06-26-2017, 12:39 PM | #1 |
Lieutenant
274
Rep 582
Posts |
The joys of getting a flat
So the wife goes on a little road trip ...
Background, ditched the run flats, bought a second wheel set, one for summer, one for winter and a jack. Put go flats on both wheel sets and for road trips we toss in one wheel from the other set as a spare. Saturday the wife calls as she is on the way to a wedding letting me know she has a flat. Fortunately she was able to pull off immediately and safely. A tire place is about a mile away should she drive to it? I ask her how flat is the tire. Not very but she can hear air going out. Nope I tell her she is screwed and it has to be changed. 30 minutes later the wheel is swapped out. She heads off to the tire place to get it fixed. They take one look at the tire and tell her that it can not be fixed. It is not a puncture but more of cut right at corner of the tread and side wall. The tire place does not carry that tire. Bummer. I tell her no worries I will make some calls to see what I can find. Being Saturday afternoon which is the worst day to get a replacement, nobody has one but may be able to get one on Monday/Tuesday. Not wanting to spend two more nights in hotels after the wedding I tell her to run naked on the spare and just head home on Sunday. Being the spare is a winter tire I give her a heads up as the temps are 100+. This morning I order two new tires as the tires Michelin Pilot Super Sports were the previous generation. Fortunately, no shaving is needed as the current is 8/32 and the new ones are 10/32 so within the differential for an xDrive. And the damaged one was still under the tire protection so at least one is covered. All that aside the wife made it to the wedding on time but did not have a chance to change. Best of all she picked up my beer order on the way. Good thing I had found a nice hotel for her the night before. |
06-26-2017, 01:24 PM | #2 |
Lieutenant
77
Rep 435
Posts |
tldr; wife got a flat, put spare on, replaced tire.
|
Appreciate
1
M3 Adjuster7909.00 |
06-26-2017, 07:06 PM | #3 |
Colonel
2734
Rep 2,359
Posts |
Get rid of RFT. Buy regular tires and you will have no problems.
My experience with them is extremely negative, from flats to dark marks on my garage floor. Until I figured out that they are prone to puncture. And at over $600 each, I wasnt happy anymore. And nobody has one, including the dealership, needs to be ordered. And they are harsh. Replaced with all weather DWS and never looked back. |
Appreciate
0
|
06-27-2017, 09:01 AM | #4 |
Lieutenant
274
Rep 582
Posts |
While not saying it, that is why I am glad we switched to go flats. Had they been run flats and no spare the wife would have been stuck for several days before she could have gotten a replacement. At least having a real spare she could make the long drive home.
I should add that I called Tire Rack yesterday morning order the replacements and they were on the front door step this morning and my claim was approved this afternoon for the damaged tire. I guess I will work the extra tire into the rotation with other two. Last edited by BeEmVe; 06-27-2017 at 02:45 PM.. |
Appreciate
1
M3 Adjuster7909.00 |
06-28-2017, 08:08 AM | #5 |
New Member
6
Rep 27
Posts |
For my winter tires, (which are go flat's), I've started to carry a can of slime and a 12v compressor.
I have no experience with slime, but most online reviews indicate, for a simple puncture, it will get you home. I agree the all season OEM's are pretty terrible.. but I only have 10kMiles on mine, and can't get myself to toss new(ish) tires. Any personal experiences with slime? |
Appreciate
0
|
06-28-2017, 08:10 AM | #6 |
Lieutenant
77
Rep 435
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
07-07-2017, 12:22 AM | #7 |
Banned
7909
Rep 11,785
Posts |
my X1 came with run flat Pirelli. I had the tire fail in the middle of nowhere Texas on I45. I saw the low psi light and drove until I could find a gas station and add air. When I stopped I could hear air coming out of the tire.
I called BMW roadside .. no help .. she can call a tow truck. I added air up to 50 psi and Drove as far as I could to the next small town. I barely made it, the RFT was destroyed. Same issue as your wife - damage at the sidewall. Amazingly the podunk tire place in a town of about 1500 people actually had a 19" tire that would fit the rim. The guy installed the tire without scratching the wheel, something that's not a guarantee in dallas where I live! The runflat did probably make it much further than a go flat tire .. so I will give it that it saved me there, but anew RFT was not available and would not have been for days. A donut spare actually would gotten me further than the run flat. Heck I was lucky a random spare tire was there because nowhere within 40 miles was there a 19" tire new. I should be as smart as you and carry a spare. : Good on you for looking out for your wife and for her for changing it out I actually have a set of spare wheels that I may be able to make a spare out of .... this may motivate me Hmm |
Appreciate
0
|
07-09-2017, 09:27 AM | #8 |
Registered
0
Rep 2
Posts |
I carry a spare on long trips, but to be honest... A tire repair kit has helped me fix my problems more often than not. I have a habit of getting screws in my tires because I work on boats (stainless hardware) a lot. The stainless hardware is nice, but doesn't get picked up by my big rolling magnet.
With a plug kit, I'm usually able to fix a hole enough to finish my trip. A plug kit, a small scissor jack and 12v compressor in the organizer thing under the flap in the hatch saves me. |
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|