tyres ??
 

hi , i recently purchased my X5 and the front tyres had recently had 2 new bridgestone runflats fitted so are in an as new condition. the rears however will need replacing soon, my question is ..... i have read that runflats do not last and give a poorer ride quality so would it be adviseable to replace these with a good quality normal tyre ? i would then have to but a spare wheel from bmw (any idea of cost ?) i would then replace the fronts when required later down the line. is it going to cause me a problem running runflats on the front and not the rear ? any ideas/advice welcome

regards
gary

no advice from anyone ?

Well, I have no direct experience doing that and, from memory,
have not read anyone doing that, on this or, other car boards I peruse...
A quick GOOG search, same as you could do, lists some anecdotal
stuff suggesting not to, but nothing very concrete or documented, imo.

Thinking about it, (having driven a lot on RFTs and non-RFTS on same
car: a Corvette), I would guess that the handling may be or, should be
slightly affected at hard cornering limits. But, that is simply a notion
on my part, and based on the RFTs having a much stiffer side wall and
slightly different construction. It would also seem that your potential
non-RFT rear fitment idea may have less detrimental effect due to being
on the non-steering axle...

Back at the ol'Tire Ranch, your initial wonderment on RFTs, "do not last
and give a poorer ride quality", is a bit overboard, imo. RFTs are getting
"better" by the year and while they have slightly different characteristics,
especially when "worn", I would not dismiss them out of hand...
Long post, much of which you have probably found out in your search.
GL,mD

I wouldn't advise changing just two tires, because soon enough the other two are going to wear out and it's a never ending cycle! Ideally you're better off replacing all four at the same time so they wear evenly and need replacement at the same time. Yes run-flats are expensive so if you can avoid them, I would. If you do damage one tire, you would have to replace it, and then you have one new tire and three worn out! So my advice...go out and but a good set of four tires, and keep a can of the flat repair kit with you!

I thought that the rims for run flat tyres are different to standard wheel rims and that you cannot put normal tyres on runflat rims?

Is this correct? any wheel experts out there?

Ah, maybe or, sometimes or, varies by wheel/mfg'er; ;)
I, and half the Corvette owners on the planet have
run non-RFTs on oem wheels, (originally had RFTs),
with success and no problems.
Read this informative thread...Search Tab works:
http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...well-tire.html
BR,mD

Tirerack has a whole list of non run flats that will fit the OEM rims. I recall reading that you can't put run flats on a non-run flat rim, but you can put regular tires on a run flat rim. Believe the run flat rim has an extra flange. Anyway, lots of info on other BMW forums that support non-rfts on rft rims. I'm going to make the switch myself when the rfts wear down. Good luck!

I'm ditching my runflats... I got a screw in one & had it plugged (yes that was probably against the manufacturer recommendation but I would have had to wait 2 weeks for stock !).. the same tire is losing pressure again. the X5 RFT monitor is not working as the tire was at 17Psi and no alarm went off despite calibrating at full pressure. :( .. I probably will replace the rears now .. fronts later... but definitely going non RFT .. I have the dolly spare , No RFT can sometimes be repaired and Run Flats are just not worth the money IMHO.

this is my thinking also

i aim to put 2 normal tyres on the rear , and keep running with the 2 new run flats on the front , i will need to but a spare wheel from bmw though --anyone know the rough price of a spare ?

can anyone see a major problem with what i intend doing ?

thanks
gary

Run the Dunlop runflats, they are I believe able to be pluged legally!

MY new X5 coming will have dunlops, told the dealer if it arrives with any other brand he will need to swap them over!

Dunlops are the least noisey of all the RTF brands!