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[Orion4]

Whats with all the multiple posts!!!!????

[faz]

This is probably the stupidest thing I have heard so far when it comes to tires. As long as the size and the speed ratings of the tires match what OEM has, what is BMW's business or tire shop's business to tell one what kind of tire they can or can't put on their own friggin car?

Glad I don't live in U.K.

[birzzles]

I replaced the standard runflats (dunlop) on my 177bhp E92 320d. I bought 4 Falken ZE912. Roadholding is better, not noticeably more compliant or less noisy. Checked with insurance and they dont care (LV). Bought tyre repair kit plus ring pump (£14 total). Note this is what MX5 owners do - a tyre repair kit rather than a spare. Tyres cost circa £70 rather than £120 each. No longer get wheelspin when accelerating on rough surfaces or over manhole covers. Note the Falkens are 94 load rating compare to Dunlop 91. Incidentally got 40k out of runflats, replaced due to uneven wear so possibly could have managed more. Needed to recalibrate tyre pressure sensor, but you have to do this when you replace the tyres anyway and it's in the owners handbook. No problems so far.

Rear Falkens now worn out - less than one year and 20,000 miles. So they did not prove cheaper than the stock runflats. Drove fine though. I had no problems, possibly a nicer ride. But BMW was designed for runflats - i went for 94 wall stiffness to match the runflats rather than 91.

After the fallen I went with Dunlop sport maxx and fast response, disappointing longevity, lasted well under 20000 on the back, but by far the best feel and road holding.

Now trying Michelin cross climate all round.

[Graaf_van_Vlaanderen]

My dealer even recommended me to get normal tires. Most tire related issues are due to underinflated tires. People should check their tires regulary.

[gds52]

BMW tested and installaed RFTs for a reason.
Why do you have to move away from this?
RFTs can be fixed just like regular tires. Ofcourse BMW wont do it.
keep a puncture kit and a small compressor in the car.
If you get a flat, you can fix it or get it done from any tire shop.

[project6]

Originally Posted by gds52

BMW tested and installaed RFTs for a reason.
Why do you have to move away from this?
RFTs can be fixed just like regular tires. Ofcourse BMW wont do it.
keep a puncture kit and a small compressor in the car.
If you get a flat, you can fix it or get it done from any tire shop.

Please, do enlighten us the reasoning behind BMWs RFTs and why people should not stray from them.

[MakkkD]

Originally Posted by project6

Please, do enlighten us the reasoning behind BMWs RFTs and why people should not stray from them.

I've been told that BMW tests the car with multiple different tires before selecting the correct ones for their cars for the overall best performance. This doesn't mean that any other non-RFT are crap, just that the car wont perform as well I guess.

[project6]

So even tires that have a better rating and performed better in overall tests are not going to perform as well?

Don't you think that somewhere behind the pictures would be a group of tire people vying for BMWs business to use their products as OEM? You don't think that there is no monetary incentive in there somewhere? You don't think that "exclusivity" has a price?

I guess we could rank this up there with all the "rules" we are afraid to break, like, "dry clean only"

[MazdaFan]

There is no single best tire for any car. It depends on how you drive and use your car. If you track your car or drive on dry mountain roads at 9/10th, you might be better served with a max performance summer tire, RFTs might be a good optio for this kind of drive.

If you commute 40 miles a day on US freeway and drive to ski resort every other week, I can't see how a summer RFT would be a safe and effective tire.

You should choose you tires based on your driving conditions and drive the car within its limits. Obviously an all-season go-flat tire will have lower limits than a summer RFT on dry mountain road, but if 99% of your drive is on freeway, cold temprature, broken pavement etc. so be it. You will be safer, save money and enjoy better ride of regular tire.

[gds52]

Originally Posted by project6

Please, do enlighten us the reasoning behind BMWs RFTs and why people should not stray from them.

The reason is luxury and comfort...IMO
BMW gives you this comfort of keep driving with flat tire, no need to mess up with spare tire and jack on the side of the road if you are far away from city or wait for the road assistance to arrive.

moreover, its safer as compared to an instant flat at high speeds.


my question to you: Why do you want to move to non-RFT? whats the main reason?

[project6]

Originally Posted by gds52

The reason is luxury and comfort...IMO
BMW gives you this comfort of keep driving with flat tire, no need to mess up with spare tire and jack on the side of the road if you are far away from city or wait for the road assistance to arrive.

moreover, its safer as compared to an instant flat at high speeds.


my question to you: Why do you want to move to non-RFT? whats the main reason?

Luxury??? Can you define a luxury tire? What makes it "luxurious"? Is that a tangible quality?

With today's tire designs and technology, an instant flat at high speeds is not as prevalent with the dawning of the radial tire. If you experience a blow out at high speeds on today's tires, something else is wrong.

I agree about convenience, but luxury and comfort...I disagree. I have RFTs on my other "luxury" cars, I just don't think the tires are part of that equation.

There are other reason to use other tires, such as better performance and handling. But I am not here to discuss that...what I find odd was your rationale..."BMW tested and installed RFTs for a reason". Some are willing to find alternatives to RFTs and the convenience it offers in favor of other benefits.

Following this line of reasoning, you shouldn't be driving at high speeds nor breaking the speed limits, after all they are posted "for a reason". I'm sure you will find a flaw in that type of reasoning.

[gds52]

Originally Posted by project6

Luxury??? Can you define a luxury tire? What makes it "luxurious"? Is that a tangible quality?

With today's tire designs and technology, an instant flat at high speeds is not as prevalent with the dawning of the radial tire. If you experience a blow out at high speeds on today's tires, something else is wrong.

I agree about convenience, but luxury and comfort...I disagree. I have RFTs on my other "luxury" cars, I just don't think the tires are part of that equation.

There are other reason to use other tires, such as better performance and handling. But I am not here to discuss that...what I find odd was your rationale..."BMW tested and installed RFTs for a reason". Some are willing to find alternatives to RFTs and the convenience it offers in favor of other benefits.

Following this line of reasoning, you shouldn't be driving at high speeds nor breaking the speed limits, after all they are posted "for a reason". I'm sure you will find a flaw in that type of reasoning.

What I mean to say is, if you get a flat tire and you are running on RFTs, you dont have to stop or worry about it, just keep moving at speficied speed limit.
Now isnt it kind of luxury to keep moving inspite of having a flat tire for 100miles????

[Syndicategt]

Originally Posted by gds52

What I mean to say is, if you get a flat tire and you are running on RFTs, you dont have to stop or worry about it, just keep moving at speficied speed limit.
Now isnt it kind of luxury to keep moving inspite of having a flat tire for 100miles????

I have AAA for the 0.0001% chance I get a flat. I'm, sorry but for the other 99.999% time I'm driving, I rather have the performance, comfort, grip, and predictibility of a better tire. Why do you think most of us switch to non-RTF's.

Even with runflats, if you experience a blow out at speed, you are in for a bad day. Sure you can drive the recommended 25 miles on a runflat, I'm guessing you are still going to need a tow in most locations.

Luxury of a runflat? The have poor to terrible grip, extremely loud, and sidewalls as stiff as rocks. I don't think many would call that luxury. Might be convienent to not have to wait for AAA to come, but that's where it ends. If you are that paranoid, keep a bottle of fix-a-flat in the trunk.

BMW went for them because they want to appeal for the lowest common denominator.....the idot who cannot/will not change a tire. It's a great marketing gimic, which I'm sure helped with sales. But when it comes down to it, enthusiast do not want RFT's.

[project6]

Originally Posted by gds52

What I mean to say is, if you get a flat tire and you are running on RFTs, you dont have to stop or worry about it, just keep moving at speficied speed limit.
Now isnt it kind of luxury to keep moving inspite of having a flat tire for 100miles????

No, convenient, yes, luxury, no.

You keep using that word..."luxury"...I don't think that word means what you think it means

[gds52]

Originally Posted by Syndicategt

I have AAA for the 0.0001% chance I get a flat. I'm, sorry but for the other 99.999% time I'm driving, I rather have the performance, comfort, grip, and predictibility of a better tire. Why do you think most of us switch to non-RTF's.

Even with runflats, if you experience a blow out at speed, you are in for a bad day. Sure you can drive the recommended 25 miles on a runflat, I'm guessing you are still going to need a tow in most locations.

Luxury of a runflat? The have poor to terrible grip, extremely loud, and sidewalls as stiff as rocks. I don't think many would call that luxury. Might be convienent to not have to wait for AAA to come, but that's where it ends. If you are that paranoid, keep a bottle of fix-a-flat in the trunk.

BMW went for them because they want to appeal for the lowest common denominator.....the idot who cannot/will not change a tire. It's a great marketing gimic, which I'm sure helped with sales. But when it comes down to it, enthusiast do not want RFT's.

I agree with the concern with the ride/handling concept with RFT vs non-RFT.
However, I don't even call any AAA or other help for a flat tire, I can fix my tires on my own...i keep a puncture kit in my car for long drives. i just dont like to keep spare wheel when there is v less space in e93. So far as performance is concerned, it makes sense if you really drive very fast or do hard cornering on regular roads. I didnt know these issues with RFT.

However, no offense, but on one hand you are calling others idiots (who cant change tires) and being an enthusiast you need AAA to help you for a flat ! just saying.

[derrick603]

Originally Posted by gds52

However, no offense, but on one hand you are calling others idiots (who cant change tires) and being an enthusiast you need AAA to help you for a flat ! just saying.

I can change a flat on my own, but there are plenty of reasons why I'd still call AAA (unless I was in a hurry):

1. AAA, in my experience, can get a tow truck to you pretty quickly.

2. Changing a flat is not hard, but it's not pleasant either (see #3).

3. Try changing a flat while parked on the shoulder with cars flying past you at speed. Feel safe?

[Three_thirty_I]

My experiences with RFT's are as follows:

BMW Approved Continental Sport Contact 2 RFT's - plain and simple, horrible tyres! They are noisy and tramline badly! Hankook S1 Evo RFT's - had them on the front of my car briefly, fantastic tyres! Just a pity they are not BMW Approved, so had to change them. And now I have the Bridgestone Potenza RE050 RFT's - quite surprised at how well the car drives with these tyres especially since they are used tyres with a fair amount of tread wear!

The Continental RFT's I had were narrow 225/45/17 all around, these Bridgestone RFT's are narrow/wide 17" with 335i Coupe wheels. So for this size it makes sense to spend a bit more and stick to RFT's provided the ride and handling is fine which I am convinced it is with these Bridgestones. Also keen to try Pirelli P Zero RFT's.

I also just recently managed to find an E90 space-saver which lives in the boot - takes up a fair amount of space, but the idea is that if I have a puncture I will put the space-saver on and save the RFT so that it can be repaired. And a repaired RFT is safer than a repaired non-RFT provided that you have not driven on it at low pressure for any prolonged period of time!

So with RFT's the whole idea is that you are driving along a busy multi-lane road when all of a sudden you have a puncture. You then have time to safely change lanes and stop on the side of the road with possibly the option of finding a safer place to stop and change the wheel. Another thing worth having is a decent air compressor or the BMW Mobility kit, and a can of puncture sealer...

[hammick]

The M3 comes with Pilot Sports and a compressor/sealant unit under the trunk cover. If the RFTs are so great, why isn't the M3 wearing them?

My 335d will have non-runflats when I need new tires.

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by hammick

The M3 comes with Pilot Sports and a compressor/sealant unit under the trunk cover. If the RFTs are so great, why isn't the M3 wearing them?

My 335d will have non-runflats when I need new tires.

I would think more to do with keeping the unsprung weight down - RFT's are heavier than normal tyres!

[birzzles]

My E92 has now done 123k, oil changed every 10k incidentally. The last tyres were Dunlop SP Sport Fast Response, I have changed to Dunlop sport maxx RT 225 45 R17 this time. Fuel economy seemed to go down initially with the previous tyres, but they lasted 22k to legal minimum. Continental runflats were frightening as they wore by the way. I got oversteer on dry roads, and could spin the back wheels in 3rd in my 320d. Not always amusing.

Had to replace reluctor rings on rear driveshafts at 113k.

So Falken FK452 didn't last very long. The runflats were terrible, the Dunlops have been good - secure grip and reasonable life.

[Fundguy1]

Originally Posted by faz

This is probably the stupidest thing I have heard so far when it comes to tires. As long as the size and the speed ratings of the tires match what OEM has, what is BMW's business or tire shop's business to tell one what kind of tire they can or can't put on their own friggin car?

Glad I don't live in U.K.

+1 lol how ludicrous

[catcher22]

This thread is 3 years old.