Run Flat Q's

[FL335i]

Hey guys, first time owning a car w/out a spare. Bit nerve racking to be honest. What happens when you get a flat, drive your 30-50 miles into the nearest town and it's 3am and everything is closed???? I come from the 4x4 world so I have a 12V MV-50 Air compressor and used to carry tire plugs. Debating if it's worth keeping them in the trunk of the bimmer for road trips at least. The air compressor is awsome, I'd air up some 38's in no time after deflating for crawling. Compressor is just sitting around collecting dust on a shelf in the garage. But if I can't plug the tire, no point having the air comp.

[JustinE90]

you can drive up to 50mph on a deflated run flat. i took a trip down to SC from OH and never was worried one bit. I'm pretty confident with them.

[FL335i]

That's a long trip when I want to do 80mph.

[Hounddoggin]

you could build a spare tire kit with smaller spare in trunk and save lots in tire costs not buying runflats??

[mryakan]

That's a long trip when I want to do 80mph.
Carry a full size spare. There is no other way where you can safely do 80mph after a puncture, a patch would be unreliable for those speeds. Donut spares are only good to 50mph anyway. The range of a fully deflated runflat with 2 passenger load is up to 150 miles or more, which could also allow you to get to the next tire shop and put a full size tire on (runflat or if they don't have that, a temp non runflat), kinda like getting the full size spare only when you need it instead of carrying it around.
Note that if the leak is slow, you can just inflate the tire and extend its life almost indefinitely, so it is not a bad idea to carry the compressor if feasible. I kept doing that for 5-6 days until a new tire was ordered and even drove at normal speeds as long as the tire is inflated.

[FL335i]

I would really like to drop the Run Flats. They're heavy. And they're not just mass like in the trunk hanging out, they're mass in rotation. Not to mention the price tag.