[G-Mann]

Hit a wicked pot hole that took out my passenger front and rear tire. Indicators light up, 0 psi showing for those two tires so I pull over in a parking lot check it out and can see that they are both flat and proceed to hit my bmw assist button. That all worked as designed they figured out where I was and offered to send a tow truck and take me to the dealer of my choice. Then they noticed I had the run flats and noted that if my indicator lights are amber I can drive a good 50 miles at 50mph. I hit my nav button and see home is 34 miles out, turned on my hazards and made it back to the house.

I made it to discount tire this morning and fortunately no rim damage, tires had 50% tread life so there is a bit of loss but I do have some new rubber on my rear wheels.

I was thoroughly impressed with the option the run flats provided me as I was not in the best section of town, it was after 9 pm so it was getting dark, things were closing up and it was starting to rain. I was itching to get some sticky summer tires but after what happened to me last night, I'm a run flat believer.

Friggin pot holes.

[BarryJI]

What a fantastic and reassuring testimony to both BMW's tire design and its roadside service (with honorable mention for the nav). Sorry you had this experience but thanks for the positive report.

[huma]

There's a 96.8% chance we'll never use it, but when we do it's a great convenience.

[sstarrx3]

That is the plus side to run flats...the negative is they cannot be repaired. You run over a nail coming out of the tire shop....your brand new tire has to be replaced...cannot be patched.

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

That is the plus side to run flats...the negative is they cannot be repaired. You run over a nail coming out of the tire shop....your brand new tire has to be replaced...cannot be patched.

Not quite correct.

Many Run flats can be repaired as long as you don't drive on them. It varies by manufacturer. You can see a list of who does / does not allow repairs here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=226.

Many places won't fix them because they don't want to take any potential liability. However, if you have a nail puncture in the tread area and don't drive on the tire while it's flat, it can be safely repaired using an internal patch over the puncture.

Here's the quick rundown, lifted from the page listed above:

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

Not quite correct.

Many Run flats can be repaired as long as you don't drive on them. It varies by manufacturer. You can see a list of who does / does not allow repairs here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=226

Many places won't fix them because they don't want to take any potential liability. However, if you have a nail puncture in the tread area and don't drive on the tire while it's flat, it can be safely repaired using an internal patch over the puncture.

My car has P7s and they manfacturer says not to repair them.

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

My car has P7s and they manfacturer says not to repair them.

Yeah, Pirelli does go the "Not Endorsed" route, but they do pro-rate the replacement price right down to a fully worn tire, which is a decent policy.

Still, if I had an AWD car with half-worn Pirelli RFTs, I'd get a punctured one patched if I could, rather than play the "What's the circumference difference?" game. But, I'd never try to repair one on which I'd driven any distance.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

Not quite correct.

Many Run flats can be repaired as long as you don't drive on them. It varies by manufacturer. You can see a list of who does / does not allow repairs here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=226.


Many places won't fix them because they don't want to take any potential liability. However, if you have a nail puncture in the tread area and don't drive on the tire while it's flat, it can be safely repaired using an internal patch over the puncture.

I got a screw in the tread of my left rear Potenza S001 RFT five days into ownership (and on my birthday and a Sunday, no less). Fortunately, the tire still had 11 PSI in it, so I drove back home (2 blocks), put 30 PSI in the tire, drove 7 miles to the closest national tire chain place open on a Sunday in these parts.

They plugged/patched it, with the stipulation that the tire loses its speed rating and shouldn't be driven over 100MPH. I can live with that until I replace 'em at about 15K miles (or whatever the 280 AA treadwear rating gets me).

Moral: it can be done, but only to the tread area and only if the tire hasn't lost all of its pressure.

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by Zooks527

Yeah, Pirelli does go the "Not Endorsed" route, but they do pro-rate the replacement price right down to a fully worn tire, which is a decent policy.

Still, if I had an AWD car with half-worn Pirelli RFTs, I'd get a punctured one patched if I could, rather than play the "What's the circumference difference?" game. But, I'd never try to repair one on which I'd driven any distance.

Well I got a nail and went to Discount Tire. The guy felt bad because I had less than 4000 miles on my car. The new rft P7 installed was going to be $240. Instead is sold me 5 replacement certificates for $192. That replaced the nailed one and gives me a replacement warranty on the new one plus the other 3 oem tires for the life of the tire down to 3/32. That was a good deal!

[hyperzulu]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

Well I got a nail and went to Discount Tire. The guy felt bad because I had less than 4000 miles on my car. The new rft P7 installed was going to be $240. Instead is sold me 5 replacement certificates for $192. That replaced the nailed one and gives me a replacement warranty on the new one plus the other 3 oem tires for the life of the tire down to 3/32. That was a good deal!

haha you lucked out, I'm assuming. Those certificates weren't meant to be used that way. Kinda like buying insurance after you hit someone. :P

I had runflats on my last car. Got one puncture, but I was home when I noticed it. In Cali there is lower risk of blowouts than other parts of the country, so sticky summers all day. If I take road trips in the car, I might have to invest in a spare though... I think this is the best solution, but it won't help OP who goes through two at a time.

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by hyperzulu

haha you lucked out, I'm assuming. Those certificates weren't meant to be used that way. Kinda like buying insurance after you hit someone. :P

No they were not....they are an add on to new tires purchased from them. The manager did it to make sure I always buy my tires from them. Hell I had just purchased a set of Yokahamas for my wifes Pathfinder from them two weeks before. Good business on his part because I will come back!

[jwr0721]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

That is the plus side to run flats...the negative is they cannot be repaired. You run over a nail coming out of the tire shop....your brand new tire has to be replaced...cannot be patched.

Not true.

I bought the wheel and tire package based on that exact statement (or rather, lie) and when I ran over a nail the tire guys at BMW patched my tire.

When I told them the salesman told me I couldn't patch a run flat they acted like I was making the story up.

I've never bought wheel and tire since, and I've also never gone back to that dealership.

(Hendrick in Charlotte BTW - they're crooks).

[ineedae46m3]

I have gotten a Potenza RE050a dismounted and patched. Saved me $460 on a new one. The tech wasn't supposed to patch it as his boss told him not too, but he did it anyway to see if it worked to prove his boss wrong. Never had an issue with 15k miles.

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by jwr0721

Not true.

I bought the wheel and tire package based on that exact statement (or rather, lie) and when I ran over a nail the tire guys at BMW patched my tire.

When I told them the salesman told me I couldn't patch a run flat they acted like I was making the story up.

I've never bought wheel and tire since, and I've also never gone back to that dealership.

(Hendrick in Charlotte BTW - they're crooks).

I agree with regards to Hendricks...that is why I drove 110 miles to Florence and paid $2000 less for my 228i. I have Pirelli P7s run flats and the company specifically says they do not condone trying to repair their runflats. I do not have low profile tires so the wheel and tire package would be a total waste of money. There are three conpanies that say you should not try to repai their rfts. Pirelli, Yokohama and Continental.

[G-Mann]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

Well I got a nail and went to Discount Tire. The guy felt bad because I had less than 4000 miles on my car. The new rft P7 installed was going to be $240. Instead is sold me 5 replacement certificates for $192. That replaced the nailed one and gives me a replacement warranty on the new one plus the other 3 oem tires for the life of the tire down to 3/32. That was a good deal!

That was a good deal and cool story for Discount Tire. I paid an extra $45 a tire for the no pro-rated tire replacement package, if it it happened once, it could happen again, all it takes is one scare.

Discount did go over which tires could be patched and of course with the road hazard warranty its a non issue. I did go with a run flat again vs the PSS I had coveted. Went with the RE960 that also has a 40k mile warranty, one of the few run flats that offer a tread life warranty. Certainly not the fastest tire but then again I am not building the fastest car.

Funny thing is I ditched the run flats on my last ride and drove for 3 years without a spare or run flats and rode that 96.8% rate and was not a believer until last night.

Not sure how long I would have waited for that tow. I used the service with an infiniti I had a few years back and the tow drivers were taking on too much work and took over 2.5 hours to get to me. Hopefully BMW's program works better, hope last night was as close as I come to figuring that out.

[BMW335iOn18s]

Not a fan of run flats. The rigid sidewalls bend your wheels when you hit nasty potholes. I'd rather keep a spare in the trunk. Not to mention the absolutely terrible ride quality.

[Hops128i]

not a fan of run flats either, when I found a flat tire in the morning, no one would repair it. But at least the experience taught me how to plug a tire with a $10 kit.

[dan99]

First post ive ever seen complimenting run flats

[Kiwi]

New tyres should go on the front not the rear if tyre wear is down 50%. Their is a small area on run flats that can have nail holes etc repaired and my insurance says repaired or replaced free.
My Z4 run flat was able to be driven home after getting a flat out of town but it had to be replaced later.
I have no problems with run flat tires.

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

New tyres should go on the front not the rear if tyre wear is down 50%. Their is a small area on run flats that can have nail holes etc repaired and my insurance says repaired or replaced free.
My Z4 run flat was able to be driven home after getting a flat out of town but it had to be replaced later.
I have no problems with run flat tires.

That is so funny you said that because Discount Tires has this huge poster on their wall explaining why if you are only replacing two tires that they should always be on the rear...it was complete with diagrams and everything

[bacampbe]

Originally Posted by G-Mann

[...]
Then they noticed I had the run flats and noted that if my indicator lights are amber I can drive a good 50 miles at 50mph.

[...]

Amber as compared to what? Can the TPMS tell the difference between "flat" and "undriveable" for run-flats?

[Zooks527]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

New tyres should go on the front not the rear if tyre wear is down 50%.

No, No, No !!!!


Repeat after me: Best tires in back.

Again: Best Tires In Back.

One more time: BEST. TIRES. IN. BACK.


New tires go on the rear. Always. FWD, RWD, AWD, 4x4, summer tires, winter tires, or all-season tires, none of them change anything. If you're replacing two, they go on the back. Nothing says "Ain't got it!!" like the back trying to pass the front when you don't want it to. Same with a bike. You may recover a front wheel skid. You won't recover a rear.

Worst case situation is standing water or snow/ice where the back end has broken free. If you apply the brakes, the car's weight shifts forward onto the (already) higher traction front end and away from the lower traction rear end. The sideways situation increases.

In the opposite situation, where the front is free and the rear is still attached, better tires in the rear increase rear traction. Having the car's center of mass ahead of the point of drag will straighten you out by itself, assuming you don't add more energy to the situation.