Run flats

F

Foxy3.0

Member
I know there are lots of topics on this but i just wanted to add in my 2 pence worth...

Bought my 3.0i Z4 before xmas, and truth be told I have never been happy with the handling, pretty disappointing compared to my M3 and my mk1 RS, which surprised me.

Dealer had replaced worn out rear run flats with some budget(ish) tyres, but never have i been so glad, because today I was able to swap the fronts and rears around (non staggered OE 17s sizes)

While they were off i noticed that the front wishbone rear bushes are shot ( half inch or so wobble front to rear on the wheel ) so i thought i'd notice no difference going to non-run flats, but i'm amazed, the car is transformed, steering is responsive, car doesnt try and drag itself left and right on normal roads, nor does it try and throw me into the path of oncoming traffic on the slightest bump, and all of this despite the fact my steering geo must be all over the shop on braking and turn in.

Can't wait to fit these new bushes now, the car has huge potential! I can't believe what engineer at BMW thought run flats were a good idea, from my experience they utterly destroy what seems to be a really nicely set up chassis!
 
I have owned a Z4 Coupe for over 3 years now , fitted with Bridgestone runflats which I believe are one of the worst runflats you can get. I have now reached the stage were the car is virtually unusable on Liverpool roads due to potholes every where , fine on motorway but town driving useless. From what I can gather my car has M Sport suspension so that coupled with runflats just makes matters worse . I don't want to spend out on non runflats if they make no difference to hard ride, but as things stand I use my 325i almost all the time now as suspension is much more forgiving. Truthfully is there a real differnce with non runflats and which do you recommend I would appreciate all of your views. Thanks in advance.
 
There are a few members that are happy with run flats, as long as they are not Bridgestone. A large part have switched to non-run flats and I doubt any of us have regretted the switch. A lot of us are happy with Vredesteins. If you can stomach the premium price Michelins are great.
 
I will be going to premium non runflats all round, ive never had run flats on any performance car before, and ive had a few from many manufacturers, including impreza STi one Bridgestone REO50 non runflats which were epic, i believe the REO50 in rft is the standard BMW fitment, and as they are so rubbish it leads me to think that swapping to another run flat is not going to be a experiment worth the cost if bridgestone cant make them good i doubt michelin can either
 
bcworkz said:
There are a few members that are happy with run flats, as long as they are not Bridgestone. A large part have switched to non-run flats and I doubt any of us have regretted the switch. A lot of us are happy with Vredesteins. If you can stomach the premium price Michelins are great.
Click to expand...

I am one of the few who replaced the original Bridgestone RFT's with Michelin RFT's and I can tell you it's a definite difference. I was told by a tire store to ditch the RFT's, but didn't want to hear that. I'm glad I didn't take him up on it because no problems here. Bridgestone tires are the sh!t and never will buy them again. Wifes SUV had Michelins from new. When I finally had to replace them, I chose Bridgestones....why??? don't know. They were piece of crap on the SUV also. (Bought before replacing the Z4 tires). Michelin are pricy, but worth it to me. Just my prference, to each their own reasons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom