I find it hard to believe that someone can tell the difference in ride between run flats and non-run flats. Can you feel a pea beneath a hundred mattresses!? lol

I have a Volvo V70 T5, it has non-run flats. Over the years, I've had a number of different brands of tire on it and have never felt any differences between them. It rides just the same as my MINI over the same roads. Neither car is harsh or noisy, both cars keep traction over bumps and don't "skip" and around corners.

How a car rides on different tires must be very subjective because I don't notice a difference.

Dave

 

Funny. Launch Google. Enter "performance of run flat tires" and check any article you would like to choose. This one is from Edmunds.com:

Harder ride — The stiff sidewalls that make a run-flat work also result in a harder ride. PAX sidewalls are not as stiff as SST sidewalls, lessening the effect somewhat. Yes, the suspension tuning can be adjusted to compensate, but the loss of tire compliance is never fully recovered.

Seems the folks at Edmunds, and a few hundred other websites, can tell the difference between run flats and non-run flats. Go figure. But I guess everyone but you is just as sensitive as the Princess and the Pea.

 

I love my ride without the runflats on both my Cooper and my Cadillac CTS-V. Granted I had to add sway bars to the Caddy and run the tires higher on pressure to try to get the handling that the runflats gave the car. On the Cooper, it feels great. I have runflat snow tires(16s) and although they are not horrible, it rides so much nicer on my Non runflat Bridgestones(17s).

 

I didn't find that big a difference in the ride between the RFT and the non-RFT. But, because I switched to non-RFT, I was able to put on summer tires and I could tell a difference in the level of grip that was available. The other big place is in my wallet.

 

Really?

I'd bet a year's pay that I could tell 100 out of 100 times. Put me in the same car, mix the tires between runflats and "real" tires, and I'll identify every single set properly. I've been through this baloney on multiple cars over the years. The difference is very real, whether or not some people care about it.

 

Maybe your sensitive butt could, but mine can't!

Dave

 

Kevin, it looks like we're barking up the wrong tree; I'm with you 100%.
But allow the masses to embrace their run-flat tires...
Because it means they're worth more in the classified, and I remove and sell them, I can recoupe a higher buck.

- Erik

 

Runflats really do suck IMHO. The only benefit to them is you can run them with no air in the event of a puncture.... thats it. They lack grip, provide a harsh ride, are fairly loud and are very expensive compared to tires that are 1000% better. My advice to a new Mini owner would be, go get some performance tires and lightweight wheels on your Mini and go drive it like it was meant to be driven. And, after some fun in the twisties, post your Runflats for sale here in the classifieds for someone who likes the security that a runflat provides.

Can't do this with Run-Flats ;-) .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ZypbyVEeU3s

 

Ive had 2 cars before that were notorious for skipping over bumps in turns, a 2004 WRX and a 2008 Civic SI, both handled beautifully however. **edit** Handled beautifully for what I was using the car for, a daily driver. I know this is not optimal for track at all.

It was just something I had to deal with. Currently, replacement performance summer tires on Tirerack are around 230 a piece for RFTs, which isnt bad.

The only thing I worry about is the tire life, but I'll be alternating between winter and summer tires.

I DJ and I travel alot, having a flat in an unfamiliar city would suck. Also, I live in the northeast, where the roads are rather shitty. I opted for tire and wheel insurance when I bought the car, so if I bend a rim, or blow a runflat, its covered. This also covers aftermarket rims and tires for the life of the car.

 

Good to hear someone understood what I meant (maybe you could explain it to Dave?) and I bet it will be significantly improved when I replace the run flats.

So either Kevin's butt is sensitive or Dave's butt is insensitive. Should we take a poll?

 

Very interesting thread. I have used summer and allseason RFTs (winter & summer wheels) since new on my 06 MCS which has many mods. This is my first hot rod car and I love it, I drive aggressive (especially since I got the Sprint Booster. If I want to switch I would like to know what everyone recommends for excellent summer performance tires and excellent handling Allseasons.
I would like to hear my options please, again I want performance out of both sets if possible. Track time is minimal, twisty roads as often as possible and there are many in eastern WA. thanks

 

I'm continually surprised that people say they don't get very many miles and that the RF don't last. If you rotate your tires and keep the pressure correct, (Weekly checks) you should be able to get 30 to 35 K on the RF. My wife's car got 35K out of em. I have about 24K on my RF's and they look fine. I will get at least 35K out of em.

That has been my experience as far as longevity. We did change the RF for Conti DWS non run flats. I like those tires.

 

Has anyone confirmed the life of the RFTs with proper rotation schedule? Mini recommends they be rotated every 3-5k, which makes sense based on their increased wear.

 

My wife got 36K on her run flats with rotations every 5k and inflation checked weekly. My car has 26K on the run flats I should get to 36K or better based on current tread levels. The tires were the factory Contis.

If you track your car of course all bets are off and mileage will vary.

 

Thats good to hear, I figured as much.

I recently have gotten in the habit of keeping up on tire rotations on my cars, espeically with how expensive tires can be these days.

 

Yes especially run flats. The tire pressure is extremely important as well. I rotate my own tires so it gives me a chance to clean the wheels of brake dust and add some wax.

 

I rotated mine on schedule every 3000 to 3500 miles. I really believe that if I had not done that they would have been unusable by 12K miles. They still had some tread on them when I pulled them off, but all four were wearing unevenly. They were still almost perfectly balanced -- we checked them just for the heck of it when we changed them over.

I'm convinced that the sidewalls on the tires were so stiff that the tires were actually "bouncing" a lot. I think that was the cause of the uneven wear.

I tried several pressure settings, but finally settled on 38 front and 36 rear as being optimum for my car. They may have still been a little under-inflated because they were wearing mostly on the edges, still some tread on the center.

I'm still rotating the non-rfs and they look like they will go 40 to 50 K easily.

I'm wondering if the Bridgestone RFs just don't last as well as the Conti RFs. I've got some friends around here whose Contis do look like they are doing pretty well.

 

It could be Mfg specific but I have seen people complain about the conti run flats as well.

In my instance I keep front and rear at 38 lbs.

 

Actually, I didn't mind the ride of the runflats. I didn't feel they were any worse than the old days of bias ply tires. I kind of liked the handling also.

However, in the two years I had the Pirelli Euphori@'s on my MINI, I encountered 4 flat tire situations where I had to get the tire repaired at $40 each time. I had to shop around for a place that would fix them (a Pirelli dealer not too far from my place) because the MINI dealer would not fix them, but would rather sell me a new tire at $600 each (Canadian pricing for you).

The final straw was when the sidewall literally started to separate itself from the tread and I got stranded. The tire dealer offered to sell me a replacement tire, or a complete set of 4 non-runflat high performance tires for the same price as one runflat tire. It was likely the others would probably need replacing soon anyways. Strangely enough, I have not had a flat tire situation since I went to non-runflat tires.

That's my situation, your mileage may vary. I feel runflat tires are a great concept, but probably not quite ready for primetime yet. I still read too many test reports of BMWs and MINIs having to have their runflat tires replaced or fixed during their longterm reviews.

 

+1

 

That does not mean you have to buy that brand. The Continental run flats are about $225.00 ea. A lot less than those you are showing.

Now go to some Goodyear non run-flat tires. Good Year wants an arm a leg for their tires. I wouldn't buy them but as you can see you can run comparisons all over the place.

I just think your comparing apples to oranges. For many people the added safely of not being stranded is well worth the $225.oo price for Contis. For instance my wife works a night shift and always drives very early in the am. Alone and on a freeway. Her peace of mind (and mine) is worth the added expense of run flats.

 

Now that’s some funny chit, right there...





Mark