Rft Alan, Road Hazard Warrranty will not pay for tires that are worn. The Nov 2007 Consumer Reports tested ultra high performance tires and found Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 and Pirelli P-Zero the best summer UHP tires. They also reported that Falken and Nitto had the best all-season UHP tires. You may find useful information in this issue. As I recall, none were RFT's though. If you decide to go with non-RFT's, you will need some sort of spare or mobility kit. There is a thread on Bimmerfest.com under the e90 section that speaks to this. If you decide to go with a compact spare, you will be giving up space in the trunk.
That is correct, and something i mentioned in one of my replies, you give up cargo space. Also, Alan i did not change my wheels, i did buy a spare wheel for a spare tire. changing wheels is a whole other ballgame. i actaully just "returned" my bmw road hazard warranty, the balance of which is being pro-rated back to me.
Replacing Run Flats If you go without the air pressure sensors in the wheels, will it display some sort of ongoing error code on the computer, or will that be clean?
I guess I'm not sure why anyone would choose not to use the sensors but yes you will generate continuous low pressure warnings.
What car do you have? I think only some have in wheel sensors while others use the wheel speed sensors. (which is how mine works, I think )
anything after '02 should have the sensors, i think. i know both of mine, an 06 and 08, have the sensors, and the 4 driving tires have them on their wheels. i did not put them on the spare tires because they are $125 plus per each one, if you get a flat you put the spare on the wheel with the sensor once you can get to a tire shop.
Tire sensors My car is an 08 328i. My reason for doing so is to kind of go old school. When I have to replace the tires, I plan to go without run flats. I'd also like to go without the sensors. I think I can live without it, have been for 30 years, and would rather not spend hundreds for something that is not important to me. I'm not one to ignore maint. I'm all over it. Run flats and tire pressure sensors just are not important to me.
nothing, but time It has to do with the 60 day window of time I have to make a decision to get my $630 back on the contract and spend the $700-$800 to put put non run flats (when needed), or keep the 3 years limited insurance and add that to the cost of $1,000-$1,200 to replace with RF. Since I never owned a car that cost $1K+ to replace tires (soft tread that wears quickly), I am still in shock and evaluating my options. thanks for your feedback Alan
OK, here goes. You had previously written 1.) The car comes with roadside assistance to begin with (in case you are not aware) 2.) You should be able to purchase Paragon Motor Club's road hazard policy for much less (except if you reside in the few states where they cannot offer it). (N.b. if you go this route you will be partially self insuring because of the limits on what they pay but it's still a good deal.) 3.) If you have low-profile tires, most of the harshness is resultant from that and has little to do with RF v. non-RF. I drove a 3er with 18" RF sport tires and the same config. with non RF sport tires and handling was very similar as was harshness. Most of the miracle cures you read of here relate to cars that came without the SP.
actually, i was told what you were told about harshness of ride as well from a local tire shop, and several others said i would see improvement. mine has the 17" SP and there is a VAST improvement in my ride since going to the Exalto's. As far as one of the posts above, the sensors are standard on the 4 wheels and you dont have to spend extra to get them, you'd only have to spend extra on the spare wheel which probably would be a waste of money.
RFT Legal Action status Here's a link to the law firm for those interested (may have to copy and paste) http://www.lemonlaws.com/auto_class_actions/
Dec 08 issue of Bimmer contained an article on the 2009 3 series. The piece centered around an improved iDrive for 2009. Car road tested had standard (not sport) suspension and Bridgestone REO50A Run-Flats 225/45 R-17's which the driver credited for " . . . now able to provide handling and ride comfort comparable to normal tires."
Run Flats Ok!, for me... Run Flats are great and you'll know the day you get a flat, you will be able to ride your car at 50 mph to the shop and not worry about damaging your wheels and what if you're on a country road in the middle of nowhere and get a flat ???????? and dark??????. Look i replaced my Run Flats from The Tire Rack I saved money and they had the original tires that came with the car, the only advice is make sure the shop that is going to mount the Run Flats must have the equipment and the knowledge to mount these tires, GoodYear mounted my tires and scratched my rims "so be careful"
Back Up Plan For those of you that have gone with non-run flat tires, what is your back up plan in case of flat ? BMW Assist or something else ? Are the non-run flats softer on the road ? In my area there are problems with pot holes and broken up road, big city. I want something that may be easier on the car.
Continental Inflation Kit Has anyone used the Continental Inflation kit? Does it work well? I hate the run-flats. Had them on my 07 3-series and now on my 135i. Onnthe 135I with sport package there are no alternatives to the Bridgestone Potenzas and they are pretty bad, not to mention the ridulous cost. I would love to dump them and put some better rubber on.
My runflat experience My experience with the runflats has not been all that great but thankfully my 5 has a spare. On the Sunday before Christmas my wife and I were driving to a friend's Christmas party about 10 miles away. Halfway there I got the low tire pressure warning and one of the rear tires was making a horrible noise. I pulled into the nearest gas station to put some air in the tire and saw that the sidewall was shredded. No warning, just a sudden loss of all pressure followed by a shredded sidewall that would NOT have let me go anywhere near 50 miles. I put on the spare (believe it or not, one of the selling points of the 5 over the 3) and we were on our way in minutes. Thankfully I purchased a road hazard warranty for these things when I bought the car. Either way, the car stayed at the dealer waiting for approval from the road hazard company until the day after Christmas, when I finally got my new tire. Thankfully the local dealer gave me a loaner to drive during all this. Since we were close to home, it was no big deal, only a minor inconvenience but what if I hadn't been home during the holiday season? What if we had been out of town? What if I had been driving a 3 series, which BMW in its great wisdom, decided to build without a spare? It was Sunday night and with no spare, it would have meant calling BMW Assist, waiting for who knows how long for a flatbed, then having the car delivered to the dealer that night, while inconveniencing friends to give us a ride home (or calling a cab) and basically ruining the entire evening. What if I had been on a road trip and was basically in the middle of nowhere? Trip ruined. What if this had happened the day before Christmas and I could not get the tire replaced until after the dealer opened again after their holiday break? My mom drives a 2008 335i and I already warned her about this debacle. My parents will either take their '90 750iL or my dad's 330Ci if they ever decide to go on a road trip. The 335i is definitely their around town only car. Great job BMW building a car that is a blast to drive but you're never quite confident if you should go on a long road trip because a simple thing like a flat tire could turn into a nightmare. I know this topic has been beaten to death but BMW's insistence on not putting a spare on the 3 series is as idiotic as it gets.
The Bridgestone Turanza's on my 09 335ix stink....period. I debated over buying this 50K+ auto because of the run flat's reputation and made the wrong choice. The Bridgestones ruin what would have been a superior automobile. I can't believe that BMW would put such poor tires on a vehicle that commands such a premium price.
I have been very happy with my tires, michelin pilot exalto's, put them on at 3k miles and never enjoyed the ride more.
Not happy, with run flats anymore It's me again ever since my new set of run flats I'd had to put air on my tires constantly The GoodYear shop that mounted my tires just did not know what they were doing They're in Edison, NJ on Oak Tree Rd. "They s*ck!". I did get in contact with the TireRack and told me to find another shop I did, found a nail in one and checked the others but that tire is still loosing air. The whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. So long...
