Puncture Poll - RFTs only

[lacroupade]

A comment on one of the tyre threads got me thinking; wondering what the actuals were on the puncture front so that people can make a risk judgement when they move away from RFTs.

Your answers should pertain only to your Zed ownership.

I've set the poll so you can select as many answers as necessary, i.e. multiple puncture types on either RFT or non-RFT, as well as allowing you to amend your response if you put the answer against the wrong tyre type.

And obviously, the only time you should be responding to the non-RFT qustions is if you are actually running them or have done so! - in which case you should of course also have completed the RFT questions as well (unless you bought your Zed with non-RFTs already fitted, in which case the reverse applies!).

And remember that a single response saying you've never had a puncture is not only legitimate but desirable.

OK, you can turn your papers over now!.....

 

[srhutch]

I got a puncture on Friday, light came on so I pulled over as soon as I could, didnt panic as car felt OK. As I have non RFT tyres I carry a compressor and two cans of weld. Anyway got out (in pissing rain) and all looked OK, but checked anyway, sods law last tyre was down to 22psi. Pumped up reset system carried on journey to work as wasnt sure if it was puncture or loss over period of time.

Checked at lunchtime and all looked OK. Washed car yesterday and pressure was down to 23psi so removed wheel and checked, couldnt see anything but took to tyre fitter who found small nail but it's at the edge so cant be repaired.

Tyre has only done about 4k so I'm pretty pissed, only consolation of course is price is around half of RFT.

I have remembered that I did take out tyre insurance when I bough the car though as we have a number of BMW's with RFT's at work and seem to pick up punctures fairly often, so though it might be a good idea. I have checked the policy and it is "Tyre Insurance" and not "Run Flat Tyre Insurance" so hopefully a call tomorrow and a save of £130 ish.

At the end of the day I would never repair a puncture on a RFT if it has been run flat as you have no idea of the damage done. I had hoped my tyre would be OK as pressure hasnt dropped below 22psi, but du to location it cant be repaired anyway. Cost of replacing non runflats is nearly half the cost, the ride is much better, traction 100 times better and I owuld never switch back to RFT's

 

[WLH]

I drove my first Z4 (2003) for about 8 months on RF's and had 2 punctures. I repaired both myself with mushroom plugs and never had a problem with the repairs. That is pretty much my experience with RF's as I went to non RF's and have not as of yet in the past 6 years had a puncture on non RF's....ah so far...

 

[lacroupade]

Not heard of these 'mushroom plugs' WLH....do they make the tyre get 'high' again or what? Seriously, what are they and how do they work?

 

[WLH]

Not heard of these 'mushroom plugs' WLH....do they make the tyre get 'high' again or what? Seriously, what are they and how do they work?

You might be able to high on the plug cement...
See this thread...
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2150&start=15

 

[Konketsu]

I drove with Run Flats for the first 8 months I had the car. Within the first 2 months I had one puncture that was unrepairable, but I could still drive to the dealer and get overcharged for a brand new RFT (something like $400).

5 months later I went to get my non-RFT winter tires installed and when they pulled the RFTs off, one of them had another nail near the edge and they wouldn't repair it.

After that winter I got non-RFT Goodyear Assymetrics on 18"s and I've driven on them and the 17" winter non-RFTs for almost 3 years now. I only just recently had a small nail in one of my 18" tires. The warning light came on when I was driving to work so I stopped in the nearest gas station, checked pressure and one was down to 23psi. I filled it up to 32 and continued to work, rechecked it at lunch and it was down to 28psi. The tire repair place is nearby so I drove there after work and they fixed it within 30 minutes for <$30.

From what I've seen and read the RFTs pick up nails and punctures a lot more than normal tires. I do have a tire pump and sealer (similar to the M one) in my trunk, and AA roadside assistance membership just in case, since I use to drive a lot on the highway.

I still have the 3 original RFTs at home, but if I ever need to put them on when I sell or trade the car I'll need to pick up another one, hopefully I can find a used one for cheap. The extra price of RFTs is not worth it IMO.

 

[WLH]

The extra price of RFTs is not worth it IMO.

I agree and one of my main concerns is if I was on a trip and a tire became un-repairable it is going to be impossible to find a replacement tire without a delay of a few days while it is shipped in to wherever you're stranded.

 

[MrGringo]

I ran the OEM RFT's for about 6 months before I changed my wheels/tyres to non-RFTs.
For the last couple of months I had a slow puncture in one which took a few weeks to run down, expect it to be a leaky valve but knew I wasn't going to keep RFTs so didn't get it changed. Tyre held up ok and I've got it in the garage now with the rest of the set, although will change it should the time come to use them again.

About a month ago my pressure indicator came on about 10 miles from home and a mile from nearest petrol station so didn't panic, just drove to the services and checked the pressures - front right was low @22psi. Topped it up and drove back home, next day I looked and there was a ruddy great nail in the wheel. checked the pressure with the compressor I bought when I switched to non-RFTs and it was down to about 27. Fortunately there's a tyre guy less than a minute away so took it there and he patched it up for me for £15. Since then it's been A1.

 

[lacroupade]

I ran the OEM RFT's for about 6 months before I changed my wheels/tyres to non-RFTs.
For the last couple of months I had a slow puncture in one which took a few weeks to run down, expect it to be a leaky valve but knew I wasn't going to keep RFTs so didn't get it changed. Tyre held up ok and I've got it in the garage now with the rest of the set, although will change it should the time come to use them again.

About a month ago my pressure indicator came on about 10 miles from home and a mile from nearest petrol station so didn't panic, just drove to the services and checked the pressures - front right was low @22psi. Topped it up and drove back home, next day I looked and there was a ruddy great nail in the wheel. checked the pressure with the compressor I bought when I switched to non-RFTs and it was down to about 27. Fortunately there's a tyre guy less than a minute away so took it there and he patched it up for me for £15. Since then it's been A1.

Who's your tyre guy MrG, is he reliable? As you know I'm only just outside Abingdon....I've had my RFTs replaced at TSA in Abingdon ages ago and they did an OK job, but if you know someone better.....

 

[MrGringo]

I'm in Wallingford, the guy was very sound and did the job carefully in front of me. Also when I asked about alignment he told me how most places would have instantly told me they needed doing and then proceeded to "Swear a lot and get the WD40 out", apparently the big tyre dealers pay commission on each alignment job so they see pound signs as soon as you mention it. He said that my tyres were wearing evenly and not showing any sign of uneven wear so I didn't need it. Seemed like a good guy.

His details are:
Wallingford Tyres & Exhausts
Ayres Yard, Station Rd, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 0JZ
01491 824 145‎

 

[lacroupade]

I'm in Wallingford, the guy was very sound and did the job carefully in front of me. Also when I asked about alignment he told me how most places would have instantly told me they needed doing and then proceeded to "Swear a lot and get the WD40 out", apparently the big tyre dealers pay commission on each alignment job so they see pound signs as soon as you mention it. He said that my tyres were wearing evenly and not showing any sign of uneven wear so I didn't need it. Seemed like a good guy.

His details are:
Wallingford Tyres & Exhausts
Ayres Yard, Station Rd, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 0JZ
01491 824 145‎

Cheers for that - is that the place at the l/h side of the old Grammar School?

 

[MrGringo]

It is indeed.

 

[biffa]

(Touch wood) never had a "proper" puncture.

However, one of my rear RFTs has the slowest slow-puncture in the world. Takes about 6 weeks to drop to half pressure.

 

[paddy wright]

i had a tyre wall bulge on mine and had to bin the tyre (RFT)

 

[timd]

Had a rear left puncture on RFTs on a trackday. Made the handling, err, "interesting" to say the least. :wink:

Did a few laps with the light on just to see what it was like (not good BTW!), then drove to nearest garage - found I had 0psi in that tyre. Tyre wouldn't hold any pressure at all, so no amount of gunk/goo would've fixed it. I then drove to work on it as normal the next day, and the dealer to get new one fitted later on.

All in all a definite win for the RFT as without it I'd have had to get towed off the track, then get flatbed to dealer the next day, all of which would have costed and I'd have missed a days work.