# non run flat tires



## cas (Nov 22, 2006)

Put a set of non run flat tires on my 2011 335d at the dealer when i picked up my new car. It has reg. sport package. Question is, has anybody who has exchanged for regular tires noticed a very bouncy ride. I bought the tires from TIRERACK which according to them are one of the best sellers. Any comments.


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## DnA Diesel (Jul 31, 2010)

cas said:


> Put a set of non run flat tires on my 2011 335d at the dealer when i picked up my new car. It has reg. sport package. Question is, has anybody who has exchanged for regular tires noticed a very bouncy ride. I bought the tires from TIRERACK which according to them are one of the best sellers. Any comments.


No, the opposite. I found the RFTs would thump and hop over larger cracks and bumps. Non-RFTs on the other hand, seem to absorb bumps much better and keep the wheels planted with full contact to the road.

Regards
D.


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## 62Lincoln (Sep 26, 2004)

DnA Diesel said:


> No, the opposite. I found the RFTs would thump and hop over larger cracks and bumps. Non-RFTs on the other hand, seem to absorb bumps much better and keep the wheels planted with full contact to the road.


x2

The reason for dumping the runflats is to improve ride (among other reasons). To the OP, you mention that you had the new tires put on when you picked up your new car - did you have any seat time with the runflats (for comparison purposes), or is all your time with the replacement tires?


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## AutoUnion (Apr 11, 2005)

Shouldn't be bouncing. The non RFTs should ride better.

I'm looking forward to the day I can dump these Bridgestone RFTs and get a good pair of Nokian all seasons.


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

Check your tire pressue?


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## elester12 (Sep 2, 2005)

Do you keep a spare in the trunk when using non RFT


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## diapason8 (Jul 1, 2011)

I'd check the pressure as well. The non run-flats should give a better ride. 

Eventually I'll probably get rid of the Continental RFTs on my 335d; have folks had good experiences with any particular all-season tire ?


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## A8540TDI (Jan 2, 2011)

I was surprised at how bad the ride was on my new d with sport package, however, after a couple of thousand miles, it feels much better as the suspension bedded in. Non runflats should be smoother. Also, I think they put rubber snubbers in the springs to stop the cars from bouncing around during shipment - make sure they were removed during PDI or the ride will be really bad. This from prior experience with a Porsche no less!


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## TXPearl (Apr 16, 2010)

cas said:


> Put a set of non run flat tires on my 2011 335d at the dealer when i picked up my new car. It has reg. sport package. Question is, has anybody who has exchanged for regular tires noticed a very bouncy ride. I bought the tires from TIRERACK which according to them are one of the best sellers. Any comments.


What tires did you get?

I ditched the runflats after about 8k miles. Got the Continental Extreme Contact DW's. Overall much better than the runflats (at about half the price and with a longer treadlife). The only place the runflats excel would be in smooth hard cornering - they seem to hold the edge better. But if there was any imperfection in the pavement, they would hop. The Continentals, while not as sharp in the corners, seem to keep full contact with the pavement better. And they're more comfortable for everyday driving. But no bouncing.

Don't have a spare. Am considering keeping a can of slime, a small compressor and a tire repair kit in the trunk.


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## KarlB (Nov 21, 2004)

I understand what you mean here, I swapped from the stock RFT to non RFT and the ride is softer, not as bad as a non sport pkg car but somewhere in between, I think it is because the susp is tuned for RFT so softer susp to make up for the stiffer tires, swapping to non rft gives what I would call a little softer ride than I would like, (but then I liked my 04 x3 with sport package) and most people thought it was too stiff of a ride, since this veh will be my long term keepr I will run it out to about 60-70k on the stock susp and then go for an aftemarket repplament set that should make it perfect without rfts. as to the spare tire question, no I do not carry a spare, I carry a conti comfort compressor and a good tire plug kit, to me this is a better solution than RFT or non rft with a spare taking up the trunk. but since I ride motorcycles I am very comfortable pluggin flats to get to a place that an inside patch can be done and not carrying a spare since bikes dont have spares.


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## dunderhi (Dec 10, 2006)

17" non-rfts are a bit too soft for my tastes, but 18" non-rfts provide just right amount of road feel. U doubt rfts in any size would provide the right amount of feel.

As a warning, during hard turns non-rfts have some give, letting you know if they are getting close to breaking loose. RFTS are more likely to break loose without much of any warning.


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## rmorin49 (Jan 7, 2007)

I'm still running the OEM Conti RFTs on my non SP 335d. While not great I am not displeased with their performance. I did sell the BS RFTs on my SP Z4 to a fellow for his 335i. My dealer removed the RFTs at ED redelivery and installed a set of staggered 18" Yokohama Envigor non RFTs. The money I got from selling the RFTs paid for the Yokos. Very pleased with the Yokos. I do carry a slime kit in the trunk on road trips but not around town.


Sent from my iPhone using BimmerApp


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## cas (Nov 22, 2006)

*rubber snubbers*



A8540TDI said:


> I was surprised at how bad the ride was on my new d with sport package, however, after a couple of thousand miles, it feels much better as the suspension bedded in. Non runflats should be smoother. Also, I think they put rubber snubbers in the springs to stop the cars from bouncing around during shipment - make sure they were removed during PDI or the ride will be really bad. This from prior experience with a Porsche no less!


Thank you for the advice that was the problem.. Rubber snubbers not removed. THANKS


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## Fun MiLes (Jun 8, 2011)

cas said:


> Thank you for the advice that was the problem.. Rubber snubbers not removed. THANKS


Is it something you can easily visually check yourself?

Also, for those with the sport package, if you use non RFT, isn't the risk of damaging the wheels higher if your tire gets flat, particularly with a sudden and severe tire damage such as a large rip?


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## KarlB (Nov 21, 2004)

if you get a large sudden catastrophic rip in your tire, the wheel damage is gonna be nothing compared to the damage to the undercarriage of the veh from whatever you just ran over.


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## DnA Diesel (Jul 31, 2010)

+1

As well, the money you save with a non-RFT set of tires over RFTs will let you buy a new OEM wheel if you really need to.

It certainly doesn't keep me up awake at night.

Cheers
D


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## aajax26 (Oct 5, 2004)

Can someone post the pictures of the rubber snubbers so I can check if mine are removed as well


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## stoked335d (Jan 4, 2010)

I am assuming most are owners here(I own too). If you are leasing you have to return the car with stock RFTs. I was against the whole idea of RFTs before I got the car due to harsh ride experience of others. I was planning on ditching them after delivery but after driving with RFTs I decided that I could live with them. From what I read and heard there is a significant improvement from 1st gen RFTs to 2nd gen. I have a 2 year old back seat passenger so RFTs give me a bit more security against a potential blown tire at a high speed.


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## kanar200 (Feb 15, 2011)

high speed? in the US?


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## imtjm (Oct 5, 2004)

i'm amused that folks who get sports packages want "cushion" ride. Doesn't makes sense to me that you would opt for a stiffer suspension and complain about the lack of cushion. anyways, what is the problem people are having with the rft's? I don't find any issues with them. there's also a significant difference between 1st, 2nd, and definitely the 3rd generation rft's.


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## Pasa-d (May 7, 2011)

imtjm said:


> i'm amused that folks who get sports packages want "cushion" ride. Doesn't makes sense to me that you would opt for a stiffer suspension and complain about the lack of cushion. anyways, what is the problem people are having with the rft's? I don't find any issues with them. there's also a significant difference between 1st, 2nd, and definitely the 3rd generation rft's.


+1 on that. I find the RFTs to be very comfortable, predictable and have good grip. Yes, they are expensive, but hey, you just bought a $50K car, did you expect cheap tires (esp. with a sports package)?


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## stoked335d (Jan 4, 2010)

*Crazy stuff does happen on the road.*



kanar200 said:


> high speed? in the US?


I happened know someone personally who had 2 front tires(regular tires) blown on his car(non-BMW) at same time traveling normal interstate speed about 70mph who is lucky to be alive with his son. His tires were not old and he was not racing anyone. Just going to Canada with his son from New York. It is very low probability but it does happen.

18 years ago or so a delivery truck traveling in front of me on a freeway near the Yankee stadium hit a pothole and broke a metal spring. I saved the front right tire from a piece of metal coming at me with sparks just like in the movies but it cut the right rear tire sidewall and had an instant flat.


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## 5SeriesNatsFan (Mar 8, 2010)

I have put about 7800 miles on my conti RFT and am satisfied with them.


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## pql (Oct 9, 2011)

*my experience*

my first experience w/rft was my toyota minivan 4wd sienna. If I religiously rotated them (3k) I could get 20-25k miles out of them. If not , then 15k maybe. My tire dealer couid only find two brands in those days, Bridgestone and something else. Toyota even bellied up to the bar for a set after a class action suit. We traded it for the X5D when it had 130k on it. Those tires were expensive and they didn't last as long as i've been able to get out of regular tires. Never ran other tires so I have no idea about ride comparison Though from an economic standpoint I swore i'd never own rf.'s again. Never say never. When I learned that the X5D used them it was almost a deal breaker for me but then the salesman got me thinking about my car use. Wife and kids, 20miles of dangerous road to town everyday to school, 250 mile drive to SLC every month throughout the desert over the mountains, middle of nowhere, Drive over the rockies to see the family, me not in the car much of that time. OK, maybe RFT's have some merit. I can't say anything about the ride because I have no comparison apples to apples. I've experienced double blowouts and high speed front tire blowouts in my life. Spare tires or slime is not a solution for me in those circumstances. WE now have 38k on the year and 1/4 old X5D. Now its time to start looking for new tires. We'll see what happens


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## zach0726 (Oct 23, 2011)

Should we be rotating the conti RTFs? I've heard that BMW says no, but I can't imgine why we wouldn't.

At 25k miles I am getting excessive road-noise in the cabin. BMW said car was out of alignment and rear tires were "cupped" I got the 4 wheel alignment from BMW, and put 2 new contis on the front. The old fronts went onto the back. The car still has a tire wine/resonance starting at 45mph. Am considering 2 more contis for the back, or just ditching the RTFs alltogether. I'm not quiet to the wear bars on the rears, but close.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

zach0726 said:


> Should we be rotating the conti RTFs? I've heard that BMW says no, but I can't imgine why we wouldn't.
> 
> At 25k miles I am getting excessive road-noise in the cabin. BMW said car was out of alignment and rear tires were "cupped" I got the 4 wheel alignment from BMW, and put 2 new contis on the front. The old fronts went onto the back. The car still has a tire wine/resonance starting at 45mph. Am considering 2 more contis for the back, or just ditching the RTFs alltogether. I'm not quiet to the wear bars on the rears, but close.


I rotate my tires and actually I think the BMW dealership is the one who did it and they brought it up. My basic approach to it is to do it every oil change. Rotated them I think at 12k miles and probably will again around 22k miles. I tend to get my aligment checked/done at the same time, I know I had the BMW dealership do it last time but next time will save myself some money and probably use NTB. I have zero noticeable tire sounds in my car but perhaps I am not the most observant of people for it.


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## zach0726 (Oct 23, 2011)

Snipe656 said:


> I rotate my tires and actually I think the BMW dealership is the one who did it and they brought it up. My basic approach to it is to do it every oil change. Rotated them I think at 12k miles and probably will again around 22k miles. I tend to get my aligment checked/done at the same time, I know I had the BMW dealership do it last time but next time will save myself some money and probably use NTB. I have zero noticeable tire sounds in my car but perhaps I am not the most observant of people for it.


Thanks Snipe


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