Rft

[astroboy]

Actually patching itself is a very "unprofessional" job because a professional wouldn't advise patching in the first place.. Anyway points taken :wink:

The internal patch will cost u about RM25 compare to the above RM5 job but weakness is it didn't block the whole from outside, so allowing water to seep in and wet the steel belt, I have seen rusty steel belt and its breakage will cause "pregnancy" on the tyre surface and give u bumpy ride. But so far, after 2 decades of motoring, only encounter once la..

This is how the "professional" does it:

By the way the equipment (clamp) looks like coming from a torturing chamber..

 

[racheltoh]

since purchasing the car, i;ve never seen the indicator telling me to check air pressure. does that mean my Tyre is ok or is it manual checking????
mine is rft tyre.

 

[mnas]

discovered that my left rft got 'screwed' and only recently the right rft got 'pregnant'. is there way to abort the 'pregnant' rft w/o changing it ?...haha

 

[bimmerdude]

since purchasing the car, i;ve never seen the indicator telling me to check air pressure. does that mean my Tyre is ok or is it manual checking????
mine is rft tyre.

i think the sensor only warns u when there is a substantial loss of air or there is a blow out.
i assume u know how the sensor works - it measures the circumference of all four tires simultaneously. so if one tire loses a measureable amount of air, circumference of that tire will be less than the others, thereby triggering the sensor.

so a loss of 2 or 3 psi would not trigger the sensor.

also, having a rft tires doesn't mean we dont have to regularly check our tires...

 

[Schwepps]

since purchasing the car, i;ve never seen the indicator telling me to check air pressure. does that mean my Tyre is ok or is it manual checking????
mine is rft tyre.

Rachel, this has been discussed several times before. E90s in Malaysia do not come with TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) They only have the RFI (Run Flat Indicator) which monitors the rotation of the wheels relative to each other through the DSC sensors. The RFI system doesn't monitor your tyre pressures directly.

Just this week I had a nail in one tyre and lost 4psi twice, but RFI didn't warn me of the puncture. As Bimmerdude says, it only will when there's a substantial loss of air.

If you haven't checked your tyres since purchasing your car, it's very likely they'd be underinflated by now my dear. :wink:

 

[bimmerdude]

all these discussions lead me to think about the advantages and disadvantages of using rft tires.

on one hand, its safer then normal tires. also, may save u being stranded by the road. useful for girl friends and housewives.
on the other hand, its less performance than normal tires, more expensive, and most importantly, in my opinion, it will still leave u stranded by the road if there is a blow out.
in fact, having normal tires AND a spare and toolkit GUARANTEES that you wont be stranded by the road. plus, better performance and less noise.

opinions anyone?

 

[velocity]

So the Ms has spare wheel and jack kit?

my rear RFT tire got screw twice already. and twice change this expensive tire. cannot tahan laa. Plan to order Double spoke 269 rim with 19" rubber together with tire Mobility-Set. How reliable is the tire Mobility-Set actually? and yeah..how is M car deal with this?

 

[Schwepps]

Highly unlikely to have a blowout with good modern tyres if you check them regularly and keep them pumped up. More so if they're RFTs with their thicker sidewalls. Blowouts are caused by low tyre pressures scoring the sidewalls and causing higher tyre temperatures because of constant flexing of same.

More expensive is a definite con of RFTs, but why do you say less performance than normal tyres? I don't feel so at all.

 

[bimmerdude]

Highly unlikely to have a blowout with good modern tyres if you check them regularly and keep them pumped up. More so if they're RFTs with their thicker sidewalls. Blowouts are caused by low tyre pressures scoring the sidewalls and causing higher tyre temperatures because of constant flexing of same.

More expensive is a definite con of RFTs, but why do you say less performance than normal tyres? I don't feel so at all.

what i meant by less performance is in general. i'm sure we have better choices using normal tires. for instance i could use Goodyear F1 which i dont think is available in rft versions. (i may be wrong). also, in terms of noise and vibration, i assume a harder sidewall would emit more noise and harsher ride, which would be less in a normal tire. moreover, all reports i have read regarding change from rfts to normal tires have been positive in terms of ride and performance.

 

[TomJB]

I have a handful of experiences on the RFT.

Recently, when I just got on the highway from Kempas (Johor), planning to head up to Melaka, I feel some weird feeling and heard a krr... krr... sound. So I got off and have a look on the tyre. MY GOODNESS!!! I saw a freaking hugh screw on my right back tyre. Since I was on a rush to Melaka for a meeting, I have no choice to continue the journey without anything being done on the tyre.

After travel for about 150km or so with 160km/hr speed, I heard a PUFF sound suddently! And the RFI indicator light on immediately. I knew the screw can't take it no more and flew off or something. I decided to ignore it and continue with my journey.

Finally got to Melaka, park my car, attend the meeting. Finish the meeting and went immediately to check on my ride. I was shock when I press my tyre. Its totally soft!!! But to my surprise, it doesn't look flat at all. Its look perfectly alright from the look. Only that I know its a gone case.

Got on the car, drive to the nearest tyre shop I can find. It was almost 7pm then. So you should guess by now how anxious I am. If I can't find a shop, I guess I will be staying overnight.

Anyhow, found a tyre shop. The supervisor surprise to see the size of the hole!!! Its around the size of a thumb! He said this might need 5 tube filling to cover up. He tried one, tried two, tried three. His boss (a guy with 40+yrs experience) came out. He knock the sup head and said you want this guy to die on the road? If yes, please continue with your work. He immediately instruct the sup to jack out the tyre and do a filling from inside. The sup reply saying this is a RFT and its quit immpossible to jack out. Even so, need special skill in aligning it. HaHa... He kena knock on the head again! His boss said,' I have jack tyre since the age of 13, and there is no single tyre that cannot be jack out!' He show off his skill! He got the tyre out in around 5mins! Impressive!!! He is the fastest I ever see!!! 5mins!!! So he got it out, do the internal filling and fixed it back!

Its been 3months, and I am still running on the tyre. Yes yes yes peps, I know its unsafe and should get it change as the hole is too big. Yes I do understand that. Cos the indicator light light up quite often. HaHa...

So moral of the story is... I AM REALLY IMPRESSED BY RFT!!! Should use it if you don't mind checking it every month on the pressure at least. I check mine every week since I pump petrol like twice a week.

Alright, thats all about my story.

Cheers!

 

[Schwepps]

TomJB, your story confirms why I like RFTs. They're so much safer in situations where normal tyres would have KO-ed. And I don't think there's more noise, vibration or poorer ride and performance from them, at least not in the Bridgestone Potenzas I've used so far. In fact I find the grip phenomenal, even in the wet. But that may be the E90 chassis and suspension working.

However, I don't know why you won't replace that tyre. You've done god knows how many km on it, 160km/hr speeds, and it has a huge multiple plugged hole. All wrong things to do with a punctured RFT. If not your own safety, think of other road users. The cost of repairs and restitution will be many times the RM2k to replace the tyre if you have a crash.

 

[Schwepps]

The fact that so many of us have picked up nails and screws on our roads shows the endemic problem of our society: the attitude of "don't care what happens to others so long as it's not me".

 

[bimmerdude]

"don't care what happens to others so long as it's not me".

sounds like a certain ruling party motto. oooppsss 'runs away'

 

[Silver320]

Any idea how much it cost for 1 piece of RFT 215 45 R17 ? Any brand.
Saw in AB Sg Besi service centre a tyre inflating kit with BMW brand, almost RM200++. I think this is for those owner who opt for non RFT when due for tire replacement

 

[Schwepps]

+2k each. That's the rub of RFTs - to replace a set needs 9k. Can die!

Yes, if you change to normal tyres you'll need the sealant and inflation kit to fix flats on the roadside, unless you want to flatbed your car each time you have a flat. Cost works out to the same and I'd rather do the latter than gunk up the tyre and wheel.

 

[bimmerdude]

thats a lot of money to pay for tires. is it cheaper in sg?

 

[Traveler]

Ouch... 2K+? Yeah.. is it cheaper in SG?

 

[Toffeeman]

Recently, I changed one of my RFTs 18 inch at a cost of RM1,800 ! I was told that all the RFTs in KL comes in via Spore. So maybe Spore can be cheaper tho with exchange rate at 2.45 seems likely make it not economically feasible for us !

 

[Schwepps]

Toffeeman, RM1,800 is a pretty good price! Can you tell us what brand your RFT is and where you got it?

 

[mnas]

i know a place in s'pore where my s'porean frens recommend. i'll let u guys know once i get some pricing on RFT ex-S'pore. cheers..