big nail : flat tyre
 

I ran in to a big nail yesterday with the front left tyre
I was about 100 miles from home and despite my runflats, it was impossible to continue due to the head of the nail sticking out way to much and I couldn't get it out with my limited roadside tools.
Fortunately I have a spare tyre, took about 5 minutes to change tyres, most effort went in to putting the original front tyre (19") into to trunk

some crappy pictures I took with my blackberry
http://i53.tinypic.com/k0k1t4.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/263j9xl.jpg

max allowed speed with the spare: 50mph or 80km/h:wow:
took me a while to get back home... being overtaken by trucks all the time, not my usual driving :D

The X pulls very hard to the right now so no real fun driving...

I cannot believe you couldn't see the nail on the road before you drove over it!

What kind of drivers are you over there in Belgium?

JK

Doesn't look like there's much tread left on the damaged tire. Might be a good idea to replace both front tires at the same time to avoid drivability problems. Rule of thumb is tread depth of tires should be no more than 4/32" off from each other.

wow ! this lesson teach me to keep a pliers in my car, my 7 seater don't have the spare tire, thanks.

I went to the tyre shop this morning to drop of the tyre.
They told me they are not allowed (car is a lease) to fix the puncture with the usual mushroom as the tyre is a runflat...
Reason is they can't see if the steel structure in the tyre is damaged or not... told them I pulled over immediately after hitting the nail... but they don't want to hear it. The same thing happened to me on my E61, had the tyre plugged with a mushroom, the tyre blew up about 3 months later, so maybe they're not wrong... Anyways, by Monday I should have a new tyre installed.
not my problem because I have extra tyres included in my lease, but it feels like a waste to throw away a tyre that could have lasted for another 10k kms...

We are not terrible drivers in Belgium (at least I'm not...), we just have the worst roads in the world...we actually have some road between the potholes and not the other way around:confused::D

it was raining big time, must admit that I didn't see that thing lying on the ground. I've asked the tyre shop to give me the nail as a souvenir :thumbup:

I have had run flats repaired, as long as you have pulled over and put the space saver on as soon as the gong goes, then the tyre should not be damaged. But if you run on it deflated heat builds up leeding to damage to the tyre, de lamination etc.

better safe than sorry. added bonus of no money out of pocket cant complain about that=]

true:thumbup:
I was getting a lot of false warnings of pressure loss in the E61 so in the long run I ignored the chime and continued driving until it went kaboom:D
This tyre on the E70 could very well be repaired without any problem because I pulled over immediateley, but the tyre guys were firm in their position: puncturd RF = replacement.

That's why i run non runflats now.

If only I could... Lease Co doesn't let me, they want to stick wih original tyres...

Hey Eagle eye.. you are joking right... :bustingupcome here in Greece were most of our roads are crap with full of bumps and dirt and you'll find out if you can focus 100% on the road for objects while driving with 140km...

So the wifey says tire pressure warning on rear driver side tire. Doh! This is the 2008 X5 4.8i we have had for less than 3 weeks!
And sure I do see a nair/screw stuck in it. The Michelin run flats are pimp, and lucky for me it was not in the side wall.
I spoke to 3-4 tire shops and they all said they don't fix run flats and there would be a cost associated if they did, suggesting replacement, blah! Got voicemail at Classic BMW's service when i thought i'd ask their opinion. After reading several blogs getting a run flat fixed vs. replaced later, I called up my fav. Discount Tire Co. shop in Sachse, TX. They confirmed Michelin Runflats can be fixed.
It took less that 15 mins for the work (plus the 2hr wait), but they did do it from the inside, and its as good as new: COST : $0.00, yep that is Zero! vs. having to change the tire - priceless!
And yes I watched the enitre process where they not only removed the tire from the Rim, but did infact fix it from the inside (they also used some liquid polymer kinda substance), and without getting in to the details, we're good to go.
So don't fret if your Run flats have a nail, find a discount tire co, store ;)
Cheers!

Hi Roadster, or anyone else. Does the space saver tyre have to be the same size a the original. For example can a 17" spacesaver be used with a 20" tyre. I read that rolling circumference difference can damage driveshafts, etc. Is this true?

Overall rolling diameter is important (tire + rim).

In an emergency situation you would want them to be close (within mm's? NOT inches).

If they are not close, you will probably do damage to the awd system.

A 17 inch donut ***IS** the same od as ALL of the stock BMW. Wheel/tires combinations,


Look at the od, not the rim size!

I have had a further think about this…

To the Godfather, when a vehicle is turning a tight corner is the outer wheel not turning faster than the inner wheel. And therefore the reason for a differential in the axle. Does this not then mimic the different speeds of two wheel sizes? If different wheel speeds can damage the AWD system, then too much cornering would or should have the same effect.

To Ard, I don't understand your statement. Are you saying that a SINGLE 17” space-saver spare is the same od as a 18”, 19” and 20” rim and tyre??

Any idea what BMW recommend?

Thanks again for any thoughts and advice.

i have factory 20" rims, staggered... the spare is 19" donut... from the factory... as all 4.6/4.8iS (E53) - nothing smaller than 18" will not fit over the brakes...

outside diameter is the key, and there is speed limit, about 50MPH/80kmh on a donut


PS - some non-US distribution "iS" had 19" rims from the factory...

Yes, that is PRECISELY what I am saying.

Tell you what, go to tirerack, look up your car. Select tires for "OE"..look at each of the OE tires, and write down the DIAMETER of the OE 19", the OE 20" etc...all of them will be the same diameter.

Why?

BECAUSE BMW DOESNT WANT TO HAVE TO RECALIBRATE CARS AS THEY ARE BUILT, ordered with different tire/wheel combos!

So the OE donut spare will work on and OE wheel size.

And I do have and idea what BMW recommends: the OE donut spare

The issue with damage to a diff is TIME and SPEED. Effectively mismatched tires will heat the diff and diff fluid. On turns you simply CANNOT geenrate enough continuous mismatch at speed to damage the diff. Put mismatched tires on and drive 70mph in a straight line for 2 hours and you can.

ok, this makes sense - thanks!

100%, i get it now. thanks again. (Did not realize that 18'", 19" and 20" had teh same OD)

In the States the tire will be recycle, probably into children playground cover.

Fixed