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[Alpine0003]

Does anyone know why this is a bad idea? I get it, the shop told me it was a bad idea when I put it on, but didn't explain why.

I blew one of my RFT on a pothole. Needed a tire immediately, no one in the area seemed to carry RFT, plus it was gonna cost $450 to replace so I said to throw a conventional on. He advised strongly against it, i insisted it was better than my blown RFT, so he put it on.

Also, I'm not too worried because in less than a week I'll have new wheels and tires on the car (got an full new set that will be put on in a few days)

...Basically, what risk am I running by driving with 3 RFT and 1 Conventional tire??? Anyone?

[floydarogers]

The handling characteristics of the go-flat tire are considerably different than the RFT. The corner that it is on won't hold the road the same way as the RFT's on the others, which will lead to asymmetric handling, left-to-right and front-rear. Essentially, you're more exposed to a spin.

You're probably ok at 60%-70% capability, but pushing it is not recommended.

[dkexige]

Well said.

Contain yourself and drive as if you would if you put a dinky spare on.

[driverman]

Plus, the braking characteristics of the non-RFT will be different than the RFT. So are the traction characteristics. Will ABS and DSC make up for those differences? I don't know.

It seems to me that if you drive your car very conservatively and don't encounter any extreme weather or emergency conditions, you should be fine for a few days. The vast majority of cars on the road have compact spares and they must make the car handle and brake differently for the short while it takes to replace the bad tire.

I've seen other posts where drivers keep their RFTs in front and non-RFTs in the rear for extended periods of time. That seems like a terrible idea that would significantly increase the chances of an accident.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by dkexige

Well said.

Contain yourself and drive as if you would if you put a dinky spare on.

+1

That one corner is kind of a wildcard compared to the rest, so the handling could be funky depending on the conditions.

[flip4335]

Dude,

Don't drive it until you get your new shoes. That's one dangerous puppy on the road, especially with the crazies around our area and especially in the city.

Hope you are getting non-rfts. I have had real tires on my ride for the past four years with no issues... soooooo much better and smoother on the Beltway... and elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Alpine0003

Does anyone know why this is a bad idea? I get it, the shop told me it was a bad idea when I put it on, but didn't explain why.

I blew one of my RFT on a pothole. Needed a tire immediately, no one in the area seemed to carry RFT, plus it was gonna cost $450 to replace so I said to throw a conventional on. He advised strongly against it, i insisted it was better than my blown RFT, so he put it on.

Also, I'm not too worried because in less than a week I'll have new wheels and tires on the car (got an full new set that will be put on in a few days)

...Basically, what risk am I running by driving with 3 RFT and 1 Conventional tire??? Anyone?

[Alpine0003]

Thanks for the advice all! Luckily the new wheel came in yesterday so I'll be putting all four new wheels/tires on tomorrow or Tuesday ha thankfully not too much longer on this odd set.