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Post by GSV3MIaC on Apr 12, 2016 20:19:09 GMT
Does anyone have a good word to say about them (I had little choice on my last new car). Just had my first flat, which gave some new insights ..
The are heavier (than ordinary tyres)
Cost about 20-30% more
Last 33% fewer miles (my experience so far)
Are noisier, give a harsher ride (assuming same shock absorber settings)
Are generally unrepairable (most tyre shops won't even try)
Are harder to get replaced (lots of tyre shops don't stock them)
And no, they didn't get me home - the garage took one look (split where the tread meets the sidewall) and said 'you don't wanna be driving on that' .. having just done 5 miles to get there I agreed heartily. On inspection the other three were going in the same place (I guess the wonderful potholed roads round here put a lot of stress on just that point, since that's about the only bit of the tyre that can actually deform).
And the good news .. well, you can drive 5 miles without ruining the rim, and you don't actually have to find somewhere to keep a spare tyre .. oh and you maybe get an extra 0.05 MPG or something through saving a few pounds weight with 4 run-flats vs 4 regular+some sort of spare. Madness, IMO .. but maybe someone out there loves them?
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Post by bracknellboy on Apr 12, 2016 21:01:00 GMT
There is someone on this board who's moniker I can't remember who should be able to give you a properly informed and erudite opinion.
Not helpful.
I am currently in possession of my first car with run-flats. When I bought it I didn't realise it had RFs and was slightly miffed (cost of replacements for a start). But I have to say I am not unimpressed with them. I am undoubtedly getting longer life on them than I was with my previous - but this may count for zilch as my prior car was 245 bhp delivered through the front wheels whereas my current is 360 bhp delivered through the rear wheels. But the car is now at around 36k miles and I am close to completing replacing the lot (prior ownershipe 7k and I assume tyres were 'as shipped') whereas I was lucky to get 15k out of the fronts on my prior.
The car is also a lot quieter than my previous; but again it would be mad to say that was due to the tyres rather than the car.
For the one time I've needed to get a tyre changed in an emergency I didn't have a problem with the RFs not being stocked (I did have a problem with finding anywhere in the immediate vicinity even stocking that tyre so I could get it fitted at 5:45pm before a 200 mile journey, but managed it).
EDIT: P.S. If your tyres are splitting between tread and sidewall.....have you a) got really cheap tyres fitted b) left a change till its too late c) got a driving style which is "sub-optimal" w.r.t. tyre wear d) considered getting the train ? :-)
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SteveT
Member of DD Central
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Post by SteveT on Apr 12, 2016 21:02:06 GMT
I'm not exactly a "fan" of them but I did specify run-flats on my current Ford S-Max (which has no space whatsoever for a spare of any size), after having only had a bottle of gunk to fall back on with my previous one. They're certainly significantly more expensive. I don't seem to be getting noticeably fewer miles out of them (they're Goodyear Eagles), nor find them any noisier. The best thing though is the knowledge I can get to somewhere sensible (hopefully home or a garage) in the event of a puncture.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Apr 12, 2016 21:04:28 GMT
Does anyone have a good word to say about them (I had little choice on my last new car). You could, of course, have had them changed for non-RF... Any tyre place can get virtually any tyre, in virtually any size within a day or two. There are SO many different brands and sizes and ratings and qualities and CHOICES that the odds of getting what you want off the shelf are fairly low, so you'll probably be waiting anyway, unless you're happy with whatever Chinese ditchfinder they might happen to have. Which is five miles further than you'd have got on a non-RF. And that's the point of them. Very few manufacturers supply spares these days - don't believe the "emissions" excuse - it's all about cost - and when there is a spare, it's a space-saver that you shouldn't use apart from a short pootle. Besides, nobody wants to sit at the side of the road changing their own tyre - they'll call the AA to come and do it for them. Using a tin of goop and a compressor doesn't endear you to the poor sod who has to clean the mess off the rim before replacing the tyre - assuming it didn't immediately just gush out of the split in the sidewall, all over your nice shoes. Even if they did want to put a spare in,and you did want to change it, you'd be taking half the boot up with the mahoosive alloy and steam-roller tyre that you take off. If it'd even fit. Since it's mainly the premium German brands who've gone the RF route, the ride and noise issues are irrelevant, on coals-to-Newcastle grounds.
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Post by GSV3MIaC on Apr 12, 2016 21:14:33 GMT
There is someone on this board who's moniker I can't remember who should be able to give you a properly informed and erudite opinion. EDIT: P.S. If your tyres are splitting between tread and sidewall.....have you a) got really cheap tyres fitted b) left a change till its too late c) got a driving style which is "sub-optimal" w.r.t. tyre wear d) considered getting the train ? :-) Well they were pirelli's fitted from new, and they died at 23.4k miles .. my previous set did 36k (prior model of same car) - 4wd. Maybe I did leave them too long (empirically), but there was plenty of tread left. I suspect it is the sheer number of 6" deep potholes I trundle through around the lanes here. I avoided low profile for that reason, but there is b&gger all flex in even the high profile run-flats. We don't have trains out here. We don't even have buses. I lie .. there are two a week.
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adrianc
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Post by adrianc on Apr 12, 2016 21:16:16 GMT
We don't even have buses. I lie .. there are two a week. Last one that got lost enough to come round these parts was eaten by the locals.
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Post by bracknellboy on Apr 12, 2016 21:20:01 GMT
The one I had to change 'in a hurry' I was very lucky with. Security person - as it turned out - had been eying up my car and spotted a bloody great bulge in the tyre wall (probably thanks to a pot hole) and left a message pinned to my rear windscreen. Otherwise I'd have been doing a long journey down the motorways with a very dodgy set of boots.
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skippyonspeed
Some people think I'm a little bit crazy, but I know my mind's not hazy
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Post by skippyonspeed on Apr 12, 2016 21:42:44 GMT
Check this out slimeWhen I had my car serviced a few years ago when I got home I discovered I had a slow puncture caused by a screw......the garage was obviously not going to accept responsibility and replace it....as the tyre was virtually brand new repair was the way to go so I found the above product and tried it out.......worked a treat, so all tyres had the stuff squirted in. Obviously it won't be any use for side wall splits/bulges, but for holes in the tread area I thoroughly recommend it. Also good for bike tyres |
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Post by GSV3MIaC on Apr 13, 2016 7:40:34 GMT
slime .. yep, My lawn mower tyres of full of the stuff, so I can mow over the thorn hedge cuttings. Also used in rally car tyres IIRC (although they may be foam-filled by now).
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