Are Run Flat Tires More Likely To Strand You Than Conventional Ones?

so this is the run-flat tires fault and BMW's? Lets say that you had a conventional tire and the same kind of damage occurred. You would have blown the tire, damaged the wheel and maybe hit something else as that is a severe gash in the tire. Yet you would rather have a donut spare tire on there, provided you could get the original tire off ( which in most cases you are not able to as the lug nuts are on extremely tight ). Then you would have to wait for road side assistance on the side of the road for 1 to 3 hours, have them put your spare on. By the time you would have made it to the dealer to fix your tire it would have cost you a: 1) a new 7-series wheel 2) a new tire 3) a new mini spare tire ..... I am figuring you would have spent more money than the Ford Escape you rented and a New tire. Plus then you would have complained about the BMW not having Run-Flat tires .....

I think had he not had run-flats, he would have pulled over immediately & call for road-side assistance. (if he has AAA) The car would have been towed to the BMW dealership. There he would have found out they didn't even stock the OEM tires sold their own vehicles --- he would have gotten a rental (Enterprise picks you up).

There would not have been damage to the OEM wheel. And he may have been able to get AAA to mount the new wheel as the car was still basically disabled from driving on the damaged run-flat tire.

Actually with the severity of the gash in the side of the tire, without runflats he would have surely damaged the wheel and most likely crash. Especially since he was on the highway at speed. Thus would have been more expensive and cost much more time.

To each their own. I have had runflat's on my last 4 BMW's and have been able to safely drive to where I needed to be and address the tire at that point. I prefer them.

Your analogy is lame and remarkably shows lack of critical reasoning.
Why don't we look at it this way:
You are a typical North American which means we like our road trips going on a road trip in the middle of nowhere and you have a flat regardless of if it is slow leak or a catastrophic blow out. Because you have a run-flat you have no spare and can only travel 55-100miles depending on the vehicle size. Ask yourself, after that so what?
You make it to the dealership that offers to sell you a tyre but wait they aren't BMW dealership in every town. Okay you couldn't make it to the dealership so you call your fancy BMW-Assist, and that takes a while too. They get there and have your vehicle towed- a situation that could have been avoided if you had a spare.
You get to the dealership which could be close or several hundred miles away and voila, they don't have your tyre in stock...
I have owned 3 Bimmers in the last 6 years and I swapped out the RFT in all of them for regular tyres and also carry a spare.
Use your head and don't fail for the marketing crap.
RFT with spare makes sense but not RFT without spare.

"Are Run Flat Tires More Likely To Strand You Than Conventional Ones?"

- Yes. If you are on a roadtrip and one of your runflat tires blows out, they dont stock the runflat tires in local tire shops. So you have to buy a non runflat tire just to get you back home. Then you have to buy a runflat tire when you get home. An Onboard spare would have worked out much better.

Runflats are good idea, just crappy implementation and availability (and expensive price).

No tire of any kind leaves you stranded, the lack of a spare tire does.

He was able to drive the car to be serviced, so he wasn't really stranded. That's the point of run flats.

Replacing with a spare on the side of a road is dangerous, could even be deadly.

That is the ultimate run-flat trade-off, risk getting killed or drive to service alive and deal with the hassles of limited run flat replacement availability.

"He was able to drive the car to be serviced, so he wasn't really stranded. That's the point of run flats."

That's the point but at what expense? Changing a tire on the road-side isn't as deadly as you are making it sound. I've done it several times (some people do it for a living). I'd rather change a tire on the roadside, than paying for 2 tires when all I needed was one tire.

Eh, I rather my wife and 2 little kids not have to wait on the side of the road with tractor trailers and cars zipping by at 80 for Road side assistance and deal with a shady tow truck driver while driving home from g'mas at 9pm.

I'll pay the premium for that comfort. I'm sure many of you pay THOUSANDS a year in auto/health insurance that you will never use. Same principle.

Yes, that's the point. Google death changing tires:
Man killed changing tire on I-71/75 | NKY.com | cincinnati.com
nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/.../Man-killed-changing-tire-71-75 - CachedApr 8, 2011 – ... flat tire and was changing it along southbound Interstate 71/75, near I-275. ... on Fountain Square Saturday night has died, Hamilton County. ...
What Are the Dangers of Changing Tires? | eHow.com
www.ehow.com › Car Repair & Maintenance - CachedChanging a flat tire is relatively simple; however, you must take precautions ... There have been people who have suffered serious injuries, including death, ...
Bill Cosby's son shot to death while changing tire
lubbockonline.com/news/011797/bill.htm - CachedBill Cosby's son shot to death while changing tire. By JANE E. ALLEN Associated Press Writer. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bill Cosby's only son was shot to death ...
Police: Man shot dead while changing tire - Houston Chronicle
www.chron.com/.../Police-Man-shot-dead-while-changing-tire-1699... - CachedFeb 4, 2010 – An altercation at a nearby strip club might have led to the shooting death of a man changing a tire at a southwest Houston gas station, police ...
Two killed while changing a tire on 605 Freeway are identified ...
latimesblogs.latimes.com/.../two-victims-killed-changing-a-tire-on-fr... - CachedNov 28, 2010 – Authorities have released the names of two men who died Saturday after being struck by an out-of-control car while changing a tire on the ...
Teens Hit By Car While Changing Tire, 2 Dead - News Story - WSB ...
www.wsbtv.com/news/22975991/detail.html - CachedMar 27, 2010 – As four students were changing a flat tire, a passing car struck three of ... Jessica Dorvelus said she is mourning the death of her brother and his ...
Teen dies while changing tire » Region » Traverse City Record-Eagle
record-eagle.com/local/x10256732/Teen-dies-while-changing-tire - CachedMar 29, 2011 – PETOSKEY — A Petoskey teen died as he attempted to change a vehicle's tire, deputies said. Jarrett Macvey, 18, died Friday night when a ...
Tires of death: help me replace them - isuzu vehicross tires | Ask ...
ask.metafilter.com/77107/Tires-of-death-help-me-replace-them - Cached
17 answers - Nov 26, 2007
It's Christmas, the weather is crap and I'm sliding all over the road. ... You can probably buy a set of tires and rims at a wrecking yard for well under ...
Motorist changing tire shot to death - Chicago Breaking News
archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/.../man-shot-at-gas-station.html - CachedApr 23, 2009 – A 37-year-old Chicago man was shot and killed while changing a tire Wednesday night at a South Side gas station, officials said.
HPD: Man shot to death while changing tire at Valero gas station ...
www.khou.com/.../HPD-Man-shot-to-death-while-changing-tire-at-... - CachedFeb 4, 2010 – A man was shot to death at a Valero gas station Thursday morning, and Houston police are searching for his killer.

You're just lazy :)

Honestly I would much rather pull the spare out of the trunk and be on my way. But the stats say otherwise.

sdcarguy,

I could show you death stats like that (or even worse) that only involves driving. And yet you still drive your car.

The biggest problem I have with Runflats is that they ride like crap and are expensive compared to their non-runflat cousins. Most tire shops also will not repair them - forcing you to buy a new tire when ever it gets damaged.

When I get ready to buy my next car (currently have a BMW) -BMW's will not be my first choice primarily because of the runflats

Run Flats and no spare tire are absurd ideas. Especially if you drive in the West where you may be DAYS away from a replacement tire Now that's a wonderful idea! I note that my two BMWs - a 2002 and a 2007 - both have spare tires - I will not buy a BMW with no spare.

I have now been stranded 3 times for at least a full day due to run flat tires on my 2006 330xi. I make frequent road trips from Boston to New Jersey and both times I was stranded on a Friday night return trip. Both times I had to spend a night in a fleabag hotel and have a tire store conduct a search for the replacement tire.

Another time I was heading to a weekend ski trip in New Hampshire and got stranded with a flat again. Good luck finding a tire. It wasn't available until Monday. Two nights in a hotel, no skiing, a wrecked weekend.

I will NEVER again purchase a car with run flats, BMW or otherwise. They are designed for people who lack the strength or will to change their own tires. They are unworthy for anyone who does anything other than run errands.

For those who are stuck with runflats today, at a minimum you should invest in a 12 volt tire inflator and a plug kit. That's your only defense against getting stranded and not a guaranteed solution.

so you were not able to drive 150 miles and find a better hotel? I blew out the rear tire to my 2008 BMW 535i with a sport package and run-flat tires. I was able to slow down to 50 mph and drive from Saugatuck, michigan to Lake Forest, IL ( which is about 140 miles ) to my house and address the tire at that moment.

On my 135 coupe, hit a pothole on Rte 83 on the way to work in February when it was probably about 20 degrees out, still managed to drive to my BMW dealership to get a tire. I had to drive 36 miles. On the other hand I could have had a conventional, pulled over on the highway, froze my behind off trying to change a tire at 7.30 am, spend an hour or so to change the tire, been late to work and missed my meeting, only to put on a temporary tire and have to get a new tire later...... That makes total sense....

He's a BMW driver, what do you expect?

Doubt it. Someone who works in my company owns a Z06. He's demonstated more car knowledge than any BMW owner that i've ever met.

Runflats were designed for 2 main reasons: (1) to save space in your trunk, (2) to make the car lighter. Now, that comes with a few shortcomings (and in my opinion, not worth the risk). You have to decrease your speed to about 50 mph, which in some highways become pretty dangerous (try the I-15 from LA to Vegas for example, among other roads). If your tire rips (like the picture) then you're stranded for sure. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer a spare (even if it's a space saver). Unlike the "arguments" presented, you can do it on the side of the road safely (yeah, people die doing all kinds of things, INCLUDING inside their vehicles, accidents happen people!) and changin a tire shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes, if you take longer than that the problem is with you!