I have found another nice 1 Series though the seller has replaced the worn rear runflats with non-runflat Continentals. I have expressed concern and the price kind of reflects this.
Not happy with the tyre mix, options:
Buy it and replace the new rears with runflats.
Buy it and replace the fronts with matching non-runflat Conti's (issue - there are mixed views in running non-runflats on BMWs though my insurer says no problem if notified and no extra cost).
Don't by it.
Any thoughts?
|
Buy a good one Cheddar, there's enough out there to pick a cherished one.
Post feels incomplete without a jibe about matching leisure wear... :-P
|
>> Any thoughts?
Again, one you've probably thought of already...
Give Mrs Cheese the Clio back for a year and you use her 1 series for now. If business is tough then you've got a bigger rainy day fund. If it goes well, you can treat one of you to a new motor next Easter... If it goes really well you could both have one...
:-)
|
Stick with the runflats. Not only will the BMW be happier riding on tyres that the suspension is optimally tuned for, but they are a good idea in themselves.
The latest runflats are a lot quieter, cheaper and smoother riding than the first generation ones as well.
|
>> The latest runflats are a lot quieter, cheaper and smoother riding than the first generation
>> ones as well.
They needed to be, the earlier ones were terrible.
|
Now I've been driving a BMW Mini Cooper for over 15 months now and love the experience but my first car with runflats. The best handling car I've ever had !
What with the fairly harsh ride etc, (but then it does have sports pack handling settings) I've toyed with the idea of changing to 'ordinary' tyres and, to be honest I've heard very conflicting views. In the 'it's done me no harm camp', fans state just that and are happy to buy a spare wheel or can of puncture fix and off they go.
However, on the opposing side, BMW state that the suspension is set up for run flat tyres and they staked their reputation on them and should NOT be used with conventional tyres. I assume that the same applies for the 1 Series.
What has finally swung it for me however, was an article in last month's 'What Car' who were asked just this question and who strongly advised against changing the tyres to the more conventional ones. From memory, this was advice from both BMW and also AA Technical services and I am reluctant to ignore advice from acknowledged experts in their firld.
Food for thought or fuel for the fire ?
Ian
|
>>
>> Food for thought or fuel for the fire ?
>>
The former, I reckon. Good analysis of the situation, Ian.
|
|
I would replace with run-flats. I have run-flats on my BMW and they are excellent. Very quiet and smooth riding in as much as you could ever describe a BMW as smooth riding. I have Goodyear runflats on mine. Supposed to be longer lasting than the Contis, though the Contis are supposed to have the edge on grip and handling.
|
>> Give Mrs Cheese the Clio back for a year and you use her 1 series
>> for now. If business is tough then you've got a bigger rainy day fund. If
>> it goes well, you can treat one of you to a new motor next Easter...
>> If it goes really well you could both have one...
>>
Too much sense there Humph ;-)
Actually we have thought of that though it is affordable now and a diesel will be more econimical if I do a few miles, est 20k. Then if we do need to sell one we would sell the older one, the 120i, so to have effectively traded up.
|
Thanks all, yes food for thought.
|
tyre manufacturer designs a tyre for car manufacturer
they do good deal
all tyres fitted in future will be this make
tyre manufacturer and dealer very happy
why would they say a standard wheel and tyre would be as good even if it was
it would be madness
why do some on here collect necter points and hold me up in the fuel queue as they decide if they want 3 bars of chocolate for a £1 as well as the points and where is their credit card anyway????????
questions questions questions
ethel.........................
|
|
What sort of conti's are the non-run flats. I think the tyres on the Passat I've ordered are self-sealing (not run flat) Continentals. Will seal a hole up to 5mm. But there is a full size alloy spare in the boot as well.
|
I just could not reconcile using a car that only had run flat tyres. What on earth would the owner do if they were setting out, for example, on the holiday of the year motoring on the continent and about 100 miles in to your journey you develped a puncture? You knew that you could drive for a further distance on the faulty tyre up to the manufacturer's recommendations, but what do you do after that? No spare tyre to fit and you would have to ask for assistance and presumably ask them to bring you a new tyre if they were able to get one.
I see this as a holiday ruined or a least the first part and general upset for you and your family.
Have any of you had this sort of experience?
|
I like the idea of the Continental Contiseals on the Passat on order. Plus the spare. It comes with tyre pressure monitoring and I've opted for the full system (only another £65) so you can see tyre pressures on the car display.
I might not have gone for the additional tyre pressure monitor but since early 2010:
- March/April 2010 spotted a puncture with loss of air overnight and needed a new tyre. Opposite corner close to limit so that replaced too.
- Feb 2011 - issue raised by Mazda on the service which was not a tyre problem. Rear passenger tyre had a nail in it (not fixable) but visually it looked fine... coincidence to find out.
- March 2011 - same tyre was Feb 2011 visually deflated... fixable and so fixed.
Morale is I've either been unlucky from 1995 - 2010 with only one puncture. Or unlucky since 2010. And I've learned not to drive through nails ;-) Joke. But I do wonder if a house renovation near to home was to blame for the last two.
|
I'm with OG on this, and i really don't want a wheelbarrow size spare tyre either.
I want a proper spare wheel with a full size tyre that's capable of lasting several hundred miles at NSL....more's the point that's exactly what will be in or under the boot floor of any car i buy.
Part of the problem is the many tyre sizes now used.
If you recall i used to drive a car carrier, well the trailer tyre sizes are unusual but no worse than many of the odd car tyre sizes now used, i spent about 5 hours on the M11 at night waiting for the ATS breakdown fellow to drive half way round the country to find a tyre, and i've known of chaps that had over a days wait when the size regd wasn't anywhere in North Scotland.
That sort of inconvenience i do not want (my time and money) when it's so simple to buy a car suitable for use.
|
|
VW give you a full size alloy as a spare in the car I have ordered (Passat CC). :-)
|
>> VW give you a full size alloy as a spare
I don't mind if it's steel TBH, less chance of it getting 'lost' when defleeted, well done VW though.
|
I had the same in the last Passat I had from 2000-2003. Lease companies can then be clever with tyre wear.... so was happy when the Mondeo and now Mazda have space savers.
If a tyre is worn it should be replaced. If it's punctured and worn then the opposite side should be replaced as well.
Glad the Passat CC won't be mine. I am figuring the tyres are £200+ each.
|
You seem to be set on the 1 series - it might be worth asking around here I'm sure you'll find something on the pros and cons of runflats v standard rubber:
www.babybmw.net/
|
A friend has had a 5 series diesel with RF's and now has a 3 series all singing, all dancin' model with RF's and the ride is horrendous. Whilst he may be able to take corners at 30 or 40mph, every hole and bump (and we have lots of those now) is felt through the car. If it does hit a hole, it feels like the whole thing is going to split in half!
He has also had wear issues on his tyres in both cars to the point where the inside edges (the part hidden from view) have worrn to the canvass. Something to do with the walls being stiff and less forgiving. Whilst the tyres themselves can handle being driven on with a puncture, would they hold together at motorway speeds if the very fabric comes apart?
He often has to have his wheels checked for cracking and suspension laser aligned by BMW and has been told to ensure they are at the correct psi, which he does anyway yet still they wear at an alarming rate.
To me, it seems an expensive hobby all for the sake of not having a full size spare.
|
Someone at work hit a large stone in his BMW with RFs. Took a chunk out of the sidewall. If it wasn't a RF it would have been worse. But with a long motorway journey ahead he didn't want to risk driving it - he did consider it.
So after finding the local garages didn't have a spare he got the vehicle recovered to home and a new tyre arranged for the next day. Lucky for him he got it recovered for free on a low loader.
|
I think it depends on the spec - I'm surmising that your friend has the aesthetically pleasing M-Sport derivatives ?
I found that the SE spec (17" 225x45 runflats) of both 3 and 5 series ride reasonably well, granted they're a little firmer than a Citroen C6 but not harsh or prone to cracked wheels either. I rather like the idea that they are better in a blow-out situation too.
The price of beauty I think, I notice a number of car testers recommend opting for smaller (but not small at 17" or 18") wheels on BMWs for better ride and handling.
My preference is for a standard (alloy) spare like Audi provide but failing that a space-saver or runflats, the can of gunk approach seems to be a compromise too far to me.
Having said this I can recall having one puncture in 350,000 miles of motoring.
Last edited by: idle_chatterer on Wed 4 May 11 at 04:18
|
Runflat and non runflat tyres? - Skoda
