Run flat tyres

[Richard1200]

Have been looking at a new UX Takumi today and noticed they have run flats, the last car I had with these was a BMW 3 series in 2005 and I thought they were noisy. Anybody got any thoughts on them on their UX.

Do the door mirrors fold in automatically when locking the car on the Takumi model.

[Navnan2]

8 minutes ago, Richard1200 said:

Have been looking at a new UX Takumi today and noticed they have run flats, the last car I had with these was a BMW 3 series in 2005 and I thought they were noisy. Anybody got any thoughts on them on their UX.

Do the door mirrors fold in automatically when locking the car on the Takumi model.

Hi Richard, I don't have the Takumi but do have the Bridgestone run flats. I have not driven a UX with any alternative tyres. In my experience noise if you can call it that is quite acceptable. Given the state of our roads this isn't a big deal in my opinion.

[First_Lexus]

41 minutes ago, Richard1200 said:

Have been looking at a new UX Takumi today and noticed they have run flats, the last car I had with these was a BMW 3 series in 2005 and I thought they were noisy. Anybody got any thoughts on them on their UX.

Do the door mirrors fold in automatically when locking the car on the Takumi model.

Run flats have come a long way since 2005. I have a 2004 MINI Cooper (owned from new) and the original Pirelli tyres were unforgiving and noisy. However, in the last few years new Dunlop run flats have shown how far things have progressed - they really are so much better now.

[Richard1200]

I have Bridgestone Touranza on my 2019 UX. I am assuming they are not runflats even though I do not have a spare wheel. 

[Kissu]

57 minutes ago, Richard1200 said:

Have been looking at a new UX Takumi today and noticed they have run flats, the last car I had with these was a BMW 3 series in 2005 and I thought they were noisy. Anybody got any thoughts on them on their UX.

Do the door mirrors fold in automatically when locking the car on the Takumi model.

Hi Richard,to answer your questions yes the door mirrors automatically fold when locked and also passenger mirror tilts down when in reverse.I believe your Bridgestones Turanza are indeed runflats,as for the noise I think they are no noiser than most other cars in fact the people that have travelled in my UX have commented how quiet it is,but I also have read some reviews where people find the runflats very noisy.

 

[ColinBarber]

2 hours ago, Richard1200 said:

I have Bridgestone Touranza on my 2019 UX. I am assuming they are not runflats even though I do not have a spare wheel. 

What size are they? The 18" ones are normally runflats - have you looked for the runflat symbol?

 

3 hours ago, Richard1200 said:

Have been looking at a new UX Takumi today and noticed they have run flats, the last car I had with these was a BMW 3 series in 2005 and I thought they were noisy

I find they are very noisy - certainly the worst thing about my wife's UX.

[Barry14UK]

As a BMW owner and forum member I found that the vast majority of drivers changed to non run flats at the first opportunity.  Because only run flats were offered on the X3 with no spare, was the main reason I opted for my RX rather than the X3 BMW.

[Richard1200]

How embarrassing 😛🤣🙄😂  I have been driving around on run flat tyres since April 2019 without realising. Just never looked at the symbols on the tyres closely or listened during the handover so my concerns are unfounded.

Had a look at some colour options this morning as I have only ever had two silver IS’s and then 3 white IS’s and now my white UX so time for a change I think. My wife wants white again but the Takumi UX in Sonic with cream interior (same as I have now) looks very nice. Other interiors have the dark roof liner and that makes it’s so dark inside.

Need to make a decision in the next 48 hours

[rayaans]

Run flats are still awful even now. Much better than 10 years ago but they can't get away with defying physics. The sidewalls are designed to hold the car up so are much stiffer than a normal tyre

Merc put runflats on the early w205 C class models and they were quickly dumped by the manufacturer and the owners

 

[LenT]

Well I thought I had Run Flats. I based that on the statement on the Goodyear website that Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s were Run Flat.  Or as they brand them - RunOnFlat.  So I went and looked for the special RoF logo.

Instead I found XL - which stands for eXtra Load - which is good, but different.  But it does mean using the SpaceSaver and not running the tyre when flat.

I contacted Goodyear and discovered that not all types of Goodyear tyres classified as Run Flat are actually available as such.  It depends on the specific tyre size.  I don't know if other manufacturers operate a similar system, but if you specifically want Run Flat it's as well to be aware.

As it happens, my tyre dealer is not a fan.  He feels that the extra thickness increases the tyre's weight, affecting performance, and the stiffer side walls make for a less comfortable ride.

[royoftherovers]

28 minutes ago, LenT said:

Well I thought I had Run Flats. I based that on the statement on the Goodyear website that Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s were Run Flat.  Or as they brand them - RunOnFlat.  So I went and looked for the special RoF logo.

Instead I found XL - which stands for eXtra Load - which is good, but different.  But it does mean using the SpaceSaver and not running the tyre when flat.

I contacted Goodyear and discovered that not all types of Goodyear tyres classified as Run Flat are actually available as such.  It depends on the specific tyre size.  I don't know if other manufacturers operate a similar system, but if you specifically want Run Flat it's as well to be aware.

As it happens, my tyre dealer is not a fan.  He feels that the extra thickness increases the tyre's weight, affecting performance, and the stiffer side walls make for a less comfortable ride.

https://www.blackcircles.com/helpcentre/tyres/how-do-i-know-if-my-tyres-are-run-flat-tyres

[dutchie01]

My wife one day came home telling me there was a red warninglight on her BMW 1 series. I went out to have alook and it was a red symbol and written warning about tyrepressure reduce speed etc. The left front tyre literally had no air whatsoever but did have a "slit"in it like someone stuck a knife in it. Morale of the story she could drive home..

In developing the set up and chassis of the car the tyre manufacturers are deeply involved. The car will be designed with rf tyres and just for that fact alone i would not change to non rf. RF tyres are more expensive and the ride is stiffer but if that is what the manufacturer is going for i myself would not change this. Personal choice of course maybe i am too conservative?

[royoftherovers]

25 minutes ago, dutchie01 said:

My wife one day came home telling me there was a red warninglight on her BMW 1 series. I went out to have alook and it was a red symbol and written warning about tyrepressure reduce speed etc. The left front tyre literally had no air whatsoever but did have a "slit"in it like someone stuck a knife in it. Morale of the story she could drive home..

In developing the set up and chassis of the car the tyre manufacturers are deeply involved. The car will be designed with rf tyres and just for that fact alone i would not change to non rf. RF tyres are more expensive and the ride is stiffer but if that is what the manufacturer is going for i myself would not change this. Personal choice of course maybe i am too conservative?

Much better safe than sorry Bernard.👍

[rayaans]

2 hours ago, dutchie01 said:

My wife one day came home telling me there was a red warninglight on her BMW 1 series. I went out to have alook and it was a red symbol and written warning about tyrepressure reduce speed etc. The left front tyre literally had no air whatsoever but did have a "slit"in it like someone stuck a knife in it. Morale of the story she could drive home..

In developing the set up and chassis of the car the tyre manufacturers are deeply involved. The car will be designed with rf tyres and just for that fact alone i would not change to non rf. RF tyres are more expensive and the ride is stiffer but if that is what the manufacturer is going for i myself would not change this. Personal choice of course maybe i am too conservative?

Tyre manufacturers may be involved in high performance cars. For the usual cars they simply put in whatever they can get hold of hence why the same models of cars, especially BMWs nowadays can come with anything from Pirelli to Michelin to Goodyear. They also use different tyres in different countries. 

The AA and RAC carry universal spare tyres nowadays anyway. Additionally the Continental tyre sealant is very good too so there are alternatives to coping with a stiffer ride everyday 

[doog442]

I must admit I was almost tempted to bin the run flats on my BMW three years back when the car was new(Bridgestone Potenzas) simply because apparently that's what people allegedly do. However I thought I'd wait until at least they were showing some kind of wear to justify it but the bloody things won't wear out 

That said its on 19" tyres and I doubt I'd feel much improvement, especially with M Sport suspension.

Surprised to hear Lexus use them, there's talk of a vast improvement in the feel of modern run flats but that's rarely reflected in various online forums.  

 

[rayaans]

21 hours ago, doog442 said:

I must admit I was almost tempted to bin the run flats on my BMW three years back when the car was new(Bridgestone Potenzas) simply because apparently that's what people allegedly do. However I thought I'd wait until at least they were showing some kind of wear to justify it but the bloody things won't wear out 

That said its on 19" tyres and I doubt I'd feel much improvement, especially with M Sport suspension.

Surprised to hear Lexus use them, there's talk of a vast improvement in the feel of modern run flats but that's rarely reflected in various online forums.  

 

There is a vast improvement in them over the past 10 years. They've gone from feeling like running on stone wheels to running on wooden wheels. 

The Merc is having all 4 runflats changed on 30th July. Will report back once done. 

[Stompe]

So, your run flats are coming up for replacement, What do you do.... For,If you have a puncture you can probably get Home, Against, Ride quality, So if you stick with the Run flats which ones, Grip, Economy, or ride comfort, So how do you choose? It's a Minefield, LOL, Recommendations Accepted!! 👍🏻😀

 

 

[First_Lexus]

38 minutes ago, Stompe said:

So, your run flats are coming up for replacement, What do you do.... For,If you have a puncture you can probably get Home, Against, Ride quality, So if you stick with the Run flats which ones, Grip, Economy, or ride comfort, So how do you choose? It's a Minefield, LOL, Recommendations Accepted!! 👍🏻😀

 

 

I’ve stuck with run-flats on my 2004 MINI Cooper, but it is very little used - only 13k miles from new! However, I’d be tempted to stick with them even with more use tbh. The current (fitted in 2019) Dunlop tyres really are rather good, and I doubt whether ‘regular’ tyres would improve the already firm ride that much based on what I’ve read on MINI forums. 

[rayaans]

1 hour ago, Stompe said:

So, your run flats are coming up for replacement, What do you do.... For,If you have a puncture you can probably get Home, Against, Ride quality, So if you stick with the Run flats which ones, Grip, Economy, or ride comfort, So how do you choose? It's a Minefield, LOL, Recommendations Accepted!! 👍🏻😀

 

 

So I had them changed yesterday due to delays in getting the tyre from the manufacturer.

Huge improvement! Much much quieter than the runflats especially on the motorway and the ride comfort much improved to the point where I can't feel the small imperfections of the road anymore.

I wish I'd done it sooner now 

[Brian R]

I thought this might be the result given the experience I had changing from RF to normal on my BMW. I'm really not a fan of RF and it's normal tyres for me when mine need replacing. On the BMW forum, RF's were known as "ditch finders" and for good reason. The very stiff suspension  BMW are so fond of only served to make the car twitchy on good roads and outright appalling on wet ones. In fairness, those RF's on my current car are acceptable, but nonetheless inclined to tram line on wet roads.

[cur666]

I've heard that you should inform your insurance company, due to change of spec ...use of non runflats  ?

[rayaans]

42 minutes ago, cur666 said:

I've heard that you should inform your insurance company, due to change of spec ...use of non runflats  ?

I wouldn't. It has no resemblance on safety of the vehicle. Otherwise I'd be informing them of aftermarket brakes

[royoftherovers]

I would, not a shadow of doubt if one is changing the original factory specification of the vehicle.

 

[rayaans]

3 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

I would, not a shadow of doubt if one is changing the original factory specification of the vehicle.

 

The original factory spec is changed when putting brembo brake pads on. Or anything else that's not from the manufacturer

Screenwash for example

[dutchie01]

Just out of curiosity, suppose you changed from RF to non RF did not inform your insurance and cause a pretty big accident of lets say 100k damage plus your own car write off. Your fault no debate possible. What would the insurer do? will they investigate and say hang on look at the tyres you changed spec did not inform us so according to our rules we will not pay for your damage?