Many simple questions

[dr_john]

I've never noticed tramlining in either of the e89's that I've owned. I did have a Honda Civic once that tramlined horribly, so I know what it feels like!

As regards the Msport suspension, yes it's a bit firmer but not ridiculously so. The Msport option makes the car look and feel much more like a sports car, which is the whole point of a zed for me.

[R.E92]

I don't buy into the advice on the car being made for runflats.

For ride comfort I would say 18" runflats are the same as 19" normal tyres.

In my personal experience with runflat tyres I found the following downsides:
-Uneven wear (quite common on the bridgestones even with proper tracking adjustments)
-Tramlining
-Poor traction
-Noisy
-Seemed to attract punctures - also noticed by many others on the E90post forums.
-Experienced three cracked wheels within 10k miles (having changed to normal tyres on my E92 and covering 80k miles I'm still yet to see another crack) - Plenty of people attributing the cracking issues to runflat tyres.

I would actually go as far as to say they are unsafe. Even purely on a traction basis they are unsafe but given their affinity to puncture, their uneven wear which if not checked could cause a blowout (not many people actually check inside edge of tyres) and you have a pretty unreliable tyre.

Any fitter will tell you they are a nightmare to remove and a fair amount of tyre shops will not repair them.


Personally I'm much happier and feel safer with a 12v compressor and a can of tyre weld.
You really need to ask yourself why BMW chose to fit runflats on all their standard cars and not their M cars. If they were not compromised then surely M cars would come with them fitted.

[TitanTim]

I don't buy into the advice on the car being made for runflats.

For ride comfort I would say 18" runflats are the same as 19" normal tyres.

In my personal experience with runflat tyres I found the following downsides:
-Uneven wear (quite common on the bridgestones even with proper tracking adjustments)
-Tramlining
-Poor traction
-Noisy
-Seemed to attract punctures - also noticed by many others on the E90post forums.
-Experienced three cracked wheels within 10k miles (having changed to normal tyres on my E92 and covering 80k miles I'm still yet to see another crack) - Plenty of people attributing the cracking issues to runflat tyres.

I would actually go as far as to say they are unsafe. Even purely on a traction basis they are unsafe but given their affinity to puncture, their uneven wear which if not checked could cause a blowout (not many people actually check inside edge of tyres) and you have a pretty unreliable tyre.

Any fitter will tell you they are a nightmare to remove and a fair amount of tyre shops will not repair them.


Personally I'm much happier and feel safer with a 12v compressor and a can of tyre weld.
You really need to ask yourself why BMW chose to fit runflats on all their standard cars and not their M cars. If they were not compromised then surely M cars would come with them fitted.

Quote from BMW

"All of our vehicles that use Run-flat technology have their suspension and braking components set up to accommodate Run-flat tyres. Should you decide to change to non Run-flats, it may alter the driving and handling characteristics of your vehicle. It is for this reason that this modification is not recommended by BMW as a manufacturer"

Its down to the indivudual whether they prefer the comfort of standard tyres over runflats. I guess for me I much prefer the safety advantages over relying on a can of foam at the side of the road.

Tim.

[shotbybothsides]

I too have no problem with the runflats on the E89.
I think, and I'll get lots of flack for saying this... but a lot of the perceived issues about run flats on the E89 come from how the E85/86 behaves with them, ie not at all well.

[bluespit]

I have an e89 with 19 runflats and m sport setup. A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to drive a similar car with adaptive suspension and found it to be excellent and something I would consider paying extra for in the future. If you find a car with adaptive then I would recommend considering paying a premium for it.

Cheers

[lux]

The 8 speed auto is fantastic, and the paddles make driving a little more involving. There no way I would go back to a manual, I found my first E89 manual very juddery pulling away from standstill especially when cold.
There's hardly any difference between the 18" and 19" in ride quality but the 19's look a loads better, although tyres will cost you more.
If you like your music find one with a stereo upgrade as the standard one is a bit pants, and don't forget heated seats, a must.

[Garvin]

Run flats - I have 19" rims but adaptive suspension and ride quality is perfectly OK. During summer the run flats are absolutely fine my only gripe with them, and expressed before, is that grip levels fall away quickly at temperatures below about ~7C.

[TitanTim]

my only gripe with them, and expressed before, is that grip levels fall away quickly at temperatures below about ~7C.

One of the reasons why I don't use mine during the winter unless I put winter tyres on the Zed but didn't fancy shelling out 1700 quid

Tim

[Stark]

But we forget the one issue.....the big issue, that the RFTs do contribute to alloys cracking, it's well known. For this reason I do sometimes think about changing, but the only bummer is my rears always need changing at a different time to the fronts.....I know I just need to go all out and change them

[New2Zed]

Are wheels still cracking then? I remember seeing something about this on Watchdog four or five years ago and presumed it would have been sorted by now.
Does it manifest itself in just leakage, or can it be catastrophic?
Are 19" wheels more prone than standard M pack 18" wheels.
Reading the posts it seems as though BMW pick up the bill for the first three years then after that you're on your own even though it's a known fault.

Sorry for all the questions.

[envy]

cant speak for everyone else but ive had mine for 2 years from new and after 18k miles, i havent had any issues with cracking

[Garvin]

my only gripe with them, and expressed before, is that grip levels fall away quickly at temperatures below about ~7C.

One of the reasons why I don't use mine during the winter unless I put winter tyres on the Zed but didn't fancy shelling out 1700 quid

Tim

The upside is you, too, can become a King of drift

[TitanTim]

my only gripe with them, and expressed before, is that grip levels fall away quickly at temperatures below about ~7C.

One of the reasons why I don't use mine during the winter unless I put winter tyres on the Zed but didn't fancy shelling out 1700 quid

Tim

The upside is you, too, can become a King of drift

lol not when I'm on a PCP, maybe once I own the Zed

Tim.