Hello Everyone!
Any opinions on run flat tires?
Thanks!
I would skip on those, esp. the cost. Scotty talked about this before: he’s not a fan of them either.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FxhWdClnook
Yeah. They suck! They are really expensive, they have very little tread on them so you will need to change them way more often, and it has a harder ride. If you really like them, some pros may be that the car is lighter and you can keep driving with them when you have a flat tire.
DO NOT get sucked into the run flat tire scam. I worked at a major tire manufacturer for 15 years during which time we developed run flats.
TOTAL FAILURE. DO NOT BUY....
expensive, ride like crap, and tire shops won't touch them. AVOID
Waste of money for the most part.
I was at Costco getting tires for my X5. I said to put the same ones on. The technician balked when he realized it was run flat. He said it’s more cost effective and more comfortable to get the regular tires.
My biggest concern was that I had no spare. Which is the biggest reason to get run flat tires. So I went with run flat and ordered it. It took a few days to come in.
During those waiting days, I thought about what the tech said. Most of my driving is within the city and freeway, so in the case of a flat, a tow truck isn’t too far away.
So I decided to return the run flats that hadn’t even come in yet, and get the regular tires.
And I made sure to have a repair kit and air compressor in the car just in case I am in the boonies.
If I lived in the boonies, and tow trucks were hard to come by, I might consider run flats.
Great tech, but not worth the extra expense for most drivers.
I don't find them that bad. They are equipped on my BMW because there is no spare. It actually saved me one time when I hit a monstrous pot hole that busted up the entire front-passenger side tire (ripped in half!). I feel like if it wasn't for the run-flat ring inside, the whole rim would've got busted. It does protect the rim from having any contact with the road if something were to happen with the tire. I was able to drive home safely without the need of a tow truck. I actually got all the tires replaced free because this happened a few days after buying the car from Carmax 😏. I do agree that the ride is a bit rough, but my car is lowered anyways so what the heck lol. I may switch to a regular set next time just to compare the performance.
It's very helpful if you don't have a spare wheel in the car.
They're nothing new. Rambler 3-seat station wagons came with run-flat, "Captive-Aire" tires in the 1960s since they had no room for a spare tire. Those run-flats weren't very good back the and it sounds like they haven't improved much since then.