steve_gus

the tyre shop is right (at least in the UK) that yiu dont have a spare UNLESS you ordered it as an OPTION fitment. Runflats can be plugged if leaking as long as you havnt run them flat....

pennetta

With runflats you can drive right over those police strips they sometimes throw down to stop you after a long televised chase.
Seriously, with a 2006 the ride quality will be greatly improved with non-runflats. With the 2008's it doesn't matter as they re-calibrated the suspensions. You can repair any runflat the same as you could with any non-runflat. Common sense says if you patch a runflat and the patch fail, its still a runflat and you would still be able to drive on it.
The speed, size, temp, load rating are whats important to BMW for warranty purposes, not the runflat capabilities.

mr_grinche

I argued the toss before purchasing a new set of tyres for my car. Runflat or Non Runflat. Considering that after about 16k miles they need to be replaced. I was told that because the rims and the car was set up for runflats I should go for theme again. I did against all rational. Now after about 10 weeks I got a puncture and was told the same as yourself. They cant be fixed and I should buy a new tyre even though I didnt drive on the tyre as I had the foresight to buy the spare wheel kit with my car.

I finally found somebody to plug my runflat, but he would not accept responsibility or liability for the repair as legally he cant.

The rules as I understand things are as follows. You can use the runflats without an optional spare wheel in your car. When you get a puncture you can drive for the allowed distance on the tyre. But if you do this you have to just throw away the tyre as the integrity of the tyre wall will be breached and it would be dangerous to get this tyre plugged. Or alternatively when you get a puncture, you can stop and change your tyre like a conventional one, putting your optional spare wheel on your car. Because you have not driven on the runflat the integrity of the run flat has not been breached and you should be able to get it plugged. Otherwise punctures could be an expensive experience.

Russ1974

I used to think like that. But having had two E60's with run flats, and my new one without, I would never go back. RF's destroy the vehicle. It's not "a very minor deterioration" - it is a severe reduction in performance and ride quality and a huge increase in noise. Seriously, if you are not sure which to go for, take an extended test drive with both. The extra grip and safety you get from non runflats to me more than makes up for getting a puncture which, realistically, probably happens once every 5 to 10 years?

As for the "hard shoulder being the most dangerous place to be", I can't help thinking that's a little exagerated. I don't think "people are often killed there" is particularly accurate!

Anyway, if you want a safe car, by a Volvo with runflats. If you want a luxury sports saloon, buy a BMW without!

narvselius

+1!

rsyed

In EU, if you get OEM 172 wheels from teh factory, then you do not get runflats. Question to you 550i LCI owners: are your 172 wheels with runflats? would surprise me if it was...

jonno_

Its a personal decision.
In Europe, BMW ships new e60s with and without RFTs and has for several years - depends on model and wheel size. No warranty issues at all. You should check if you need to advise your insurers if you change.
I've driven on several different tyre combos and alloy sizes (but all on a sport set-up) - I'd honestly say the worst for transmitting bumps back to the cabin was the RFTs - the sidewalls are just so inflexible (I know that's the point)

So for me it came down to how much thumping over every imperfection and pothole (and in the UK there are loads) you can put up with compared to the minor inconvenience of the very occasional puncture.
It was a no-brainer.

Russ1974

I was also amazed at the extra grip, especially round corners. With RFs, because the tyres are so rigid, they don't "flex" and hence have poor sideways grip. Non-RFs of course have a lot more flex and hence much better grip. I used to find on the 525d/530d that when flooring it or taking corners anything above "average" pace would cause the DSC to kick in and drop power. Getting good acceleration was hard. With the 535d, remapped and with sprint booster and so much more torque, but with standard tyres, it's so much better. I can't imagine how awful a 535d with run flats must be - completely unusable power I expect.

steve_gus

at the time i bought my car (see sig) only ONE E60 came without runflats - the sub SE 520d, the base car - unless i missed something

UK 5 Series

I sometimes think that your replies are in the school of 'everyone is entitled to my opinion'!

The great thing about a democracy is that we are all free to express our views and are free to make a choice in most things - including run flats or non-runflats!

As for exageration - "run flats destroy the vehicle"? I don't think so! I don't find that they're a problem at all.

Heres a link to just one of many deaths caused on the hard shoulder that you are doubting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7160261.stm

Having read your subsequent post, you seem to drive your car 'in anger'. I accept that in these situations, non run-flats probably give you a better handling car (although, I have to say that if that's your driving style, you'd be better off in a proper sports car, not an E60, even a 'tuned' 535d - at the end of the day, it's an executive saloon!). But I would suggest that your driving style is probably not representative of the vast and overwhelming majority of E60 drivers and for those of us who drive 'normally' I can see no disadvantage in run flats but many advantages.

So I guess the conclusion is that if you want to pretend that your executive saloon is an out-and-out sports car and you drive on 'the edge' all the time, don't get run flats.

If you want your E60 to be an executive saloon, you drive normally and you would like a potentially life saving option, keep the run-flats.

Perhaps I'm just unlucky compared to Russ, but I get a puncture around every 2 years (I do 35k a year). Not a lot I agree, but it only takes 1 instance to be killed and that's 1 too many for me. My kids don't deserve their inheritance just yet!