[Dr G13]

Having just bought my 335i on monday today I had a puncture on one of the rear RFT's! It was pretty much brand new! Took it to a few tyre shops local none would repair it even though nail was in the middle of the tyre. One shop took tyre off and showed me a bit of the tyre wall peeling away and said they will not repair it.

So out of paranoia and inexperience in such a situation I went ahaead with a new tyre fitted for £320.

I am gutted to say the least, I knew they were expensive and hard to repair but I caught it early, even before the TPM picked it up!

I'm now scared to drive the car in fear il lose another 300-1500 quid in seconds at anytime driving.

So is my only option to drop another grand or so on some half decent 19" non rft tyres? Or is there something else I can do with this buggered brand new puntured RFT?

One of the tyre shops did mention another smaller local fitter who apparantly doesn't just do patch up repairs, he does sidewall repairs aswell. I suppose I could take the buggered tyre there and see what they say? Get it repaired and keep as spare in a bid to amortise any future risk?

Bloody expensive sunday morning blast that was!

[nik_nak]

Gutted for you pal, this is why i have just dumped my run flats in favour of 'normal' tyres, the ride is so much better also, even though I have gone from 18's to 19's.

[335ier]

Repair it yourself. Then get it refitted. Very easy job buy a plug off internet, drill out nail hole pull it through with pliers.

I would go into an independent tyre fitting shop with just the wheel & say its for a track day or drag racing or something. Worth a go? I got away with it tyre lasted its lifetime.

[jjbirch]

depends if it has been driven flat as the side wall are damaged, what sort of tyre did u buy a gold one

[Rob55]

My sister drove 150 miles on a Dunlop RFT with a puncture, I spotted that it was flat and took it to a garage who repaired it in 10 minutes and it's been running sweet for the past 500+ miles.

Think you've been stroked or very unlucky dude

[Dr G13]

Thing is a chunk of the sidewall inside the tyre was peeling off and all three tyre shops which were open refused to even think about repairing it. The nail wasn't the problem it was the damage to the inner sidewall. I have no idea how long it was driven on with the puncture as the tyre pressure monitor only warned me as I was pulling into kwick fit already armed with the knowledge that my tyres buggered. So much for tyre pressure warning!

I think these RFT's are a bit damn dangerous considering if I hadn't of checked all four tyres randomly (on hands and knees) then i would be none the wiser that i have a puncture and could be driving for ages hence causing even more tyre damage.

I'm gonna take the punctured tyre to a smaller tyre shop tomorrow and see if they will repair it.

The tyre was a 255/30/19 Bridgestone potenza re50 runflat. Cheapest I seen on the net is £260 so I guess I didn't get bent over too badly

[m1bjr]

Mmmm... there is less and less logi to keeping these RFTS.

You have made my mind up and thanks for posting.

As Im soon changing and modifying suspension I can happily got to regular rubber without issue now.

S.

[jwbmw]

If the side wall has damage you will find that they often won't even repair ordinary tyres let alone run flats.

[m1bjr]

I suspect that puncture was present when you bought the car.

(I believe from your other post this was a used car you bought recently?)

And as you nor the repair shop have no idea if it was driven whilst flat then its 100% right they refuse to fix it.

The internal delamination suggests it might have been 'run flat'.

[Dr G13]

Originally Posted by m1bjr

I suspect that puncture was present when you bought the car.

(I believe from your other post this was a used car you bought recently?)

And as you nor the repair shop have no idea if it was driven whilst flat then its 100% right they refuse to fix it.

The internal delamination suggests it might have been 'run flat'.

Hate to say it but I'm gonna have to agree with this, the dealer must have covered it up, as they do. Nout I can do about it now though!

What sort of suspension mods do you need to run non rft's and also what happens to the tyre pressure monitor if I decide to change my wheels and tyres?

Last thing I want is to have random warnings popping up on Idrive due to change of wheels and tyres.

Have been looking at tyre insurance, tempted to go for it at £143 after todays events....

Either that or I'm buying a set of 18" rims and tyres and parking up these brutally expensive 19s.

[bakili]

Get rid of rft,
i changed my 16" wheels with rft to 18" wheels with none rft tyres, No suspension or sensor modification needed.

[Dr G13]

If I buy some 8x18" wheels all round could I get away with fitting 235/40/18s all round or would that mess stuff up? Obviously id get the tracking done after.

[Jeff123]

Hi

I changed to non-RFT's 6 months and 6000 miles ago. On Friday, I hit a nail and the tyre started to go down. Found a local tyre dealer and the tyre was repaired, rebalanced and re-fitted - for £10, and that's with a receipt!!

With a RFT it would be a new tyre.

I can only think of one real reason to keep RFT's and that is the fact that you can travel further to the nearest tyre repairer with a punctured tyre.

[bakili]

i have electric pump in boot for slow puncture, and tyre weld can to give some time travel to the nearest tyre repair place

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by Dr G13

Hate to say it but I'm gonna have to agree with this, the dealer must have covered it up, as they do. Nout I can do about it now though!

What sort of suspension mods do you need to run non rft's and also what happens to the tyre pressure monitor if I decide to change my wheels and tyres?

Last thing I want is to have random warnings popping up on Idrive due to change of wheels and tyres.

Have been looking at tyre insurance, tempted to go for it at £143 after todays events....

Either that or I'm buying a set of 18" rims and tyres and parking up these brutally expensive 19s.

Well its generally accepted, and in fact is stated by Bridgestone themselves, that cars designed for RFTs have suspension slighty retuned to compensate.

I strongly suspect, but don't yet know, that it's achieved by softening the low speed compression and rebound damping of the dampers.
Certainly BMW have also softened a few of the compliance bushes to try and mask the harsh ride of RFTs too.
So when changing to normal rubber, many on here have mentioned a loss of 'definition' and 'feel' when turning in to a corner.
Kind of a 'double-soft' issue then...

Its obviously not a stopper, and of course a comparison is easy.
I suspect had you not known the ride on the previuos RFTs then you might not be any wiser anyhow

There are no tyre pressure monitors either, so you can change wheels, valves and tyres at will.
The EU car simply looks at the rolling diameter of a pair of wheels and compares them over time (using the ABS sensors).
The flat tyre will be effectively smaller and so turning faster than its opposite number.
That will flag a defaltion warning. I saw it at about 9psi difference across an axle and it took <0.25 miles of straight road to show.

Helps?

Steve

[zltm089]

Tyre insurance might be an option if you want to keep RFT....

I feel your pain....

and the tyre pressure monitor doesn't always work!!!....I've found out the hard way at a roundabout!.....

[Dr G13]

Originally Posted by m1bjr

Well its generally accepted, and in fact is stated by Bridgestone themselves, that cars designed for RFTs have suspension slighty retuned to compensate.

I strongly suspect, but don't yet know, that it's achieved by softening the low speed compression and rebound damping of the dampers.
Certainly BMW have also softened a few of the compliance bushes to try and mask the harsh ride of RFTs too.
So when changing to normal rubber, many on here have mentioned a loss of 'definition' and 'feel' when turning in to a corner.
Kind of a 'double-soft' issue then...

Its obviously not a stopper, and of course a comparison is easy.
I suspect had you not known the ride on the previuos RFTs then you might not be any wiser anyhow

There are no tyre pressure monitors either, so you can change wheels, valves and tyres at will.
The EU car simply looks at the rolling diameter of a pair of wheels and compares them over time (using the ABS sensors).
The flat tyre will be effectively smaller and so turning faster than its opposite number.
That will flag a defaltion warning. I saw it at about 9psi difference across an axle and it took <0.25 miles of straight road to show.

Helps?

Steve

Actually that helps a great deal. So what your saying is that all this chat on the american forums about tps sensors on the rims doesn't apply to us as our eu cars rely on the much simpler method you explained above?

If thats the case then it makes purchasing some new rims a lot easier. Since you seem to be very knowledgable on the subject, could you advice if I went for 18" rims with 235/40/18s all round, would that be ok?

I can imagine that the steering won't feel as stiff with non rft's, and I'm sure turn in will suffer. However I still don't like these RFT's!

Does having non standard bridgestone rft's have a huge bearing on resale value? Thats the only other reason that might stop me from replacing them.

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by Dr G13

Actually that helps a great deal. So what your saying is that all this chat on the american forums about tps sensors on the rims doesn't apply to us as our eu cars rely on the much simpler method you explained above?

If thats the case then it makes purchasing some new rims a lot easier. Since you seem to be very knowledgable on the subject, could you advice if I went for 18" rims with 235/40/18s all round, would that be ok?

I can imagine that the steering won't feel as stiff with non rft's, and I'm sure turn in will suffer. However I still don't like these RFT's!

Does having non standard bridgestone rft's have a huge bearing on resale value? Thats the only other reason that might stop me from replacing them.

Hi,

Indeed, the US market have 'proper' TPS, and you are quite right.

I will offer that I have a fair degree of suspension and spannering experience.

But this E9x chassis is totally new to me, so I will offer that question up to the older hands on here who know what wheel/tyre combos work best.
I'm not a big fan of the 'I reckon that my mate said...' type posts

Resale - I bet a dealer would try and bargain on it, I know I would.
But I expect most who buy a used BMW would probably have no clue what an RFT was.
I never came across them on anything before... thank God.

Equal size all corners - I have done this on the S2000 for track work but liked it so much I ended up running it on the road.
The problem with upsizing front wheels and tyres is you get more mechanical grip.
So, when pushing hard, you then get even more body roll.
I found the only way to balance that was a bigger front roll bar.


But if you are suggesting making the rears smaller to match front, then dont.
You are actaully losing any advantage to save a couple of quid. Not good.


S.

[Arsie]

Originally Posted by zltm089

Tyre insurance might be an option if you want to keep RFT....

The local dealer was prepared to 'throw in' tyre insurance after my successful E93 convertible test drive the other day. It was a bargain AUC at 34k miles and £21,995 fresh in that week. At the time I didn't really understand wtf I needed tyre insurance for.

As I went in looking to try out an E46 M3 convertible I was unprepared.

When I called in two days later it had sold.

Not to worry. Plenty of fish.

RFTs are a PITA

[225_AB]

The tyre must have been driven fat if the tyre wall was delaminating. If the side wall was ok then it would have been repairable, like many others I have had a rft repaired with no problem (although I had to have it done in France on my holidays).

[beemerbird]

All sounds a bit strange imo, but I'd recommend tyre insurance if you haven't already gone down that route.

Put it this way, a rear tyre on my 997 T 305/30 ZR 19 Pirelli P Zero Rosso was £278 fitted and balanced............ok they only lasted about 5k miles but not bad value overall if you see what I mean. I got a puncture, and Porsche categorically state you MUST NOT repair the tyre on the Turbo and bugger me there was more than 30% wear differential with the other rear tyre, so had to get two new rears in the end..........tyre insurance really eased the financial 'pain' and paid for itself in this instance.

[m1bjr]

Originally Posted by beemerbird

All sounds a bit strange imo, but I'd recommend tyre insurance if you haven't already gone down that route.

Put it this way, a rear tyre on my 997 T 305/30 ZR 19 Pirelli P Zero Rosso was £278 fitted and balanced............ok they only lasted about 5k miles but not bad value overall if you see what I mean. I got a puncture, and Porsche categorically state you MUST NOT repair the tyre on the Turbo and bugger me there was more than 30% wear differential with the other rear tyre, so had to get two new rears in the end..........tyre insurance really eased the financial 'pain' and paid for itself in this instance.

Good to know they will stump up for two in this case.
But with an LSD then it is more of an issue from experience.
What company is it covered with - do you know the underwriter?

Hi to 'Arsie' - whom I also know from the S2000 forums. Another traitor in the making