We don't recommend patching for RFT??!!

[thom]

Today I got a mini-scare. I was driving and a warning appeared on the display, 'Loss of tyre pressure'. Went to SC, the chap told me it could be due to a nail, so they'll check my 6 month old RFTs for me for me. But he said if it is due to a nail, then they dun recommend patching it up. So I asked what then... he said change the tyre.I was like...'change the friggin tyre?!!' Patching cost rm5 and changing the tyre cost rm1200. Do the math. Fortunately, it was a false alarm!! But i've made up my mind...NO MORE RFTs

 

[astroboy]

Welcome to BMW universe.. A totally different motoring culture.. So much so it give some cultural shocks! Only in BMW universe.. :4:

 

[VKS]

apart from the hard ride and money i guess these tyres are the best..patched 3 times never had any problems so far..even if they explode while driving the ride is still manouverable..what is money compare to your life

 

[Herbert]

what is money compare to your life

bro,

it can be the other way......when one does not have money, then there is no life.

 

[EL118]

I was told during BMW drivers training that RFT cannot be fitted on standard rim, else they cant really function. but i have checked with 2 tyre shop both claim no problem with standard rim. who is correct?

 

[kombat_kanan]

I guess the RFT would still function with non-RFT rims. However without the pressure sensor and proper indicators on your instrument cluster you won't notice if there is any puncture/other issue with your tires...until it's too late. That is a major safety concern.

 

[thom]

apart from the hard ride and money i guess these tyres are the best..patched 3 times never had any problems so far..even if they explode while driving the ride is still manouverable..what is money compare to your life

Personally i think RFT is overrated. Well, BMW doesn't recommend patching. So each time our RFTs get a nail, we're supposed to change the whole tyre and not just patch it up. Well, that's kinda ridiculous i think.

 

[astroboy]

Going to SC to ask for tyre patch is like asking them to sell u chop shop or remanufactured alternator, or ask them to patch a crack line or chip on your windshield. Wrong place la, kawan. :4:

Patch tyre can be risky depending on how big is the lobang and the location of the lobang. It's best for them to recommend tyre replacement. Patched tyre has a higher chance to fail at high speed and is not worth for SC to take the risk for RM5 and it's a potential life hazard. Imagine every one of their cars are capable of above 200kph.

 

[VKS]

bro,

it can be the other way......when one does not have money, then there is no life.

ok bro let me rephrase it "what is money compare to our bmw":4:

Personally i think RFT is overrated. Well, BMW doesn't recommend patching. So each time our RFTs get a nail, we're supposed to change the whole tyre and not just patch it up. Well, that's kinda ridiculous i think.

Our SA usually change the whole engine if its suppose to be overhauled for an easy solution..i think in our country the car itself is overrated already bro..

Anyway these are only my opinion since i wont have the guts to go really fast with normal tyres after patches..not anymore...one time blowout on medium speed is enough for me on my previous ride..balls straight went up to my forehead hehe:4:

 

[VKS]

heard the tyres are 30% cheaper in kiasuland...planning to make a trip end of the year..anyone can recommend good tyre shop in singapore..

 

[enJINer]

patching RFT

i have same problem with my RFT tyre last year. it was punctured by a nail. It happened twice on me. Who said RFT tyre cannot be patch? it can be patched but you have to do it on both side. first, you have to plug the hole with normal rubber patcher then patch from inside using rubber patch pad.

The tyre then need to be balancing back and way you go. Anyway, i recommended the patched tyre to be put on rear wheel. i only spent RM25 for the job. It is a bit high price but the patched tyre last had last for 6 months before it is due to change.

one more thing when you have to aware on this problem, don't wait or travelling too far. straight away go to any shop. the more you travelling, the more damage you did to the RFT tyre.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Its not a BMW thing, but a tyre thing. BMW will not want to be liable for advising customers otherwise. From Bridgestone's FAQ:

Q: Can I repair a punctured Bridgestone Runflat tyre?
A: Bridgestone RFT tyres marked "Do Not Repair" must be replaced if punctured, and cannot be repaired.

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/technologies/rft/faq.aspx#4

Update:
Found another Bridgestone site which implies its depends on the vehicle manufacturer, which in case, BMW doesn't recommend so.

http://www.runflat.eu/english/qa/

Can I repair a punctured Bridgestone Runflat tyre?
Bridgestone Run Flat Tires with certain types of punctures in the tread area, may be repaired subject to certain conditions (Depending on how far and at what speed the car was driven after the puncture). Please consult your nearest RFT authorized dealer to have your tyres inspected.

Before attempting a repair, consult the vehicle owner's manual for restrictions. The vehicle manufacturer may restrict the use of repaired tires on its vehicles.

 

[astroboy]

Its not a BMW thing, but a tyre thing. BMW will not want to be liable for advising customers otherwise. From Bridgestone's FAQ:

Q: Can I repair a punctured Bridgestone Runflat tyre?
A: Bridgestone RFT tyres marked "Do Not Repair" must be replaced if punctured, and cannot be repaired.

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/technologies/rft/faq.aspx#4

Update:
Found another Bridgestone site which implies its depends on the vehicle manufacturer, which in case, BMW doesn't recommend so.

http://www.runflat.eu/english/qa/

Can I repair a punctured Bridgestone Runflat tyre?
Bridgestone Run Flat Tires with certain types of punctures in the tread area, may be repaired subject to certain conditions (Depending on how far and at what speed the car was driven after the puncture). Please consult your nearest RFT authorized dealer to have your tyres inspected.

Before attempting a repair, consult the vehicle owner's manual for restrictions. The vehicle manufacturer may restrict the use of repaired tires on its vehicles.

If BMW SC advises customer no repair, then it's BMW thing.. and since BMW is the only car manufacturer that uses RFT [correct me if I'm wrong.. yeah yeah Mini too], I'll have to put it to their a/c. Moreover, my 320i doesn't comes with Bridgestone, so Bridgestone policy on their tyres is not applicable to me.. Continental got such warning ka?! heh~ :4:

A5 got run flat ka?! or is it like the case of VW Passat CC, "Self healing tyres", normal tyres pre-injected with liquid tyre patch resin.. :4:

 

[gameover]

heard the tyres are 30% cheaper in kiasuland...planning to make a trip end of the year..anyone can recommend good tyre shop in singapore..

Yes I can confirm that RFTs are around 20% or so cheaper in Singapore. Just a quick trip to Stamford Tires very close to the 2nd link is enough, prices for Continental CSC3 RFT earlier this year were about RM1000-1500 cheaper (for 4 tires lah). There may be cheaper ones out there, but I don't spend enough time in SG to shop around. The non-RFTs weren't that much cheaper though and I decided to go non-RFT and do it locally.

If you have details do post them up.

 

[E46Fanatic]

A5 got run flat ka?! or is it like the case of VW Passat CC, "Self healing tyres", normal tyres pre-injected with liquid tyre patch resin.. :4:

For the local Euromobil A5, it comes with a repair kit in the trunk. Saw some UK spec parallel imports with a full sized spare in the trunk tho. Maybe those are for earlier manufactured dates or just different country specs. No RFTs tho yaay!

 

[ALBundy]

I was told during BMW drivers training that RFT cannot be fitted on standard rim, else they cant really function. but i have checked with 2 tyre shop both claim no problem with standard rim. who is correct?

I guess the RFT would still function with non-RFT rims. However without the pressure sensor and proper indicators on your instrument cluster you won't notice if there is any puncture/other issue with your tires...until it's too late. That is a major safety concern.

RFT can still be fitted to normal tires. However when there is a total pressure loss, non RFT rims will not be able to hold the tire in its intended place, meaning to say the tire may dis-mount from the rim. In a lot of accident cases that is caused by tire pressure loss or explosion, it is due to this reason. There is a company that sells an aftermarket product that is installed inside the rim to prevent the tire from being dis-mounted. Apparently VW may install in their cars.

So the bottom line is this, you can mount RFT tires on normal rims, but you will not be getting the runflat properties!

 

[thom]

Going to SC to ask for tyre patch is like asking them to sell u chop shop or remanufactured alternator, or ask them to patch a crack line or chip on your windshield. Wrong place la, kawan. :4:

Astroboy, ur absolutely rite. I shd hv gone to a regular tyre shop. If BMW SC spots a small scratch, they recommend to buy a new car unfortunately money doesnt grow on any tree that i know of

 

[thom]

Our SA usually change the whole engine if its suppose to be overhauled for an easy solution..i think in our country the car itself is overrated already bro.


Hahaha Bro ur right on both counts. I'm sure the SA is itching to tell me 'oh nail in tyre, better upgrade to 7 series' Like that I die lah

 

[fabianyee]

Official SC has reputation to uphold. The SA is just following the SOP. If anything goes wrong with the patched RFT, they have big problem. But if u know the SA well, he'll pull u aside and whisper to u to get it fixed outside. But official it can't be patched. Must changed. It's the same worldwide.

 

[ahmz]

RFT can still be fitted to normal tires. However when there is a total pressure loss, non RFT rims will not be able to hold the tire in its intended place, meaning to say the tire may dis-mount from the rim. In a lot of accident cases that is caused by tire pressure loss or explosion, it is due to this reason. There is a company that sells an aftermarket product that is installed inside the rim to prevent the tire from being dis-mounted. Apparently VW may install in their cars.

So the bottom line is this, you can mount RFT tires on normal rims, but you will not be getting the runflat properties!

I believe it's not getting the full benefit of RFT properties instead of none at all. As far as I understand, the TPM works by detecting differences in tire pressure between the 4 tires. If there is a pressure difference > 0.4bar (if not mistaken la), the TPM will signal an alarm. Unless there is sudden total loss of pressure, there would still be air in the defective tire and the RFT tire would still be doing their job. However, there is a risk that the rate of air loss is fast enough to cause total tire pressure loss, thus causing the tire to come off the non-RFT rims. So, lesson is if using RFT on non-RFT rims is to stop and check the extent of damage once the TPM alarm comes on. If simple puncture, then can continue driving to the next fuel station to pump up the tire and then find a place to repair (or replace) the tire, or, if the damage is severe, call a tow truck!