Tyre info/help

[Maddusty]

Hi all, I've a quick question about tyres.
My car has run flats and needs two rear tyres and I was wanting to put on normal tyres instead. Problem is my front tyres are perfect and have 95% tread left, so would I get away with just changing the rear ones to normal and still leave the run flats on front for now or would it offset the handling/ride and be best to change all at once?.
Any help or info would be appreciated thanks.

 

[Ianmc]

I personally ensure that I have the same make and type of tyres on all 4 wheels. My logic is that they should all perform equally, for safety and performance. Guess it depends on what you mean by "get away with".

 

[Stevo7682]

' getting away with ' is a vague term .
Yes you could put standard on rear and runflat on the front and get away with it .
It is not illegal to do it ( at the moment)
Some Insurance companies can class the car as modified if you remove the standard fit run flats ( a lot are ok with this ) .
Being in the motor trade 31 yr and a mot tester nearly 20 would i do it
The answer would be no standard and runflat tyres are 2 totally different types of construction and as such ride and handling characteristics are different i wouldn't mix them go 1 way or the other .
Stephen.

 

[abh29]

Years ago I swapped the run flats off a e61 due the awful ride on them. I now have run flats on the X1 and can see no reason to swop,the ride is as good with run flats as normal tyres. Before buying the X1 I tried demo cars fitted with both , alternating a couple of times.
My daughter has a Cooper S with run on flats, soon after getting it she had a puncture 40 miles from her home at 23.30 hrs, and after phoning me drove gently home. She now considers all cars should have them.
The only advantage I can see with normal tyres and a spare is if tyre has damage beyond a puncture, that would be my first choice.

 

[Maddusty]

Sorry about being vague with that. What I meant was would it be safe to drive handling wise or would it be too unpredictable. Also would it pass it's nct/mot like that cause I know in Ireland so long as the tyres are the same on the one axle it's ok but not too sure about run flat and normal.
Thanks do the info that's answered my question cheers

 

[Maddusty]

Years ago I swapped the run flats off a e61 due the awful ride on them. I now have run flats on the X1 and can see no reason to swop,the ride is as good with run flats as normal tyres. Before buying the X1 I tried demo cars fitted with both , alternating a couple of times.
My daughter has a Cooper S with run on flats, soon after getting it she had a puncture 40 miles from her home at 23.30 hrs, and after phoning me drove gently home. She now considers all cars should have them.
The only advantage I can see with normal tyres and a spare is if tyre has damage beyond a puncture, that would be my first choice.

Reason I was wanting to get rid of run flats is in the part of Ireland where Im living, apart from main roads the rest of the roads here I can only describe as patched up filled in country roads and the ride is very harsh for everyday driving. Every little bump feels like a crater and isn't the most enjoyable alot of the times.

 

[Stevo7682]

Reason I was wanting to get rid of run flats is in the part of Ireland where Im living, apart from main roads the rest of the roads here I can only describe as patched up filled in country roads and the ride is very harsh for everyday driving. Every little bump feels like a crater and isn't the most enjoyable alt of the times.

I can totally understand that a lot of cars with run flats can ride quite harsh.
But on the other side of the coin if you take the sidewall out on a pothole with a standard tyre your stranded whereas the runflat although still needing replacement would get you home and also to the tyre place the following morning.

 

[t-tony]

Runflat tyres are hateful things, but, they do exactly what it says on the tin. And they get you home, I have runflats on my car at the moment but I will replace them with standard winter tyres when they're knackered as these are my winter set of wheels.
It would pass an English M.O.T. test as long as the tyres on each axle are the same. Never having driven a car with runflats on one end and standard tyres at the other I couldn't comment as to how it would handle, I dare say you could/would get used to it. Would I do that, ............. no, I would not.

Tony.

 

[hard top]

Runflat tyres are hateful things, but, they do exactly what it says on the tin.

Might as well buy these

Semisolid tires for forklifts :-

​

 

[Redline]

The handling is so dramatically different between RFTs and normal tyres I would never consider mixing them on a car.
We have run flats one one Zed that is used daily on dark country lanes where you don't want to worry about changing a flat. They are an insurance policy.
I use non RFTs on my E85 but it isn't my daily driver.
If you want none RFTs on then change them all. You will get something back by selling the good ones on fleabay.
If the roads are that poor I would consider smaller wheels with larger sidewall tyres to give a better ride. 17" RFTs are a much nicer ride than 19" RFTs.

 

[abh29]

Runflat tyres are hateful things, but, they do exactly what it says on the tin. And they get you home, I have runflats on my car at the moment but I will replace them with standard winter tyres when they're knackered as these are my winter set of wheels.
It would pass an English M.O.T. test as long as the tyres on each axle are the same. Never having driven a car with runflats on one end and standard tyres at the other I couldn't comment as to how it would handle, I dare say you could/would get used to it. Would I do that, ............. no, I would not.

Tony.

I think that" Run on Flats" from different manufactures are very different .
On the X1 my summers are Bridgestone Duellers H/P Sport but they get very noisy when down to 6mm whereas the winters Pirelli Sottozero Winter 210 are a much nicer tyre.
My wife's QQ has Contis for summer and AlpineA4 for winter, and I notice no difference from my Run on Flats in driving.
Years ago I ordered a 335d with normal profile tyres as I found the ride was too hard on low profile , I have actually found the tyre profile to be more relevant than the Run Flat issue for comfort , and I don't drive hard enough to find the grip a deciding factor.
I would not look to use Run Flats on Z3 as the ride is a lot harder than the X1 already.
In fact I am surprised the wheels on the Z3 are suitable for run on flat tyres.

 

[Maddusty]

Thanks for the reply and info all.
Changing all 4 is the way to go then. I'll speak to my local tyre shop and see what good run flats they recommend compared to good normal tyres.
I was also offered one of those compressors and refills some cars have instead of a spare for free from a friend in case I choose to go with normal tyres which would work so long as it wasn't a damaged sidewall problem.

 

[Stevo7682]

Thanks for the reply and info all.
Changing all 4 is the way to go then. I'll speak to my local tyre shop and see what good run flats they recommend compared to good normal tyres.
I was also offered one of those compressors and refills some cars have instead of a spare for free from a friend in case I choose to go with normal tyres which would work so long as it wasn't a damaged sidewall problem.

The compressors fine
Dont use the sealant unless you have to most of the big retailer wont touch a tyre with sealant in it ( certainly our policy) the reason for this policy is that a lot of these sealants contain ammonia and the likes and it seeps into the rubber you repair the puncture and a couple of days later the patch peels back off thats why most of the big retailers wont repair if sealant used.

 

[Maddusty]

The compressors fine
Dont use the sealant unless you have to most of the big retailer wont touch a tyre with sealant in it ( certainly our policy) the reason for this policy is that a lot of these sealants contain ammonia and the likes and it seeps into the rubber you repair the puncture and a couple of days later the patch peels back off thats why most of the big retailers wont repair if sealant used.

I'll keep that in mind thanks for the help much appreciated

 

[hard top]

wont repair if sealant used.

My mate down his garage did for me, steam cleaned the gunge out of the tyre, plugged it, no probs.

 

[Stevo7682]

My mate down his garage did for me, steam cleaned the gunge out of the tyre, plugged it, no probs.

Over here the likes of Kwik Fit, National Tyres ATS etc won't touch them.
Im not saying that it can't be done just the big chains here wont touch it to cover their arses from comebacks.

 

[hard top]

Im not saying that it can't be done

I even forgot for a time that I had used the stuff, drove around for about two months with the stuff in the tyre ....
No probs though ....

 

[t-tony]

I think that" Run on Flats" from different manufactures are very different .
On the X1 my summers are Bridgestone Duellers H/P Sport but they get very noisy when down to 6mm whereas the winters Pirelli Sottozero Winter 210 are a much nicer tyre.
My wife's QQ has Contis for summer and AlpineA4 for winter, and I notice no difference from my Run on Flats in driving.
Years ago I ordered a 335d with normal profile tyres as I found the ride was too hard on low profile , I have actually found the tyre profile to be more relevant than the Run Flat issue for comfort , and I don't drive hard enough to find the grip a deciding factor.
I would not look to use Run Flats on Z3 as the ride is a lot harder than the X1 already.
In fact I am surprised the wheels on the Z3 are suitable for run on flat tyres.

It's fairly obvious that low profile tyres give a harsher ride due to there being less "give" in the sidewalls, hence the same for run flat tyres, as it's the strength in the sidewall which allows you to run "flat"
Maddusty's (OP) car is a Z4 which came with run flat tyres from the factory.

Tony.

 

[Dino D]

Bridgestone DriveGuard have good reviews and here is a test back to back between regular Bridgestones on the same car, quite hard to find a proper back up back test to genuinely compare: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Bridgestone-D...

I’m giving them a go on a Smax Fors (it has no spare but does not have runflats as standard! - would prefer the convenience of a runflat on a family bus)

 

[t-tony]

Over here the likes of Kwik Fit, National Tyres ATS etc won't touch them.
Im not saying that it can't be done just the big chains here wont touch it to cover their arses from comebacks.

Oh!, and the chance to sell someone another tyre my employers are the same, along with you can't plug a tyre on the shoulder ? and you can't plug a tyre so close to another plug etc. None of which get a mention in the M.O.T.

Tony.