Need Run Flat Advice

[mniemiec]

I need some advice from you guys.

I am getting very tired of replacing the run flats. Seems that even minor potholes cause bubbling issues on the tires. I have also fixed my driver front rim as it was slightly bent. Still having slight vibrations. I am assuming the rim wasn't fixed perfectly.

Anyway I want to order new rims for the front and am thinking about putting on regular tires. So I have a few questions and options:

1) Put on regular tires on new rims and rely on AAA to tow my car if I get a flat.
2) Put on regular tires on new rims and put a spare/jack in the trunk. Do you guys know of the smallest spare that would fit on a 335xi? I don't want to take up too much trunk room.

3) Any other ideas?

Thanks.

[Skully]

The M3's have no spare or run flat tires. They have a small 12v air compressor and bottle of tire sealant which will be much easier to store than a spare. I'm sure you could pick up both at a auto parts store for less than $50.

[E92!Dreier]

My advice --

Stick with the RFT's. I did, for both winter and summer setups. It is what the car was meant to wear, and it works well, thogh not perfectly.

After years of driving with 3 piece rims and ULTRA low profile tires on my previous car, I have not had any issues with bumps, bubbling or bending in almost 3 years -- you just have to be mroe aware of the bumps, and mroe willing to avoid them at all costs.

Tire/wheel insurance packages also help to negate a mistake.

If you do decide to go with regular tires, you are still going to need OEM wheel sensors, or you will constantly have a warning lamp illuminated on the dash. If you plan on jacking your car up, you will need to add jack mounts on the bottom of your car.

I would definitely try to have my own spare system, rather than waiting for AAA.

Good luck.

[Takashi]

I would stick with the run flats.

I saw a funny scene yesterday involving a 5 series. The guy was stuck about 4 car lenghs in front of a red light with their safety flashers on. I was approaching a red light and wondered what is wrong. It turns out the tire and the rim were completely separated and the 5 series becomes a road block on a busy highway exit. If the guy have run flats, the tire should be able to get him to a BMW center instead of sitting in the middle of a highway exit causing problems.

[UFOGUY]

1. lose the RFTs and replace with conventional UHP radials (all season) and enjoy a smooth and quiet ride.

2. purchase a space saver spare and fitment kit from leatherz (i did, worth every penny for the improvement in ride).

3. use the BMW "button" to call for help if you don't want to change a flat yourself. tell them the run flat is shredded or whatever to get them to send help. but you will probably have to pay for the assistance.

4. RFTs ride very harshly and are prone to problems you mentioned; also very expensive to replace as they can't be repaired.

5. best thing i ever did for my car was switch tires. RFTs suck big time. :mad

[LuxoM3]

In the 23 years I have been driving - I have NEVER gotten a flat. And I've even gotten nails in my tires too.

The reason being is that I actually walk around my car once a week - usually when filling up gas and eyeball my tires. Once a month I get air pressure.

Tires don't just go flat or "explode like an explorer". They develop an imperfection - low air pressure, nail, etc. These issues usually are repairable and driveable.... but as the driver keeps driving, it eventually fails.

OK - so here's why I told that story... if you are somewhat attentive to your tires condition, then BUY a good old regular performance tire. You will either save a ton of money (because you bought a less expensive tire) OR spend as much money on a tire of higher performance capability.

Also, getting rid of RF tires WILL improve your handling. RF tire weigh as much as TWICE that of a regular performance tire due to the amount of reinforcing material in an RF tire.

So say you buy a set of Sumitomo HTR 3 tires... $500 for a set of four shipped from TireRack. It's a quiet, high-performance (mid grade tire) that will give you a solid year of performance. Plus your car will corner better and you'll notice some nice pick-up in acceleration.

As far as the spare tire... let AAA get you. You don't want to be fixing a flat on the side of the freeway.

My 2-cents.

:)




I need some advice from you guys.

I am getting very tired of replacing the run flats. Seems that even minor potholes cause bubbling issues on the tires. I have also fixed my driver front rim as it was slightly bent. Still having slight vibrations. I am assuming the rim wasn't fixed perfectly.

Anyway I want to order new rims for the front and am thinking about putting on regular tires. So I have a few questions and options:

1) Put on regular tires on new rims and rely on AAA to tow my car if I get a flat.
2) Put on regular tires on new rims and put a spare/jack in the trunk. Do you guys know of the smallest spare that would fit on a 335xi? I don't want to take up too much trunk room.

3) Any other ideas?

Thanks.

[samger2]

I think one of the biggest reason that BMW uses runflats is because most BMW drivers aren't as dilligent as you are LuxoM3...my hat is off to you for being a good car owner.

Sadly most aren't...I would say that 95% of the cars that enter our service drive are AT LEAST 15 psi low in all 4 tires...most of them don't have the desire to check their tires weekly...let alone change a flat if needed...so having a tire that won't go flat and will get them to a dealer or a tire store is pure gold for them.

Many will probably take offense to this statement...but to me runflats are the same idea as having seat warmers or steering wheel heaters...it's designed to add the optimum level of comfort and the least amount of "work" to the person driving the car...and the added bonus of the runflat is that it's a safety measure as well.

If everyone was a dilligent car owner runflats probably would've never existed.

[mniemiec]

1. lose the RFTs and replace with conventional UHP radials (all season) and enjoy a smooth and quiet ride.

2. purchase a space saver spare and fitment kit from leatherz (i did, worth every penny for the improvement in ride).

3. use the BMW "button" to call for help if you don't want to change a flat yourself. tell them the run flat is shredded or whatever to get them to send help. but you will probably have to pay for the assistance.

4. RFTs ride very harshly and are prone to problems you mentioned; also very expensive to replace as they can't be repaired.

5. best thing i ever did for my car was switch tires. RFTs suck big time. :mad

I am seriously thinking about 1 and 2 just for the front.

I heard that the pressure monitoring sensor goes off due to this. Can I keep the same sensor and just reset it? Or will the tire pressure monitoring system no longer work? Thanks.

[mryakan]

don' mix and match tires or you may be sorry in the future, decide on an approach and go the same for all tires.

[mryakan]

I think one of the biggest reason that BMW uses runflats is because most BMW drivers aren't as dilligent as you are LuxoM3...my hat is off to you for being a good car owner.

Sadly most aren't...I would say that 95% of the cars that enter our service drive are AT LEAST 15 psi low in all 4 tires...most of them don't have the desire to check their tires weekly...let alone change a flat if needed...so having a tire that won't go flat and will get them to a dealer or a tire store is pure gold for them.

Many will probably take offense to this statement...but to me runflats are the same idea as having seat warmers or steering wheel heaters...it's designed to add the optimum level of comfort and the least amount of "work" to the person driving the car...and the added bonus of the runflat is that it's a safety measure as well.

If everyone was a dilligent car owner runflats probably would've never existed.
There is probably a lot of truth in that + the added convenience of not having to change a spare is worth the price of admission and overshadows the downsides.

[UFOGUY]

I am seriously thinking about 1 and 2 just for the front.

I heard that the pressure monitoring sensor goes off due to this. Can I keep the same sensor and just reset it? Or will the tire pressure monitoring system no longer work? Thanks.

btw, the tire pressure monitoring system does not actually measure pressure, it determines low pressure by monitoring the rotation of the wheel, thus detecting a low pressure tire.

go for the whole enchilada. replace all four with conventional UHP radials and enjoy the new smooth ride. those that have not driven a 3 series with conventional radials do not know the amazing difference in ride that they provide. i replaced mine and i know for sure. any benefits of RFTs DO NOT ourweigh the absolutely crappy ride they provide.

go for it.

[mniemiec]

btw, the tire pressure monitoring system does not actually measure pressure, it determines low pressure by monitoring the rotation of the wheel, thus detecting a low pressure tire.

go for the whole enchilada. replace all four with conventional UHP radials and enjoy the new smooth ride. those that have not driven a 3 series with conventional radials do not know the amazing difference in ride that they provide. i replaced mine and i know for sure. any benefits of RFTs DO NOT ourweigh the absolutely crappy ride they provide.

go for it.

So will the TPMS work OK? I really don't want to have it lit all the time as this can be annoying. I have seen some posts state the TPMS did not work once they changed their tires to non run flats. I don't get why this would happen but I am no expert in this matter.

[RolandG]

Well the PO of my car put runflats on even though the car has a spare. In about 5k miles i will be replacing my runflats, with what i am still undecided. With the staggered setup, the rears are significantly more than the fronts.

[samger2]

Well the PO of my car put runflats on even though the car has a spare. In about 5k miles i will be replacing my runflats, with what i am still undecided. With the staggered setup, the rears are significantly more than the fronts.

Not sure why they put runflats on that car. It didn't come with them from the factory. You have an 06...but it's an 06 convertible...which means its still an E46 body style...none of the E46 came with runflat tires. My only thought is that maybe the car has 224/40R18 fronts and 255/35R18 rears...if that's the case it probably came with the potenza RE040 non runflat...and when it was time for the previous owner to replace tires...not knowing much about tires...he probably went somewhere and figured that the RE050A was ok to use as a replacement since it's a Bridgestone as well...

of course all of this is assuming that it is in fact an RE050A we are talking about here.

[RolandG]

you are correct Samger2,

They are the Bridgestone RE050As on the car. I am going to replace them very soon.

[samger2]

Yeah...in your case I'd definitely steer away from the runflat tire.

[UFOGUY]

So will the TPMS work OK? I really don't want to have it lit all the time as this can be annoying. I have seen some posts state the TPMS did not work once they changed their tires to non run flats. I don't get why this would happen but I am no expert in this matter.

it makes no difference to the TPMS whether you are wearing conventional of RFT hell tires. if the tires are inflated properly all should be well.

i replaced my hell tires 13k miles ago and have never had any TPMS warnings.

go for it...

[mniemiec]

it makes no difference to the TPMS whether you are wearing conventional of RFT hell tires. if the tires are inflated properly all should be well.

i replaced my hell tires 13k miles ago and have never had any TPMS warnings.

go for it...

Thanks for all the info. I am ordering some replacement rims from finishlinewheels.com and tires from discounttiredirect.com. I started a new thread about some price info for the TPMS.

[mniemiec]

FYI...

Found a spare that fits from e60 thanks to Orient330iNYC on bimmerfest forum. I have ordered the spare from BMW should have it within two weeks. It's coming from Germany as they do not stock these locally.

Part number for the spare kit if interested. This spare fits any e9x including 335xi with the larger breaks.

36 11 0 308 889

This is the url for the original post
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297373

[mniemiec]

Update for anyone interested. I have received the spare tire from the 5 series, comes with a jack and wrench all nicely tucked away within the wheel. All fits good.

I have replaced my two front tires with non-run flats, Falken 512. All I can say is that I no longer have to clench my anus when going over bumps. With the run flats it would feel like my fillings were about to shoot out when I hit some minor rough patches in the road and now it is all good.

Once my rear tires wear out I will be replacing them as well with the Falkens.

[UFOGUY]

Update for anyone interested. I have received the spare tire from the 5 series, comes with a jack and wrench all nicely tucked away within the wheel. All fits good.

I have replaced my two front tires with non-run flats, Falken 512. All I can say is that I no longer have to clench my anus when going over bumps. With the run flats it would feel like my fillings were about to shoot out when I hit some minor rough patches in the road and now it is all good.

Once my rear tires wear out I will be replacing them as well with the Falkens.

why prolong your discomfort? dump the rear RFT hell tires now and enjoy a totally new ride. what benefit are you going to get out of using them? don't you want your set of falkens to wear together as a set?

good to hear that your bohunkus appreciates the new front tires. and now your fillings will remain intact. :)

[cfabluenose]

I suppose another advantage would be to bring the car back with fresh tires at the end of a lease. I could buy a set of non-RFT's and store the RFT's until it's time to return the car.

[UFOGUY]

I suppose another advantage would be to bring the car back with fresh tires at the end of a lease. I could buy a set of non-RFT's and store the RFT's until it's time to return the car.

that is what i am doing. my RFTs are stored in my garage. if i don't purchase the car at lease end i will have the RFTs remounted. they were removed at 4k miles so i won't have to concern myself about returning the car without sufficient tread.

[cfabluenose]

Sounds like a good idea. I'm just about to pick up my new '09 328i. Do you have a compact spare in the trunk or just a compressor and bottle of sealant in case of emergency?

[UFOGUY]

i have the space saver spare and fitment kit from leatherz.com

you could probably save some money and buy a full size wheel and mount one of your hell tires as a spare. you will lose some space in your trunk but that hasn't been an inconvenience for me. worth it for the better ride.

[stip]

My tire dealer tells me I should absolutely not go away from the Bridgestone RFTs that came as original equipment (19 inch option). Of course he is a Firestone dealer so he would make more money since the RFTs are so much more expensive that any other tire. I have read the posts on this topic and I see mostly good experienes. I appreciate all the feedback, however I wonder if there is anyone out there who can give me a difinitive answer. I suspect if i call the BMW dealer I will be told to stick with the RFTs.

Thanks in advance

[UFOGUY]

a lot of baloney on the part of your tire dealer. i have switched to conventional UHP radials with no problems whatsoever (14k miles so far). my service tech at the BMW dealership indicated that numerous customers have switched to conventional radials and that there is NO problem in doing so. in fact he dumped the RFTs on his bimmer. the improvement in ride is dramatic. :)

ofcourse, if you are leasing your bimmer you will need to re-mount the RFT hell tires when you return the car. my RFTs are stored in my garage with only 4k miles on them.

good luck with your decision.

[indiedog]

Wow, some interesting information here. I am very keen to ditch the run flats and was looking to sell them after buying standards. But the fact I may have to then pay for new run flats at the end of the lease makes me consider just putting them in the garage. That would have been a nasty surprise so I'll check out the lease conditions.

[mryakan]

Wow, some interesting information here. I am very keen to ditch the run flats and was looking to sell them after buying standards. But the fact I may have to then pay for new run flats at the end of the lease makes me consider just putting them in the garage. That would have been a nasty surprise so I'll check out the lease conditions.
Don't waste your time, all leases require you to return the leased car with tires of comparable qualities as those provided upon delivery (and with an acceptable tread depth) and since the car has no spare, runflats are required by default. Just save the tires for when you return the lease, or better yet, drive them for this season and see how you like them. This means you can either keep them if you are satisfied or switch them to non runflats next season. This way you will not have to replace the new set 2/3 of the way through your lease, since it is not uncommon for high performance rubber, esp. on bimmers, to wear out in 2 years.