Ride with/without runflats
12-22-2004, 06:24 PM
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Hello. Ihave had my 545 for 5000 miles. I am beginning to wonder about tyres. I like my car to feel sporty-ish but ride quality is very important. I find high-speed ride as currently set up is excellent but round town things joggle a bit. Can anybody tell me how much difference non-runflats make to low-speed ride quality? Is it worth changing?
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12-23-2004, 05:54 AM
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Originally Posted by dandelionandburdock' date='Dec 22 2004, 09:24 PM
Hello. Ihave had my 545 for 5000 miles. I am beginning to wonder about tyres. I like my car to feel sporty-ish but ride quality is very important. I find high-speed ride as currently set up is excellent but round town things joggle a bit. Can anybody tell me how much difference non-runflats make to low-speed ride quality? Is it worth changing?
[snapback]71684[/snapback]
12-23-2004, 07:35 AM
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Originally Posted by dandelionandburdock' date='Dec 23 2004, 04:24 AM
Hello. Ihave had my 545 for 5000 miles. I am beginning to wonder about tyres. I like my car to feel sporty-ish but ride quality is very important. I find high-speed ride as currently set up is excellent but round town things joggle a bit. Can anybody tell me how much difference non-runflats make to low-speed ride quality? Is it worth changing?
[snapback]71684[/snapback]
12-23-2004, 08:07 AM
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I have a 545i SP car with about 8,000 miles on it. I've had 4 sets of tires on my car in the quest to get exactly what I want, and so hopefully I can provide some info that will be of benefit.
At about 4,000 miles my Dunlop runflats developed a terrible tread roar. It was just destroying my enjoyment of the car. From what I've read on this Board and elsewhere, this is a very common occurrence. Primarily because of this noise, I decided to dump the Dunlop runflats. I then tried an all-season tire (Yokohama AVS dbS2), a max performance tire (Michelin PS2), and another max performance tire (Continental ContiSport Contact 2). I'm running the Contis now.
Here's what I have learned:
1. Surprisingly, in my opinion the ride of the Dunlop runflats is not that bad considering that it is a runflat tire. If you're NOT experencing the horrible tread roar that I and so many others have experienced, you might want to just keep the runflats until they wear out. As pointed out more fully below, you CAN definitely get a better ride and/or handling by getting rid on the runflats, but the ride improvement, while substantial, is not what I'd call truly dramatic. If the tread roar problem raises its ugly head, however, then you'll have to bail out just to maintain your sanity. When the runflats do wear out, I'd recommend replacing them with non-runflats (see below).
2. The all-season Yokohamas are extremely quiet. They balance out very well, and are great on the highway. But, they do not ride hardly any better than the OEM runflats, and don't handle any better either IMHO. Thus, I decided to go to a max performance tire, since I didn't think the all-season Yokohamas gave any better ride or handling than the OEM runflats (although they absolutely kill any tread noise whatsoever, and so if that's your priority the Yokos cannot be beat).
3. The Michelin PS2 is an absolutely AWESOME handling tire! Believe me, when you slap a set of those on your 545i you will notice a very big difference in steering crispness, handling precision, cornering, etc. Your 545i will feel like a sports car. If you want the best handling out there, you cannot beat the PS2. But, for me, the PS2 has a ride that's too harsh and it has too much tread noise. The ride of the PS2 is actually a tad stiffer than the OEM runflats, and it definitely makes more tread noise than the OEM runflats did when new (before the horrible tread road developed). Actually, in view of the incredible handling the PS2 offers, its ride is amazingly good. One way to look at this is to realize that it rides almost as well as the OEM runflats, but handles far, far better. But, if you are looking for a ride quality that is better than the OEM runflats, the PS2 will not provide that for you.
4. For me, what I decided I want is a max performance tire (not an all-season), but I was willing to trade off some performance for a better ride and a quieter tread. I picked the Continental ContiSport Contact 2, and I am very, very pleased. They ride amazingly well (considerably better than the OEM funflats), while handling better than the OEM runflats too. They absorb sharp ridges and broken pavement much better than the OEM runflats, and give less of an audible "report" too. For me, they're a win/win. I recommend them highly as the best overall tires I've tried. If you're looking for a much better ride than the OEM runflats, while getting somewhat better handling too, this tire is great. I've also heard good things about the Goodyear Eagle F-1 GS-D3, but I haven't tried those so I can't comment on them.
Anyway, to answer your original question as to whether you can get a better ride by dropping the OEM runflats, the answer is a definite "yes", but only if you pick the right tire. It's my experience that it's entirely possible to get a non-runflat that does NOT ride any better than the OEM runflats at all. It all depends on what tire you pick to replace the OEM runflats with. But, I will say this- I'll NEVER go back to the runflats. You can get a tire that rides much better and/or handles much better. But, if you haven't developed the dreaded "run flat tread roar", frankly I'd consider sticking with what you've got until they wear out or start to roar. When either of those happen, I'd drop the runflats and go to a non-runflat tire for sure. If you have the cash to burn and can't wait to get a better ride NOW, then you can certainly do so by getting rid of the runflats.
Hope this helps.
-RAI
At about 4,000 miles my Dunlop runflats developed a terrible tread roar. It was just destroying my enjoyment of the car. From what I've read on this Board and elsewhere, this is a very common occurrence. Primarily because of this noise, I decided to dump the Dunlop runflats. I then tried an all-season tire (Yokohama AVS dbS2), a max performance tire (Michelin PS2), and another max performance tire (Continental ContiSport Contact 2). I'm running the Contis now.
Here's what I have learned:
1. Surprisingly, in my opinion the ride of the Dunlop runflats is not that bad considering that it is a runflat tire. If you're NOT experencing the horrible tread roar that I and so many others have experienced, you might want to just keep the runflats until they wear out. As pointed out more fully below, you CAN definitely get a better ride and/or handling by getting rid on the runflats, but the ride improvement, while substantial, is not what I'd call truly dramatic. If the tread roar problem raises its ugly head, however, then you'll have to bail out just to maintain your sanity. When the runflats do wear out, I'd recommend replacing them with non-runflats (see below).
2. The all-season Yokohamas are extremely quiet. They balance out very well, and are great on the highway. But, they do not ride hardly any better than the OEM runflats, and don't handle any better either IMHO. Thus, I decided to go to a max performance tire, since I didn't think the all-season Yokohamas gave any better ride or handling than the OEM runflats (although they absolutely kill any tread noise whatsoever, and so if that's your priority the Yokos cannot be beat).
3. The Michelin PS2 is an absolutely AWESOME handling tire! Believe me, when you slap a set of those on your 545i you will notice a very big difference in steering crispness, handling precision, cornering, etc. Your 545i will feel like a sports car. If you want the best handling out there, you cannot beat the PS2. But, for me, the PS2 has a ride that's too harsh and it has too much tread noise. The ride of the PS2 is actually a tad stiffer than the OEM runflats, and it definitely makes more tread noise than the OEM runflats did when new (before the horrible tread road developed). Actually, in view of the incredible handling the PS2 offers, its ride is amazingly good. One way to look at this is to realize that it rides almost as well as the OEM runflats, but handles far, far better. But, if you are looking for a ride quality that is better than the OEM runflats, the PS2 will not provide that for you.
4. For me, what I decided I want is a max performance tire (not an all-season), but I was willing to trade off some performance for a better ride and a quieter tread. I picked the Continental ContiSport Contact 2, and I am very, very pleased. They ride amazingly well (considerably better than the OEM funflats), while handling better than the OEM runflats too. They absorb sharp ridges and broken pavement much better than the OEM runflats, and give less of an audible "report" too. For me, they're a win/win. I recommend them highly as the best overall tires I've tried. If you're looking for a much better ride than the OEM runflats, while getting somewhat better handling too, this tire is great. I've also heard good things about the Goodyear Eagle F-1 GS-D3, but I haven't tried those so I can't comment on them.
Anyway, to answer your original question as to whether you can get a better ride by dropping the OEM runflats, the answer is a definite "yes", but only if you pick the right tire. It's my experience that it's entirely possible to get a non-runflat that does NOT ride any better than the OEM runflats at all. It all depends on what tire you pick to replace the OEM runflats with. But, I will say this- I'll NEVER go back to the runflats. You can get a tire that rides much better and/or handles much better. But, if you haven't developed the dreaded "run flat tread roar", frankly I'd consider sticking with what you've got until they wear out or start to roar. When either of those happen, I'd drop the runflats and go to a non-runflat tire for sure. If you have the cash to burn and can't wait to get a better ride NOW, then you can certainly do so by getting rid of the runflats.
Hope this helps.
-RAI
12-23-2004, 10:08 AM
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12-23-2004, 12:38 PM
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Rai, interesting what you say about the other tyres. I've had my 535d Sport for about 3 weeks (800 miles) now and the run flats are getting to be an issue for me.
My previous car was an M3 which had PS2's and I think the bump absorbtion/damping of the 535d is worse than the M3 which I have put down to the RFT's as there is no way the suspension/damping if firmer on the 535d than the M3. It's not so much the firmness of the ride as the way the 535d deal's with ripple's or ridge's in the road surface which feel like they are magnified to me. I guess the best way to describe it is that the car fidget's!
I was thinking of getting PS2's but maybe I'll go for something less performance oriented, I do think they are great tyres though.
My previous car was an M3 which had PS2's and I think the bump absorbtion/damping of the 535d is worse than the M3 which I have put down to the RFT's as there is no way the suspension/damping if firmer on the 535d than the M3. It's not so much the firmness of the ride as the way the 535d deal's with ripple's or ridge's in the road surface which feel like they are magnified to me. I guess the best way to describe it is that the car fidget's!
I was thinking of getting PS2's but maybe I'll go for something less performance oriented, I do think they are great tyres though.