I bought a spare wheel identical to what is on my car, a 17" sport wheel, and a 5th tire. i only put it in the rear of the car on long road trips. if i get a flat i have bmw roadside to tow me home. i'll take the risk rather than run those stinkin run flats.
Replacements for Run-flat Tires I own a 2008 335ix with Continental run-flats (225/45 R17). The ride is just too harsh and I feel every little imperfection in the road surface. Can anyone recommend a replacement tire for my next set of tires ---tires that would give me a little softer ride but comparable handling and performance? Would the Goodyear F1's or Bridgestone Turanza's be a better choice? Thanks.
I second that. I replaced my Bridgestones with the Conti's. (Still not gutsy enough to try non-runflats w/o a spare though)
This is perhaps the only advantage of my wifes X3 - spare tire and non run flats. At least it's a stick.
I would think after the fiasco that run flats have become that the next generation 3 series will return to conventional tires, or at least run flats + a spare. I drove my mom's 335i and I enjoy it a lot more than my 535i but without a spare, there is a zero percent chance of me replacing the 5 for a 3.
Run-flats just cost BMW another customer. A friend of mine just traded-in his 330i for an Audi A4. He said that once he drove the A4 with conventional tires he could never buy a car that forced run-flats down your throat. As much as I dislike the run-flats on my 335i coupe, the rest of the car (handling, accelaration, brakes) makes me reluctant to trade it in at this time. I just hope BMW comes to its senses before I'm ready for a new car next year or in 2011. Otherwise this will be my last BMW.
Easy solution is to put regular tires on it and carry some of that fix-a-flat stuff that people w/ no spare seem to be using with their regular tires.
Easy solution, but not an ideal solution. From what I have read and from my friend's experience, the suspension is tuned for the stiffer sidewall of the run-flat tire. Putting regular tires on compromises the suspension. The fact that tire manufactuers such as Toyo (I had their Proxes tires on other cars and loved them) has no plans to make run-flats speaks volumes.
Here's an option.... http://leatherz.com/Merchant5/merch...ct_Code=SpaceSaverSpare&Category_Code=all_e90 Has anyone with a run flat actually experienced a flat? I wonder how the run flats actually work in the event of a flat. If you get a flat while driving, a puncture, you can probably drive home, or to work or to the garage before you lose all the pressure. What if you get a flat on the way to work or somewhere, but don't lose pressure and get an alarm. 8-12 hours later, you come out of work and now all the air pressure is gone. Can you get in and drive the 50 or whatever miles you can supposedly run with a run flat? Or, do you now need to use an air pump to get enough pressure to get home anyway? If that is the case, are you truly any better off with run flats if in reality you need a sealant and pump kit anyway. Otherwise, if you get a sidewall cut, you're probably in the same boat?
I experienced a flat about one block from my home in my 06 330i with the original RFT's. After checking all four tires, I found one down to 15 lbs per square inch. The tire was still at 15 lbs the next morning when I went to the tire store to have it fixed. As it turned out, I had a nail in the middle of the tread. I drove about 2 miles total without a problem but am not sure if I could have driven 50 miles as advertised. I drove only surface streets and was not able to detect any difference in the car's handling.
Flat I left for work one morning and felt the front end kind of loose and as I picked up spedd the tire got real noisy. About 3 miles later the tire pressure warning system told me what I already knew. Drove to dealer and got new tire. Total miles driven was about 10 with the flat. From this one experience the car was drivable, but did not inspire much confidence, The pressure warning system was useless. The car had only about 1000 miles on it.
We've had the E90 for 3 years now, and we've had three flats. The first two both had the low pressure alarm signal shortly after my wife drove out of the garage, so she came right back and took a different car. Each time the tire had between 20 and 25psi, so I just removed the wheel and took it to get patched. Both were nails in the main tread area, and the tire was never driven without air, hence it was fine to patch them. The third time we were out of town with the car, and early on a Sunday morning got the warning again. Pulled right off the Interstate and into a BP station. The right rear had 24psi. I hunted the puncture and finally found it (the culprit didn't stay put). I pulled out the Griot's Garage plug kit I keep in the trunk, and with the tire on the car (hard to do), reamed out the puncture and plugged it. This took about 30 minutes. Filled with air, checked plug, and all was fine. The tire was almost ready for replacement anyway, but it was fine for another 2000 miles. I pondered what the "typical" BMW owner was "supposed" to do on that Sunday morning...find a tire store that has a 255/35-18 Runflat in stock (yeah, right) or have the car towed to a dealer to be "worked on" (i.e. owner worked over with outrageous price for a new tire) the following day? Pretty crazy. Hence the reason I carry the Griot's plug kit. I have a kit in the M5 too since it doesn't have a spare but instead the "M-mobility" repair kit. I also have that neat, compact BMW jack bag now, so it's in the car too to make it easier to plug a tire if needed. This is the 6th year I've had the M5 and no flats so far (probably shouldn't have said that).
It still boils down to this: we are BMW and we know what's best for you, even if it is not. I would gladly pay extra to be able to factory order a BMW with regular tires, a jack and a spare, but this is not an option. As a matter of fact, there are no options other than what BMW allows. This attitude will get them someday!!!
Dumpin' the RFT's I just bought an '07 335i Sport/Prem with 26k miles on it from a dealer in San Antonio. As part of the price I negotiated a new set of non-runflat tires be installed. They installed the same Bridgestone Potenza tire but in the normal model vs the (BMWNA dictated) RFT's. They said their internal price for these was F-250 / R- 280 each versus over 400 each for the RFT's. They offered the old set to me since they have no use for them, so I shipped the fronts home as they were in good condition for RFT's. The rears were shot at 26k miles. While there, I drove the salesman's '09 same model and the tires felt like we were riding on Fred Flintstone's. After the return trip to Virginia via Miami and a total run of 2,800 miles I can say the new Potenzas ride and stick great. The only concern was not having a spare so I bought a couple cans of fix-a-flat, an air pump and basic tools for fixing flats. Should be all I need. With an E30M3 and an E36 M3 in the garage (both are currently on BFG G-Force Sports) I still found the 335's handling and power with the Potenzas to be addicting. We'll see how long the new set of Potenzas last... After trying sets of Pilot Sports, Yoko ES100, Kumho Ecsta MX and Sumitomo HTRZ2, I'm pleased with the total value of the BFG g-Force Sports on both the E36 and E30 so far. The Potenzas will be put to the test in the coming months. John R
Yes and it sucked. See my posts a few weeks ago. Thankfully my 5 has a spare and I was in town for the holidays. I agree with others who say the next 3 series better have a spare because I hate to see BMW losing ground to the competition on something so basic and essential.
So, you wouldn't see any benefit over regular tires with a sealant / pump? I'm thinking that is my solution at replacement time.....
RFT Flat... When I took delivery of my brand new vehicle (335i coupe with all the bells & whistles, including the 19" wheel/tire option), I had the TPM sensor go off within 10 minutes of ownership. Bottom line: the RR tire was improperly installed at the factory (minor tearing as the bead was seated on the rim), causing a 20 PSI dump while driving at freeway speeds. I took delivery of my vehicle late on a Saturday afternoon, and when I finally realized what was going on, the service department had already closed for the weekend and I was first in line the following Monday with my brand new car. Two hours later, a new tire was installed and covered under warranty - - not a great way for a newbee BMW owner to begin his relationship with "the ultimate driving machine"... I love my car, and knew full well that the ride would be rather harsh with the 19" sport wheel/tire package, but am extremely cautious and aware of the numerous potholes here on the Los Angeles roadways. When I was finalizing the contract on my purchase, the finance guy put on a full court press regarding the wheel/tire insurance plan, and pretty much told me (point blank) that I could expect several expensive wheel & tire replacements in my near future. Just my 2 cents...
Chuck, I'd like to have the same stuff in my trunk you have in yours. I bought a new 328i in October and have concluded I REALLY do not like the concept of run flats. In fact, I'm fearful of taking the vehicle on any trip of substance. I found the Griot's plug kit you mentioned on their website. However, exactly what is the "BMW jack bag" you referred to and where did you buy it? Many thanks for any help. Lewie
