Run flats or not? And tyre recommends.

[Stringbag]

Quick question. Anyone ditched their run flats for normal tyres? Make any difference?

I last had run flats on an E91 335d and they were terrible. Swapped for normal tyres and the ride was improved considerably. 
However, that was quite a few years ago now and technology has moved on. So, is there still such a big difference?

In my experience run flats also seemed to crack alloys (I had one on the E91 and two on my F07) and don’t even help when you do get a puncture (one puncture in the last 10 years happened to be on a run flat and the side wall went so it was undriveable anyway). Always carry repair kit, can of foam and a little compressor in the boot. And an AA membership. 

So, I need a pair of 275/35/20s for the rear this week and was wondering what other people’s experience was. 

finally what’s your preferred tyre?
(can’t get all weather tyres in that size which is a shame I like as I like the cross climates). 

[sam255]

i got fed up of run flats wearing out quicker then  regular tyres, also if i got a puncture you cant have it repaired. Kwik fit did a offer on cross climates 2.

25k miles later i still got like 4/5mm on them. Some people are doing around 60k in them also i got the reinforced version just in case. The ride is alot better, just a can of that gunk in case you get a puncture in the middle of no where

[0011718]

I've just put mid-range on my F11.  I've had the Landsail 20" on my other car (Insignia) with no issues. Brilliant for the price

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311960797146?fits=Rim+Diameter%3A20|Tyre+Width%3A275|Aspect+Ratio%3A35&epid=4011610236&hash=item48a24fffda:g:Ts8AAOSwilpeh1Bm&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoIpZOCe58ejCjzKxwYcoRmWTRyB4UeDAlYqtOOSyLAoavW07NL%2FmuAGRabrMSP167gMQF9MHSq3azsvNRfQbM7dwzJRkCwYiO5DLDz4GmWAjWY7qM5KyCkS6UEXt2r%2F09hHatBjDBXFebK0Dt5kuirtDI9j8t6so02e3XcFZYfffTvVI%2BUOXaVDNfFyC9SrWagz3JgxJrCSBzc2s5VUMlOU%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-jS-Mv_YA

[BobA]

13 hours ago, Stringbag said:

So, is there still such a big difference?

One of those questions which seems to polarise people. Same as the debate around wheel sizes. I had non-RoFs on my F series but I’ve always run RoFs on my G series. Summers 19” Pirelli, winters 18” Goodyear. I’d say the difference between the non-RoFs and RoFs is about the same as between the different RoFs in other words not a lot but as I said different people have different views and YMMV. It’s a VERY long time since I had a puncture, but to me it’s improving the difference between a blowout on a busy road or not.

Edited October 22, 2022 by BobA

[Cadwell Parker]

12 hours ago, Stringbag said:

Quick question. Anyone ditched their run flats for normal tyres? Make any difference?

My car had already had its run-flats removed when I bought it but I did buy a set of wheels for winter use which came with Dunlop winter run-flats fitted. They lasted about 2 days on the car. They were awful, very stiff and ruined the feel of the car. To be fair to the tyres they were quite old and out of date so maybe past their best and not a great example to gauge others by. I wanted to drive the car on them to get an idea of how run-flats would feel but they immediately felt wrong and I paid a tyre fitter to swap the Crossclimates from my summer wheels onto the winter rims. It was worth the expense. The ride was transformed.

I've not had any negative results from using non run-flats.  I've had a couple of slow punctures from nails but always been able to blow the tyre up and carry on till I could get them repaired.

Shame you can't use Crossclimates. I had set of Crossclimate+ which were on course to do at least 30000 miles until one of them picked up a nail right next to the sidewall. They suited the car very well and performed very well in all conditions including snow and ice. I replaced them with a set of Crossclimate 2 and have done about 10000 miles on them before putting the summer wheels back on earlier this year.

I'm currently using Pilot-Sport 4s and while I'm equally Impressed with their performance, they're down to 3mm now and still working really well on wet roads it's obvious they're not going to last as long as the Crossclimates. For that reason I would have to say Crossclimates are my preferred tyre but I might fit a set of Pilot-Sport 5s out of curiosity once the 4s wear out.

Mrs CP has Dunlop Sportmaxx RT 2s fitted to her F20 which seem to work very well but I can't comment from a 5 series point of view. I think @marko530d fitted a set to his car a while ago.

[HandyAndy]

Swapped onto CrossClimate+ not long after getting the F11 four years ago.

Still on them now and wouldn't even entertain the idea of runflats. Got the BMW mobility system (compressor with changeable gunk bottle) in the trunk if needed.

Edited October 22, 2022 by HandyAndy

[JCP]

Every time I convince myself to get rid of mine, I have a puncture in a really awkward place and thank my lucky stars I didn't do it. Including a motorway blowout that no amount of foam would have saved, but the runflat got me off the motorway and a couple of miles to a tyre place. I hate the harsh ride but I think I'm sticking with them. 

[Stringbag]

The closest crossclimate is 255/35/20 and I need 275/35/20 ☹️

Edited October 22, 2022 by Stringbag

[Neilos100]

I recently changed from run flats to regular tyres on my F11 fitted with 18 inch wheels. Used to get really annoying tramlining with the RFL tyres as well as the usual harsh and hard ride.

These feel so much more comfortable over rough tarmac surfaces and on smooth tarmac very quiet indeed. Tramlining has completely gone too.

The new tyres are  Barum Bravuris which I have used many times before...its Continental's mid range brand and they're very good imho. Even the fitter said the tread pattern is the same as some Conti's.

380 quid for four IIRC from Camskill...plus fitting on top.

[toughguyhuh]

I put four Hankook RFL on my F11 last year, first the rears then the fronts and the tramlining I was getting with the original Contis was much improved. I first thought it was the difference of going from an E61 with hydraulic power steering to F11 with electric steering, but since the Hankooks it's much better. There was one particular stretch of road near me that I used to actually dread but since the change it feels much more natural.

18" style 454 wheels with Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 2 K117B 

Edited October 22, 2022 by toughguyhuh

[neil.o]

@StringbagRunflats / non-runflats a popular topic on the BMW forums, but a worthy one I think,  tyres can completely change the feel, handling and ride quality of the car, so I've tried to research and get it right without wasting money (so I still have money left over for other required work on the car !)

We have an F10 where I ditched the bridgestone ER300 runflat 17s for Dunlop sportmaxx RT2 18inch non-runflats. Very happy with the dunlops and have maybe 20k miles on them now. Ride quality is only slightly better on the non-runflats, but are on +1inch rims so makes sense to me.

We have F15 X5 SE family car, and have 18inch pirelli scorpion verde runflats, ride quality is surprisingly good, I really think runflat tech has improved over the last 5-7ish years. Especially as before the X5 we had an F11 with pirelli P7 225/55/17 runflats over 45k miles, they were good but not great. worse ride quality than the bridgestone ER300 runflats and worse ride quality than the 18inch dunlop non-runflats.

Like you I had an E90-era 3 series, where I ditched the bridgestone potenza 17inch runflats for goodyear eagle F1 non-runflats and it was the single best decision I made on any car, it was like getting a suspension upgrade in handling and ride quality... I was almost stopping strangers on the street to tell them the good news...

I have read that BMW work with tyre manufacturers to tailor tyres for specific models, sometimes its just green-lighting and bulk-buy-discounting,  but sometimes they actually optimise tread/compound for certain models / tyre sizes.  Fine margins I know, but my take on this is to google-search the OEM tyres for your model to find out what it left the factory on. That's how I ended up with the dunlops for the F10.

so - my rambling essay over... in summary:

• Current runflat tech is much improved
• Your question "Is there still such a big difference?"  - I think No, not any more, but specific cases still lean toward non-runflats like ultra performance, extreme sizes...
• Try get OEM or BMW approved tyres either way
• 20inch rims and 35 profile are probably going to be stiff no matter what you do,  and it may be price or availability that swings the decision
• Suggest checking out what 20inch tyres the current  5 or M5 uses
• Finally,  I can recommend and would buy again:  dunlop sportmaxx rt2 non-runflat, pirelli scoprion verde all-season runflat (may be SUV-optimised), goodyear eagle F1 non-runflat, after that I'm going on reviews. Continental premium-contact and michelin pilot sport are getting great reviews on BMWs

good luck... and apologies for hogging the bandwidth....

 

[marko530d]

On 22/10/2022 at 11:27, Cadwell Parker said:

My car had already had its run-flats removed when I bought it but I did buy a set of wheels for winter use which came with Dunlop winter run-flats fitted. They lasted about 2 days on the car. They were awful, very stiff and ruined the feel of the car. To be fair to the tyres they were quite old and out of date so maybe past their best and not a great example to gauge others by. I wanted to drive the car on them to get an idea of how run-flats would feel but they immediately felt wrong and I paid a tyre fitter to swap the Crossclimates from my summer wheels onto the winter rims. It was worth the expense. The ride was transformed.

I've not had any negative results from using non run-flats.  I've had a couple of slow punctures from nails but always been able to blow the tyre up and carry on till I could get them repaired.

Shame you can't use Crossclimates. I had set of Crossclimate+ which were on course to do at least 30000 miles until one of them picked up a nail right next to the sidewall. They suited the car very well and performed very well in all conditions including snow and ice. I replaced them with a set of Crossclimate 2 and have done about 10000 miles on them before putting the summer wheels back on earlier this year.

I'm currently using Pilot-Sport 4s and while I'm equally Impressed with their performance, they're down to 3mm now and still working really well on wet roads it's obvious they're not going to last as long as the Crossclimates. For that reason I would have to say Crossclimates are my preferred tyre but I might fit a set of Pilot-Sport 5s out of curiosity once the 4s wear out.

Mrs CP has Dunlop Sportmaxx RT 2s fitted to her F20 which seem to work very well but I can't comment from a 5 series point of view. I think @marko530d fitted a set to his car a while ago.

Yeah @Cadwell Parker I have Dunlop sp sport maxx gt run flats all round great tyre in wet and dry not cheap though.

 

I have 19 msport staggered set up so can be a bit harsh over pot holes etc.

 

Also have them on our A4 sline none rft very harsh on that too even more so.

Edited November 7, 2022 by marko530d

[Steve84N]

There is another way... 

When I bought my F11 this year it's on Pirelli PZ4 tyres, not a brand I normally use having stuck with Michelin and Goodyear for 20 years. However, I noticed it said Seal Inside which is a layer of sticky sealant that instantly seals punctures without the downsides of a run flat. I've been fairly impressed with the PZ4 as an actual tyre so I'll probably stick with them. 

John does excellent tyre reviews and this is worth a watch on the topic. 

https://youtu.be/sTRn1E1uF6c

[Bavarian Cortina Fan]

On 22/10/2022 at 21:09, toughguyhuh said:

I put four Hankook RFL on my F11 last year

I used to audit automotive suppliers and I was very impressed with Hankooks production facility. I had rather naively assumed sourcing with them was just a way of saving money on parts, but it’s a state of the art process and globally they are a huge player in the sector, just pushing market share growth in Europe.

Also surprised to find Hankook are OEM on Porsche…