[DonnyGirl]

So I got home, after a typically enjoyable commute of up to 95 mph, and discovered a 2 inch screw through the sidewall of my rear tyre. I don't think I have a puncture it was burried 3 mm through the side , small damage. It is probably OK. - Now I wished I had perhaps thought about tyre Insurance ?

Its got me thinking though, do the typical tyre sellers do Continential Run Flat Tyres ? with BMW Star amrkings. Where have other E90 drivers in the Uk gone ?

Best Regards

Donny

[- Paul -]

First one to reply (with answer) gets the screw!!

[DonnyGirl]

So do I have to go back to the BMW dealers to get new Run Flats ?

[- Paul -]

I guess as your the first UK e90 to get a flat, then no-one else know. Let us know how you get it sorted though.

[NPinUK]

You could order one off the net and then have it fitted at a tyre place.

[jjbirch]

as my father had a run flat in his old 5 series the one thats out now bmw dealer offerd to fix it for £220 fitted he went down to the local tyre fitters and they got one in took days and fitted it for £160,

[SteveG]

I had my first flat about a month ago.

As mine is a company vehicle I had to take it to Kwik Fit. (Loughborough) Got there at 3pm on the Monday and they found a small nail through the centre ofthe tyre. The manager told they didn't stock the tyre and would have to order it in.

Went back on Wednesday and they completed the repair with an identical tyre. Cost to company was £154.00. Not cheap !!!!

[London320d]

BMW will be very expensive, only use them if you have no choice.

I have not needed new tyres yet, but have done a bit of research, just incase. The best price I've seen so far is http://www.etyres.co.uk/, and they come out to you. Shame It's not a 24hr service. I haven't used them and so cannot vouch for their service.

I've yet to check out my local tyre dealer, but with only 150 miles range, I probably will not be able to be too fussy should I have a problem.

I did consider the Tyre/Key insurance which my dealer tried to sell me, but I felt that the limit on claims was too low. If I didn't hit that number of claims, I'd do better buying them myself, If I needed more, I'd end up buying them myself anyway.

With the state of the roads in London, I'm expecting trouble. You need a large 4x4 to navigate some of the roads around here.

[vivekk]

Just to let orher members know, tyre insurance could save you a packet.
I took some out today as a precaution with the RAC as a Barclaycard offer.

Costs £49.99 for 12 months, covering upto £250 per tyre, covering upto £1250 annually with upto £30 for call-out fitters.
Covers accidental & malicious damage.
Doesn't cover the first £10 of any claim & no claims allowed in the first 30 days.
Runflats are definitely covered- I made sure!
Have a look at the website info for the small print.

I thought it was worth it- I can see myself blowing all 4 tyres sometime & wouldn't like having to fork out around £1k for a nice set of Michelin Pilot RFTs.

Viv

[330m]

I got rear quotes from Event Tyres in Trafford (www.eventmobiletyres.co.uk they cover nationwide), I've used them before and they do an excellent free come-to-you fitting service. (prices inc VAT) all for 255/35/ZR18 runflats:

Michelin PS2 = £206
Continental Sport 2 = £186
Petenza RE050A = £211

Not 2 bad..

[normanh]

Originally Posted by SteveG

I had my first flat about a month ago.

As mine is a company vehicle I had to take it to Kwik Fit. (Loughborough) Got there at 3pm on the Monday and they found a small nail through the centre ofthe tyre. The manager told they didn't stock the tyre and would have to order it in.

Went back on Wednesday and they completed the repair with an identical tyre. Cost to company was £154.00. Not cheap !!!!

I read somewhere that RF's can be repaired as in your case when the wall is not damaged, as its the wall that makes them different the face of the tyre can be repaired as a normal tubeless tyre. so I carry a tube of tyre repair you know the stuff so that i won't be damaging the wall by driving on it flat

[mjh93sa]

A letter appeared in November BMW Car on the subject of RFT tyre repair.

It would seem that there is a level of ignorance that results in the "can't fix it" response.

The Guy in question went to a national tyre franchise who said no, and two BMW dealers, one who who said it could be repaired and one who said it couldn't. BMW Helpline were also vague on the point.

They then contacted the tyre manufacturer (Goodyear) who confirmed that the tyre could be fixed provided that the puncture was not near the sidewall, and the tyre had not been driven deflated over a long distance.

As an aside BMW claim that a 530d fitted with run-flats is 10seconds faster around the Nurburgring than one without (UK BMW magazine Autmumn/Winter 2005).

My 2p worth:
The only difference that I am aware of between run-flats and a standard tyre is the reinforced sidewall. The wheels themselves are also modified to ensure that a deflated tyre remains on the rim. Therefore they may be treated as any other tyre when considering a repair within the treaded area of the tyre.

However....... whereas you would change a deflated standard tyre immediately and take the tyre for repair this is impossible for the RFT with no spare. Therefore you should carefully consider any damage that may have occured to the tyre whilst running deflated. If you can keep pumping the tyre up and/or run at a slow speed there should be no problem. But if you have driven at high speed and loadings for some distance the heat generated through the extra flexing of the deflated sidewall and loads placed on it are bound to have a detrimental effect on the tyre.

I believe that this is why many tyre fitters will say that you have to replace the tyre. Even in the UK, let alone the litigous USA imagine what would happen should a run-flat fail having been repaired.

At the end of the day tyres are expensive, but you tust them with your life every time that you drive. Just use common sense.