BMW run flat tires

[smwhorn]

Anyone else getting ****** by run flat tires? Just curious.

 

[EuroHorn]

I backed out of purchasing a BMW because of research I did regarding these tires. From what I read, they tended to wear out quickly and created a lot of road noise. You could replace them with normal tires but then you have to drive without a spare.

What issues are you having?

 

[utmck]

My ex has a 3 series that she has approx. 30 miles on and she is on her 3rd set.

Also, do not let them tell you that they have tires made specifically for the BMW, because I play softball with the parts manager for BMW and he orders tires from tirerack.com.

 

[utmck]

that would be 30k miles

 

[Stuck_At_Work]

My dad hasn't had any problems with the run-flats yet... but he has had issues with the tire pressure sensor. Every time the weather changes suddenly (from hot to cold), the sensor indicates one of his tires is punctured. He has to take it to the dealer to get cleared. What a pain.

 

[Lat22]

Yep. My rears were wearing out every 12000 miles. I finally put real tires (Bridgestone Potenzas) on it and it feels like a different car. I don't know why BMW would put noisy rock hard tires on a car that was engineered to ride nice and handle great. I'm never going back.

I don't know which model your dad has, but I can reset the TPM using the I-Drive.

 

[WhoseHouse]

If you have the wide "sport" 20" wheels, can you replace the run flats with regular tires?

 

[tbone]

I had run flats on my 04 545i. They wore out at 8,000 mile and BMW replaced them for free with new run flats. The new ones were hard as a rock and ruined the ride imo.

After about 5k I couldn't take it anymore and trashed them for regular Michelin Pilot Sports. Expensive but worth it. I was able to do that because for some reason my car had a spare in the trunk.

My new 550i does not have run flats. The originals are about to have to be replaced. I will go with Michelins again. Awesome tires.

Most BMW forums I have read say that you should only expect about 15k, maybe 20k, out of performance tires on 18 or 19 inch rims.

Ask these guys:The Link orThe Link

 

[Lat22]

My 550i has a donut spare. I was going to go with the Pilot Sports but they wear out just as fast as the run flats.

 

[utmck]

Lat22 -

That is interesting that you have a spare and run flats??? I was told that the reason that BMW is runing run flats was because there was not a spare.

 

[WhoseHouse]

I was able to choose between a spare tire and a third row of seats (I chose a spare)... but that's in the suv, I don't know what the deal is with the cars.

 

[Lat22]

Yep. From what I read on bimmerfest and some other forums, I wasn't supposed to have one. Hell, I had a rear tire fail on me (because I had no idea that tires only lasted 12000 miles) and I limped home on the runflat because I didn't know I had a spare. I found it the next day when I was digging out the jack.

 

[CelisHorn]

I recently parted with my C6 corvette that had runflats. Of course there is no spare tire and I got 14000 miles off the front runflats, while the rears had 20% remaining. When I replaced the fronts, I purchased non runflat tires because they were so much cheaper. Replacements were about $425 a piece and were hard to find. I kept a can of good flat fix stuff and a compressor in the car.

 

[Pepper Brooks]

Can you believe that Porsche doesn't have run flats nor a spare tire? I have a nice can of fix a flat in the trunk and that is all. Hope to hell i don't have a blow out one day.