BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 14 Jan 2020 23:06

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - knowwun

Well, after two years and 33k miles on my BMW G31 540i, I need new tyres. The old ones are run flats, don't like them dont do much for the ride when cold.

Anyone ditched runflats on their Beemer?

1/ Did you replace them with reinforced tyres?

2/ Did you tell the insurance company?

3/ how was the ride and handling?

Answers on a postcard please.

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Tue 14 Jan 2020 23:25

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - sammy1

You've done well getting 33k out of them> If you ditch runflats you will need a spare wheel and another tyre or the phone no. of a mobile tyre fitter! You do not say what size wheels you have or if you have the adaptive suspension which helps with the ride and steering. . I would research the various tyre brands for a suitable replacement of the runflats You are a genius if you can discern the handling of a car like this!

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Wed 15 Jan 2020 11:59

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - knowwun

If I ditch the runflats, I'll have a can of slime, compressor, and Greenflag. Its has 245/45y18's on and yes it has adaptive suspension. You dont need to be a genius to push any car to its limits, in fact slightly stupid helps.

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Wed 15 Jan 2020 17:08

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - Wasabi

I can’t answer your question, but I do get the issue. I have a love-hate relationship with my run-flats and I have considered doing the same. Yes, I agree that the ride is hard. Yes they are expensive. However on the plus side, I’ve had two punctures in 6 years at the least convenient moment ( one time late on a Sunday night on the M6 in pouring rain, one time on my way to Heathrow to catch a plane) and each time I’ve just carried on my journey and had it sorted as soon as I could get to a fitter. No jacks, no goop, no smart motorway anxiety.. so on balance I decided to stick with them. I couldn’t be sure that the ride would improve significantly with regular tyres so I didn’t want to chance it

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Wed 15 Jan 2020 17:53

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - gordonbennet

Few years ago now son bought a 325i estate from evans halshaw, used of course, they MOT'd it before delivery and that was delayed a few days whilst they waited for new runflat tyres.

Assuming, mistakenly as did i he expected some unheard of rubber to be fitted, he considered offering a contribution for some proper named tyres but then thought better of it, sure enough it turned up on 4 brand new Firestones, so middle range price.

Son always pushed his cars hard, but he was full of praise for those tyres, he briefly fitted a set of non runflat winter tyres on wheels for the one winter season they had the car, but the wet grip was so awful on the winters that he swapped back to those Firestone runflats within weeks which gripped far better in all conditions and wore better than expected.

Make of that what you will, just might be worth looking at alternatives to the probably premium range currently fitted in the world of runflats.

not as it's particularly relevent to this thread but EH behaved impeccably over both the sale and supply of the car, and sorted out a minor running issue after a couple of months without quibble, i often wish we'd bought the car from them when they swapped to a CRV for more room.

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Wed 15 Jan 2020 19:03

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - Avant

I think the crucial question is - is there room for a space-saver spare? It would have to be underneath the boot floor as I think you have a dog crate filling the boot space.

If not, if it were me I think I'd persevere with run-flats, as an alternative to getting a pothole-induced puncture which a can of slime can't repair, on a country oad where there's no mobile reception. Or do BMW have some form of emergency service that overomes that problem?

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Thu 16 Jan 2020 14:30

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - knowwun

country oad where there's no mobile reception. Or do BMW have some form of emergency service that overomes that problem?

It has remote assist functions depending on severity, but of course they are gsm network based........

Seems to me tho, that everyone overestimates the abilities of run flats, if you rip a hole in one, one that would defeat a can of slime, its not going to travel too far before becoming unusable. Many cars these days have no spare, and no runflat backup.

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Thu 16 Jan 2020 14:50

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - bazza

I think you're right, no amount of slime or runflattability would have overcome some of the blowouts I've had, leaving a shredded smoking tyre! A piece of wood did that. I guess there's a generation of drivers who expect to reach for the phone and help will come, it usually will of course. But I go to places where there is no signal, so I bought a space saver and stuck it in the boot.

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Sun 19 Jan 2020 15:55

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - knowwun

Well its all academic now, On the M3 this afternoon, the TPMS went into meltdown bleating warnings at me, as I watched the right rear pressure drop from 2.3 bar to .1 bar in the space of two miles.

Nursed it 13 miles home at 55mph. Got an appointment on Tuesday to fit 4 x runflat Bridgstones.......

It rode and handled surprisingly well, the tyre was a bit warm to the touch upon arrival.

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Sun 19 Jan 2020 16:13

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - Bromptonaut

Many cars these days have no spare, and no runflat backup.

No view on runflats but there's no way I'd buy a car with no spare. As Mrs B and I say what if you punctured at Losgantir (remote beach on Isle of Harris where a Presbyterian Sabbath is order of day) on a Sunday?

The Roomster was offered with pump and goo but demanding a spare plus jack etc as condition of sale was no issue. Mind you the one time I needed it I had to get Britannia Rescue to it. Although the studs came out OK (can be an issue for us seven stone weaklings!!) I couldn't get the wheel off the hub.

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Sun 19 Jan 2020 17:15

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - Engineer Andy

Probably one of the worst decisions by manufacturers, probably egged on by governments etc in the name of reducing CO2 emissions by reducing weight.

I too would now never buy a car without some kind of spare, and would be far more likely to buy a car offering a full sized one so that the damaged tyre could then go in the boot space for the spare and not elsewhere, epsecially if the car was already full (nowhere for it to go or safely).

For the small CO2 penalty that comes with a (full-sized) spare, I think the safety and convenience benefits are huge, especially for those working nights and/or living and working in remote regions, less-than-safe areas or who cannot wait 2+ hours for a breakdown operative to come along.

We did have a thread about which cars currently come with full sized spares - quite useful if that were formalised by the website (if it keeps going) so that there's a list of every car that says what type, if any main spare tyres they have, tube of goo, etc, or at least a search function.

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Mon 20 Jan 2020 00:27

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - Avant

"Probably one of the worst decisions by manufacturers, probably egged on by governments etc in the name of reducing CO2 emissions by reducing weight."

But they can get round that by offering a spare as an optional extra, so that the quoted stats are done without it. Skoda, for example, do it that way - no problem.

Knowwun, I hope your Bridgestone runflats are successful - and less noisy than the ones on my Q2. I'm looking forward to a change - if not the expense - but they have lasted well and there's still 4mm all round (it's a quattro) after 25,000 miles.

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Mon 20 Jan 2020 10:12

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - sammy1

On a very big car such as a BMW runflats are indeed a sensible option. You would have to be a very fit and strong individual to jack up remove a very heavy wheel assuming you could get the 5 nuts of the flat in the first place. Lift the wheel off and replace it with a spare and lift back in the boot. Coupled with the fact that how much room the wheel and the jack would take up in the boot and the extra weight almost equal to carrying a permanent passenger!

Also in this day and age with so much traffic how safe are you trying to change a wheel?

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Mon 20 Jan 2020 10:47

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - gordonbennet

Dunno, i'm in me 60's and have no trouble swapping the wheels round on my Landcruiser and all necessary in depth maintenance to the vehicles, and i'm by no means superfit.

Wheelnuts should be checked as undoable at home, the jack practiced with and lubed, and if the car's supplied wheelbrace is more akin to a chocolate teapot then keep something in the car that is more suitable.

Whilst i wouldn't be changing a wheel on an unsmart death trap motorway unless in a refuge, i'd with care and as careful as possible vehicle placement do the job myself, unless a blow out stopped you instantly a short roll on as the tyre deflated should with a bit of luck find somewhere safe enough, i'd sooner ruin an alloy wheel then have to stop on an unlit smart motorway section.

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Mon 20 Jan 2020 19:25

BMW 5 Series Touring - BMW Runflats - quizman

I have recently replaced my original Bridgestone 245/45/18 run flats on my 520d to Michelin Primacy 3 Zero Pressure from Blackcircles. The Michelins are a lot better, ie quieter better grip and feel better than the Bridgestones. If I were you I'd cancel the Bridgestones and get the Michelins.

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