I have a 2010 S speed with about 9K on her. It has 16" run flats which I am not crazy about. I picked up a nail in the left rear right in the middle. Barely leaking air at all but if you get 3LBs difference in a tire the warning lights come on and you need to refill and reset the system. Nail is still plugging the hole.

Since the tires have 60% left in them I could do one of the following:

1. Replace it at the dealer for $235 installed and balanced.

2. Buy a replacement on line and have it installed. $151 at Tire Rack
and they are out. $20 for Shipping plus plau mount and balance. For
the hassel dealer would be fine as it would be fast and easy.

3. Bring it to less Les Schwab and let them patch the tire. I am not big on patched tires for a performance car but I have had good luck on my truck.
I figure plug it and than patch the inside and it should be as good as gold.
My concern would be the tire failing in a high speed corner. With the runflat
I do not see this as as big an issue because it is not going to blow out and drop on to the rim at speed. You should notice the loss of handling but the stiff side walls should allow you slow and limp back for a replacement. This option is cheap and I can run the tires all winter in the rain in seattle and
get new non-run flats for next summer for the driving season. Leaning towards this option right now. And bad experiences with patchingt a run flat?

4. But new tires all the way around right now. 4 Bridgestone non run flats
hi performance summer tires are $470 delivered plus mount and balance
these are stock 195/55-16's.

5. I would prefer to go up a size if possible. Can I run 205/55 16's on her with out any rubbing? I can get 4 Goodyear F1 GS-D's for $530 delivered plus M&B. I like the goodyears because they are the best high performace tire in the wet and olso has great dry perfomance too. Seatrtle gets a little rain
and I found these to be excellent in all but cold conditions. Can I run the 205's?


Thanks for your help guys.

 

They say you aren't supposed to patch a run-flat.

In this situation, if it were me, I'd probably patch it until I was ready to replace all of the tires. The air pressure never got so low that the sidewalls had to do their job (I'm assuming?) and you aren't traveling at 100+ MPH autobahn speeds.

 

I just replaced my 16" runflats (Conti SSR 195-55-16) with Yokohama ENVigors (same size). I believe they were $91 and they have improved the ride significantly besides being a lot lighter.

I just sold the Contis for $240. You could probably sell yours for at least $100, making the whole thing not too painful.

DOC

 

Runflats MUST GO. Period/exclamation point. Eliminate all options that involve runflats and move forward. Report back afterwards - 100% guaranteed that you'll be happy you got rid of them. Everyone who switches is ALWAYS happy with the results.

 

"Everyone who switches is ALWAYS happy with the results."

Not true as evinced by posts here on NAM about Conti DWS.

 

I have had sub compacts my whole life. My guess is that you will notice significantly putting one new tire on even on the rear. I've had decent luck replacing in twos, but the way to go is to replace in fours.

I replaced the runflats the first year with normal ones. 16 inch
and it made a world of difference. Right now I have 15 inch off
a first generation (when they wear out I will get a set of snow tires)
that I got really cheap. The ride improved but the handling went down.

If it were me, I would patch the thing drive through the winter, and
replace all four in the spring with non runflats.

 

Yes, you can go up to a 205/55/16 without rubbing issues. I'm running that size now and many others are as well.