Questions and Opinions on Switching tires on new 335i

[stankiyota]

I am taking delivery of a BTO 335i convertible in the next couple of weeks.

I am contemplating NOT buying the run flat tire "warranty" from the dealer and instead just driving it straight over to the tire shop and putting non-run flat UHP all season tires on it right away. I'll buy a space saver spare for the trunk from Leather Z.

I live in Northern Virginia where we get a fair amount of rain, some ice and snow in the winter. I would like to be able to drive in all weather except for maybe heavy snow (I have a truck for that). I am willing to sacrifice some handling in dry weather for the all season UHPs I am considering.

Opinions needed...

1) I am looking at the Tire Rack and see two tires I am interested in...

Bridgestone Potenza RE960 A/S

Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season

Anybody have any experience with these?

2) I know many have done this strategy instead of buying the run flat warranty, do you regret it? Like it?

3) How much of a ride difference, positive or negative, is there with non-run flats? I have the sport suspension on 18 inch wheels.

Thanks.

Stan

[GH41]

You will hear a lot of RFT bashing here. A lot of it coming from people that have never had one and only repeat what they hear. BMW could put any tire they want on your car. Why would they use RFT's?? Remember, the sidewall stiffness was taken into consideration when they designed the suspension. I'll leave the warranty up to you. I have it on the Z4 but not the wifes 328 wagon. Her 205/16's are a common size and available almost anywhere. My 255/35/18's are a dealer only size in our area. The problem with dealer only tires you will pay $4-500 each for them. My 5 year plan cost a little more than 1 tire. The wife's would have been equal to 2.5 tires. My decision to get it was also based on my dealers gurantee to stand behind the aftermarket waranty. GH

[mryakan]

Take some time to judge the RFTs for yourself before going out and changing them. If you don't like them, you can always switch later. There is a lot of FUD about RFTs, some is warranted, other not, but don't believe everything you hear/read, good or bad. Be your own judge.

[Jim@tirerack]

The advantage of the non run flat tires is the ride quality is going to be better. You also do get more choices for tires and you can get an all season tire if you choose to. The disadvantage is you don't have a spare.
If I can help with the tires let me know.

[stankiyota]

The advantage of the non run flat tires is the ride quality is going to be better. You also do get more choices for tires and you can get an all season tire if you choose to. The disadvantage is you don't have a spare.
If I can help with the tires let me know.


Thanks Jim for the response. I have my tires saved in my Wish List right now awaiting feedback from the masses. Do you sell the space saver spare tire for a BMW 335i? I would add that in to if available. Thanks. S

[stankiyota]

Take some time to judge the RFTs for yourself before going out and changing them. If you don't like them, you can always switch later. There is a lot of FUD about RFTs, some is warranted, other not, but don't believe everything you hear/read, good or bad. Be your own judge.

Thanks for the feedback. I am convincing myself I need to have the non-RFTs because I live on a dirt road with lots of potholes (which seem to be the bane of RFTs) as well as my own 1/3 mile long gravel driveway which is rough on tires too (I own a farm, no, I am not a farmer, I just own a farm :) ). So, with all of the rough terrain the car has to travel each day (about 2/3 of a mile from my garage to pavement on these rough roads), I think it would be prudent to use regular non-RFTs. I have RE960s on my 530i and have never had any problems on my roads with them.

I can get a set of Goodyear F1 A/S tires from TR shipped and mounted locally in my area for $850 total, not much more than the tire plan from the dealer. I think for every 3 sets of RFTs I would have to put on in the life of the tires, I would only have to replace the non-RFTs twice. And, I can sell my RFTs off of my brand new car for hopefully $600-800 for the set of 4. (Interested?) I think the economics will work in my favor along with having a 3 1/2 season tire to drive on.

Thoughts?

[samger2]

There seems to be some sort of misconception that runflats have some sort of evil/magical attraction to potholes and roadhazards. Please don't tell the tire devils that I said this but...*there is no such witchcraft*...

Your all season UHP tires will be just as susceptible to flats than a runflat...the big difference is that you'll now have to carry around a jack and spare and change that tire on your dirt road instead of being able to drive to a tire store and have the tire taken off and changed in a bay.

Plus you'll now be altering the performance of the car that BMW intended for you to have and that you loved when you test drove the car.

Once again...the RFT capability of a tire has NOTHING to do with it having a magnetic field around it that attracts nails...or big sticky patches that pull your car toward pot holes.

[GH41]

How do you figure RF's are damaged by pot holes more often than regular tires? The side walls of RFT's are stiffer. The rims will be more likely damaged by pot holes with regular tires. It kills me when someone buys a 50K++ car and wants to second guess the manufacturer. Good luch with your decision. GH

[mryakan]

How do you figure RF's are damaged by pot holes more often than regular tires? The side walls of RFT's are stiffer. The rims will be more likely damaged by pot holes with regular tires.
+1, I hit some very bad road hazards and definitely thought my tires/rims would be damaged but it seems the RFTs are pretty strong even with the 35/40 aspect ration I have. OP, don't get caught in all the FUD about RFTs. Downside to RFTs is price really, but hopefully that will change in a couple of years by the time you have to change your originals.

[Jim@tirerack]

Hi stankiyota,

I do carry a space saver tire but do not carry the wheels.