[pje16]

After someone pulled out and caused his wheel to hit my rear nearside valve and rip it off the wheel
I took the decision it was now time with 3 tyres down to 3 to-4 mm to change all 4
Now on Goodyear Eagle asymmetric all round
WHAT a difference it makes
have only done 6 miles with them, but that has been enough to feel the change, on a rough road and a nice fast corner on the A1
Run flats are the work of the devil

 

[Simon Site Manager]

After someone pulled out and caused his wheel to hit my rear nearside valve and rip it off the wheel
I took the decision it was now time with 3 tyres down to 3 to-4 mm to change all 4
Now on Goodyear Eagle asymmetric all round
WHAT a difference it makes
have only done 6 miles with them, but that has been enough to feel the change, on a rough road and a nice fast corner on the A1
Run flats are the work of the devil

The scales have been peeled from your eyes, Paul. Changes the car, does it not.

 

[pje16]

The scales have been peeled from your eyes, Paul. Changes the car, does it not.

Yes it does my friend, immensely

 

[dxnnyk]

Interestingly, it made a huge difference on all of my 1er's - but not a scrap of difference on my 420dX, swapping from Bridgestone Pot S001 to MPS4S. Felt exactly the same, and £700 down

 

[Simon Site Manager]

Interestingly, it made a huge difference on all of my 1er's - but not a scrap of difference on my 420dX, swapping from Bridgestone Pot S001 to MPS4S. Felt exactly the same, and £700 down

Started with RFT's on my E91, changed to normal tyres and again changed the handling and the comfort.

 

[symonh2000]

I have had a few BMW's where I have changed the runflats to normal tyres.

It always make a huge improvement to ride and handling.

 

[msej449]

Out of interest - did any of you change from runflats to goflats on exactly the same brand of tyre? Or did you change the tyre brand at the same time? Because if it's the latter, then the feedback isn't that useful, because how do you know how much of the improvement is down to the change to goflats versus the change of brand?

I've been on a search for a while, trying to find people who've done a like-for-like swap and so far, across hundreds if not thousands of posts on UK and US forums, I've only found three where it's a like-for-like swap. And those three were euther neutral or said that while yes, it made a difference, that it wasn't dramatic.

The usual response to my request is for people to say "But I did change and the difference was night vs day!" - Fine, but how much of that was due to the swap to goflats and how much was down to a change of brand? To which the common response is "Well, who cares, as long as it's a better tyre?" which is fine, but why give up the advatages of a runflat if it's not necessary? The tyre threads are replete with protracted discussions about the big differences between various brands and variants of goflats so clearly, it's possible that just changing to a better runflat migth be an option as well.

 

[pje16]

Out of interest - did any of you change from runflats to goflats on exactly the same brand of tyre? Or did you change the tyre brand at the same time? Because if it's the latter, then the feedback isn't that useful, because how do you know how much of the improvement is down to the change to goflats versus the change of brand?

Continentals were fitted as standard when the car was new
I guess any standard would feel different as RFTs make you feel every pimple you pass over on the road
I bought the Goodyear ones after reading lots of reviews

 

[moulin12]

Reams have been written about this subject, on this forum and elsewhere. I'd say a balanced view is that modern runflats offer a very decent, comfortable ride, but can't compete with the road handling of goflats due to dead weight and rubber composition But what's often not discussed is whether if you are a family driver you might want to stick with runflats. Having experienced running over sharp metal at 50 mph that sheared my tyre like a knife I was amazed at effectiveness of runflats in keeping the car true when it happened. It felt like a second in which the car veered but then immediately righted itself.

I still run runflats on my 19 inchers, as there's plenty of rubber. There simply isn't enough of a difference to make me think about comfort, though I am aware of the increased deadweight sometimes.

 

[pje16]

I'd say a balanced view is that modern runflats offer a very decent, comfortable ride,

May I humbly suggest you live/drive in area with smooth roads, no blemishes or potholes
the difference is like chalk and cheese in North London

 

[moulin12]

Hi pje16, I live in Coventry, where it was long long ago that the roads were upkept! But I do agree that the dead weight of runflats is most apparent if you happen on a decent pothole!

On a tangent, when I was growing up, roads being thoroughly re-laid everywhere on a regular basis was a common thing, and almost part of the backdrop. And of course the amount of traffic then was incomparable. A reflection how council monies have been squeezed and other priorities raised I guess.

 

[symonh2000]

Runflats have improved. The old Bridgestone RE-050 fitted to my 335i were poor in terms of grip and felt like they were filled with concrete.

But they still feel hard to me and due to the lack of give you increase the risk of cracking your wheels on potholes.

If runflats were so good they would fit them to M cars.

 

[msej449]

No one is saying the runflats are as good as goflts for performance cars like the M2. From the latest reviews, an M2 is going to amplify the difference too much to be acceptable in a car that's 80% performance and track-oriented. But it seems to me that the M-Lite are lower down the scale in terms of being a sporty but public-road-oriented, daily-drive car. At the other end, I think that runflats will be perfectly fine for a 218/220 F22/F23. So this is why I'm interested in this mddle ground where yes, there's an advantage to switching to goflats, but no one can tell me how much is down to the runflat>goflat transition and how much is simply down to changing to a better brand of tyre.

It's partly that I've been the beneficiary of runflats on three occassions - once on the motorway; once of a long cross-country journey; and once when I damaged a tyre parking. In each case it meant I could get home with no fuss and take the car to get a replacement first thing next day.

 

[pje16]

At the other end, I think that runflats will be perfectly fine for a 218/220 F22/F23.

I have an F22 and have to disagree having just swapped RFTs on mine

 

[moulin12]

There's possibly other factors here which might explain different perceptions and views (all valid), which is our varying styles of driving, our sensitivity our experiences with past vehicles etc. Again, all views valid!!

 

[msej449]

@pje16 Thats interesting. What from and to?

 

[pje16]

Continental RFT to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric

 

[Simon Site Manager]

When I had my original factory fitted RFT's, I got a puncture, when driving to a tyre place, it felt like I was driving on a normal flat tyre. Them being RFT's didn't stop the car moving around like it does on a normal flat tyre.

 

[DrGadget]

...
Now on Goodyear Eagle asymmetric all round
WHAT a difference it makes
have only done 6 miles with them, but that has been enough to feel the change, on a rough road and a nice fast corner on the A1
Run flats are the work of the devil

Yes run-craps are awful. Wait until the Asymm tyres are run in. I love my 245R18 front and rear.

 

[symonh2000]

Also don't assume that runflats will get you home with a problem.

I had to rescue my dad in his 335i one after the rear tyre split open between the tread and sidewall after hitting one of those pyramid speed humps.

Had he been on go flats and with a spare he would have been fine.

As for them suiting less sporty cars better I had an E87 120d that was fitted with Eagle assymetric 2 runcraps. They were a lot better than the Bridgestones but the car improved dramatically on a set of Assynmetric 3 Go flats in terms of ride and handling.

The runflats had 5mm or tread too so they were not exactly worn out.