A new tyre today cost me...!!!

S

slackjack

Member
 Coulsdon, Surrey
Greetings all,

Was on my morning 4 mile commute today and my tyre puncture light came on on my 3L Sport Coupe. Shiza I thought...

Parked up, couldn't tell which was flat due to the ultra stiff tyre rims, then found the bugger which had a lovely screw embedded!

After a couple of quotes, I had the tyre replaced all in for the pricely sum of £225!!

Word of warning, run-flats are expensive (as are random screws lying in the road!) :headbang:
 
No chance of a repair sadly due to them being run-flats. Cannot repair them at all, believe its due to them being tubeless.

Was tempted to get them all on standard non-flats but thought better of it due to having only done 8K on the other 3.

Interesting fact today though, the puncture sensor works from the ABS system which can detect any lag from a whell (from a deflated tyre). I thought it could have been an internal pressure gauge on remote but simply the ABS system.
 
slackjack said:
No chance of a repair sadly due to them being run-flats. Cannot repair them at all, believe its due to them being tubeless.
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Who told you that?

They can only not be repaired if they have been "run flat". If the screw was removed at the garage and they had not lost total pressure they would have been fine to repair.

I've had it done.
 
Mr Man at RSR wheels and tyres told me that.

It had though completely deflated and I was running on the tyrewall (albeit for no more than 2 miles or so til I got to the garage).

I seriously don't want to hear that I could have been repaired! :cry:
 
slackjack said:
No chance of a repair sadly due to them being run-flats. Cannot repair them at all, believe its due to them being tubeless.

Was tempted to get them all on standard non-flats but thought better of it due to having only done 8K on the other 3.

Interesting fact today though, the puncture sensor works from the ABS system which can detect any lag from a whell (from a deflated tyre). I thought it could have been an internal pressure gauge on remote but simply the ABS system.
Click to expand...


Just a few things:

1. You CAN repair a run-flat, but most places will not due to liability issues, especially on high performance tires.
2. Automobile tires have been tubeless for what, 45 years?
3. Facelift Zs in the USA DO have in tire sensors. Pre facelift work as the UK ones do-off the ABS.

:driving:
 
Actually, I'm surprised they had your size in stock in RFT. Nobody stocks them where I am. I'm not sure of your size but the price seems normal for a RFT. I thought they could be repaired unless torn or too near the shoulder or sidewall.
 
Had a nail in my OEM RFT, BMW dealer couldn't/wouldn't fix it but sent me to a tire store that could. That was 4 years ago and never had a problem since. So if anyone says it can't be done, tell them it worked for me. About a month ago I finally replaced the OEM RFT's due to wear after 33,000 miles. I made the decision to go with the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 ZP's, much more superior to the Bridgestones.
 
DannyBoy said:
They can only not be repaired if they have been "run flat". If the screw was removed at the garage and they had not lost total pressure they would have been fine to repair.
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Whilst I'm sure it's physically possible to repair a Bridgestone RE040 (Michelin ZP's can be repaired pretty much to the same degree as non-RFT), the problem is liability. The tyre itself says "do not repair" on the side, so in the event on an accidient the insurer might get uptight about it.

The reason for the non-repair policy is that you can't tell the condition of the sidewalls purely by inspection, so the future run-flat capability can't be determined. And it doen't need to be total pressure loss to run at least partially on the sidewalls, as soon as the RFT indicator is triggered it means the sidewalls are taking load.
 
Makes me so glad I've changed away from run-flat tyres on my Z4 - I couldn't handle the costs of replacement tyres...

£350 for 4 (yes, a full set) of Falken FK452's in 225/40/18 and 255/35/18 Z4 fitment, no brainer for me.
 
I'll side with Andrew and Dannyboy on this one. The key to all this is where the puncture is and most importantly the hidden damage done if the tyre has been run any distance deflated.

I saw first hand when I purchased some spare rims and had the rft's removed for scrap, the internal destruction of driving them deflated. One had a repair and at least a cup full of ground rubber inside and a deep crack around the inside of the wall to tread area. Invisible outside but would be lethal to drive on.

If you stop, get the tyre off or car recovered and repaired then it will be just fine. If you drive partially deflated on a slow puncture then a short distance will be fine. (The ABS triggers on very small loss of pressure)
Of course the purist answer is to stick with 'rft's are unrepairable, never should be, insurance worries, etc.' but we have to make realistic judgements.

IMHO the 2 miles to the tyre shop cost slackjack in the region of £110 per mile :thumbsdown:

Thank goodness I have gone to Falkens. At £350 for 4 I can easily justify them from so many angles
 
Are there not insurance impications for moving to non-rft's though too?
Dont some insurers insist on run flats.
For those who have gone to normal rubber, I hope you've notified them or it could be a case of "I dont think so" come pay out time.
:o
 
thestig said:
Are there not insurance impications for moving to non-rft's though too?
Dont some insurers insist on run flats.
For those who have gone to normal rubber, I hope you've notified them or it could be a case of "I dont think so" come pay out time.
:o
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I have seen numerous posts where they have been reported to insurers and none to the best of my knowledge have objected or raised premiums. Mine could not care less. They were more worried about a hardtop being a bodywork modification :headbang:

The exception will be cars on PCP, lease, etc. where they are likely to have to go back on OEM tyres or dealer trade ins where they may deduct to revert sothey can resell.
 
Fair point.
I will check with my insurers when the time comes for me to replace a tyre on mine.
Not sure I fancy £450 per end bills thanks very much!
Fook that!
:o
 
thestig said:
Are there not insurance impications for moving to non-rft's though too?
Dont some insurers insist on run flats.
For those who have gone to normal rubber, I hope you've notified them or it could be a case of "I dont think so" come pay out time.
:o
Click to expand...

That's correct. Apparently More Than and Kwikfit both state they don't cover non-RFT's. Chris Knott (forum insurance scheme) don't mind though.

It is a bit of a grey area in terms of insurance companies that haven't made comment. Personally I never told me previous insurer, and it did always worry me a little.
 
Other than having tyre insurance (£250 when I bought the car and already paid for itself), the only thing the RFT manufacturers could do better is to have a compound in the tyrewall that releases a coloured compound into the tyrewall as it's driving on flat. Once you see the coloured line/spot/section you'd know that the tyre was scrap or not.
 
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