RFT's

[gov]

So much is said about tramlining but I have to say I've never noticed it - I've got the standard Bridgestone RFT's on my 3.0SE - here on the IOW we have some of the worst roads in the country - narrow , badly maintained , ruts etc - may be it's the way I drive ( slowly ? )

 

[Sprint]

Same here after much research ended up fitting mine with original spec bridgestone run flats 12 months ago and have to say yes sometimes picks up on bad road joints but generally can't fault them. But do make sure pressures are always at 34 on the fronts.

 

[edderby]

I found that the Bridgestone RE050A runflats fitted from new on my 2004 3.0 were very susceptible to aquaplaning and gave a ride quality that suggested they were filled with concrete rather than air - the car bucked all over the place on rural bumpy backroads. However, their non-yielding sidewalls resulted in razor-sharp turn-in on dry and smooth surfaced roads (sharper than any non-flat that I have subsequently fitted).

 

[csm180]

I had bridgestone rfts for 2 years, tram lining was no more noticeable compared to my conti sport 5's I now run on. However the overall ride is definitely softer now, the reason I changed them. My driving is mixed speeds, never on the limit though.

 

[obewan]

Same here - Agree with the previous (positive) comments, no issues for me
I noticed a slight improvement when new rears were fitted as well (they were well worn when I bought it)
P Zeros on the back, Bridgestones on the front to be replaced shortly

 

[gannet]

I found the tramlining worse under acceleration when joining a motorway - ie the ruts in the inside lane would alter your chosen line.

After switching to the michelin's this simply disappeared...

 

[Dewi]

Coming from MX5s the tramlining on the Zed was initially a bit "disturbing" for me. The Sport Black 2 litre I had before the Zed was the worst handlng MX5 of all three I've owned, one reason I got shot of it. But, compared to all of them, especially the previous 1.8 Miyako and the one before that which was a lovely Mk1 1.8, the Zed felt awful when i first got behind the wheel. The intention was to get rid of the R/Fs as soon as I could but I've now driven it for getting on 6 months and think I must be getting used to it because a tyre change is no longer a priority.

Sure it still tramlines, but I get a feeling that new tyres aren't going to solve that. The steering itself is an oddity, I could never grow to love the electric power assistance, it's just an unecessary added complication which creates very little in the way of road feedback. Having said that, when you get used to it, the car can be hustled through the twisties at quite decent speeds and feel every bit as planted - if not better than - the MX5s. I find the Zed like my old Harley was - it takes time to get to know it, you can't jump in & assess it on the strength of one realtively short test drive - it needs to be learned. Those runflats are hard though, so maybe a change will come soon.