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[CCY]

I just picked up my 128i from the dealers. I've heard a lot of bad about RFT and thought i might replace them with normal tires after they worn out. How many miles should I expect from the OE bridgestone RFT with non aggressive city drive? If I feel the need to replace them with normal tires later, can I use the same wheels? And what is your suggestion due to the lack of a spare tire...? Thx.

[trazy]

At least I found someone experiencing the same issues when getting rid of RFT, when you read general experience ditching RFT you can think that there is no big deal ... from my experience (06' E87 123d) keep the RFT if you are not willing spend money on you car.

The car is definitely not connected to the road anymore and it's a little bit scary and unsafe, especially at high speed. I remember taking a corner at 130mph in the autobahn and I was really impressed how the car didn't move an inch, I would'nt for the love of god try that again with my actual setup ...

I'm going for the bushes first since it's actually the cheapest for me

[cagekicker]

non-rft is the way to go.

[trfortin69]

I actually prefer my 17 inch run craps over my summer regular tires due to the same issue, a floaty, non secure feeling I get with non runflats, I purchased non rft's from tirerack and a set of OEM 264's from this forum and haven't ever been happy with my choice in tire, I think the tire is an excellent tire however not with this car. I also went a size up and I don't recomend that on this wheel, i think the ideal tire size is stock size with RFT's unless you change over the suspension.

[zamboni]

I just switch over to Michelin PS2 with 225/40 & 255/35 it's day & night compare with RFT.

[sb335is]

weird that you had such a problem.

im waiting on tirerack for my V12 255 225's and im supposed to get a 60$ mail in rebate
hopefully will get them by friday and have them on so i can take an ortega run sunday morning.

[doa]

After 50k on Bridgestone rfts, just switched to Hankook V12s - I'm very happy with both ride and noise level, not to mention price.

[MikeinAlexandria]

What do you all think about the Bridgestone Potenza Re-11s? They look like a no-comprimise great handling tire. There is the expense of longevity, but I would only be using them from April to November...

[rektek]

20K on my 2008 RFT's and the rears were gone. The fronts had a bit left but with winter rain coming (socal so no snow) it was time. Purchased Hankook V12's about a month ago to get the $60 rebate.

First impressions were not great. It felt like a completely different car. Soggy, marshmallows is what I thought off the bat. I read that some V12 users were pumping up the pressure a bit. I played around taking it up a few pounds a week. I'm current at 40f and 42r and am pretty happy with it. Is anyone running more than 40/42?

[zamboni]

I had pretty good run on my previous E46 32K for the set and that was the reason why I went with PS2 for the third time.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by thez99

And btw the 050's are not the stock tire that came on the car, least not mine, those were the 760s i believe..

Since the 760 is not a run flat, did BMW equip your car with a jack and spare tire?

Tom

[JB135MDCT]

Originally Posted by zamboni

I had pretty good run on my previous E46 32K for the set and that was the reason why I went with PS2 for the third time.

What is your driving type and style? 32k sounds good if you like to run in DTC mode.

[Jonny Tea]

GUYS PLEASE HELP.
So I changed my rear tyres to Conts SC3 NON RUN FLAT. They were great for the first 2 months, then I had a tyre pressure warning light come on and I cannot get it off.
Ive checked all the tyres inflated them to correct pressure and straight away reset the error.
It comes on within 5 seconds even if I'm still stationary. I thought the car has to be moving to detect a low tyre, Do you think the non RFTs have caused this?

If I take it to BMW I'm worried they will void the warranty on the problem because I have NON RFTs on it which are not recommended?

Please help! I don't know if I should order some RFTs so I can take it in to BMW.

Thanks

[SinCalgary]

Probably an issue with your TPMS sensor(assuming your model has sensors inside the tire) or another issue. You have to drive for a few Km's after reset to actually reset the TPMS for models without the in tire sensors I believe. Could be another issue as well but is very unlikely anything to do with your non-RFT as it is either an air pressure or rotational speed issue both of which do not differ by tire type.

[fboutlaw]

FYI, check the door. It has recommended pressures.

36/38 under 100 mph, 38/42 over 100 mph.

The squirm is from the sidewall flex. Up your pressure, flex goes down. Like others have said, this takes some experimenting. Now, that said, the squirminess is also from the tire flexing to the contour of the road instead of maintaining a rigid shape like the RFT. That means you'll have much more grip.

The compromise is driving feel vs. actual handling and ability of the car to react. Stick with non-RFT (that's what they do with the M's). You'll get used to the way the car feels.

However, now that you did change to tires that aren't as stiff, you can stiffen up your suspension using new bearings and have the same overall feel with higher actual performance.

I've experienced your issue and it was bad tire choice. Here's my experience:
- Bridgestone RFT - stiff sidewalls, no grip, bad treadwear
- Conti DW - hate these tires, have your issue, poor grip, soft sidewalls, long treadwear
- Kumho 710's - track tire - fantastic, but not for street.
- Michelin Super Sports - installed last night, already love them.

[Jonny Tea]

Thanks for your advice ill get the super sports next then
Turned out it was a software fault and got a full system reset and told to overfill the non rfts just by a few psi to compensate there flex.

Thanks again!!!

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by Gary@TireRack

There's a bit of misinformation regarding your tires, as I read through this thread.

The Bridgestone Potenza RE760 is a fantastic Ultra-High Performance Summer tire. I've had years of experience using them personally and they have delivered exactly what Bridgestone intended with this tire. They have excellent adhesion based on their performance category and they are longer lasting than most in the same group. After 1 million+ miles they are still our customers pick for #1 in the category.
They won't compare in grip to the Extreme Performance tires and they won't compare in wear and comfort to the Standard Touring tires (used on "Buicks") but they are wonderful for the driver who wants a great blend of performance characteristics and doesn't want to buy new tires every 10k miles.

It sounds like your concerns are coming from two sources. You were used to the ultra stiff sidewalls of the runflat tires and the pressure may have been set too low (should be 36psi f/r.)

Hopefully after you have a chance to make the pressure adjustment and drive on them for a hundred miles or so, you'll find them as satisfying as myself and the myriad of customers who rank this tire #1 in it's class.

Finally ditched the Goodyear NCT5 RFTs for a set of non-RFT Bridgestone RE760 Sport tires.

The ride is much better, but now the handling seems to be a little more squirrely, probably due to the softer sidewalls... Changed the tire pressures to 35F/35R from the original 32F/35R, but the improvement is minimal.

After reading your post, l'm going to try 36F/36R.

[DSSG]

My RFTs were killing my back.

I sold them for $500 and replaced them with Michelin A/S 3s. Now I'm very happy!


BTW, using stock tire pressure. Oh and I was able to get the OEM sizes!

[gmartan]

Originally Posted by ennislaw

Thanks for posting this question. I must be the single 1-er who's not unhappy with the stock RFT setup. In fact, I've had compliments from passengers about the smoothness of the ride. My brother drives a 350Z and he said the 135i rides far better than his Z (and I agree). Granted our roads appear to be in better shape than the folks further up north, but I have no problems with the current ride and handling. So, I'll probably stick with the RFT setup when I replace the originals.

FWIW, my current air pressure is 35/38 psi f/r, the way it came when I took delivery from the BMW Performance Center in SC.

pge

Funny. I came from a 350z and the RFTs on the 135i were killing my kidneys and I could not get them off fast enough. I did have a past experience that taught me tires with soft sidewalls even when highly rated don't work for me. I have not regretted my choice of Michelin PSS and it appears to be very popular as a RFT replacement. Does anyone else think these are sloppy compared to the stock RFTs?

[128Convertibleguy]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Finally ditched the Goodyear NCT5 RFTs for a set of non-RFT Bridgestone RE760 Sport tires.

The ride is much better, but now the handling seems to be a little more squirrely, probably due to the softer sidewalls... Changed the tire pressures to 35F/35R from the original 32F/35R, but the improvement is minimal.

After reading your post, l'm going to try 36F/36R.

There's no way you get the steering response of the very stiff runflat sidewalls with RE760s, unless you use too high pressures, which are bad for many reasons.

It's a large reason why the Pilot Super Sports are so popular here, they have maybe the best steering response of any non runflat.

[bavarianx]

I always ditch the runflats when they are used up and I've been happier with ride quality and handling.

[Pyrat 2]

Personally I like the ride and responsiveness of the rft. That said I like the ultimate grip of the mpss which in my view is better since I track the car too. Lots of rft bashing on this forum but in reality there is a tradeoff and you have to decide which characteristics you prefer.