Runflats. A positive story

Z

Zed Five

Senior member
About 50 miles from home this week on a busy late evening motorway, i get the 'bong' and a long dashboard message about low pressure. This is a red warning, front nearside.

Turn off the motorway and find nearest petrol station. Air is gushing out (loud hissing) and it will take pressure of no more than 16psi. No chance of being a slow punture then.

I doubt that a fluid repair could have resolved this, but the rft got me home, zero psi and no alloy damage at all. No doubt, a bill for £150 today, but no 3 hours to be trailered home. Have to admit, quite impressed.

but driving at 50 on a motorway in a big sportscar is not the way to make friends :roll:
 
I have to say I'm not anti run flat either. It's all a trade off and you make your choice.

But what for goodness sake hit your tyre to cause that sort of damage...............? :o
 
They do have their uses.
My wife had a blow out in the outside lane of the M8 late last year in the X6.
She just heard a noise, a slight pull in the steering and then the bongs.
She slowed and went onto the hard shoulder to double check what was wrong and then drove the rest of the way home slowly.
When arriving home there was a rip in the side wall of the tyre.
Shame they are so expensive.
 
+1 I have to say, that despite all of the negative comments they get on here, and elsewhere, that the safety side of not having to stop and get out at the side of a motorway is possibly in itself a lifesaver. Also, on my car, after all the bushes etc had been done, and a proper alignment, I just don't get the worrying tramlining etc that seems to afflict other E85's, YES the ride is hard, but hey ho, it's a sports car.

Mike
 
I wonder if runflats make other parts of the car wear out quicker, like bushes, bearings and ball joints
 
RFTs?
X6, wife, Scotland - yes.
35iS, me, England - no.
Not a cat in Hell's chance.
On checked suspension & with Hunter alignment, they were crap to the point of being dangerous.
 
Busterboo said:
RFTs?
X6, wife, Scotland - yes.
35iS, me, England - no.
Not a cat in Hell's chance.
On checked suspension & with Hunter alignment, they were crap to the point of being dangerous.
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Does a woman in Scotland in a car with runflats make more of a difference than a man in England, Wales or Ireland?
Just wondering why you have mentioned it twice now.
 
In a generalisation, yes. In Scotland there are longer distances between conurbations & garages, worse weather in winter, fewer hours of daylight ...
 
I got lured to BMW wonderfulness in 2005, based on the positive experiences of Mrs Tidy who bought a new R53 Mini One in 2003 (compounded by the general disinterest in potential customers at the Benz "dealership" in Slough). :rofl:

So I bought a 320td Compact and had one puncture, thankfully in the summer of 2006 and at about 23K miles so the tyre was pretty worn out anyway! Was on my way to work in Windsor after a bit of "working from home" and a dentist appointment so time wasn't an issue! Found some good hardstanding in Windsor Great Park and stuck the space-saver on - no harm done (apart from getting sweaty in the sun). :lol:

Then I replaced it with a 123d in 2008 and had 2 punctures, albeit in over 6 years and 81K miles. But both times it was snowing, and the second time it was half-dark and blowing a blizzard - that is when I decided RFTs were a great idea!

At least as capable as a space-saver as in 50 mph for 100 miles or so, but RFTs don't require you to risk your life at the roadside!

During that time period Mrs Tidy bought an R56 Mini Cooper that had RFTs, which I thought was a great idea given that she (and I) did quite a few 200 mile trips (each way) to see her mother when she wasn't in the best of health.

So I think I am likely to keep RFTs on my Z4 even if only for avoidance of grief! (Probably won't get Potenzas though)!
 
My first experience of RFTs were Dunlop Denovos on a Mini 1275 GT. Their weakness was that you didn't know when you'd had a puncture. There were two reasons for this. One, there was no mechanism to tell you and, two, the ride with & without a puncture was the same, not good.

My 35iS came to me with 20k miles on the clock, 3 Bridgestones with 5mm tread and one with less than 2mm. This, I suspect, was because the owner hadn't initiated the RF indicator and didn't know he'd had a puncture. Like the Denovos, the ride with & without one wasn't much different.
 
But how often does a puncture happen? I haven't had one for 25 years. It has always struck me as crazy that we (without run flats) all cart around a heavy spare tyre in the boot at cost to performance, space and fuel economy to fix a problem that almost never occurs. I've had a flat battery probably half a dozen times - but nobody carries a spare battery.
Martin
 
Martinrcooper said:
But how often does a puncture happen? I haven't had one for 25 years. It has always struck me as crazy that we (without run flats) all cart around a heavy spare tyre in the boot at cost to performance, space and fuel economy to fix a problem that almost never occurs. I've had a flat battery probably half a dozen times - but nobody carries a spare battery.
Martin
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:popcorn:

You are pushing yer luck !
Don't ask me how I know this.
Cheers
 
ronk said:
Martinrcooper said:
But how often does a puncture happen? I haven't had one for 25 years.
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Now there's the kiss of death !
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Years back I remember pointing out that id never had a smashed windscreen.

Then i had 5 in two years. One on my brand new z4 coupe the day after picking it up. During the pre windscreen fitting inspection, the fitter commented that the car looked 'like new'. :roll:
 
Martinrcooper said:
But how often does a puncture happen? I haven't had one for 25 years. It has always struck me as crazy that we (without run flats) all cart around a heavy spare tyre in the boot at cost to performance, space and fuel economy to fix a problem that almost never occurs. I've had a flat battery probably half a dozen times - but nobody carries a spare battery.
Martin
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I must have had a flat battery 4 or 5 times in a year in my first car, a MKII Cortina! Never carried a spare battery, but always had a tow rope and jump leads in that POS! :rofl:

To be fair I've probably only had the 3 punctures I mentioned in the last 20 years, but in the same 20 years I've never had a flat battery (my 1 Series actually told me it was dying before it did) but on that 3 to 1 ratio I'd rather carry a spare wheel or have RFTs! I don't worry about weight - there's nothing of me! :lol:

Anyway you don't have that spare wheel weight issue with RFTs!
 
Martinrcooper said:
We will see. I've just bought my first z4 - Like 2 hours ago. No runflats, no spare.
Martin
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Might be worth investing in some Tyreweld or similar and a compressor - just in case! :)
 
Mr Tidy said:
Martinrcooper said:
We will see. I've just bought my first z4 - Like 2 hours ago. No runflats, no spare.
Martin
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Might be worth investing in some Tyreweld or similar and a compressor - just in case! :)
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How does this gunk effect the tpms units I wonder?
 
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