RFTs repaired at ATS EuroMaster

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trailZ4

Member
Having owned my Z4 less than a week, I was rather pissed to find I'd picked up a puncture last week!

The run flat indicator light came on and i got a beep while I was about 20 miles from home. I re-inflated the tyre and it seemed to stay inflated and the following morning it had only lost a bit of pressure so I assumed it was a slow puncture (or a big nail was holding the air in).

I didn't realise what a ball ache it is to find somewhere that will repair RFTs as this is the first time I've ever had them on a car, but ATS will do them.

The good news is my puncture ended up being a leaky rim (sounds dodgy) so they just re-sealed it and I'm sorted, but they did say that should i get a genuine puncture in the future they'll repair. Just thought I'd mention it if anyone else needs an RFT repairing in future and ends up doing the same searching I did.
 
You need to think about how deflated that tyre was when you presumably drove it the 20 miles home. If you stopped inflated and drove then you'll be fine, but if you drove with it partly delfated then the tyre could well be scrap. They are designed to get you home then bin as the sidewalls fall to bits.
 
Yeah that's a good point cj10jeeper, I did drive on it flat and only inflated once I'd got home. I've read similar stories online about the sidewalls potentially being damaged but oddly, ATS didn't even ask if I'd driven on it. So I suppose strictly speaking, my tyre is now bin-worthy because I drove on it flat even though it didn't have a puncture.

I think I'm going to risk it... I cant face replacing a nearly new tyre after what happened., I know some may disagree. However I can't help feeling there's an element of bullshit that the manufacturers / BMW tell us just to get us to fork out for new tyres as soon as we get the slightest puncture...
 
trailZ4 said:
However I can't help feeling there's an element of bullshit that the manufacturers / BMW tell us just to get us to fork out for new tyres as soon as we get the slightest puncture...
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I'm also a skeptic, but I've seen the inside & inner sidewall of a non-RFT after only 5 miles of driving on it flat, and you wouldn't even have used it as a necklace for a gatso.

The problem with an RFT tyre is that cursory inspection of the inner sidewall won't show up the damage as easily - doesn't mean it's not there, but do you really want to be worrying everytime you accelerate, brake, corner?
 
have you ever seen a failed tyre wall ??

Keep you eye's peeled for bulges on either side, and I hope for your's and other sakes you don't get a blow out on the motorway.
 
Your call but you are driving a 155 mph car on a scrap tyre.

You will worry about it every time you push the car hard or at speed.

(That wall is designed to get you up to 50 miles at 50 to a garage)
 
I was unlucky enough to get 2 punctures in the same tyre 2 days in a row.

Had a puncture nearside rear on the Wednesday, had it replaced on the Thursday, by the time I got home from work on the Friday having driven 8 miles home I found another puncture in the brand new tyre.

I binned the new tyre, even though I'd only driven 20 miles on it, because I couldn't be sure when I got the puncture and I don't trust repairing runflats as you can't easily tell how much damage was done to the sidewall.

Personally I wouldn't risk it, yes they're expensive, but for the sake of a couple of hundred quid against the chance of it going again at the most inappropriate moment, I know where my money is going...
 
This is also another reason to be wary of part-worns from ebay - even if it's just to put on to sell the car.

You've got no idea of the history of the tyre and many will have come off crashed/scrapped cars - although some are simply where the owner has had a puncture and decided to replace for a paired set - but you never know.
 
all valid points guys and yes it does concern me still driving on it (even more after reading this :P)

I did 400 miles in the car this weekend (mainly motorway) and it's held out so far, but I understand what you're saying about putting the tyre under stress when cornering etc and it will play on my mind.

I think this episode is a good enough excuse to replace the whole lot with some non RFTs :thumbsup: - although my daily commute is fairly short and reserved so I might try and get a bit more use out of them first...
 
mmm-five said:
This is also another reason to be wary of part-worns from ebay - even if it's just to put on to sell the car.
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Yeah initially when I thought I had a puncture I figured I could pick one up off ebay or even here, but of course I might have ended up with a tyre worse the one I've got. You just never know...

What is odd tho, is that ATS were just willing to repair my damaged tyre... they didn't even ask how many miles i'd driven on it flat etc. If it's difficult to tell when there's sidewall damage, even when the tyres been removed, aren't ATS taking a risk offering to patch them? Especially when a customer could get a blow out on the repaired tyre 10 miles down the road if the sidewall had hidden damage.
 
trailZ4 said:
What is odd tho, is that ATS were just willing to repair my damaged tyre... they didn't even ask how many miles i'd driven on it flat etc. If it's difficult to tell when there's sidewall damage, even when the tyres been removed, aren't ATS taking a risk offering to patch them? Especially when a customer could get a blow out on the repaired tyre 10 miles down the road if the sidewall had hidden damage.
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Well yes, you'd assume the fitter would have a duty of care to ensure the tyre was roadworthy - and in their defence, the fitter might have had a good look for signs of damage, but with a runflat I'm not sure how much harder it is to see damage in a thicker/sturdier sidewall. But how would you go about proving they were at fault if the tyre blows out 2,000 miles later?

Although you could have offered the information rather than waiting to be asked :poke: :P
 
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