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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 F10 Technical Topics Wheels / Tires / Suspension / Brakes First Impressions - New Non Runflat Tires
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      11-05-2012, 10:45 PM   #1
j3o3t3
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First Impressions - New Non Runflat Tires

Disposed of the Michelin Primacy OEM RunFlats with a major upgrade to Bridgestone Potenza S-04's Non Runflats.

what a difference..

-I can feel the road- the dumbed down isolation sensation is gone. Feels a lot more like my '08 E60 550i.
-Great tip in, car is more responsive to subtle steering adjustments- at all speeds.
-No more run flat kerplunk over road expansion joints/etc. Car eats these up now.
-Tires make car handle and feel better, inspires greater driver confidence plus more aggressive cornering ability.

All I can say is if you're on the fence- make the change - dump the run flats, and based on my first few hundred miles the S-04's are a superior choice.

I also bought a Slime 70005 Safety Spare Flat Tire Repair System just to be safe...
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      11-06-2012, 05:49 AM   #2
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Thats interesting
What size wheels and suspension set up do you have?

Do you feel (and I know this is debated about a lot!) that the numb steering is down to RFTs in the most part so do you know feel the steering is good?

Presumably you now have a spare? or carry one of those emergency inflation devices?

was the cost expensive, I had to replace a 19" 275 RFT tyre not long ago which came to £399 so a new set of tyres is presumbly not cheap even if non RFT
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      11-06-2012, 07:05 AM   #3
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Why is BMW so hell bent on making these things standard? It's really a big turnoff.
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      11-06-2012, 07:11 AM   #4
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I'm sure normal rubber will give better road feel, as RFTs can dull the steering responses.

I must say, I'm pretty impressed with how my F11 is steering and riding. I'm on 18" Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR tyres. I don't think I'll be changing to non run-flats as I did in the E91. But do feel there would be at least a slight improvement to steering responses, and a little more ride refinement with normal rubber. Simply due to the fact normal rubber hasn't got the negative characteristics of the run-flat. But at least in my setup, I think BMW have done a pretty good job of either masking, or refining RFT behaviour. I don't think changing rubber will give the drastic changes that I found on the E91, we have moved on quite a lot, IMO.

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      11-06-2012, 08:29 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AP View Post
Thats interesting
What size wheels and suspension set up do you have?

I have the US spec MSport set up including 19" staggered rims, dynamic damper control, active roll stabilization, adaptive drive.

Do you feel (and I know this is debated about a lot!) that the numb steering is down to RFTs in the most part so do you know feel the steering is good?

In my opinion - Yes. I also have active steering

Presumably you now have a spare? or carry one of those emergency inflation devices?

No Spare- i bought the aforementioned Slime 5000 mobility kit allowing me to reinflate any flat I may encounter.

was the cost expensive, I had to replace a 19" 275 RFT tyre not long ago which came to £399 so a new set of tyres is presumbly not cheap even if non
RFT
Total cost about $1200, a good deal less $ than RFT's
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      11-06-2012, 09:15 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
I'm sure normal rubber will give better road feel, as RFTs can dull the steering responses.

I must say, I'm pretty impressed with how my F11 is steering and riding. I'm on 18" Continental Sport Contact 3 SSR tyres. I don't think I'll be changing to non run-flats as I did in the E91. But do feel there would be at least a slight improvement to steering responses, and a little more ride refinement with normal rubber. Simply due to the fact normal rubber hasn't got the negative characteristics of the run-flat. But at least in my setup, I think BMW have done a pretty good job of either masking, or refining RFT behaviour. I don't think changing rubber will give the drastic changes that I found on the E91, we have moved on quite a lot, IMO.

HighlandPete
Having changed out my Conti rft to Michelin PSS, I fully agree that the difference is Not drastic! I was expecting a massive improvement on my F11 535i but was underwhelmed. Pss is indeed more comfy and handles a little better without crashing thru highway joints, but still as noisy/quiet as the Contis. No ideas about ultimate grip as I never ventured near the limits on either tyre. The reason for changing was I got a flat that could not be repaired and there were no replacement rfts available. Therefore, relying on the reports of massive improvements on non rfts, I chose to change all 4. In hindsight , I should have just changed 2 until the rest of the rfts wear out then change the other 2 to non rft. The PSS is cheaper, more comfy and more refined than the Contis but not that much better as to warrant a change before the Contis wear out.
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      11-06-2012, 03:51 PM   #7
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I have a 2011 535 Sport Pkg. I just changed the Dunlop RFTs to the Potenza RE 760s.... They are a big improvement over the RFTs in my opinion. I went with the RE 760s because the tread wear rating was better than the S04s. After getting only 18K miles out of the Dunlops I wanted something with a better tread wear rating. I am very pleased with my choice so far.
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      11-08-2012, 04:23 PM   #8
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Can't beat the Michelin PSS for performance and value. My F10 came with OEM Pirelli P Zero RFTs, switched to Michelin PSS when I upgraded the wheels - night and day difference in ride comfort, noise and grip.
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      11-08-2012, 06:21 PM   #9
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They love to tow cars to the dealer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thrumcap View Post
Why is BMW so hell bent on making these things standard? It's really a big turnoff.
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      11-22-2012, 03:24 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rayhwc View Post
Having changed out my Conti rft to Michelin PSS, I fully agree that the difference is Not drastic! I was expecting a massive improvement on my F11 535i but was underwhelmed. Pss is indeed more comfy and handles a little better without crashing thru highway joints, but still as noisy/quiet as the Contis. No ideas about ultimate grip as I never ventured near the limits on either tyre. The reason for changing was I got a flat that could not be repaired and there were no replacement rfts available. Therefore, relying on the reports of massive improvements on non rfts, I chose to change all 4. In hindsight , I should have just changed 2 until the rest of the rfts wear out then change the other 2 to non rft. The PSS is cheaper, more comfy and more refined than the Contis but not that much better as to warrant a change before the Contis wear out.
Before I get to my point/question, a little history... I'm currently in a 2013 535i xdrive, before this was a 2010 535i which I didn't touch the tires at all (oddly enough), BUT before that was a 2008 335 which originally came with Conti SSR runflats (on 17"). I put several different non-RFT tires on that car...

In the 335 when I went from RFT to (ultimately) Michelin Pilot Sports, it too was not "drastic" difference in most daily driving situations, even back then. Only when I got near limits was the handling difference marked... however, what WAS quite different on that car was that the Conti RFT's had this grinding low "whirr" that you could hear and feel throughout the entire car. None of the non-RFT options I tried had that same droning grind.

Now, interestingly, these stock 19" Goodyear LS2 rft's on my F10 have the same "grindy" feel, though WAAAAAAAaaaay more muted than the 335 (given the nature of the 2 cars), which the e60 also did NOT have (and it did not have rft's).

I'm getting ready to ditch these RFTs for something less expensive, more durable, better performing... but I'm wondering if others have noted that same "grindy" feeling of RFTs on their F10's and if they've smoothed it out in their non-rfts?
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      12-02-2012, 08:53 AM   #11
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I am not quite sure what you mean by the "grindy" feel, but for sure the non-rft PSS is smoother and more pliant than the rft Contis I had on earlier. The rubber on the PSS seems to absorb the road surface while the Contis just rode over teh bitumen hence transferring a little more "grind"?? But as I said earlier, I noticed the difference but it was not that significant to me. However if your tyres are already due to be changed, then I would still go for the PSS for the slighlty better comfort and performance and lower price, provided you are comfortable with having just a tyre inflator for emergencies.
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      12-02-2012, 09:43 AM   #12
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Went for non-RFTs for my winter set up and purchased the spare and jack. Can't really speak too intelligently on performance, as they are winters, but appreciate the insight as I plan on putting on non-RFTs after my all-season OEMs wear out.
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      12-02-2012, 08:05 PM   #13
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Unless your driving around America with no AAA or towing companies, Runflats IMO are not important, and are way less comfortable than non runflats
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