Non-runflat shennanigans ....

D

Defonsecca

Member
A few weeks back I finally got round to replacing the rears on my 3.0Si with non-RF's so 4 all-round now. I won't bang on about how much smoother, quieter & back-breaking free they make the car (potholes are almost a joy) but the attitude of some of the tyre fitters just amazes me :x

I got 2 x Uniroyal Rainsport ll's off http://www.camskill.co.uk at £152.00 each so had to get them fitted. Went to National Tyres, Kwik Fit & Smiley's .... oh boy, talk about getting confronted with crucifix's & Holy Water :o . As soon as I rolled the non-RF's out the boot they went white & "no way pal, company policy says we can't do non-RF's onto RF wheels". The worst was Kwik Fit, the clueless monkey said "it's dangerous to put non-RF's onto RF wheels 'cos them wheels are specially made for runflats mate". Absolute b'llox. When I told him my previous non-RF BMW 330CD Coupe MSport had identical wheels he just got angry & said ".... oi, believe me if you put non-RF's on them wheels you'll end up in a hedge in 20 miles". Well, 800 miles on I'm still alive. So I just went to a local tyre-fitter, bunged him £35 & he did it in about 30 mins no probs.

So def go for non-RF's, avoid the big boys, ignore the scare stories & you won't regret it :thumbsup:
 
Bleh, nothing worse than an poorly informed idiot with strong opinions... :roll:

Glad to hear this was easy - am trying to wear-down my RFTs so I can get some more comfortable rubber on there.

Si
 
Just got my Falkens from 'Event Tyres', a mobile service. Fitter kindly pointed out that I'd ordered non-RFs then got on with it and simply fitted em. I nearly had kittens though when I saw him jack the whole car up on 2 jacks!! Pity he couldn't have taken his time, I'd have brushed off my rusty brake calipers and slapped some paint on em......
 
Even the BMW dealers on this side of the pond here will swap out run-flats for non-run flats. I notice over the year that this seems to be a problem in the UK and I wonder why. It is they want to sell you the more expensive run flat or is it a legal concern that if you have an accident and they would be held liable for installing the wrong tire?
 
I would of called him a retarded cock and walked off after saying if you had went and done some research on the topic and not taking what a few retards say seriously you could of got yourselves a sale. what dickheads
 
WLH said:
Even the BMW dealers on this side of the pond here will swap out run-flats for non-run flats. I notice over the year that this seems to be a problem in the UK and I wonder why. It is they want to sell you the more expensive run flat or is it a legal concern that if you have an accident and they would be held liable for installing the wrong tire?
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My dealer wouldn't sell me a non RFT tyres so had to go elsewhere. However once they were on they would and did supply me one when I got a puncture (under tyre insurance).
 
kipperonabike said:
Just got my Falkens from 'Event Tyres', a mobile service. Fitter kindly pointed out that I'd ordered non-RFs then got on with it and simply fitted em. I nearly had kittens though when I saw him jack the whole car up on 2 jacks!! Pity he couldn't have taken his time, I'd have brushed off my rusty brake calipers and slapped some paint on em......
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What price did Event Tyres do the Falkens for, if you dont mind me asking?
 
I used event-tyres too for my 452s. Seemed very good although I didn't actually watch the guy do the job.

You can get a quote on their site:
http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/
 
Had the same with my local tyre place. Said he could NOT and would NOT fit non RF's onto the rims. Like others have siad, the cocky arrogance they display when spouting their advice is unreal.
 
biffa said:
I used event-tyres too for my 452s. Seemed very good although I didn't actually watch the guy do the job.

You can get a quote on their site:
http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/
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Cheers!
 
yeah, excellent service. Turned up on time, polite, no-fuss, refused free coffee. And no, I'm not related to Event Tyres in any way. As expected, much smoother comfier ride now...and the old runflats have carrots growing in them.
 
Dr Phibes said:
Had the same with my local tyre place. Said he could NOT and would NOT fit non RF's onto the rims. Like others have siad, the cocky arrogance they display when spouting their advice is unreal.
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Whilst I don't want to be seen supporting these numpties, sometimes it's not the fitter who won't do the job, but company policy which states this.

It may simply be company policy due to them wanting to sell a more expensive tyre with a little more margin, or it may simply be that they've never bothered checking the official line and therefore don't want to open themselves up to any consequences.

Ultimately there are plenty of tyre places that will do exactly what you want - and some of them will do so with detrimental effect (i.e. putting 185 width tyres on a 10" wide rim).
 
Good tyre fitters are VERY VERY few and far between.

Find a good one and keep them.

Or buy your own tyre machine like me. No more dealing with people who treat the thing that keeps you safe, like the thing they can't be arsed working with on a Saturday morning after a drinking session the night before etc...

Only issue then is balancing the wheels, and even some tyre places manage to do that badly. Ripping sticky weights off with metal levers into your lacquer. Muppets everywhere I tell you!

Indeed the nicest place I went for a tyre balanced was a wheel re-conditioners, probably because they realise how shoddy handling and hammer on weights damage wheel finishes like nothing else!


Arghhhh!

Rant over :D


When I finally get a decent sized garage I'll have a balancing machine too. Fed up of morons!

Dave
 
It probably won't suprise anyone what Halfords have to say on the matter:

http://www.halfordsautocentres.com/tyres/Tyres-Quick-Links/Run-Flat-Tyres/
 
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