I know this has been covered before but.....

I have a BMW 120d with 205/55R16 tyres currently Continental sport contact ssr. I have rnag my insurance company and they have advised that there would be no problem if I fit non-runflats. I asked at my local BMW garage and they said the runflats are a safety feature. I asked why they now offer the car with runflats as an option; "are the new ones not safe". They declined to give me a decent answer.

So should I fit non-runflats?

Discuss!

 

Why dont you just fit the run flats? Not that much difference in price.

Dont trust the main dealers. My next door neighbour was quoted 900 pounds last week for a new stereo head unit in his 120 BMW. They told him it was a sealed unit and could not be repaired.

I fixed it in about 30 seconds by changing the 10 amp fuse on the rear of the unit that was clearly blown.

Disgusting ripoff service.

The same dealer tried to have me over a few weeks before by servicing my car when it went in for a wheel bearing under warranty!! I told them I didnt ask for a service and it didnt need one so could they please refit all the old filters and put the old oil back in.

They backed down and didnt charge in the end.

 

they servced a car without permission shocking!

 

Im not going to get right in to the whole main dealer thing, but many exploit the fact that consumers trust them too much. There are many great main dealers out there, but sadly there are too many rip off ones too. Anyway, back to the tyres... there is no safety issue provided the tyre stays inflated. That being said, it would be the same for any car really. The main advantage of a run flat is you dont have to change the wheel and there for avoid the weight and space penalty of carrying a spare and tools etc. (Although I do argue the culmative additional weight of the 4 run flats as an unsprung weight can't be far off that of a well designed spare wheel and tools!) Another concideration is the tyre pressure, a run flat has a more solid tyre wall so the pressure you run a normal tyre at may need to be addressed, and also check for any uneaven tyre wear that may result from this. What tyres you thinking of going for?

 

Handling and road feel with runflats is terrible. I know its not EXACTLY the same, but I had a mini cooper S with the runflats and when swapped for non-runflats, noticed a great difference. There was a big difference in price too!

My gf has a 56 plate mini and it came with non-runflats and a wee compressor and foam in case of a puncture. Maybe keep a tin of the foam in your car if you do change over, just in case.

 

Iirc there are 2 different run flat tyre types, those with the thicker sidewalls and those with the big lump of rubber in the centre of the rim, one sort has a differnt rim as a reslut and you can't fit non run flat tyres onto it, think watchdog covered it when they first came out

 

Did you get them to stamp the book anyway???

 

thats what i thought and im sure i read somewhere if your car is meant to have them and there not fitted and you have a accident your insurance could be null and void

 

You get a lot softer ride without the Run Flats. I personally would stick with the Run Flats - i changed mine to normal and everytime I hit even the slighest bump in the road the car skipped like a bag of shit - soon replaced them for run flats again. Price was there aint a lot in it.

 

Of course. Ended up getting a free main dealer service.

I totally believe they knew what they were doing and had some spare workshop time so took the gamble that I would either not notice or thank them for servicing it and pay.

As said above. too many people would have just said yes and like my neighbour story tonnes would have known no better and just coughed for a new stereo unit.

 

my mate just had the run flats dilema on his 118d. He fitted non runflats, 1 week later he calls me up, got a burst tyre and no jack, no spare and the tyre is off the rim so the can of foam stuff wont work lol!!

11pm I had to go and get a trolley jack and luckily for him had a spare bmw alloy and get him back on the road.

If you do fit non runflats, I would by a space saver and chuck it in the boot.

 

No set rule, so long as the company know of any change you're covered, unless of course when telling them they said no we won't cover you.
Why not try Ultraseal, had it in my cossie and gf's astra best thing I did, tyre life is around 25% better most likely due to them running cooler, if you notice a nail just wait until you are going out in the car pull the nail out and drive off, job done.
I got a 8mm bolt stuck in a tyre, looked like a ford gearbox bolt, I was astounded it sealed this, despite being advertised up to 5mm seal, this is a permanent fix no taking tyre off etc, used on lots of high speeds stuff too, as well as other obvious things like government cars used in NI also.
There is a peculiar balancing technique, spin up 8 times bung weights on all is well, you can get a really really faint shimmy for the 1st hundred feet or so sometimes but nothing apart from that.
The recommend not for use below 50% profile but I've used it in 40's without problem.
tabetha

 

The main reason I have asked is that I got a nail in a new tyre - a runflat. No one would repair it so it was £100 for a new tyre. Also the wear rate on them is rubbish compared to a normal tyre. A bloke at work has a 118d M sport so has the 18 inch low profiles and he stuck with runflats but is only getting 10000 miles out of a set of the pirellis. Driving on the runflat was awful too. I have covered 250000 miles and never had a blowout and have only once had a completely flat tyre. So I thought I would fit normal tyres and stick a compressor in the boot and a can of tyre weld. Then at least I can get a puncture repaired for £15 and get going again.

 

Some tyre sealants are going to wreck the tyre, due to the chemicals used, not all do, but a lot won't touch tyres for repair where this has been used.
Ask yourself what's worse paying £15 for puncture fix after removing the tyre to fit the spare, maybe at 3am on a pissing wet day on the M25 hard shoulder or paying £10 per tyre to make sure you never have to with a product that pays for itself in increased mileage/tyre life from using it.
I had a yoof tell me that if he took off tyres that had ever had sealant in them it would knock him out due to the fumes and he would recommend a new tyre rather than sealants, he looked a bit sheepish when I pointed out the two he'd just removed had ultraseal in them, he didn't believe me so looked then said he felt ill wtf!!
It's so harmless it is edible, makes you sick/vomit but doesn't harm totally bio degradeable as well.
tabetha