Run-flat Tires

[thor66]

I hear BMW uses them for some SUVs, but what do people think about them for other SUV brands?

My new SUV comes with no spare at all(!)

[cassisrot]

My wife’s new car has run flats. The Tpms indicated a right rear loss of pressure. Inflated. Drove to discount and they fixed the flat. No big deal. You might consider a 12 volt air compressor if you have issues on the road. Griot sells one for 70 bucks.

[gduke2010]

I have them on my BMW 335d. They are Perreli summer performance tires and seem to work well, except, more noisy than regular tires. Not to bad and this is my observation.

[Icemaster]

OEM on my Benz, ditched them when they wore out. They ride ridiculously hard and handle like crap, 100% improvement in everything.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Vehicle manufacturers are getting away from spare tires. They’re heavy and it’s hard to comply with new fuel efficiency standards carrying all those extra kilos around.

Run flats are going to become the norm. Or just having nothing.

[KNS]

^^ I've heard some manufacturers are going back to spares because consumers are complaining. Or, offering a spare tire (at the time of purchase) as an option.

[Geronimo '74]

OEM on my Z4.
Bridgestone Potenza, IIRC.

Not the most comfortable tire, I must admit.
I bought a tire plug kit, a small aircompressor and a can with latex sealant to fix leaks from within.
Next set of tires will be normal non run-flats.
I read that they will improve handling and comfort.

[WPOZZZ]

I have them on 3 of 4 BMWs. Definitely on the X3, X5 and mom's 328i. I took off the stock 19s on my 535i M Sport, and put on 20s non rf and lowering springs. Rides about the same. My E53 X5 is lowered with 19" F15 X5 rf and it doesn't ride much differently than with the stock 17" non rf. I also have a set of F15 19" wheels and rf on the X3. It rides a little softer than the stock 17" rf due to the taller sidewall.

[SiberianDVM]

Had a 2006 335xi with RFTs. They were OK handling and riding wise, but expensive to replace.

At my age and with a bad back, I'm not planning on changing tires on the side of the road anymore, so I pay GEICO a little extra for roadside assistance.

[tdw28210]

Hate them, heavy, loud and expensive.

[red-beard]

They were on my wife's 2011 BMW X5. After replacing two, I found I could replace all 4 for less than the price of one run flat! And the spare kit added about $200.

[svandamme]

I like em , but I only put 16 inch 205/55 runflats on my daily 120D
Narrow tire, good in the wet,
High side wall so no risk of curb rash no matter what I do

They feel like a 17 inch regular tire.. no comfort problems
I briefly went back to non run flats on a previous 16 inch BMW 118D.. and the sidewall flex gave me to much lateral movement surface/rim.. hated it.. Made me seasick in the twisties..

[sammyg2]

BS thread started by a permanent resident of the island, to get his typical three posts in before jumping back to PARF.

[thor66]

There seems to be a diversity of opinion on these tires.


And a troll too, even tho Island didn't post on this thread.


Thanks for all the info.

[RNajarian]

Reviving an old thread. . .

I upgraded my DD from a 2012 C350 coupe to a 2022 E450 coupe.

The new car is great, it has a “mild hybrid” system in it that gets 36 MPG on the freeway in a car with 368 HP.

Love the car hate the run-flats.

Only 2 weeks after owning the car I hit a minor pothole which caused the sidewall and tread to bubble up. The obvious verdict I need a new tire.

My tire guy is family so I know he is not giving me “the business.”

It will take 8 days for the tire to arrive from the warehouse. I need to get the same brand as the other front wheel. The cost?

$397 for the tire
$Some amount for shipping
$Some amount for mounting

Likely bringing the cost of the tire to anywhere from $450-$500.

Question: My run-flats are 275/30/20 rear and 245/35/25 front. The same size tires in the traditional tubeless tire format run anywhere from $150-$200 cheaper per tire.

Is switching from run-flats to regular tubeless a straightforward swap? Other than needing to put a spare in the trunk are there any limitations or drawbacks?

I didn’t mind the difference in the ride between the two types of tires, I’m just a little annoyed about having to get a new tire waiting for it to get installed.

If anyone was wondering, my cousin called several distributors and got the same answer about the 8 day delivery.

[KNS]

I had a BMW 128i with runflats, got rid of them as soon as I could. The problem was the suspension is designed to be softer to accommodate the stiffer runflats. Once the standard tries went on the car handled like a marshmallow. That wasn't a problem for me because I replaced the standard "soft" suspension with the BMW M Performance suspension. The car now handled fantastic.

I don't know what Mercedes does with their cars to compensate for the stiffer runflat tires - something to think about...

[Adrian Thompson]

I don’t have a lot to offer other than the observation they have come along way. My wife drives a 2017 MINI Clubman S. The ride on runflat was horrible on all older MONIs. She has just ordered a new 2024 Clubman John Cooper Works, and even with 19 inch run flats the JCW we just test drove rides better on 19” run flats then her previous Cooper S does on new 18” Michelins we fitted last year to her current ones.

[bourgeois911]

My old 4 series got a puncture in one of the Conti runflats. Apparently they cannot be plugged, so I replaced one which drove the traction control nuts because of a 2 cm tread difference. I ended up replacing them with a set of 4 Goodyear runflats which can be repaired after a minor puncture.