Replaced runcraps on 135I - yeah!

[Bim135AUS]

Hi Guys

Finally ditched the runcraps on my 135I and replaced them with Pirelli P Zero Rosso

225/40/18 Front and 255/35/18 Rear

I've only had them on for a couple of days now but am noticing a big change .

The ride is certainly more forgiving, far less noise and interestingly, my steering seems much lighter than with my old runcraps- didn't actually expect that, really, Any of you guys notice that the steering is lighter without the runcraps?

Too early to say whether the new tyres are grippier as they are still pretty green but there is no doubt that rear tyre grip is far superior from standing starts. The traction light used to come on with very little provocation but now comes on much later and with much better control than before.

Man, those runcraps were pretty useless!!

Don't know whether the car seems to roll a a little more at the apex than before, given the wider footprint and resultant less understeer.

Could well be my imagination though. As I said, the tyres are still pretty new and I'm still adjusting to them

One last thing, what pressures do you guys recommend for street/highway use with non-runcraps?

My tyre dealer suggested 39 psi front and 36 rear.

The placard in the front door suggests 38psi, front and back for the standard runcraps.

Would appreciate your thoughts

Thanks guys

[sparoz]

Not, sure, but I always have 38psi all round for my e46 and seems to work quite well.

[Timbo]

Hey mate,

Out of curiosity, can I ask what you're doing in case of a flat? Or are you taking the fingers crossed approach?

[Bim135AUS]

No, just bought a puncture repair kit from Autobarn for less than $20. It;s an aerosol can/foam product that seals the tyre and gets you home

Easy to use and gets you outa trouble

C

[takahashi]

Just to let you know that the tyres cannot be replaced after you have used the puncture kit. That glued tyre has to be replaced.

Same story when you punture a runflat... no one likes to patch them for you.

[MikeVictor]

Do the pressure sensors etc still work with the non-RFT?

[TimMc]

Originally Posted by mattyv

Do the pressure sensors etc still work with the non-RFT?

Hi Matty.
I don't think we have pressure sensors in our Oz spec models. I think the system just monitors differences in wheel rotations to determine if a tyre is flat.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by mattyv

Do the pressure sensors etc still work with the non-RFT?

Yes.

[Bim135AUS]

The product that I bought sets to a foam and not a sludgy glue that tyre people don't like to work with (can't blame them really)

The foam simply pops out of the tyre and is promptly repaired- no probs.

The make that I bought is Holt's Tyre Mend from Autobarn. In fact the Autobarn guys warned me against the sludgy glue ones because the tyre repair guys hate them so much.

As for the tyre pressure sensors, they are built into the ABS system with 135I's and work perfectly well with both runflats and non-runflats- once again, no probs.

[qship]

Can I be rude and ask how much it cost for the Pirellis'? Thinking of doing exactly the same thing.

RFT= Really Fuc#ed Tyres

[aus135i]

hmm are they really that bad??? i know for one they are not bad on the track...sadly for me, i have had 3 puncture on my RTF (all on the back, but all were in the middle, no where near the sidewalls) and i had them repaired ^^ and yes they were still fine on the track

as for road use, i guess they are abit hard!

[wkthyk]

RE050 RFT to me is a bit too luxury compare to my last set of tyres on rx8 - Advan A048...

[Bim135AUS]

Paid $460 for the Front 225/40/18 and $550 for Rear 255/35/18 from Bob Jane's

Not the cheapest tyre in the world but I am mightily impressed with them

[amalgamman]

Originally Posted by aus135i

hmm are they really that bad??? i know for one they are not bad on the track...sadly for me, i have had 3 puncture on my RTF (all on the back, but all were in the middle, no where near the sidewalls) and i had them repaired ^^ and yes they were still fine on the track

as for road use, i guess they are abit hard!

I always thought (and was told) that once you blew a RFT, you had to get the whole tyre replaced at around $800 a tyre.

When I picked up the car, the dealership tried to sell me tyre insurance for 850!!