replace the tyres with the least expensive tyres to them.

I would not mix them on any car and I certainly would not be comfortable with having cheap quality tyres on a powerful car like a 335d.

Blazer

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

When I bought the 335, part of the deal was for them to replace passenger side tyres front and back. They did but they used normal tyres. Now I have 2 Potenza RFT's on the driver's side and 2 normal (crap quality) tyres on the left.

The outcome of this is the car is very jumpy on bad roads and the steering wheel likes to jump quite a bit. I'm not sure do I get 2 RFT part-worns to match the others or replace the tyres all round for normal ones.

extremely dangerous as well..it's bad enough have a mix of RFT and non-rft on different axles but on the same axel? You're only asking for trouble...do you have the car for long? If not I'd take it back and demand similiar tyres and call it a safety issue...
If it was a BMW garage BMW would have their heads for pulling that stunt.

MetzgerMeister

bazz26 wrote: »

I would have insisted that they replaced like for like, it the tyres coming off were RFTs then they should have been replaced with RFTs. Garages will just replace the tyres with the least expensive tyres to them.

I would not mix them on any car and I certainly would not be comfortable with having cheap quality tyres on a powerful car like a 335d.

I asked for RFT's to be put on but "there was a mistake in the tyre shop" :rolleyes: Not only did I get normal tyres but the rear one (ContiSport) now has a bulge in the sidewall and the sidewall of the front one (Scudo Stunner) is all cracked signifying that it's an old tyre.

I have been too afraid to give the car any bit of a push due to these 2 tyres so I'm absolutely dying to get the proper tyres. Also, it's an i, not a d

Blazer wrote: »

extremely dangerous as well..it's bad enough have a mix of RFT and non-rft on different axles but on the same axel? You're only asking for trouble...do you have the car for long? If not I'd take it back and demand similiar tyres and call it a safety issue...
If it was a BMW garage BMW would have their heads for pulling that stunt.

This is true but I already have matching part-worn tyres sourced and paid for. I've no problem doing it this way as the garage I got it from (about 3 weeks ago) paid for the warranty to be extended to include the turbos when I asked if they were included and there was a few other things that they did too so I was happy enough.

Blazer

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

I asked for RFT's to be put on but "there was a mistake in the tyre shop" :rolleyes: Not only did I get normal tyres but the rear one (ContiSport) now has a bulge in the sidewall and the sidewall of the front one (Scudo Stunner) is all cracked signifying that it's an old tyre.

I have been too afraid to give the car any bit of a push due to these 2 tyres so I'm absolutely dying to get the proper tyres. Also, it's an i, not a d

what size are they? was it recent you purchased the car?

MetzgerMeister

Blazer wrote: »

what size are they? was it recent you purchased the car?

Sorry for the delay, I have edited my last post to answer yours

The fronts are 225/40/18 and the rears are 255/35/18.

renofan

obi604 wrote: »

renofan, how does your father manage the whole spare tyre thing / fixing of a puncture now ?

He carries a foot pump and a puncture repair kit like the picture below. I have the kit also. I've actually had to use it last week as picked up a screw on my way into work. Its handy, fixed the puncture in the car park. Cost me €19 from the motor factors and I got enough stuff to do ten punctures.

renofan

And MM get your tyres sorted asap, whoever gave you the car like that should be shot!

MetzgerMeister

It all comes down to money, regardless of safety these days!

obi604

renofan wrote: »

obi604 wrote: »

renofan, how does your father manage the whole spare tyre thing / fixing of a puncture now ?

He carries a foot pump and a puncture repair kit like the picture below. I have the kit also. I've actually had to use it last week as picked up a screw on my way into work. Its handy, fixed the puncture in the car park. Cost me €19 from the motor factors and I got enough stuff to do ten punctures.

Thanks.

Where abouts did you buy this foot pump and repair kit ?

Any need for a jack in this circumstance ?

Or is this simply to get the tyre pumped up for a bit so you can drive it to a garage to fix it properly ?

Esel

^ Really, see post #3 above....

To repair the puncture, you are going to have to locate it first. So you will probably need a jack.

Blazer

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

It all comes down to money, regardless of safety these days!

wrong attitude...what price do you put on your life? or someone else's life..you might think I'm exaggerating but you're driving a high powered car with incorrect tyres and also damaged tyres. You're not only risking your life but only road users as well.
To me it's definitely worth more than a set of tyres...if you can't afford a set at least put the non-rfts on the same axel and not the rear....put them on the front and go handy until you get a proper set of tyres.

Not being narky but it's absolutely ridiculous getting a car like a 335i and putting a ****ty set of tyres on it..if you can't afford proper tyres then you really shouldn't be buying a car like this.
BMW cars much like Audi/Merc etc all need a proper set of tyres...not substandard tyres or chinese ditchfinders..

MetzgerMeister

Blazer wrote: »

wrong attitude...what price do you put on your life?
To me it's definitely worth more than a set of tyres...if you can't afford a set at least put them on the same axel and not the rear....put them on the front and go handy until you get a proper set of tyres.

Stop being narky, I meant that was the garage's attitude. I have already bought the tyres I need. I never once said that I couldn't afford them.

I can't swap them around, front are 225/40/18 and the rears are 255/35/18. I've been taking it handy since I bought the fecken thing because of this!

Blazer

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Stop being narky, I meant that was the garage's attitude

I can't swap them around, front are 225/40/18 and the rears are 255/35/18. I've been taking it handy since I bought the fecken thing because of this!

gotcha...that garage should be named and shamed. Was it a BMW garage?

MetzgerMeister

Blazer wrote: »

gotcha...that garage should be named and shamed. Was it a BMW garage?

Nope, an indy and I'm not going to name and shame.

renofan

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks.

Where abouts did you buy this foot pump and repair kit ?

Any need for a jack in this circumstance ?

Or is this simply to get the tyre pumped up for a bit so you can drive it to a garage to fix it properly ?

Any decent motor factors worth their salt will have the kit and a footpump. Its a permanent fixture and to do it correctly you should take the wheel off and pump it up to 30 or so psi first and then either take the screw/nail etc out if its still in the tyre and then plug the hole with the repair kit. Only takes a few mins once you know what you are doing.....it really isn't rocket science!

Esel

To answer the question you posted in the other thread (thought it best to keep the discussion here):

obi604 wrote: »

So lets take a real world example

I drive a BMW with no spare wheel
I come out to my car one day and find a tyre very flat
I then get my 12v air compressor, plug it in to the valve in the wheel
Then turn it on and let it do its inflating for 10 minutes where it will hopefully inflate the tyre to 30 psi ( would I physically have to hold this device on the valve of the wheel for the 10 minutes ? )


the tyre now should physically look as if its not flat anymore.
I would then get in my car and drive to the nearest garage to get this fixed ( how long could I drive for )


Am I right in thinking this is how this works ?

i.e. NO car jacks, spare wheel, tyre gunk, loosening of wheel nuts etc

^ Yes to all your questions - provided the puncture is not of such a size that the air is escaping faster than the compressor can put it into the tyre.

Remember that if the puncture is in the wall of the tyre, all bets are off (this applies to any tyre).

The hose has a locking mechanism so you don't have to hold it. It is important not to run the compressor for more than 10 minutes continuously. You have to let it cool down after that. 10 minutes should be enough to inflate the tyre.

Given that you will not be carrying a spare though, you should ignore my advice to buy the cheapest compressor available. Look for a brand name one, and expect to pay up to €60 (ballpark). In your situation, I would carry a couple of cans of Tyreweld as well.

The Tyreweld is supposed to inflate the tyre and seal the puncture. You are supposed to drive the car immediately so that the sealant can be delivered to the puncture by centrifugal force.

Using a repair kit (as mentioned above) would really be advisable before any inflation attempt (compressor or Tyreweld). To find the leak (hopefully caused by a screw or similar in the contact section of the tyre) you would need to be able to rotate the wheel, and for this you would ideally need a jack. You should remove the cause of the puncture (if present) before doing the repair and inflating the tyre.

Doesn't the car come with a compressor and a number of sealant 'doses' (10?) though? I think I read that somewhere...

Blazer

Blazer wrote: »

.....wt least put the non-rfts on the same axel and not the rear....put them on the front and go handy until you get a proper set of tyres.


BMW cars much like Audi/Merc etc all need a proper set of tyres...not substandard tyres or chinese ditchfinders..

Lol, different sizes across both axles.
Lol too to the much like badge snob speel :pac:

CrowdedHouse

I wasn't crazy about run flats until a Winters morning at dawn with a gale blowing and rain and sleet falling. I got a puncture in the middle of nowhere on route to an appointment.
If I had to stop to change a wheel I would have been wet, cold, my hands and probably my clothes dirty and possibly would have been late as well.

I drove about 25km on it,the tyre place I brought it to later checked it and said it was OK to repair.

I was kind of converted after that

obi604

So as I said I'm a member of the AA on the full assistance package.

As we all know, punctures are fairly rare........I've had 2 in 10 years so its not like this is even a yearly occurrence.

If I was to get a puncture, could I call the AA, get them to come to where I am stranded, jack my car up, take the wheel off and fix the puncture there and then. I know their mobile units are well equipped so they should be able to do a fix like this on the spot - thoughts ?

bazz26

What if you get a tear in the wall or a blowout where the tyre has to be replaced? I'd doubt the AA will have a replacement tyre for you.

Esel

^ This.

And learn to use the Thanks button....

obi604

bazz26 wrote: »

What if you get a tear in the wall or a blowout where the tyre has to be replaced? I'd doubt the AA will have a replacement tyre for you.

Yeah, fair enough. Never happened me before though. And if the worst went to the worst and I was in a very bad situation, I could ask a friend to help me out ( either they come pick me up OR if they had a spare to come and put that on my car )

obi604

In regard to actually replacing the tyres
The tyres currently on the car are all run flats and they are in very good condition, so they still have loads of miles left in them
I want to replace these run flats with standard tyres

Seems a waste to just go in to a tyre place and for them to take the run flats off and I essentially get nothing for them

What is the best way to do this - so I dont loose dosh on these run flats that ar ein very good condition

Esel

obi604 wrote: »

In regard to actually replacing the tyres
The tyres currently on the car are all run flats and they are in very good condition, so they still have loads of miles left in them
I want to replace these run flats with standard tyres

Seems a waste to just go in to a tyre place and for them to take the run flats off and I essentially get nothing for them

What is the best way to do this - so I dont loose dosh on these run flats that ar ein very good condition

Keep them and sell them (one at a time should get you a better price?).

You could check with a used tyre place like www.tyreland.ie to see of they would buy them from you as a job lot. You would be offered less than selling them privately though. They might also take them as a trade-in with cash your way (if you are happy fitting good brand-name used tyres to your car). On this, don't be put off by the naysayers - when you buy a used car they come with used tyres anyway...

obi604

Esel wrote: »

Keep them and sell them (one at a time should get you a better price?).

You could check with a used tyre place like www.tyreland.ie to see of they would buy them from you as a job lot. You would be offered less than selling them privately though. They might also take them as a trade-in with cash your way (if you are happy fitting good brand-name used tyres to your car). On this, don't be put off by the naysayers - when you buy a used car they come with used tyres anyway...

Could be an option alright Esel, but a pain in the hole keeping them, advertising them and lads coming to look at them and bla bla bla

will see.....

What to you mean by this :

"They might also take them as a trade-in with cash your way (if you are happy fitting good brand-name used tyres to your car)."


EDIT : I se what you mean now, its a used tyre place : )

Esel

obi604 wrote: »

Could be an option alright Esel, but a pain in the hole keeping them, advertising them and lads coming to look at them and bla bla bla

I would think they should sell very quickly, given that they are expensive to buy new.

obi604 wrote: »

What do you mean by this :

"They might also take them as a trade-in with cash your way (if you are happy fitting good brand-name used tyres to your car)."

Tyreland (and some other places) supply and fit used tyres as their main business (Tyreland are now doing new tyres as well, afaik). So, they might do a deal with you if you are getting tyres from them. I don't know what your run-flats are worth, but if they are worth appreciably more than the tyres you are buying, they might give you some cash your way. If the run-flats are worth less to them but they still want them, you would have to pay the difference.

Hope this is clear enough?

obi604

Thanks Esel, anyone else got any comments about tyre land ?

Or recommend some other good tyre crowd ?

bazz26

Why not just replace the RFTs when they come to the natural end of their life if you don't want to sell them?

I only replaced mine when they were worn and due to be replaced anyway. You only have the car a wet week so give yourself time to get used to the firmer ride.

obi604

bazz26 wrote: »

Why not just replace the RFTs when they come to the natural end of their life if you don't want to sell them?

I only replaced mine when they were worn and due to be replaced anyway. You only have the car a wet week so give yourself time to get used to the firmer ride.

The run flats have loads of miles left on them, and with the mileage I do, it would mean holding on to them for another 3 years id say !


I took the car for another drive tonight and I purposely hit a bump in the road that ive hit on my old car and the vibrations through the car was not nice, teeth chattering job , its like driving on 4 stones somtimes

obi604

These are my tyre sizes

Front tyres = 225 / 45 / 17

Rear tyres = 255 / 40 / 17

I was quoted 245 euro + vat for ONE rear NON run flat tyre ( 255 / 40 / 17 )

Does this seem awful excessive ? Nearly 300 Euro for ONE standard tyre ?

challengemaster

Sounds a bit expensive for 17's, I'd expect that for 255s in an 18". Around the 200 mark for each rear tyre and under 140 for the fronts should be right for quality tyres.

Total cost for 4 would probably be around 680-700