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[dicker]

Then go with the 225/255, this will be great on the stock wheels.

[slim_e90]

hey BrokenVert,

Where i am, at least one club allows e88's in novice HPDE track events. you may want to check around as i think they all have different regulations/rules.

Second, regarding your 245 setup - are you running the Dunlops on the stock 164s?

i'm in the market for new tires, and want to get some feedback on both options on stock rims for ideal autoX / track results.... square 245s vs. staggered 225/255s

thx!

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by GaryS

225/255 non-RFT will give a much more comfortable ride than the stock runflats and might give a little more grip to reduce understeer.

I see a lot of posts recommending non-RFT tires. What do you guys do concerning flats?
I heard the 1M doesn't use RFTs and is equipped with a can of fix-a-flat and an air pump.
I've read that once you put that fix-a-flat stuff in the tire, it may get you to the tire place but they won't be able to fix it for you.
Do you guys really take the chance of trashing a $300 tire each time it runs over a nail?

[GaryS]

Originally Posted by MPBK

I see a lot of posts recommending non-RFT tires. What do you guys do concerning flats?
I heard the 1M doesn't use RFTs and is equipped with a can of fix-a-flat and an air pump.
I've read that once you put that fix-a-flat stuff in the tire, it may get you to the tire place but they won't be able to fix it for you.
Do you guys really take the chance of trashing a $300 tire each time it runs over a nail?

In the last 35 years, I have had two slow leaks. So I have a 12v pump. If by one in a million chance I get a really flat tire that won't reinflate, I'll use my cell phone and wait 45 minutes for a tow.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by slim_e90

hey BrokenVert,

Where i am, at least one club allows e88's in novice HPDE track events. you may want to check around as i think they all have different regulations/rules.

Second, regarding your 245 setup - are you running the Dunlops on the stock 164s?

i'm in the market for new tires, and want to get some feedback on both options on stock rims for ideal autoX / track results.... square 245s vs. staggered 225/255s

thx!

Yeah ive been looking around. Well see next year.

No. My 245 Star Specs are on a square set of OZ Ultraleggeras. 17x8 et40

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by GaryS

In the last 35 years, I have had two slow leaks. So I have a 12v pump. If by one in a million chance I get a really flat tire that won't reinflate, I'll use my cell phone and wait 45 minutes for a tow.

In the last 20+ years I have been to Discount Tire more times than I can remember for flats.
It would have cost me a small fortune if I had to replace the tire each time.
What do you do if your tow truck shows up after 5pm? Do you drop your car at Discount Tire parking lot and take a cab home?
Is all that aggravation and risk worth the marginal better ride of a non-RFT?

[GaryS]

^^ I'm sorry that you've had so much bad luck. You should probably stick to RFTs.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by MPBK

In the last 20+ years I have been to Discount Tire more times than I can remember for flats.
It would have cost me a small fortune if I had to replace the tire each time.
What do you do if your tow truck shows up after 5pm? Do you drop your car at Discount Tire parking lot and take a cab home?
Is all that aggravation and risk worth the marginal better ride of a non-RFT?

In 3 years the worst ive had is a slow leak from a nail (plugged and lasted another 10K miles you cant do that that with RFTs) and the time I cracked my wheel. If I had hit that same hole with a RFT I wouldve had a blowout. Nothing happened to my normal tire

[fboutlaw]

Originally Posted by MPBK

I see a lot of posts recommending non-RFT tires. What do you guys do concerning flats?
I heard the 1M doesn't use RFTs and is equipped with a can of fix-a-flat and an air pump.
I've read that once you put that fix-a-flat stuff in the tire, it may get you to the tire place but they won't be able to fix it for you.
Do you guys really take the chance of trashing a $300 tire each time it runs over a nail?

Second set of tires in the garage. Fix a flat and compressor to get home.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by GaryS

^^ I'm sorry that you've had so much bad luck. You should probably stick to RFTs.

Not so much luck as it is a function of where you live. And I have 3 cars... 3 times the probability.
Don't get me wrong... I'm not advocating RFTs.
I dislike the fact that BMW doesn't give us a spare, even if a doughnut.
I wouldn't mind paying for one, if only they included room for a spare in their designs.
Without that, I don't think it's worth the hassle... unless you treat the streets like a race track on your every day commute. The limits of the car, even with RFTs, is WAY beyond what regular traffic allows.
Moding for the sake of moding I understand... but when it cuts into function and practicality I have to draw the line.

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

In 3 years the worst ive had is a slow leak from a nail (plugged and lasted another 10K miles you cant do that that with RFTs) and the time I cracked my wheel. If I had hit that same hole with a RFT I wouldve had a blowout. Nothing happened to my normal tire

RFT doesn't cause blow outs. RFTs were designed to prevent blowouts.
Perhaps you have your thoughts mixed up.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by fboutlaw

Second set of tires in the garage. Fix a flat and compressor to get home.

Tire AND wheels (mucho dinero), unless you have a machine to mount tires as well.
Might as well install a lift in that garage.

[Red Bread]

I have a nearly twelve year old M Coupe that came with regular tires and no spare. My dealer made a dramatic show of tossing the can of goop during the purchase inspection.

I've had one blowout in 138k miles. It was a stupid Toyo T1-R that had been tracked mercilessly and installed by a huge monkey on a cheap machine. It felt bad for months and a smart person would have replaced it long before it blew (on a Sunday, 130 miles from home). I've used roadside (free for the life of the car) twice to have the car towed to a Discount/America's Tire and have a tire patched or replaced.

Carry a plug kit and a tire compressor (which fits in the space next to the battery) and know how to use the plug kit. You can have the plug replaced by a patch when you get to where you're going. Plus most slow leaks don't require a plug and you can drive cautiously until you get it patched. It's really no big deal and I jettisoned my wife's 135i RFT's for real tires and haven't thought twice about it. I will do the same on any future RFT equipped car until they either get the feel right, or stop trying.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

I have a nearly twelve year old M Coupe that came with regular tires and no spare. My dealer made a dramatic show of tossing the can of goop during the purchase inspection.

I've had one blowout in 138k miles. It was a stupid Toyo T1-R that had been tracked mercilessly and installed by a huge monkey on a cheap machine. It felt bad for months and a smart person would have replaced it long before it blew (on a Sunday, 130 miles from home). I've used roadside (free for the life of the car) twice to have the car towed to a Discount/America's Tire and have a tire patched or replaced.

Carry a plug kit and a tire compressor (which fits in the space next to the battery) and know how to use the plug kit. You can have the plug replaced by a patch when you get to where you're going. Plus most slow leaks don't require a plug and you can drive cautiously until you get it patched. It's really no big deal and I jettisoned my wife's 135i RFT's for real tires and haven't thought twice about it. I will do the same on any future RFT equipped car until they either get the feel right, or stop trying.

Thanks for your very pertinent notes.
I don't have the 135i yet. As my profile says, it's at PCD, waiting for me.
I have driven my 3-series for over 10 years, so I know what a regular tire is supposed to feel like on a BMW. Yet, during my brief test drive, I didn't notice anything odd with the RFTs. Perhaps I was too overwhelmed with the other new features in the 135i, such as the DCT and, especially, the rush of power.
What you said now concerns me a bit... will I notice that much of an improvement if I replace RFTs with regular good quality sports tires?

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by MPBK

What you said now concerns me a bit... will I notice that much of an improvement if I replace RFTs with regular good quality sports tires?

Get your new car, enjoy it. Don't worry about the details before you even have it.

My experience with run flats is that they're very harsh on small impacts but okay on larger impacts. The first few mm of give that a normal tire has, RFT's apparently do not. So it feels like the car has very harsh initial impact absorption.

They do however have very stiff sidewalls, which BMW addresses by using a pretty soft suspension. So if you change to a normal tire with soft sidewalls, the ride will be cushy, but your steering feel will be a little squirmy. You can counter this with higher tire pressures, but that's not really ideal. Research tires before you buy, and if you're just getting your car, I'd recommend you at least burn off some if not all of the RFT's, which tends to take 15-25k miles.

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Get your new car, enjoy it. Don't worry about the details before you even have it.

My experience with run flats is that they're very harsh on small impacts but okay on larger impacts. The first few mm of give that a normal tire has, RFT's apparently do not. So it feels like the car has very harsh initial impact absorption.

They do however have very stiff sidewalls, which BMW addresses by using a pretty soft suspension. So if you change to a normal tire with soft sidewalls, the ride will be cushy, but your steering feel will be a little squirmy. You can counter this with higher tire pressures, but that's not really ideal. Research tires before you buy, and if you're just getting your car, I'd recommend you at least burn off some if not all of the RFT's, which tends to take 15-25k miles.

thanks for very sensible advice.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by MPBK

thanks for very sensible advice.

Could I get that in writing? My wife would never believe that those words were uttered in my direction!

[delta-9-ginseng]

I got the Michelin PSS in 225/255 on the stock wheels and the difference is honestly night and day! Although, they might be expensive I think they are worth it. Great tire all around!

[MPBK]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

Could I get that in writing? My wife would never believe that those words were uttered in my direction!

We must, at all cost, not let them (wives, and women in general) suspect that we just pretend that we're lost sheep so that they will continue to make our sammiches.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by MPBK

RFT doesn't cause blow outs. RFTs were designed to prevent blowouts.
Perhaps you have your thoughts mixed up.

Nope. Runflats are designed for a very specific situation. That being a nail or other solid punching through mid tread and causing a small controlled leak.

Runflats weakness has always been resistance to sidewall blowouts. Their stiff sidewalls make them less pliable than normal tires of the same size.

This is why they are prone to sidewall bubbles. You ever get those? Because I threw out 3 nearly brand new tires before I wised up and ditched em.

The reason that those bubbles form you ask? The answer is down to material properties. When a bubble forms the tire at that point has gone beyond its plastic strain load and several layers of rubber break within the tire. If you hit the bump that caused it a little harder you wouldve had a blowout, plain and simple.

[TX78666]

What's worse, is that the sidewall is weakened (or so I am told, having never done any kind of scientific testing) when you drive on one that is "flat." Which is why people don't like to plug them.

So then, what is the value? You're trashing an even more expensive tire, every time you hit a nail, just to save the 3 minutes it takes to put on a donut.

Personally, I'm switching to non runflats, as soon as these are worn out, and I'll plug my own nail holes on the side of the road. 1 tire = 1 weekend at the track.