RFT's Still Affects Ride Significantly

[Russell]

Have used RFT's on my previous Beemers and have always felt that the ride was significantly compromised with them. Have only had Gen 1 RFT's because I tend to replace them with non-RFT tyres (mainly Michelin PS2). Was told by friends that the Gen 2 RFT's are much better. Presumed the new 5 comes with Gen 2 RFTs. Tried them for 2 days and still felt that they were not that great. Noisy and don't soak up road undulations/bumps well. So decided to change to non-RFT tyres when I went to swap my wheels for a bigger wheel. Must say, despite going up to 19"s, the ride is still much better than with the RFT 17"s. The non-RFT just soaks up the bumps better and as a whole, provides a more comfortable ride. IMO, the RFT's still have some way to go to return the same feel as the non-RFTs. What do you guys think?

 

[mizhan]

using RFT's for the first time with my F30.. i don't feel that the ride is harsh.

 

[tIANcI]

RFTs are a nice welcome when there is a puncture. As much as I dislike the harder ride I do find the stiff walls are good for handling. I guess if we had lovely roads like in Singapore then we probably can live with RFTs.

 

[JBJB]

I do find the RFTs to be harder and noisier.

I'm tempted to change to conventional tires when the RFTs reach the end of their lifespan. What are some of the recommended ones? I hear Michelin being recommended often.

 

[glock_8]

Russell;

if u dont mind...share with us picture of ur new rims

Have used RFT's on my previous Beemers and have always felt that the ride was significantly compromised with them. Have only had Gen 1 RFT's because I tend to replace them with non-RFT tyres (mainly Michelin PS2). Was told by friends that the Gen 2 RFT's are much better. Presumed the new 5 comes with Gen 2 RFTs. Tried them for 2 days and still felt that they were not that great. Noisy and don't soak up road undulations/bumps well. So decided to change to non-RFT tyres when I went to swap my wheels for a bigger wheel. Must say, despite going up to 19"s, the ride is still much better than with the RFT 17"s. The non-RFT just soaks up the bumps better and as a whole, provides a more comfortable ride.

IMO, the RFT's still have some way to go to return the same feel as the non-RFTs. What do you guys think?

 

[astroboy]

RFT very nice when taking corner due to the stiff side wall. So it's a +.. :top:

Unless you are referring to the harsh ride, steep price, extra rotational weight (less pickup and longer braking distance).. then one need to consider the bullet proof feature for occupants safety and u always on-time to close the million dollar business deal. You decide .. :4:

 

[Ecc0]

..some people likes RFT's , some dont..my experience with RFT's is horrid..I wanted to hammer car down to pieces, thats how useless felt when driving it on RFT's..continous humming noise, vibrations when you reach 100km/h, clunky steering..just not worth it .. replaced it with Michelin tires, and one spare back in trunk...and ever since enjoying car engine sound instead of idiotic humming noise all around..

 

[VKS]

On my 2nd sets of rft's now and dont have any big issues while driving..slightly more on price,weight and noise is nothing for me compare to my family and my safety.

 

[SinghisKing]

Have used RFT's on my previous Beemers and have always felt that the ride was significantly compromised with them. Have only had Gen 1 RFT's because I tend to replace them with non-RFT tyres (mainly Michelin PS2). Was told by friends that the Gen 2 RFT's are much better. Presumed the new 5 comes with Gen 2 RFTs. Tried them for 2 days and still felt that they were not that great. Noisy and don't soak up road undulations/bumps well. So decided to change to non-RFT tyres when I went to swap my wheels for a bigger wheel. Must say, despite going up to 19"s, the ride is still much better than with the RFT 17"s. The non-RFT just soaks up the bumps better and as a whole, provides a more comfortable ride.

IMO, the RFT's still have some way to go to return the same feel as the non-RFTs. What do you guys think?

Russel,
I'm ordering a 520i (my firs BMW) and have had a couple of test drives for about 20 min each and I dont feel the harshness or hear the noise you are refering to. I understand you just got your 520i recently. Is it something that pops up after a few months of driving? or at very high speeds?
The RFT issue that I read so much about almost made me not order a BMW, but I after trying it out I just dont feel what everyone is reporting, so I'm wondering why.........
Is it something that doesnt reveal itself until you actually own the car

 

[Ecc0]

..good read about RFT's, and exact response from other people...

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2012/05/run-flat-tires-why-you-should-or-shouldnt-buy-them.html

..also, keep as interesting add, BMW does not inflict the runflats on M owners. Says it all, rather nicely about whole thing..

 

[Rayhwc]

Russel,
I'm ordering a 520i (my firs BMW) and have had a couple of test drives for about 20 min each and I dont feel the harshness or hear the noise you are refering to. I understand you just got your 520i recently. Is it something that pops up after a few months of driving? or at very high speeds?
The RFT issue that I read so much about almost made me not order a BMW, but I after trying it out I just dont feel what everyone is reporting, so I'm wondering why.........
Is it something that doesnt reveal itself until you actually own the car

I had runflats on my 535i but changed them to Michelin PSS in Penang because there were no replacements available when I encountered a puncture there. Another reason I replaced all 4 there was because of all the reviews that non-rfts are significantly better than rfts. Having made the change I can say that the PSS is more comfortable but the rtfs (continental) were really not that far behind in terms of comfort. I never found the limits of performance on either tyre to be able to comment upon. Noise level I think is similar. In hindsight, I would not have changed all 4 rft tyres before they are due as the added benefit of non-rft is not that significantly different... to me. Hence, I think that rft have an important advantage over regular tyres and are not too bad on the comfort front either. They are however more expensive and sometimes hard to find if you are outside of KL.

 

[Shotgun]

Depends on what you use the car for, RFT can give you convenient and peace of mind. I drive highways mostly clocking 25k since March 2012. I would say that the benefits of not having to worry about a puncture definitely outweighs the advantages of non rfts. I still find the rft comfortable and yet firm enough for proper highway handling. Its not a significant difference to warrant a change to non rft.

If I had a complaint would be, that there's not enough choices for RFT in Malaysia and there's always a lead time when ordering them. I always think that the German engineers are smarter than me. I never change the setup of the car from the way they intended it to be.

Anyway, I'll be in the market for a fresh set of rubbers soon. Any ideas to source for Michelin 245/45R18 ZP?

 

[Russell]

Singhis,

Harshness and noise are very subjective and relative. So if you don't find the RFTs noisy or harsh, you should probably stick with them for all the advantages of the RFT which have been quite well explained in the previous few posts.

 

[MarcoMeswara]

Pls do read comments in the link that ecco posted above... shown below here ...

2011 BMW 328XI. Labor day weekend, monday night. Was 300 miles away from NYC, in NH. Slammed onto a pothole at 80 MPH – RFT went flat upto the rimm, and car became un-derivable. My option was to stay with the car or park it and go back to work the next day. Had to call in tow service to the get my car to the nearest airport, about 80 miles – cost $420.Parked my BMW there, got into a rental, drove back to NYC.Bought the following the day after:
Wheel: $340
New RFT: $289
RFT pressure value: $168
Tire mount: $55
———————————————-
Total spent: $852Rental cost: $130
Rental Fuel: $70
———————————————-
Total Rental: $200———————————————-Total money spent: $1052
Mental harassment: Limitless!!
———————————————-This is my true story. Learn from it, avoid RFTs or BMW altogether.AJ
Dcomora

Have had nothing but trouble with the run-flat tires on my BMW 330. Car ride is terrible. Feels like the car bottoms when we hit medium bumps in the road. Even minor bumps feel uncomfortable. Tire noise was loud and really made the ride unenjoyable. This was a good idea on paper, but a lousy idea in reality. Last year I replaced the tires with non-run flats. Tire noise was almost gone and ride was definitely better, but still not acceptable when hitting bumps in the road. Problems is that BMW designed the trunk assuming customers would stick with run flats and there is no where for a spare. So, of course we wound up with a flat recently and had to be towed. Fortunately we kept a full tire without a rim in the trunk. Run flats are a lose – lose proposition.

And i must say that own experience with the RFTs is that if the sidewall is damaged ( running into a pothole at about 90 kmh ) you are screwed ....