Run Flat or Not to Run Flat?

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

My contention is that my butt was saved 4-5x from having RF tires and it's a big trade off to go back to having to change a tire in a snow bank vs. drive to a safer location.

Just like any insurance policy Andrew. Great when you need it 2% of the time. Just a pain in the wallet the other 98% of the time.

I'll call a tow truck or throw the space saver spare on there in lieu of the RF tires. Granted, as Ard says, my only experiences are with the Bridgestone RF and a Pirelli RF that were both factory tires. So perhaps cheap RFs have sullied my opinion of the whole segment. But, even good RF tires I would imagine are heavier and more expensive than their non RF counterparts.

[andrewwynn]

I've always bought my RF tires used 2/3 off so price wasn't a concern. I bought them after people wore 30% off the top and prob didn't like the sound of other performance issues like you describe.

I do have roadside with my insurance so if I'm lucky enough to have cell service I could be in ok shape. My car does have a full size spare but wife's has none so I will be looking into what spare options I have for her car.

[ard]

Originally Posted by Dave00

I will NEVER NEVER NEVER run Run Flats again. The change in ride quality and tread wear was astonishing. I'm amazed at how hard those Run Flats are as my local discount had a bear of a time getting them off and I probably heard at least a dozen cuss words thru the glass in the waiting room. Went with Nitto Motivos and the ride quality is amazing (Night and Day from the stock Run flats). I carried a can of fix a flat for a while, but finally found and picked up a BMW Spare tire kit from a fellow member for piece of mind. Ditch the Run Flats and go with a standard tire and save money, ride quality and tread life of the tire. You won't be disappointed.

lol


as if "run flat" was a specific tire.


Do you realize this is about as dumb as raving about "I hate them tires with the green stem caps- they SUCK so bad..."


Did you ever think your issue is the BMW stock Bridgestone RFts suck?

I have STOCK michelin RFTs and they are quite good. But people seem to think RFT is a model of tire.

[Dave00]

Originally Posted by ard

lol


as if "run flat" was a specific tire.


Do you realize this is about as dumb as raving about "I hate them tires with the green stem caps- they SUCK so bad..."


Did you ever think your issue is the BMW stock Bridgestone RFts suck?

I have STOCK Michelin RFTs and they are quite good. But people seem to think RFT is a model of tire.

ARD, I completely realize that there are different brands and they all perform/ride a bit different, however on my X5M, you are correct the Bridgestone RFT's were terrible. They rode incredibly harsh and were cupping extremely badly. I've also, experienced terrible ride quality on Michelin RFT's (contrary to your experience) on another vehicle and they too had a very short life. In my opinion, RFT's are just too hard to provide a good ride quality and and do a little searching and you will see that the general consensus across the board from Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Corvette and other exotics is the RFT's from multiple brands don't have a good ride and wear out very quickly when directly compared to their non-RFT counterparts. Lastly, the cost difference is astounding and in some cases you can get the non-RFT tire at half the cost of the RFT equivalent. Everyone has their own opinion, however, mine has been pretty negative toward RFT's and if you can get a spare then they are just not worth the hassle, price and ride.

[Zulu95]

Just got home after taking the F15 Der Adler to Discount Tire for new boots. Run Flats off and:
YokohamaYK740 GTX255 /50 R19 107V XL BSW now fitted. It is like a different vehicle. Even on the gravel road we live off of the ride is quiet and sure footed.

[bcredliner]

IMO run flat tires are not a good value due to the higher cost and they don't always perform as they should. The stiff sidewalls should reduce tire rollover for better handling but some conventional tires also have stiff sidewalls. RFs weigh more than like size conventional tires so there is an increase in unsprung weight which reduces cornering performance.

[Zulu95]

https://michelinmedia.com/michelin-uptis/

[ard]

Originally Posted by Dave00

ARD, I completely realize that there are different brands and they all perform/ride a bit different, however on my X5M, you are correct the Bridgestone RFT's were terrible. They rode incredibly harsh and were cupping extremely badly. I've also, experienced terrible ride quality on Michelin RFT's (contrary to your experience) on another vehicle and they too had a very short life. In my opinion, RFT's are just too hard to provide a good ride quality and and do a little searching and you will see that the general consensus across the board from Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Corvette and other exotics is the RFT's from multiple brands don't have a good ride and wear out very quickly when directly compared to their non-RFT counterparts. Lastly, the cost difference is astounding and in some cases you can get the non-RFT tire at half the cost of the RFT equivalent. Everyone has their own opinion, however, mine has been pretty negative toward RFT's and if you can get a spare then they are just not worth the hassle, price and ride.

Right. Your issue is the BRIDGESTONE part of the tire...not only the RFT part.


Try a High priced michelin Latitude ZP. The are not all the same.


Yet your argument simply devolves into the "rft is bad, everyone SAYS RFTs are bad, RFTs much be bad".


I will agree that:



- on high performance cars (your X5M is *not* one) that runflats are likely a poor design trade off. Porsches...Smaill light BMWs... 3 series... etc



- For big heavy cars, the relatively stiff sidewall on a GREAT rft tire can be a benefit, X5, X7, GLE



and


- few people- if any- do pure A-B comparisons. A michelin Latitude ZP to a michelin latitude non-ZP. Or whatever the pairing is in other tire models.


They simply bad mouth the garbage that the OE manufacturer slapped on, and declare it was the RFT feature that is the problem. This is legion..it is a universal truth...everyone, know matter their level of automotive knowledge has learned "RFTs suck".







Do people not remember the days when the tires they put on new cars sucked? RFT or not??


Also, ive never seen this lie about 'run flats double the cost' to be borne out. Although I tend to use high price michelin tires and dont cross shop. The RFT versions are pretty close. But on this, I dont really spend much time, TBH

[bcredliner]

Post rage

[andrewwynn]

I switched from RF Dunlop to the next generation of the same model but in non RF.

They seam darn near identical though I haven't had the truck empty enough to push hard through an off ramp. I was very happy with the RF performance and very happy (until I get a flat) with the non RF performance.

When I get a chance to really push the car into some oversteer I'll follow up.