BMW tires -- more of a hassle than it needs to be

[Jrboulder]

Option 1: Pick from a handful of crappy run flat tires at about $250/ea out the door

Option 2: Get non-runflat tires and the $500 spare tire kit which then just flops around in the trunk

Option 3:Get non-runflat tires and put stuff in your trunk. Lose a tire exactly halfway between Blythe and Indio, out of cell phone range, when it's 120dF out.

I feel like making room for a spare tire and then just counting it as extra storage space would not have been an impassible engineering obstacle considering every car maker ever, including BMW, has been able to make room for a spare, in much smaller cars.

[faverymi]

Yeah hated all my BMWs for that reason.

Don't like runflats

How about a can of fix-a-flat?

[Tobra]

I would never drive a car with runflat tires.



Well, I guess I could drive it to the tire store to get real tires, but that would be it. Option 2, and figure out a way to secure the spare in the trunk, there has to be a way

[KNS]

I recall hearing that BMW was going back to offering non run-flats on new cars due to the displeasure they have caused so many owners.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Let’s be real, it’s less about space and more about saving money.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by Jrboulder

I feel like making room for a spare tire and then just counting it as extra storage space would not have been an impassible engineering obstacle considering every car maker ever, including BMW, has been able to make room for a spare, in much smaller cars.

Yep. Not too long ago, BMW had full-size spares in the 3-series, without compromising any trunk space.

[Jrboulder]

Originally Posted by faverymi

Yeah hated all my BMWs for that reason.

I'm a week into it and I'm already starting to hate this car.

[Norm K]

Originally Posted by Jrboulder

Option 1: Pick from a handful of crappy run flat tires at about $250/ea out the door

Option 2: Get non-runflat tires and the $500 spare tire kit which then just flops around in the trunk

Option 3:Get non-runflat tires and put stuff in your trunk. Lose a tire exactly halfway between Blythe and Indio, out of cell phone range, when it's 120dF out.

...

[JackDidley]

Not much different than a Porsche that comes with a compressor and a bottle of slime. I have zero faith in that working if I get a flat.

[Hockey fan]

Just got out of probably my last BMW on Friday. Loved them under warranty but they seemed to have a knack for committing mechanical suicide shortly after the warranty expired. Seems a bit suspicious that BMW recently dropped a year off of new and CPO warranties.

2007 328 wagon - Xenon light assembly (not bulb) died out of warranty - $1k+, fuel pump died at 60k miles out of warranty, sliding cargo cover handle broke off, front suspension bushings gone by 70k miles. It did have a full-size matching spare with factory run flat.

2012 128i - Starter died leaving us stranded at 36k miles - under warranty. Oil pan leaking oil and replaced at 25k miles. CPO warranty expired in March of this year and in May started getting random CEL, at 50k miles started burning a quart of oil every 3k miles. Control arm bushings shot at 60k miles. Ditched run flats for regular tires and can of BMW slime.

I expect normal items like brakes and tires but not mechanical systems failing at low miles. Great cars to drive and had hoped to keep them for many years but got tired of worrying what was going to break next.

[svandamme]

I liked the Turanza runflat tires on my BMW 1 series.
16 inch wheels though, no low profiles.

They gave tight lateral stability and confident steer in behaviour.


Problem with the spare tire option, is that on most modern cars, there is no room to put a full size spare anymore.

[sc_rufctr]

No real value I know but...

I haven't needed to change a tire on the road for more than 3 decades.

Maybe I'm just lucky but IME modern tires are incredibly reliable.

[Jrboulder]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

No real value I know but...

I haven't needed to change a tire on the road for more than 3 decades.

Maybe I'm just lucky but IME modern tires are incredibly reliable.

I can count 6 times in the last 8 years.

944, blowout on the way home from buying (2010)
Jetta, nail (2012)
other Jetta, road debris (2014)
Tacoma, blowout while off-roading, twice (2016, 2017)
Tiguan, nail (2017)

[sc_rufctr]

... now that I've posted that I'll get 6 flats in the next 6 months.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

... now that I've posted that I'll get 6 flats in the next 6 months.

I had to post and agree with you, but now I’ve jinx’d myself as well. I also don’t take chances with tires, I don’t let them get bald or old and I buy quality brands. My only issues have been with nails, and they’ve always been slow leaks that I’ve been able to catch.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

No real value I know but...

I haven't needed to change a tire on the road for more than 3 decades.

Maybe I'm just lucky but IME modern tires are incredibly reliable.

-

^This. The last flat tire I had was on a 1976 Ford Granada and I was going to an arcade to plat Donkey Kong, so a while ago.

I've got a BMW "slime" kit -a compressor that has some OEM fix-a-flat solution in it. I bought it years ago for when I replaced the run-flats on my '03 Z4, now it's in my E90 3-series.

[chuckr]

I have 2016 BMW 320i with the Continental rum flats. I do not think they are that bad. I keep them inflated to factory specks. Had bad TPMS issues which turned out to be a dealer incompetents.
Getting ready later this year to trade it in for new one, lease due. Noticed that BMW offers “performance “ tires as an option now.

[asphaltgambler]

I've always changed all my vehicle's runflats to non. RF's are a lot heavier - adding to X times rotational mass, decreased mileage, acceleration and increased braking distance. But the biggest improvement is the ride. Like taking off tires filled with concrete to tires filled with marshmallows.

I've never added a spare either. I regularly check and maintain my rides which includes checking/ balancing the air pressure. I do carry a can of fix-a-flat ( which I've never used) in the trunk for true emergencies.