[zltm089]

actually...i've reduced them to 38psi front and 42psi rear...

[Spin]

I bought the jack and spacesaver wheel for my 1'er, the spare wheel was only about £80 and well worth it for the peace of mind, it's only @ 125 in width so doesn't take up much space.
Worth considering rather than tyre weld/mobility kit, even fits over the BMW big brake kit.

[creepy coupe]

Originally Posted by Spin

I bought the jack and spacesaver wheel for my 1'er, the spare wheel was only about £80 and well worth it for the peace of mind, it's only @ 125 in width so doesn't take up much space.
Worth considering rather than tyre weld/mobility kit, even fits over the BMW big brake kit.

Did £80 include the tyre Spin?

[Spin]

Sorry that wasn't very clear.

The BMW jack kit cost RRP £85 and includes an extendable torque wrench, gloves, plastic bag for storing damaged wheel plus a very efficient jack - all comes in a BMW logo carry case. (I'd already bought this for cleaning wheels etc)

The spare cost me an additional £80, its steel and comes with an inflatable skinny tyre approx 125 in width.

[creepy coupe]

Many thanks Spin.

[CraigUK]

Sorry to hijack the thread, I have also heard good reports on Vredestein Sessanta, anyone tried them? They are not much different in price from the Falkens.

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.p...se=&LoadRange=

[SixDegrees]

Originally Posted by CraigUK

Sorry to hijack the thread, I have also heard good reports on Vredestein Sessanta, anyone tried them? They are not much different in price from the Falkens.

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.p...se=&LoadRange=

I started a thread on this a efw days ago, and there some really good feed bcak in there.......

The only thing stopping me getting Falkens is they're directionla and with a staggered set-up you can't rotate at all, so all 4 are stuck on the same corner for life and for me with mostly round-abouts where I live I've found you do get odd wear and tyres which result in pulling, so rotation is a must for me. Pity as the Falkens have a good write up and cheap as well.

[doughboy]

Tyres still great after 350 miles! better maybe.

Road noise is much reduced from RFTs - at 90mph the wind noise on the mirrors is now louder than than the tyre noise. Sounds quite odd.

I'm a bit lost for what pressures to use. The door jam label for my sizes is 2.2 / 2.4 bar (32/35 psi) but thats for RFTs of course.

I first put them to 35/38 but then put them back to 32/35 which seems pretty firm.

I see people here talking about 40+psi!!!

[DaveC]

I use around 32-33/36 on my 330i E91 and it seems about right - going higher doesnt improve the handling any IMO. Too low and it'll feel wrong (30/34 wasn't right at the front). I base this on a) how it feels and b) previous cars - nothing even similar weight BMWs on similar size tyres has _ever_ wanted tyre pressures above 40.

So much the same as you.

[rogerxp]

Thanks Doughboy for the perfectly timed thread about non-RFT's and the write-up and everyone else's comments.

Had my MOT last week and they told me my rears are finally getting near the legal limit so I'm about to change to non-RFT. Probably Falkens but the Vredestein Sessanta are a consideration too (I feel a poll coming on!!). Thought I'd just go budget whilst I dip my toe in the water.

Creepy Coupe - you mention 'rim protectors', is this the same as 'reinforced' i.e. would the Falkens & Vredestain be sufficient if you hit a big curb??

Six Degrees - you mention Falkens being 'rotational' are the Vredestain any difference - what make & type of tyre are you using (I too am surrounded by roundabouts too).

I'm also just renewing my car insurance and trying to find who covers you if you make the change from RFTs to non-RFTs - anyone got any input who are happy to cover the modification if you've admitted to the change (sorry, going slightly off topic).

[oscarguitar]

I have 19" PS2 Non RFTs. Initially I ran them at 36F 38R. Ride was good but was handling all over the place and wear on the outside or rears (yes outside!) I had a full KDS alignmant check (not BMW - since they didn't need to to adjust they didn't even charge me!) which was spot on. While there, the guy pumped the tyres up to the RFT spec - 39F 41R. Drove away with the higher pressures and the handling was transformed, how it should be, with decent directional stability and great grip and feel. (Later confirmed by Jules I think) I can now tell pretty quickly if the presures have gone off, as the car starts to wander a bit.

Non RFTs have really made a diference to real world living with this car, but the initial advice to lower the pressures did not work for me. Tyre wear now seems even and after 8000 miles the rears are looking really good with even wear and not even 1/2 worn.

Good luck with the Falkens, many here seem to like them a lot.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

I'm also just renewing my car insurance and trying to find who covers you if you make the change from RFTs to non-RFTs - anyone got any input who are happy to cover the modification if you've admitted to the change (sorry, going slightly off topic).

Roger XP:

Good stuff. The rim protectors are a protruding rubber 'lip' that stands proud of the wheel rim. They only protect the rim at very low speed and gentle contact, i.e. parallel parking, as you 'feel' the contact before the metal rim touches the curb.

The falkens are 'directional' which means they can only rotate in the indicated direction, so you cannot swap left/right wheels if your wear is uneven. With staggered M sport wheels you can't swap front / rear either!

RE insurance, its not a modification! don't confuse the situation by mentioning it to your insurer - derrrrr computer says no!

You are replacing worn Z rated tyres with new Z rated tyres of the correct load rating, that's it. Nothing in the manual says 'you must use RFTs'. Its no different to fitting Bridgestone if OEM was Michelin, you wouldn't tell the insurer that would you?

The only law on RFTs is that if you use them you must have a TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) so we are OK. You can still use the TPMS with non RFTs of course (it's great for telling you about slow punctures!)

[xenon]

100% agree with DB. Mentioning it to your insurer is opening a can of worms best left closed.

[330cdsport]

Yep I run the falkens too. 235/35/19 and 265/30/19

They are much better than the B'stone RFT's and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Both grip and comfort are excellent.

[Steve748]

I told NU I had non rft's on and it made no difference, not interested what tyres I had on

[andy69]

Ive got 225/55 R18 XL on the fronts, these are the extra load type as I wanted the slightly stiffer side wall as I do not have sports suspension. Pressure is the same as RFT's (2.2 bar) Have had no probs in 6 months, just ordered 255/35 R18 XL for the rears, I guess the pressures will be the same as RFT's as well (2.5 bar).

I must say the Bridgestone RFT's served me well, have got 70,000kms out of the rears !!!

Cheers

[booforty]

Hey Andy! Where you been? Hope all is well

[andy69]

Originally Posted by booforty

Hey Andy! Where you been? Hope all is well

Hello mate, thanks for asking Just been busy really, no time at work for E90Post anymore !

Still been checking the site out when i can, wish i was in the UK so I could come and meet up with you all, feel a bit left out over here

Very envious of your motor

Look after yourself

Andy

[foxy-367]

Originally Posted by andy69

I must say the Bridgestone RFT's served me well, have got 70,000kms out of the rears !!!

thats some going that!!!!

[Mrbangis]

good thread!

[Googlyamnesiac]

Glad I found this thread (all be it a few months old)

It's making me order some Falkens from Event tyres (seems logical as they will actually come to me at work for £36 more than Camskill would charge and then i'd still have to pay someone to fit them.

I'll probably do this on monday - thanks for the link!

[doughboy]

Tis an old thread...but....

A bit of bartering and Event will beat most anyone, and they have great (i.e. skilled and courteous) mobile fitters.