Run flat tyres- what are the disadvantages?

[Hanuman]

I'll open by saying that the perceived advantage of running on a puncture for while should be a good thing.

However, a friend has recently run into an issue where a tyre was punctured, was repairable, but several tyre depots refused to offer anything other than a replacement tyre.
I think he got it sorted at the dealership, but he was certainly cursing the things.

[John.]

I'll state the obvious, if it's got run-flats then it's not got a spare wheel......and in my experience there is no substitute for a spare.
I've seen run-flats ripped to bits and flapping about the wheel arch.
Regards your friend, I wonder why only the dealer would fix it?

[Hanuman]

Originally Posted by John.

Regards your friend, I wonder why only the dealer would fix it?

My guess? Flannel. A load of rubbish to veil the cheap sales effort.

As with many things these days, there seems to be some directive that says that instead of doing a job, people should con a sale.

[John.]

Aye, in trying to sell a tyre they've lost the sale of a repair.
They'll have sales targets no doubt.

[Emjay]

Got run flats on the beemer on 19inch wheels. Apart from a slight harshness of the ride and a slight increase in road noise their isnt so much bad about them.

I had a low pressure warning come up a few months ago on the onboard computer. Tyre looked absolutely fine and ran ok so no real evidence of anything amiss. Checked the pressures and they were low and couldnt be pumped up.

Went to Kwick Fit, they found a nail and repaired the tyre without any problems.

If someone has had an experience where a run flat has ragged off the wheel then I would hazard a guess they been ragging around at high speeds when the tyre isnt designed to be driven at normal speeds in flat mode.

Aside from the trade off in noise and ride handling, as a conveniance thing they are second to none and I would take a set again. I've been stranded with flat tyres with spares and those ridiculous rubber foam repair kits which never bloody work so of the 3 options, run flats get my vote

[Daveymaclad]

Disadvantages:

Road vibrations increased over non run flats due to firmer side walls transmitting every rut into the cabin

Tyre prices for run flats are circa 40% more for a like for like tyre (on the 530d the cheapest branded tyre in my size was shy of £200 for a run flat, yet I got 4x non run flat michelins for £500!);

Most run flat tyres aren't held in stock so if you get a flat on say a saturday you'll have to live with it until Tuesday. This is what happened to me in the beemer. Flat on the sunday, three garages refused to change for a non run flat, even if I changed both on the same axle to non run flat but at the same time said they couldn't get any in until Tuesday. I ended up changing all four to non run flats.



Advantages..... er, well the manufacturer doesn't have to sell a new car with a 5th alloy and tyre ergo they save money.

If you get a flat you have 30 miles to decide when/where to change it!

Not a fan of them one bit!

[Minty]

I'm a confirmed non-believer.

As has been said, they're more expensive and don't give as good a ride.

To me it's ludicrous not to have a spare - run flats have both a mileage and a speed limitation, so are more than inconvenient if you get a flat at the wrong time of the day/week, or when miles from anywhere.

As John said, no substitute for a spare

[Emjay]

heretics and ludites

[quattrostyle]

I believe the tyres are heavier than the same size non run flat tyre due to more rubber, this will be part of the road noise increase as well and may result in less economy?

[Hanuman]

I like the idea of the run flat- it's probably way overdue.
I can't quite embrace the idea of not carrying a spare. Although, How many spares do you carry? It's all down to probabilities.

What puts me off, and hacks me off, is that there are tyre shops and fitters who simply aren't equipped or can't be bothered to do repairs.