A Dilemma....

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Pauly_G

Member
Well it seems that January is not going to be the month for me....

Driving to work this morning my run flat indicator came on (Red light), pitched up to work and discover the offside rear tyre doesn't appear to have a lot of air in it - great! So I'm sat here thinking, do I cough up for another Bridgestone runflat at £230 or change all 4 tyres for Falken 452 @ £120 / corner?

I was always contemplating replacing my runflats with normal tyres, just not until I'd worn out the runflats!! The other problem I have, living in a Flat I do not have a garage nor anywhere to store the three good part worn runflats if I did proceed with a complete change...hmmm!

So I am a little torn at the moment.....4 new tyres or 1 new tyre - what do yuo guys all think?

O and to top it all......my car tax is due this month! It never just rains.....it ....

Cheers

Paul
 
I'm sure you've tried this but check the tyre isn't simply in need of an air topup. I say Falkens all the way. I recall posts here where people have got all 4 for under £400 including fitting. Try a search to find the thread.
 
I've had the same experience (three times!). Each time I replaced the punctured tyre for three reasons: -
- my others all had lots of tread left
- I didn't know how long I'd be keeping the car, and if I were to chop it in to a BMW dealer against a new motor they may bill me for new RFTs
- the alternative non-runflats of which I'd probably have gone for (Michelin PS2's) were aobut £190 a corner anyway

Now, however, I'd probably do something different because: -
- my others are getting worn
- I know about Falkens, and alternatively PS2's are cheaper
- I plan on keeping the car for quite a while

In my case I can store the RFTs, so if necessary I can put them back on when I chop it in. In your case I'd get them on eBay as there'll probably be other people in the same boat with a part-worn set of which one has gone, who are looking for a replacement.
 
Why not just replace the two rears with falkens and await the fronts to wear down before replacing... I currently have two bridgestone non-RFT tyres on the rear and two bridgestone RFT tyres on the front. I bought the car like this (new rears) and have had no adverse handling issues... So far I've had 11,000 miles out of them and its looking as if the rears will need replacing again still before the fronts have worn down so I don't intend to change all 4. Obviously 4 tyres gives you economy of scale on the discount but why fix what isn't broken?
 
Falkens are certainly the way to go, but I woudl not buy a full set for the sake of a single flat

In order:
1) see why the tyre is deflated and inflate, repair, fix as appropriate. In not then
2) buy a single part used RFT. Ebay is littered with them. Downside is unknown tyre history, etc. Cheap way to keep going until you can justify/afford a 4 corner swap. Example only as I don't know what sizes you have of 2 with 7mm treads for £125 or offer http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bridgestone-P...3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:1|39:1|240:1318
3) change both rears for new RFT if you paln to keep RFT's
4) cut your losses and stick 4 Falkens on for <£400 and sell on your part worns to recoup something
 
Cheers for all the thoughts / inputs!

Still at work so not yet had the chance to go home and re-inflate / inspect the suspect tyre. Not sure I'd be too keen on buying a used tyre, not knowing its history etc and also I'm not too clear on whether it's safe, or not, to repair run flats....hmmmm.

With respect to the mixing and matching i.e. Falkens on the rear and two RFTs on the front, would this not upset the vehicle dynamics due to different treads and side wall stiffness on the front and rear axles?

Cheers

Paul
 
On my first Z4 I successfully made 2 repairs of RF's using mushroom plugs and continued to run the tires until they were worn out without any problems. My understanding is once a RF or any tire for that matter is repaired it looses it speed rating.
 
Pauly_G said:
Cheers for all the thoughts / inputs!

Still at work so not yet had the chance to go home and re-inflate / inspect the suspect tyre. Not sure I'd be too keen on buying a used tyre, not knowing its history etc and also I'm not too clear on whether it's safe, or not, to repair run flats....hmmmm.

With respect to the mixing and matching i.e. Falkens on the rear and two RFTs on the front, would this not upset the vehicle dynamics due to different treads and side wall stiffness on the front and rear axles?

Cheers

Paul
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Totally agree re the dangers of a 2nd hand tyre and noted it in my comments, however it's a cheap way to keep rolling for a few weeks. Still you don't know if the car you just purchase from a dealer/seller has a banged up alloy refurbed and internally damaged tyre refitted, so all a small gamble anyway.

I agree re not mixing RFT's and others. That would really worry me, but as with everything it matters only once..when you need it too when you have to brake or do something at the limits of turning grip.

Some have repaired RFT's but I posted previously having pulled one off mine that had deflated it was trashed inside, so would never personally do it.

Correct route of course is 1 but better 2 new RFT's on the rear or swap them all over to the Falkens.
 
cj10jeeper said:
Totally agree re the dangers of a 2nd hand tyre and noted it in my comments, however it's a cheap way to keep rolling for a few weeks. Still you don't know if the car you just purchase from a dealer/seller has a banged up alloy refurbed and internally damaged tyre refitted, so all a small gamble anyway.

I agree re not mixing RFT's and others. That would really worry me, but as with everything it matters only once..when you need it too when you have to brake or do something at the limits of turning grip.

Some have repaired RFT's but I posted previously having pulled one off mine that had deflated it was trashed inside, so would never personally do it.

Correct route of course is 1 but better 2 new RFT's on the rear or swap them all over to the Falkens.
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Completely agree I am pretty uncomfortable with the concept of repairing the runflat, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that it's either one new RFT or 4 Falkens, will have a look when I get home and make the decision this weekend.
 
Have just got home and checked the tyre out. There was still 15 psi of pressure.....versus approximately 30 psi for the others (which are running a little low) in the tyre so not completely empty. So I think tomorrow morning I might head to my local tyre place to get the tyre off the wheel and have a closer look at it.

Once I've done this I can then decide what action to take.

Cheers

Paul
 
Just get it inflated tonight and see what it does by morning and don't do any quick driving on it with 15 PSI

RFT's are a PITA to remove and fit and are a quick way for an amateur Kwik fit Fitter to damage your rims.
 
cj10jeeper said:
Just get it inflated tonight and see what it does by morning and don't do any quick driving on it with 15 PSI

RFT's are a PITA to remove and fit and are a quick way for an amateur Kwik fit Fitter to damage your rims.
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Defintely not!

Have just inflated to 35 PSI, will check first thing in the morning, fingers crossed, you never know I could have just knocked some air out of it....!(does that ever happen...?)
 
I can say I've never found it problem running the Falkens on the back and the rft on the front....and I do my fair share kicking the arse out on the car in this weather :evil:
 
no fit state said:
I can say I've never found it problem running the Falkens on the back and the rft on the front....and I do my fair share kicking the arse out on the car in this weather :evil:
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I have no doubt at all of that being the case, but if you found yourself in a ditch or crash I'd give odds on that your insurance would be invalid, or in the event of a prosecution police 'experts' would cite mixed tyres as a contributing factor. Just IMHO
 
Well popped down this morning and the tyre had deflated by approximately 5 psi. Trundled down to the local tyre place, took the wheel off and discovered a nice nail about a centimetre and a half from the side wall - definitely not repairable! Aside from that the inside of the tyre looked fine, sidewalls were pristine, although the tyre fitters had a right job getting it off the rim.

In the end I plumped for one new runflat - I'll make the swap to Falkens at some point in the future, but when I decide to swap rather than just doing it.
 
Pauly_G said:
Well popped down this morning and the tyre had deflated by approximately 5 psi. Trundled down to the local tyre place, took the wheel off and discovered a nice nail about a centimetre and a half from the side wall - definitely not repairable! Aside from that the inside of the tyre looked fine, sidewalls were pristine, although the tyre fitters had a right job getting it off the rim.

In the end I plumped for one new runflat - I'll make the swap to Falkens at some point in the future, but when I decide to swap rather than just doing it.
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Good call to go witht he single RFT and change later. I would have expected the inside to be just fine as ytou never drove it deflated.
 
cj10jeeper said:
no fit state said:
I can say I've never found it problem running the Falkens on the back and the rft on the front....and I do my fair share kicking the arse out on the car in this weather :evil:
Click to expand...

I have no doubt at all of that being the case, but if you found yourself in a ditch or crash I'd give odds on that your insurance would be invalid, or in the event of a prosecution police 'experts' would cite mixed tyres as a contributing factor. Just IMHO
Click to expand...
Yes would have to agree with that, no way would I run mixed normal and RFT tyres at the same time, I value my health/life more than a few hundred quid.

Pauly_G said:
In the end I plumped for one new runflat - I'll make the swap to Falkens at some point in the future, but when I decide to swap rather than just doing it.
Click to expand...
One new RFT will be fine, you'll just need to watch the other rear - as it wears the differences in grip will start to widen, and you might have to renew the existing rear at 3mm, but still a better option than two rears now.
 
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