Nail in sidewall

[MarkFC]

Washing the car yesterday, caught my hand on a nail sticking out the tyre, on the arch from the tread to the sidewall. Took it to Bridgestone, won't repair, needs a new one. Tyre has 15,000k on it. Bridgestone man looked up the price, "$752 thanks, and by the way, you should replace both rears to keep them the same."

Just priced a Kumho KU31 Ecsta for $282 for the 245/35/18, they aren't run-flat but have reinforced sidewalls apparently. Any feedback on these? I've heard they are a reasonable tyre.

Thanks

[TimMc]

Bugger.
Do a search for Kumho on this forum Mark. I think I've read good things about them here. Certainly good value for money. I'm running the KU36s at the track. Noisier but more comfort & grip than Bridgestone RFTs. KU31 is more road biased than KU36 & should be quieter.

[NJL]

... $700+ for a tyre :|

[sparoz]

Ie - mine is no longer RFT - but someone on the forum might have a spare set?

[BigBoss168]

Originally Posted by sparoz

Ie - mine is no longer RFT - but someone on the forum might have a spare set?

Reckon this is your best bet. Given that many on the forums have switched out or intend to switch out their run flats, maybe you can find a pair (or even a single tyre if wear is comparable) second hand?

Alternatively, use it as an opportunity to switch out your run flats entirely (but note that I don't think you can mix run flats on the front axle with non-RFTs on the rear).

[TimMc]

Originally Posted by taipan168

note that I don't think you can mix run flats on the front axle with non-RFTs on the rear.

Maybe not ideal, but why not taipan?

[BigBoss168]

Originally Posted by TimMc

Maybe not ideal, but why not taipan?

Dunno, that's what the owners' manual says

When I had my Boxster, I was looking at switching my tyres from PZeros to PS2s when my rears needed replacing. However, both the tyre dealer and the service people said that I'd have to switch out all four tyres including the fronts which still had a lot of life in them. Could just be sales talk though...

[AussieRacer]

I've been running front RFTs and non-RFT rears for 6000km with no issues at all. In fact based upon my driving style, it balances the car nicely. Obviously the fronts are a bit more crashy than the rears.

[MarkFC]

In my discussions today, none of the tyre sales people have had an issue with mixing RF's and non-RF's.

The Toyo Proxes T1R was also recommended at $370.

[TimMc]

Originally Posted by MarkFC

In my discussions today, none of the tyre sales people have had an issue with mixing RF's and non-RF's.

The Toyo Proxes T1R was also recommended at $370.

I used the T1Rs on my coilover & Koni equipped E30 325i. They were great on road and track. They had a protruding strip of rubber that stopped me kerbing my rims on the gutter too, which I've recently done with the 135

[MarkFC]

Ordered the KU31's today, I'll give them 12 months to see how they perform.

I spoke to BMW Service dept today, no issues with swapping / mixing RFT's with non RFT's. I did have one tyre retailer tell me he wouldn't do it as non RFT's wouldn't fit on the rim.

[MarkFC]

Got the Kumhos on the rear this afternoon, done about 40klms so far and I can't believe the difference in ride comfort compared to RFT's. That jarring sensation has all but gone. Won't test grip levels until the tyres are worn in a bit. The nail in the RF was a big sucker, definately not repairable.