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      02-10-2014, 03:26 PM   #23
Red Bread
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric5273 View Post
I know everyone loves to bash run-flats, but there is a reason that BMW puts them on all of their cars, and it is NOT to save people the hassle of waiting at the side of the road for a tow.

Run-Flats, while weighing slightly more than a regular tire, save you the weight of having to carry around a spare tire and tool kit, so overall weight of the vehicle is less. That also means you have more trunk space as well.

Most importantly, if you ever have a blow-out, a run flat tire will not fall apart like a regular tire, and you will retain control of the vehicle. So this is a big safety feature as well.

I once had a blow-out on the highway while doing 75mph in a sports car with regular tires, and I don't have to tell you the details of what happens when you're driving 75mph and without warning one of your tires suddenly falls apart into a hundred pieces. I wish that car had run-flats.
Caveat - I failed out of engineering. But I'd be willing to bet that 2-4 pounds per tire of rotating mass is more than enough to offset any gains of losing a five pound scissor jack, two pound lug wrench and forty pound compact spare. I would however bet that BMW has enough financial incentive to more than offset the savings of $200/car of leaving those items out.

I do agree with you on blowouts, to a sense. I had one in my last car, an M without RFT's. Fortunately, it was on the rear and let go at about 85 mph, shredding the sidewall, but luckily doing no bodywork damage. I was obviously stuck on the side of the road, on a Sunday, 150 miles from home (and the nearest BMW dealer). I called roadside and waited, the exact same spot I'd have been in with RFT's (which have a 50 mile range and max speed of 55 mph once at zero pressure). Had that flat been on the front, I'd likely be singing a different song.

The way they work now, I rest a little easier with my wife's car having them. They were so bad in 2008 that I took them off and just made sure she knew to call roadside if she got a flat. So they're getting better, but I'd still jettison them from my own car.
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      02-10-2014, 03:35 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by Red Bread View Post
Why would you not run the TPMS? Actually, I thought the Canadian models just used the computer to monitor wheel rotation speed, instead of our silly in-wheel sensors? We kept TPMS in our 1er with non RFT's and had no issues with it.
Honestly, I have no idea.
I haven't seen the wheel without a tire so I don't know if it has the TPMS.
All I know is that the new M wheels didn't have any TPMS and I presumed that none was installed since nobody asked me about it and nothing was mentioned in the invoice.
I just replaced them and the vehicle runs just fine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric5273 View Post
I know everyone loves to bash run-flats, but there is a reason that BMW puts them on all of their cars, and it is NOT to save people the hassle of waiting at the side of the road for a tow.

Run-Flats, while weighing slightly more than a regular tire, save you the weight of having to carry around a spare tire and tool kit, so overall weight of the vehicle is less. That also means you have more trunk space as well.

Most importantly, if you ever have a blow-out, a run flat tire will not fall apart like a regular tire, and you will retain control of the vehicle. So this is a big safety feature as well.

I once had a blow-out on the highway while doing 75mph in a sports car with regular tires, and I don't have to tell you the details of what happens when you're driving 75mph and without warning one of your tires suddenly falls apart into a hundred pieces. I wish that car had run-flats.
Hassle for a tow?
RunFlat is just an extension of the agony. Maybe it will work for you but not for me in Canada. Between Calgary and Vancouver a RunFlat will do nothing for me, there is nobody to help me. I will still end up with a towing maybe. And towing usually means a redneck driver who doesn't give a s#!t about my car and I will end up with a scratched bumper or scratched wheels, or God knows, a broken diff. But with a regular tire I have a wide range of services that can help me out.
Plus, as I have mentioned, they are prone to puncture, all my friends had problems with RFT and no problems after they replaced them. Go figure.
They are also heavy, give the car a bumpy ride which I have no more, they were leaving black marks on my garage which drove me nuts, and I have that no more, They are over $500 a piece and with $900 I bought a new pair. Not to mention, you are not allowed to have more than a certain percentage between them to not destroy the differential, so many times when you need to replace one, you might need to buy 4. I let you do the math, what can I buy with $2200 and how much mileage I can squeeze from two sets instead of one.
They are also not very competitive, the choice is so poor that it is insane.
Not to mention, the dealership didn't have a tire in stock!!!!!

I am happy I did the switch.
BMW did a shitty job. The trunk is not bigger. Instead of putting the battery in there, run 5 meters of cable from front to rear (and that one is under the car and can be cut very nice), instead of installing that big and ugly exhaust, they should stick with the regular tire and a spare tire, especially for a SAV vehicle which supposed to be able to go outside the paved road. Also a vehicle that is driven outside the paved road, should have a tire that is capable to flex in certain conditions, or the run flat is not able to do that. In my opinion, they just made this car a city car, honestly for long trips I am getting another car with spare, I am afraid to get this X1 outside with Run Flats.

I have a normal tire, some plugs, a foam kit and I honestly believe that between the two I choose the one that will give me more flexibility and options, just in case. I am also a guy who replace all tires when they reach 50% so I should be fine.

But, each with his own.

Last edited by Teutonic; 02-10-2014 at 03:45 PM..
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      02-10-2014, 07:25 PM   #25
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Canadian cars do in fact measure wheel speed to measure tire pressure.
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      02-10-2014, 09:17 PM   #26
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Go flats while giving more options than RFT may not give enough options. We had a go flat blow. Put the mini-spare on and limped all of three miles to the exit. It was Sunday evening and in the middle of Idaho and not tire shop open. Hmm, drive 4 hours on the mini-spare and getting home at midnight or just spend the night and get a real tire in the morning. We chose the latter. The only pit fall - it was Sunday and we could not get a damn drink with dinner, had go to the mini mart and get a six pack for the room.

Last edited by BeEmVe; 02-10-2014 at 09:31 PM..
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      02-10-2014, 10:44 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twix View Post
Canadian cars do in fact measure wheel speed to measure tire pressure.
My bride's panzer (A4 Audi) uses this system, and it seems a good one, plus no drama in changing tires/wheels.

Not sure why there is a difference between the USA and Canadian versions.
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      02-11-2014, 11:28 AM   #28
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Some flats are better than others

I had a 2011 Countryman S before my present 2014 X1 with 19" wheels. The Mini's 18" run flats were indeed harsh. So after about 27k miles, I replaced them with a set of Goodyear Primacy tires. The difference was noticeable after traveling a whopping 50 feet. So, when the Mini's lease was up, I was reluctant to go with them on the X1. My sales guy said to give them a chance to please.

Now, after about 6100 miles, I find them without any issues. I opted for the tire and wheel coverage, and after 3000 miles got a huge piece of metal into the tread of one of them. The $50 deductible on the coverage was a welcome expense for the $488 cost of the new tire.
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      02-11-2014, 07:24 PM   #29
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U.S. models I believe are required to have tpms, Canadian models get the cheaper system because of this.
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      02-13-2014, 12:24 AM   #30
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Can someone please explain why run flats are not repaired?
I would think with the stronger side wall it should be a better candidate for a plug. It is not like my car will ever see more than 80mph (the way we get reamed for speeding).
I plan to plug my tires and will only replace if it is a big hole or on the sidewall.
In Canada the tire insurance was like $2200 (which is ridiculous)

I have to say I like the firmness level my X1 has, and would not mess with that by replacing the run flats with non run flats.
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      02-13-2014, 03:55 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Njerts View Post
Can someone please explain why run flats are not repaired?
I would think with the stronger side wall it should be a better candidate for a plug. It is not like my car will ever see more than 80mph (the way we get reamed for speeding).
I plan to plug my tires and will only replace if it is a big hole or on the sidewall.
In Canada the tire insurance was like $2200 (which is ridiculous)

I have to say I like the firmness level my X1 has, and would not mess with that by replacing the run flats with non run flats.
From what the guys at the tire shop tell me (the shop that actually does repair run flats), the stiffer sidewalls make the tire more difficult to mount/dismount (even with the mounting machines).
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      02-13-2014, 11:07 AM   #32
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Run flats can be repaired and I've had it done twice. As long as its a nail or screw in the tread its fine and my Pirelli warranty page even stated it was OK. A tire shop wants to sell you a tire. My Mini ClubmanS got a nail at 800 miles and we put over 18,000 miles on it with no issues. The run flats on the Mini (17") were pretty brutal riding but the 18" Goodyears on the X1 are actually pretty good. You can't really make a fair comparison since the cars are so different. I have Michelin Pilot Sport run flats on my E93 335 and they aren't bad, granted they won't be confused for Super Sports non run flat. 14 BMW's and only ever had two blow outs and both were non run flats and both tires were ruined after running less than 50 feet. 2001 330ci and 2004 X3, my wife thought the X3 had run flats and drove about a block on a totally flat tire, dah.
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      02-13-2014, 11:50 AM   #33
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky13 View Post
Run flats can be repaired and I've had it done twice. As long as its a nail or screw in the tread its fine and my Pirelli warranty page even stated it was OK. A tire shop wants to sell you a tire.
Thanks, was this done with the standard stickey rope plug kit or done with a patch from inside?

I have one of those plug kits plus a compressor in my car at all times.
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      02-13-2014, 10:10 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Twix View Post
U.S. models I believe are required to have tpms, Canadian models get the cheaper system because of this.
As noted, my bride's Audi has the 'tire rotation' system, and it was purchased in the USA. It's an '09 model, so unless something has changed, the system is accepted here.
Also as noted, it makes fitting winter tires painless, because no electronic stems are required to make the system work, nor any difficulty when installing the winter tires. Bolt them on and tell the system to accept the diameters of the new tires; done.
I'm planning on a set of winters from the Tire Rack for next season, and I'll have to bite the bullet regarding the TPMS for the X1.
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      02-14-2014, 12:23 PM   #35
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One aspect which is not often discussed is rolling resistance. Although runflats are heavier than regular tires, based on my experience they have lower rolling resistance. When I switched from runflats to regulars on my E90, the mileage very slightly dropped, probably around 0.5 mpg. I also liked the handling much better with runflats.
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